Friday Free For All: Contests, Contests!

1. Yes, I’m hosting two—I know! It was my first blogiversary on Wednesday and to celebrate I’m offering up your choice of FOUR (from a selection of 12) books. All you have to do is comment. Click HERE to enter.

2. And yesterday I hosted Janice Hardy on her blog tour for her second book, BLUE FIRE in her Healing Wars trilogy. I’m offering my copy of the first book, THE SHIFTER. In order to send more people her way to discover her excellent blog (she also blogs a lot on the process of writing and publishing) you need to follow her blog as well as mine to enter to win. Easy Peasy. And since there aren’t a lot of entries right now, your chances are really good. Click HERE to enter.

3. I've added a list on my blog for Authors Who Blog About Writing and Publishing. There are way too many authors who blog for me to list, so I'm highlighting ones who focus more on the technique and business of things, plus share their own journey. This list will probably grow over time. Go check it out!

4. Next week is the beginning of the craziness known as NANO. Since I’m already crazy enough, I’m not officially entering but I will be surfing on the nano energy, writing away on my formerly trunked novel.

How about you, are you doing Nano this year?

Happy weekend, everyone!

Other Stuff Thursdays: Janice Hardy Blog Tour-Her Road To Publication

I'm honored to host author Janice Hardy as she promotes the second book in her Healing Wars Trilogy, BLUE FIRE. Read to the end to find out how you could win a copy of the first book THE SHIFTER.

 A long-time fantasy reader, Janice Hardy always wondered about the darker side of healing. For her fantasy trilogy THE HEALING WARS, she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her books include THE SHIFTER, and BLUE FIRE from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three cats and one very nervous freshwater eel.

Worth the Trip-- by Janice Hardy

I’ve often joked that had my MG fantasy, The Shifter, been the first book I ever wrote, I’d think this whole publishing business was easy. The writing went smoothly, the agent search was a breeze, and it sold fairly quickly. But I know better. I have a drawer full of unsold manuscripts and a stack of rejections, same as most writers out there.

So what made The Shifter different?

I could go the easy route and say I finally wrote something publishable, but that’s not going to help anyone. But maybe sharing some of the steps I took to get from un-publishable to published will.

I got objective about my work

I had a nagging suspicion for a long time that the novels I was trying to sell weren’t bad, were maybe even good, but not great. To make it past the hundreds of other good, sometimes great, novels in the slush pile, I had to be really great. I needed that spark, like a literary flare, that said “this novel is worth buying.”

Problem was, I had no clue how to do that. I needed someone or some way to shed light on why no one would read my work. I got lucky and a friend recommended going to the Surrey International Writers Conference. I didn’t have any critiques of my work or anything, but the sessions there – especially the how to pitch your novel session – really opened my eyes and made me realize what those flaws in my novel were:

No strong protagonist with a conflict capable of driving a whole novel.

Weak stakes.

Unoriginal concept.

What really drove this home was when I was unable to write a decent pitch for the book. (This is why I always write a query before I start a novel. To test the idea) Without a strong protag, solid conflict, and high stakes, it’s almost impossible to write a good query. It’s also almost impossible to write a good book without those pieces.

I studied what made books work

One of the things I took away from the conference was that I needed a fresh idea. Originality was key to getting attention. I found that fresh idea in an old idea file of mine, dusted it off, and tried to figure out how I could turn this idea into a story worth publishing.

I looked at some of my favorite books. What openings hooked me? What first lines drew me in? What plots kept me reading? And most importantly – why? Before long I started to see patterns. Humor in the opening line really worked on me. External plot problems held my attention. Unpredictability kept me reading. These were all things I tried to incorporate into my developing idea. It wasn’t about what I liked about my story, but what writing mechanics worked to keep me interested in a story.

I focused on the fundamentals

I tend to think up plots and situations first, then create characters to put into them. I knew I needed a strong conflict that could carry an entire novel. And that conflict had to matter, with high stakes. The core conflict of this new novel had to have enough inherent conflict in both the world and the characters to connect it to a lot of different subplots and problems that I could build off of and help increase the story’s tension. It had to be a conflict with layers, not just a one-punch situation.

Once I had a good idea of the core conflict, I focused on a protagonist to put into that conflict. I went back to the basics: who would be hurt by this situation? Who had the most to lose? Who was willing to risk the most for the most gain? I kept reminding myself that stories are about interesting people solving interesting problems in an interesting way. I needed to find that person, that problem, and that solution.

I got personal

My manuscript problems in the past had always been because my novels were premise novels, stories about ideas, not a person with a problem. For The Shifter, I kept it personal. It was Nya’s problem to solve, not a cool idea for me to explore. The problems mattered to her, and she had personal stakes if she failed. That helped me keep the goals strong, the stakes high and the story moving.

Once the book was written, the rest was about the same as any other novel I’d done. Write the query (which was FAR easier because I had all those solid pieces to work with), synopsis, and send out the pages. I did my research the same, checked out potential agents, read the blogs, made my lists. But the thing that was different this time was the book I was submitting.

I did learn a few new writing tricks between the book that didn’t sell and the one that did, but nothing that would have made that big a difference during submission. It wasn’t like something suddenly changed about my writing ability. I was the same writer while writing book three as I was when writing book four (The Shifter). But the book, and how I approached it, was different. It was written with a lot more attention to what made a successful book, not just what kind of cool story I could tell.

I think that made all the difference. Great idea + Great writing + Great story = Sellable book. Drop one piece and you can only get so far. Develop all three, and you can go all the way. Sure, it takes work, but it’s also something that can be achieved with hard work. It might not be the easiest path to take, but it’s one worth taking.

Thanks, Janice!

More about BLUE FIRE

Part fugitive, part hero, fifteen-year-old Nya is barely staying ahead of the Duke of Baseer’s trackers. Wanted for a crime she didn’t mean to commit, she risks capture to protect every Taker she can find, determined to prevent the Duke from using them in his fiendish experiments. But resolve isn’t enough to protect any of them, and Nya soon realizes that the only way to keep them all out of the Duke’s clutches is to flee Geveg. Unfortunately, the Duke’s best tracker has other ideas.

Nya finds herself trapped in the last place she ever wanted to be, forced to trust the last people she ever thought she could. More is at stake than just the people of Geveg, and the closer she gets to uncovering the Duke’s plan, the more she discovers how critical she is to his victory. To save Geveg, she just might have to save Baseer—if she doesn’t destroy it first.

You can purchase your copy by clicking HERE.

Now here's how you can win my copy of THE SHIFTER:

All you have to do is be a follower of this blog AND a follower of Janice's blog The Other Side of the Story. Janice blogs a lot about the How To's of writing and publishing and I've quoted her more than once. So get over there and say hi!

+2 entries for following both of us, +1 for FB, +1 for Twitter and +5 for posting this contest on your blog.

Let me know in the comments how many entries you qualify for. Contest ends November 12.

It’s My First Blogiversary Today!

Wednesday How To Write will resume next week.

My blog is one year old! I can’t believe how much it has grown in one year—walking, talking, eating solids. I’m proud as punch; do you want to see a picture of it when it was born? Click HERE. (Actually, it looked much different, I kind of photo shopped it—new template—but the babble is authentic.)

Spiff has been with me all the way. He's changed a bit too!

So much has happened in a year. After I took that shaky first step and started blogging, I ventured out in Twitter and Facebook. I’ve made so many great on-line friends; I really don’t know how I managed to navigate the rapid waters aspiring writers need to conquer all alone.

I signed with an agent, sent out a couple ms’s into the wilds of the submission world, wrote another book, sent it out (okay, they seem to be taking the scenic route, but my babies are still out there somewhere), started writing How To posts (which is scarier than one might think) and I left my part-time day job to write full-time.

I wish I could add that I sealed a book deal as well, but I suppose I have to leave some fun for year two.

All this to say, we must celebrate!!! And what better way to celebrate my new friends than by sharing books. I’ve won a few along the way and purchased some too. You could win your choice of 4 of these books just by commenting. (I’d love to give them all away, but can’t cough up the postage, ahem, see point where I left my job.)

PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS by Michelle Zink
GUARDIAN OF THE GATE by Michelle Zink
BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver
INGO by Helen Dunmore
CINDY ELLA by Robin Palmer
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Bundell
KEEPING THE MOON by Sarah Dessen
SPELLS by Aprilynne Pike

And four books on writing:

WHAT A WRITER NEEDS by Ralph Fletcher
PLOT & STRUCTURE by James Scott Bell
CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER by Heather Sellers
THE SELL YOUR NOVEL TOOL KIT by Elizabeth Lyon

You get +1 entry if you’re a follower (old or new), +1 if you FB, +1 if you Twitter, and +5 if you post the contest somewhere on your blog. Just let me know how many entries you qualify for in the comments.

Contest ends Friday, November 5th.

Tuesday Word Smart

This weeks word:

OSTENSIBLE (ah STEN suh bul) adj apparent (but misleading); professed


* Blake’s ostensible mission was to repair a broken telephone, but his real goal was to eavesdrop on the boss’s conversation.
* Trevor’s ostensible kindness to squirrels belied his deep hatred of them.

Monday Musing – You Asked, I Answered

Thanks to everyone who posted a question—some tough ones here! Let’s get started.

Cinette  asked:

How 'dangerous' is it for a beginning author to try to market a series? Should they have a 'choice' of endings for the first novel? 

I don’t think marketing a series as a beginner is dangerous, per say, but it is important that your first book can stand alone. I don’t recommend a choice of endings. An agent and editor will want the book to end the way it should naturally end, and this ending can’t be a cliff hanger, anyway. The main plot line must be resolved. What your agent will most likely do is pitch your book as a standalone with series potential.  Editors will understand that you, as a writer, have a series in mind when they read it.

Stephanie asked: 

Hi! Is writing your only job or do you have a "Bacon" job, as I've heard it called before...something that brings home the bacon?? LOL! And if you do have a job aside from writing, what is it?? Is it based on creativity???

I worked part-time in administration until recently. I’m fortunate that I have a husband who brings in the bulk of the bacon, so he’s willing to give me some time to work at building writing as a career.

Laurel asked:

You'd mentioned on my blog that you have a mirror site on Live Journal. Could you tell us why you did that and how you make it work, technologically speaking? 

Since the next question is similar, I’ll answer the “why?” there.  As for the technical, I write my post in blogger with the HTML tab clicked.  After opening my post an entry page in LJ, I click the HTML tab there, then copy and paste from blogger. Then I can click on compose on blogger and rich text on LJ to get the format to show up the way it will when posted. The reason you have to go the HTML route is to save your links. Otherwise you have to double your efforts and add your links separately.

christicorbett asked:

Here's something I've wondered for a while now...why do you have your blog on two locations? (Blogspot and LiveJournal).

I friend recommended I do this and I’m glad I did.  What I found is that Blogger and  LiveJournal each have a completely different culture. What I mean by that is, blogger people and LJ people blog for different reasons and because of that, you have two different groups of people to hang out with. There are a few of us that “double dip” but most don’t.

Here are the differences from my perspective. I would compare the blogger community to the frat house in a university setting and the LJ community would be the lounge where the profs hang out. This analogy breaks down, and I’m about to generalize a lot here, but it gives you an idea. 

Bloggers love contests and parties and “bling” on their blog sites. Numbers are very important. The pressure to grow your followers and commenters is fairly strong. There seems to be a social pressure to read and comment, not because you feel like it, but because it’s expected and if you don’t well, don’t expect them to come read you. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s close. On the other hand, it’s really easy to meet people and find followers. Probably because of all the contests and parties and bling. I’ve made a lot of online friends here. Most of the people who hang here are aspiring authors.  Because of all of these points blogger is probably better for building a platform. 

When it comes to commenting, if I comment back to a commenter, I like to email them, so they don’t have to check back to my blog later to see if I did. That’s only possible if the commenter has an actual email address and not a noreply address. I also copy my response into the blog comments so others can read it.

LiveJournal folks don’t track numbers at all. Because of that it’s harder to find friends but in a way it’s a relief not to have that pressure. LJ people just blog because they want to, and it doesn’t seem to matter to them if people comment or not. It’s their journal, and you’re allowed to take a peek. (Whereas bloggers tend to focus on what their readers want). The ironic thing here is the commenting system for LJ is better. It threads, so you get notified if someone commented to your comment—you don’t have to go back to a blog to check if the blog owner or others responded to you and you don’t have to email. LJ seems to be the place where established and newly published authors hang out and it’s were the debuting author groups gather as well, ie: 2k10, the tenners, the elevensies.... I don’t find LJ as user friendly when it comes to setting up a template and I don’t like all the advertising that pops up.

So, I guess it all depends on what you want out of your blogging experience.

Heather asked: 

Do you believe in one-sentence pitches, or loglines? If so, I’d love to hear yours!

Yes, I do. In fact, I think they’re essential, especially if you’re doing live pitches at conferences. Miss Snark’s First Victim just hosted a logline contest, if you’re looking for examples.

 

 Here are mine:

A teenage time-traveler accidentally takes the cutest boy in the school back in time.

A boy grows up in Hitler Youth and fights on the Eastern front.

A teenage swim athlete falls for a merboy with disastrous results.

Lesley-Anne Evans asked: 

What specifically do you do to build your blog? How important is your blog to marketing your present or future books? 

There are many elements to a successful blog.  A readable and appealing template that’s easy to navigate helps; interesting and relevant content, and a likable blog owner personality. Become part of the community by reading blogs, commenting and participating in blogfests and contests. It’s like real life; you can’t make friends if people don’t know you’re in the room.

As to the importance of the blog as it pertains to marketing, there are differing opinions out there on that, but I say it can’t hurt as long as your blog isn’t just about marketing your book. However, isn’t that why most of us started blogging? To build a platform in order to generate sales? One way to balance this is by having a separate webpage devoted to marketing your book, this allows you to ease off on the topic on your blog.

Here’s a good post on the effectiveness of online marketing by writer unboxed.

Sara B. Larson asked: 

What do you eat while you're writing? And do you listen to music while you write, if so, what? 

I don’t eat while writing. Not because I possess enormous amounts of self-control but because I’m a bit of a  germaphobe There’s no way I will eat anything that touches my fingers and my keyboard simultaneously. 

And I don’t listen to music. (Man, I sound boring!) It’s ironic because I’m married to a musician, but I really just need silence to think clearly.

lotusgirl asked: 

Where did you grow up? 

I grew up in the same area I live now, Kelowna BC, Canada.

The last three questions are about topics I don’t have personal experience with so I called on a Denise Jaden and Tamara Heiner to help.

Talli Roland asked:

            How do you cope with the stress of sales? I'm forever worrying I won't sell enough copies,    

           and  that it will affect my career going forward. 

Denise’s answer: Sales can be so out of an author’s control, so that’s not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. Things like being easy to work with, responsible with deadlines, and positive and upbeat about my books and career—those are things I generally focus on.

Freedomtrain Ministries asked:. 

 I am having my first book published called Jewels of Wisdom and can't afford their publicity package. I am on my own - any suggestions? Look forward to reading your blog. 

Denise’s answer: For publicity, I have two publicists assigned from S&S – one in the U.S. and one in Canada, but they are both responsible for publicity of many authors and very busy. I also hired Lauren Becker who is extremely well-priced and I felt she was totally worth the money. She is willing to work with authors in whatever way they need – be it a blog tour or setting up events or contacting companies for co-promotion.

There is also a lot an author can do on their own in terms of promotion. I set up my own launch party and blog tour and liked that I had complete control over those areas, as I constantly made changes to both.

Chris Barton said... 

I have a friend self-publishing a children's novel. She's interested in also releasing this as an ebook. Do you have any suggestions or tips about this?

She's worried about people taking and sharing her work. Any advice about that?

 

Tamara’s answer:

I don't personally have any experience with this, but I'll pass on the
information I've gathered from listening to other people:

I have no idea about children's books as ebooks, but I know Dragonfly
Publishing does them. She might check out their website (dragonflypubs.com) and see if they answer those questions.

Smashwords.com is the website I know a lot of people use for ebooks. I
think the format has to be a PDF.

As far as sharing, etc, I wouldn't worry about it. Once people own a book,
it's theirs to do what they want. They might loan it to a friend. They
might give it to a library. They might resell it. Same with ebooks. It
doesn't really end up making a huge difference when people let friends
borrow their books, and I doubt it will with ebooks, either.

 

Thanks Denise and Tamara for helping out with your answers!  Thanks to everyone who asked a question and I hope the answers were helpful.  We’ll definitely do this again sometime!