Jumping into the Deep End

Final edits complete and waiting only for a cover artist's scheduling, FAIZAH'S DESTINY is looking like a distant, yet distinct, possibility for a spring release.

Again, MuseItUp Publishing is taking on one of my fantasy books for young adults. And yet again, this book had a previous life as a self-published book. Since I'm impatient (no, really, ask my husband), I played General Sherman marching through the Southlands, laying waste to my many books by jumping on the self-publishing bandwagon.

This gives me an opening to define self-publishing for those of you who still believe convincing a fickle agent of your worth, and then waiting in vain for a publishing contract is the only way to have your work placed before the public. If there are any of you out there who still hold this mistaken, and I'd have to say somewhat pitiful, notion, rest assured you, too, can jump in publishing and STILL end up with a traditional publisher in the future. In the meantime, while you're waiting for the magical fairy dust to settled on your head, you could be building your own reputation as an author.

Will you sell hundreds or thousands of books? Most likely you won't, but you will have gained experience with self-promotion, learned how to create a blog and a website, dive into networking with other authors, and generally learning how to be a published author...without a single agent or traditional publisher anywhere in sight.

To believe you must take the traditional route to publishing is like becoming a baseball player (people love sports analogies), yet never playing an actual game. No, you jump in as an amateur and learn from your experience. If you're any good, you will eventually get a contract with any of the dozens of ebook publishers now in operation. That's what I did, and I'm proud to be in on the conception of MuseItUp Publishing. Their success is growing and, with their success, I have no doubt my success will go along for the ride.

An interesting side note (interesting to me at least) is that my absolutely best selling book has never even passed through a slush pile. Tales of a Texas Boy continues to sell in large print paperback and a good clip. I love January when I collect a relatively large revenue check from CreateSpace.

Since reposts of my blogs look so much better with a graphic, I leave you with the cover of my best-selling book of all time, Tales of  a Texas Boy. In a few days, I'll post a video with a new Eddie story narrated by the old guy himself.

What I'm Talking About

Yesterday I opined on self-publishing as not only a viable alternative to traditional publishing, but also as a better choice in many ways. My discussion was based on my recent upgrades to one of my self-published books. I managed improvements and modifications which would not have been possible with a traditional publisher. I redesigned my cover, edited my manuscript (will I ever get all the typos?), made a book trailer based on my new cover, and made my ebook editions free on Smashwords.

Agent/Publisher: No changes, same old cover, no additional edits, no coupons or free copies.
Self-publishing: Able to change at will, redesign covers, edit the ms, and offer freebie coupons.

I am not going to diss traditional publishing since I also have a dandy publisher who will be the first choice recipient of my future work. I like the relationship I have with MuseItUp. Traditional publishing is like a marriage complete with vows, expectations of fidelity, and hopefully a life-long commitment. Self-publishing is the freedom to date whom I please, toss him out if he's boring, pick up something spiffy and new as I choose. Hmm. Both ways are tempting.

Anyway, here's the book trailer for the refurbished "First Duty."

Interviewed at Christine Fonseca's Musings Blog

Christine Fonseca is an up-and-coming YA writer, working hard to find an agent, get published, and go on Oprah. For now, she's doing what every writer should do: blogging on writerly subjects. She wanted to post about self-publishing. She knew I self-pubbed one book, so kindly asked for my opinion (as if I knew anything).

Excerpt (Read the rest of the interview here)

Christine (CF): How long have you been writing?

Marva (MD): The “all my life” answer that writers usually give here seems a bit disingenuous. Personally, I did not pop out of the womb with pen in hand. The better question is: how long have you been writing for publication? I wrote technical documentation for thirty-five years. I started writing fiction for publication about three years ago. Before that, I wrote stories for fun. The good part is that I dredged out a few of those old stories and have done well sending them out as individual stories. Three of my oldies eventually became books. Lesson: Never throw anything away. Those old ones were on paper only.

Why I Self-Published

It's tiresome to run across article after article castigating the self-published author. I feel bad for the authors, especially those with excellent books which couldn't get the time of day from agents or publishers.

Yes, there's a ton of bad vanity press out there, but you're not likely to run across any of it without looking hard. The fact is, self-pubbed books don't have the marketing support given by major conventional publishers. Heck, small presses don't have those resources either. So, unless you can get your book into the diminishing number of big-time conventional publishers, you can either stuff your manuscript in a drawer or send it off to any of dozens of self-publishing companies.

Here are some reasons why people have self-published:

1. The topic of the book is very limited in scope either because it's something like a family history or set in one tiny corner of the world that nobody is interested in hearing about.

2. The writing isn't up to par. Without lots of first readers, critiquers, and whoever else a writer can shanghai into helping out, then it's almost impossible to have a decently written book. No more lonely (drunken) writer hanging out in a dark garrett, then getting discovered by BIG PUB company. It takes a village to create a book. Writers definitely need to work at their craft and improve their writing through coursework, joining critique groups, and buying some good how-to-write books.

3. Time is of the essence. This is where I fall in the self-published reasons list. The one and only book I'll self-pub is "Tales of a Texas Boy." I've mentioned before this is based on stories my father told me about his life growing up on a West Texas farm in the Depression Era. I think of this as his book and I was merely the (rather talented) scribe to convey his stories. Maybe I should have put his name on the cover with an "as told to..." line following his byline. Then, I wouldn't have the stigmata of self-pubbed on my name. But, I didn't think of that at the time and now the damage is done. Still, I'm glad to have his book out in the world, even for the limited audience who'll find, read, and enjoy it.

I know a lovely lady who self-pubbed four books. I told her she should have tried to get an agent or conventional publisher because her writing and stories are certainly good enough. Her answer was "I'm too old to wait for that process." She's a senior citizen. She wanted her books published. End of story.

4. Good writer, good book, good topic, but the writer was naive and believed that the likes of PublishAmerica was a "real" publisher. These folks were conned because they didn't do their homework and gulped down the snakeoil the Vanity Press was selling.

Anyway, I just wanted to say a few words on the subject. Don't be put off by a book you think might be interesting because you recognize the publisher as a vanity press. Fortunately, Amazon has the nice Search Inside feature. Use it. Read some of the book. Does it pass muster? Does it interest you? Then buy the damned thing and make the day of some poor writer who fell into one of the above categories.

Family History Turns to Mystery

Linda Kuhlmann and I worked together for years. Both of us dealt with technical writing. While I churned out Users Manuals, Linda was writing training manuals and teaching employees how to use the software products.

Linda jumped ship before I did and I'll have to admit she gave me heart to do the same myself. It took hardly any time at all for Linda to publish "Koenig's Wonder," a novel based on family history. Linda took a relatively (ha) interesting story from her family and created an even more interesting novel involving a Lippizan stallion, race horses, and a stolen painting pitting two brothers against each other.

But, let's just get on with the questions and see what Linda's got to say.

Check out Linda's website for more information on the book and her events schedule. Buy "Koenig's Wonder" at local bookstores, Llumina Press, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble online. Signed or inscribed copies are available through Linda's website.

Marva: Hi, Linda. Thanks for answering my questionnaire. First question: Did you start writing "Koenig's Wonder" while you were still working? How did you manage the juggling act?

Linda: Yes. At the technical job, I was teaching a minimum of three software classes a week while writing and editing pages for "Koenig's Wonder." My novel is loosely based on my family history. When my father's health began to fail, I took myself seriously as a writer. I used every spare moment to take it to completion - editing pages during breaks and lunches and using a tape recorder on my commute for scenes that needed work.

Recently, I was privileged to be invited to give a writer's workshop at this year's Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon entitled "Writing With the Paying Job." I'm very excited about this opportunity!

Marva: Here's your chance to pique interest in "Koenig's Wonder," your first book. Tell us the story behind the story and what prompted you to write it.

Linda: I was doing a genealogy search on my father's side of our family, gathering names, dates, and places. The family lore has it that my great-grandfather and his brother came to the U.S. from Germany, then separated. No one in the family seemed to know why or where the other brother went. That's when my imagination took over and "Koenig's Wonder" was born!

Many of the locations in the story are from my family's background and places I spent with my parents. One segment of the story takes place at the Arlington Race Track in Chicago. When I was young, I went there with my parents and bet $10 on a horse with my mother - I think we won a buck! Also, some of the history during WWII are parts of my father's experiences.

Marva: What is your favorite thing about this book?

Linda: The way that life weaves through us all at different stages of our own histories. That's why there are so many sub-plots driving "Koenig's Wonder." We meet many people throughout our lives who impact which choices we make. That's what happened to the two brothers, as well as Sam and Emma, the young lovers, who were separated and later reunited.

Marva: What else are you working on? Another family story?

Linda: My next novel, which is planned for publication soon, is "The Red Boots" - a story about a young Irish sculptor who leaves an art tour to go to Oregon to confront her father, whom she hasn't seen in twenty years. She doesn't know that a serial killer from Dublin has followed her to the U.S. "The Red Boots" is not related to "Koenig's Wonder." After it is off to the publisher, I am planning to write a screenplay for "Koenig's Wonder" and two sequel novels.

Marva: Research is very important for books dealing with history. I know you research the hell out of your books. What sources did you find the most productive?

Linda: I love the research process! Before I begin, I read as much as I can on my subject and take copious notes. Also, I've found that connecting with experts in the field you are researching are the most helpful. For "Koenig's Wonder," I met a man at the Oregon Racing Commission who introduced me to the backstretch of a racetrack, the trainers, veterinarians, and jockeys. It is important to learn to interview like a journalist - have your questions ready before you go.

I also learned about 'freeze branding' from a man I met on the Internet. However, if you use the Internet, make sure you check your resources and information!

Marva: Okay, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. You're a self publisher. Why did you decide to go that route rather than the agent/publisher deal?

Linda: The first time I ever pitched "Koenig's Wonder" to an editor at a Willamette Writers Conference, a St. Martin's Press editor was interested in the entire manuscript. However, by the time I sent it to her, she was no longer there, and the new editor was not interested.

Later, at a Willamette Writers meeting, I heard M. K. Wren talk about her publishing experiences. She mentioned that she'd lost all of her rights to her first mystery novels and now uses iUniverse, a Print-on-Demand publisher. When my father became ill, I knew that I wanted to get "Koenig's Wonder" published and in his hands before he died. I was a few months short, but he knew the story and had read drafts.

I chose Llumina Press (another Print-on-Demand publisher) because I was able to keep all rights to "Koenig's Wonder." They also have a selection process, as well as editing and marketing packages available.

Marva: A whole lot of writers have also chosen to self-publish, but haven't been as successful as you have. Tell us your secrets on how to be successful as a self-publisher.

Linda: It is important to believe in your work! I felt that "Koenig's Wonder" was a story that needed to be shared. Llumina Press gave me many marketing advantages, as well as great advice on how to market it on my own. Because my novel involves the world of Thoroughbred racing, I've found that selling books at racetracks was a great venue.

My father was a salesman, so I was blessed with some of the sales skills he'd used. (I'm not sure he knew I was paying attention, but I did!) I have no problem in calling a bookstore or group to schedule a talk or a book signing. I'm not shy about taking copies to bookstores and libraries and asking if they will carry copies of my novel. It's all about the faith in your work!

Marva: That brings up your speaking engagements (that sounds so snooty). You seek out groups to talk to about lots of different things. Give us a run-down on where you give talks and what are the subjects you cover.

Linda: Since "Koenig's Wonder" was published, I've had the great fortune to give numerous talks with writers groups, kids at middle and high schools, readers groups, and seniors about writing their memoirs. Each talk has a different slant, based on the group I'm talking to. I've had so much fun meeting many wonderful people who (I hope) I have encouraged to write.

Marva: Your website is absolutely loaded with links and great information. What techniques are you using on the Internet to promote your book?

Linda: My publisher, Llumina Press, made "Koenig's Wonder" available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, as well as Ingram and Baker & Taylor (which are distributors for bookstores and libraries.) Some of the larger bookstores may not carry a Print-on-Demand book, but they may consider listing it on their online site, such as Powells.com. Because "Koenig's Wonder" appeals to horse enthusiasts, I have found numerous horse groups who have websites that are willing to post a link to my website. It's all about knowing who you audience is and look for venues to help get the word out.

Another great tool is asking your readers to post a 'review' in online sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I copied some of these reviews onto my website.

Thank you, Marva for allowing me to share my experiences. Just remember - if writing is your passion, the rest will follow!