Before I start today's post, here are the winners of the blog-jog t-shirt contest:
Warren Baldwin
Linda Henderson
Barbara M. Hodges
Congrats!
Please fill out the contact form at ganzfield.com.
Include your shirt size (S, M L, XL) in the comments section. They run a little small after they're washed, so go with the larger size if you're on the fence.
Then, just send me a picture by June 10th of you wearing it (with the front logo visible, please!)--I'll add it to the collection.
Back to today's post: Independent Publishing (Part 1 of however many it takes). I finished the articles that my publicist requested, but we found that the one about "How I Got Published" didn't really fit the rest of the campaign. But it fits here, since several of you asked for the info--so here it is:
The first part of publishing your book is writing it.
Checklist Item #1: Write Manuscript
Chances are, you read Nathan Bransford's blog and you think that the next step is writing a query letter and sending it to agents. Ha! Wrong wrong wrong. The next step is to revise. When you finish revising, revise again. Polish that sucker until you can see your face shining in it. Get feedback from responsible readers (people who know how to write well and will give you honest feedback). Take their critiques to heart, and revise again.
And again.
And again.
Do NOT shake off criticism as "They just don't understand my work," unless they really don't—and you're OK with that. My grandmother is intelligent, literate, and a published author, but she doesn't "get" Minder. She thought the action was "too intense," and she wanted them to "stop and eat a bowl of cereal once in a while." Fortunately, octogenarian New Englanders aren't my target demo. I didn't add the quiet cereal scene--all my meal scenes are action-packed with the threat of imminent violence.
Once your book is really, really, REALLY ready--write your query letter, revise THAT a bunch of times, and then send it out. When I queried agents for Minder, I got a bunch of partial and full manuscript requests, but nothing panned out. I think I read that agent Janet Reid got over 10,000 queries in 2009--and took on two new clients. The odds are against you.
So, if your queries are successful--and getting 10% "Send me more!" responses is considered successful at this stage--you'll start sending out partial and full manuscripts. If you get an agent at this stage--congratulations! If not, well…
Now comes the moment of decision. Is your book really as good as you think it is? What did the professionals say? What works and what doesn't? Does it need another revision; does it need to go in the drawer; or is it publishable, but just not getting into the right hands?
Be brutally honest with yourself. You can be sad and disappointed now--or sad, disappointed, poorer, and several months closer to death later. My first novel, Bagastana, is still in the drawer. I queried extensively, but I never got even one partial request on it. I keep telling myself that I'll get back to it someday and revise it up to professional caliber later.
The point is, I moved on. My second effort was originally titled Maddie Dunn. It's the story of a sixteen-year-old who can kill with her thoughts. The book's now called Minder, and it comes out next month.
And tomorrow, I'll tell you how I got it there.*
* By writing cliffhanger endings that kept people coming back for more.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Exploding Toilets
Ah, the glamorous life of the emerging novelist.
It gets light around 5am this time of year in New Hampshire, and my kids read the sky better than the clock. At 5:18 this morning, I woke to the sound of running feet and anxious little voices in the hallway.
I don't know what they put down the toilet to make it overflow with such magnificent deliberation. The article(s) in question has been lost to history. But the flood of 2010 will not be soon forgotten.
So I found myself an Army-Corps-of-Engineers-of-One. Before coffee. My husband conveniently has meetings with out-of-state clients today, so he missed the waterworks and the disinfection of everything in the path of the tsunami.
I guess it means that Mother's Day is over, and I needed to start earning next year's pancakes.
Moving on:
Oh, special thanks to Brenda for recommending the Blog Jog! We had a great turnout here, and I found some wonderful new blogs, as well.
Please keep passing around the link to the book trailer video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lv6eC3E-9k.
We're saving children from malaria with every penny.
And we're promoting my book, which is cool, too.
The t-shirt giveaway is still active through midnight Eastern time today (Monday). Please comment in the Blog Jog post if you want one. I'll announce the winner(s) tomorrow, probably before noon--assuming the kids don't crack a water main between now and then.
Finally, here's something that reminded me of writing loglines and summaries:
It gets light around 5am this time of year in New Hampshire, and my kids read the sky better than the clock. At 5:18 this morning, I woke to the sound of running feet and anxious little voices in the hallway.
I don't know what they put down the toilet to make it overflow with such magnificent deliberation. The article(s) in question has been lost to history. But the flood of 2010 will not be soon forgotten.
So I found myself an Army-Corps-of-Engineers-of-One. Before coffee. My husband conveniently has meetings with out-of-state clients today, so he missed the waterworks and the disinfection of everything in the path of the tsunami.
I guess it means that Mother's Day is over, and I needed to start earning next year's pancakes.
Happy Monday.
Moving on:
Oh, special thanks to Brenda for recommending the Blog Jog! We had a great turnout here, and I found some wonderful new blogs, as well.
Please keep passing around the link to the book trailer video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lv6eC3E-9k.
We're saving children from malaria with every penny.
And we're promoting my book, which is cool, too.
The t-shirt giveaway is still active through midnight Eastern time today (Monday). Please comment in the Blog Jog post if you want one. I'll announce the winner(s) tomorrow, probably before noon--assuming the kids don't crack a water main between now and then.
Finally, here's something that reminded me of writing loglines and summaries:
Thanks to Nathan Bransford for the link.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Blog Jog!
Disgruntled Bear is part of this weekend's Blog Jog.
If this is your first time here--welcome!
The next stop on the Blog Jog trail is : http://theblueinkwell.com/
While you're here, please watch my book trailer. For every view, I'm giving 1-cent to Nothing But Nets.
Minder comes out in June (click here for a PDF excerpt). Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have pre-order options. We'll have a virtual launch party here the week of June 14-18th--giveaways and contests and all.
If you like this blog, please sign up as a follower--just click "Follow" on the right or in the top menu bar.
Finally, we're having another Minder t-shirt giveaway this weekend. Want one?
Comment below with the location where you'd wear it. Please post your comment by midnight, Monday, May 10th. I'll list the winner(s) on Tuesday the 11th and post a link so you can send me your size and mailing address (US addresses only, please!). Send me a photo of yourself in the shirt, and I'll add it to the growing collection.
Happy weekend!
If this is your first time here--welcome!
The next stop on the Blog Jog trail is : http://theblueinkwell.com/
While you're here, please watch my book trailer. For every view, I'm giving 1-cent to Nothing But Nets.
Minder comes out in June (click here for a PDF excerpt). Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have pre-order options. We'll have a virtual launch party here the week of June 14-18th--giveaways and contests and all.
If you like this blog, please sign up as a follower--just click "Follow" on the right or in the top menu bar.
Finally, we're having another Minder t-shirt giveaway this weekend. Want one?
Comment below with the location where you'd wear it. Please post your comment by midnight, Monday, May 10th. I'll list the winner(s) on Tuesday the 11th and post a link so you can send me your size and mailing address (US addresses only, please!). Send me a photo of yourself in the shirt, and I'll add it to the growing collection.Happy weekend!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Day Job
Finally home at 9:47pm after a day-long training session. I hope my book becomes a bestseller, so I can write for a few hours every morning, then spend my days sipping coffee in Paris, running with the bulls in Pamplona, or downing margaritas in Key West.
How weird would I look with a beard?
Man, I'm working too hard.
How weird would I look with a beard?
Man, I'm working too hard.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Marketers, Editors, and Printers--Oh My!
Greetings and Salutations from the surreal world of having a book published.
Today's new thing: Minder's up on Kindle, although the link won't allow purchases until the June 18th release date.
I'm working with the distributor to have Minder available in the UK next month, as well. I'll give you Brits and ex-pats a link when everything's set.
I hope to get book two to the editor by the end of the week. I'm applying the stuff she mentioned in the book one edit before I send it to her. Who knew I used the word "that" so often?
Please keep spreading the word about the book trailer and the affiliated charitable promotion. I'm off doing training for my day job for the rest of the week, but I'll have some extras over the weekend for the blog jog and shirt giveaway, so check back!
Today's new thing: Minder's up on Kindle, although the link won't allow purchases until the June 18th release date.
I'm working with the distributor to have Minder available in the UK next month, as well. I'll give you Brits and ex-pats a link when everything's set.
I hope to get book two to the editor by the end of the week. I'm applying the stuff she mentioned in the book one edit before I send it to her. Who knew I used the word "that" so often?
Please keep spreading the word about the book trailer and the affiliated charitable promotion. I'm off doing training for my day job for the rest of the week, but I'll have some extras over the weekend for the blog jog and shirt giveaway, so check back!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Really Scary Bloodsuckers
From now until the end of May, I'll be holding a promo on YouTube.
For each view of the Minder book trailer, I'll donate a penny* to Nothing But Nets, a non-profit organization that distributes anti-malaria netting.
And, if you feel a penny's not enough, please go to their site and donate.
Please, watch the trailer. Feel free to up your view-count by watching it multiple times. Embed it on your sites and ask other people to watch it. I want to sell a ton of books, of course, but there are more important things out there, like saving helpless children from murderous bloodsuckers.
Oh, and spread the word: Telepaths are the new vampires.
"Penny for your thoughts? Nah, I can get 'em for free."
* I gotta cap this at $1000, since I'm a struggling writer.
That would be 100,000 views, which would be amazing.
From now until the end of May, author Kate Kaynak will donate 1-cent for every view of this trailer (up to 100,000) to Nothing But Nets (www.nothingbutnets.net), a charity that helps protect kids from malaria. Please watch as many times as you like, embed it on your sites or blogs, or link to the YouTube page via Twitter or Facebook. It's a win-win: people hear about the book while saving the lives of children.
MINDER, the first book in the Ganzfield series, comes out in June. Pre-order on Amazon, com, BarnesandNoble.com, or Ganzfield.com.
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. The training facility at Ganzfield isn't exactly a nurturing place.
Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control.
A stray thought can burn a building to the ground.
And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads.
But it's still better than New Jersey.
Especially once she meets the man of her dreams...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
CREDITS
Trailer Art: Katie Diamond
Music: "Angels" by Glenridge. Used with permission.
Editing: Peter Alton
VO: Mary Alton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lv6eC3E-9k
For each view of the Minder book trailer, I'll donate a penny* to Nothing But Nets, a non-profit organization that distributes anti-malaria netting.
And, if you feel a penny's not enough, please go to their site and donate.
Please, watch the trailer. Feel free to up your view-count by watching it multiple times. Embed it on your sites and ask other people to watch it. I want to sell a ton of books, of course, but there are more important things out there, like saving helpless children from murderous bloodsuckers.
Oh, and spread the word: Telepaths are the new vampires.
"Penny for your thoughts? Nah, I can get 'em for free."
* I gotta cap this at $1000, since I'm a struggling writer.
That would be 100,000 views, which would be amazing.
From now until the end of May, author Kate Kaynak will donate 1-cent for every view of this trailer (up to 100,000) to Nothing But Nets (www.nothingbutnets.net), a charity that helps protect kids from malaria. Please watch as many times as you like, embed it on your sites or blogs, or link to the YouTube page via Twitter or Facebook. It's a win-win: people hear about the book while saving the lives of children.
MINDER, the first book in the Ganzfield series, comes out in June. Pre-order on Amazon, com, BarnesandNoble.com, or Ganzfield.com.
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. The training facility at Ganzfield isn't exactly a nurturing place.
Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control.
A stray thought can burn a building to the ground.
And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads.
But it's still better than New Jersey.
Especially once she meets the man of her dreams...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
CREDITS
Trailer Art: Katie Diamond
Music: "Angels" by Glenridge. Used with permission.
Editing: Peter Alton
VO: Mary Alton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lv6eC3E-9k
Monday, May 3, 2010
Busy Week
Much is afoot here at the Disgruntled Bear.
The shirt pictures are trickling in--thanks to everyone who has sent them. They can be seen here.
I'm gearing up for the Minder marketing push this week. Disgruntled Bear will be part of a Blog Jog this weekend, and I'll have another shirt giveaway as part of that. Make sure you check in over the weekend for info.
The Brenda Novak auction to benefit diabetes research will run through the month of May. Check it out:
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/
I won some great stuff last year, and I'm offering a critique this time around.
The final, longer excerpt of Minder is now up on Ganzfield.com. Or you can just click here for the PDF File.
We're having a book launch event here in New Hampshire on June 29th at 7pm. Please use the Ganzfield contact form if you'd like to be added to the guest list and mention the "June 29th event" in the Comments section.
Finally, I have a big announcement for tomorrow, so be sure to check in. TTFN!
The shirt pictures are trickling in--thanks to everyone who has sent them. They can be seen here.
I'm gearing up for the Minder marketing push this week. Disgruntled Bear will be part of a Blog Jog this weekend, and I'll have another shirt giveaway as part of that. Make sure you check in over the weekend for info.
The Brenda Novak auction to benefit diabetes research will run through the month of May. Check it out:
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/
I won some great stuff last year, and I'm offering a critique this time around.
The final, longer excerpt of Minder is now up on Ganzfield.com. Or you can just click here for the PDF File.
We're having a book launch event here in New Hampshire on June 29th at 7pm. Please use the Ganzfield contact form if you'd like to be added to the guest list and mention the "June 29th event" in the Comments section.
Finally, I have a big announcement for tomorrow, so be sure to check in. TTFN!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)