It’s All About Promotion

At least that’s what, as a romance author, I’ve been told over and over again by the wonderful staff at my publisher, Champagne Books. It’s not just enough to write a romance novel and get it published.

That’s when the real work just begins. Blogging, chatting, book signings, handing out bookmarkers and business cards, marketing the website, posting excerpts, creating profiles at book-related sites, social networking – the list goes on and on.

Honestly, how’s anyone with a “real” job supposed to write another book, let alone keep the home fires burning so they remember what romance is supposed to be like, and keep up on promotion?

Yeah, it can be difficult. Unfortunately, just because you create an artistic piece doesn’t mean someone will find it, and buy it. Promotion is the difference between being a no-name artist and one who becomes an icon.

Even so-so artists have been able to make a career out of their art because of great promotion. Take Bob Dylan and Madonna, for example. Or Willie Nelson. None of these singers is particularly talented vocally, yet all have made millions of dollars.

For a romance novelist, the road can be rocky indeed. I know very few authors have ever made big bucks on their first novel. Look at Janet Evanovich. She started out writing category romances for Harlequin many moons ago. Were those books great literary works of art? Hardly. But I guess they paid the bills until she could sell the fantastic novels she writes now.

Does that mean I aspire to be a so-so writer who just markets herself successfully? Not in the least. I’d much rather be known as a good writer, but am realistic enough to realize that is not enough in today’s ultra-competitive market.

Call me a promo whore. Maybe one of these days it will pay the bills.

Interview with Author Jeff Rivera

Recently, I got the chance to interview Jeff Rivera, author of the novel, Forever My Lady released at the end of last year by WarnerBooks/Grand Central. About Forever My Lady:

Dio "Playboy" Rodríguez grows up poor with a drunk single mother in gritty Las Vegas, leading him into gang life at 13. Now 17, Dio hides a softer side beneath a fierce exterior that's known only to his middle school sweetheart, Jennifer. But when a drive-by leaves Jennifer wounded and sends Dio to prison boot camp, their soul mate relationship is put to the test. Rivera, who originally self-published this debut, traces a classic redemptive arc: perpetually scowling Dio resists the authority of drill instructor Jackson and clashes with fellow inmates, but he pours out his heart in letters to Jennifer, forms meaningful peer relationships and gains an appreciation for discipline. A genuine care for dynamic Dio allows Rivera to deliver a sincere story of transformation.


Jeff has appeared on such shows as NPR, American Latino TV, SITV, and interviewed by the Boston Globe and Miami Herald. He also runs a service which helps authors polish their query letters to agents and publishers at GumboWriters; please visit his blog to learn more.

Jeff has also graciously offered to give away one free copy of his book to one of the commenters on today's post. I hope you enjoy this short interview with a most facsinating writer.

CM: How did your book go from being self-published to catching the eye of an agent? Did you query with it?

JR: You know Candace, I did everything out of the box. Sure, I knew the way you were supposed to do it but I did it the way, I wanted to do it.  So, I set out to be one of the few that would self-publish then lead to being acquired by a major publisher. I didn't want any more rejection than I had already received from the screenplay version of the book so I decided to self-publish and build such a big audience online that they'd have to say, "Yes."  My approach for attracting an agent was out of the box too. I decided to spam the publishing world with nothing but my excerpt and the book cover in the body of an email. I knew that the right person would see it and respond. Well, I had like 5 editors at publishing houses and 2 agents request to see the whole book. My email didn't even have a Hi, how are you? All it literarily was was my excerpt and cover. One of those agents who responded signed me. The other told me I'd never make it in the world of publishing and I was sure to send them the email from Warner/Grand Central when they made an offer a few weeks later. (How evil of me... but I had to!)

CM: Your book has a definite romantic theme... how are you finding being a "romance" author as a male?

JR: You know I love it. I was looking at the list of books that I plan to write and they all have some type of love story element to them. Candace, I am a lover of love. I believe in soul mates and twin flames and I believe there's the right person(s) out there for everyone, including me! In the meantime, you have to just enjoy life right now the way it is and that person will come around at the right time. For example, I met someone recently who I would marry yesterday, right person but probably not the right time for them.

CM: What is your favorite book to read?

JR: I go back to when my fourth grade teacher used to read to us, books like Where the Red Fern Grows and The Outsiders have stuck with me and made an impression on me even today.

CM: What are you working on now?
JR: I'm working on some books for Young Adults. I love working with young people Candace and so it's right up my alley.

CM: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Jeff! I've enjoyed getting to know you better.

Interview with Editor and Publisher Suzanne James

Suzanne James is an accomplished author and publisher and editor with Enspiren Press as well as CEO of Grace Publishing Media. Suzanne is experienced in the ins and out of not only publishing, but marketing, as well, and she offers several books and online courses to help aspiring writers. By visiting her website at http://writer-writer.com/ you can sign up to receive her free monthly newsletter filled with lessons, contests, and book news. I got the chance to catch up with the very busy Suzanne James recently and ask her a few key questions.

CM: What is the biggest mistake you see from aspiring authors over and over again in trying to sell their books to a publisher?

SJ: The biggest mistake is in the synopsis.The writer talks about the situations that happen in the story, and not about the story. The publisher doesn’t care that the character’s house burned down, that they moved to LA, that they got a job in a company owned by the mob.The publisher wants to know the important things – how the character changed, grew, and handled the situations.

A synopsis that tells me the book is great, the characters are well developed and everyone who reads the book loves it is useless. Publishers need to know what genre the book is. If you don’t know how to write a synopsis, then pay someone to write it for you.There is too much riding on a manuscript submission.

I would say that 20% of all submissions spend so much time telling me what happens in the story that I never learn what the story is about.

CM: What do you see for the future of publishing as far e-books, genres, trends, etc.? We all know paranormal/fantasy is huge right now – do you think its popularity will last?

SJ: The ebook industry is growing fast. The younger generations are comfortable reading from screens. As the cost of printing continues to climb, shipping costs skyrocket, and as small publishers grasp larger segments of the market, the book buyers will embrace ebooks.

Genres and trends come and go. The genres that are selling well now may not sell in five years. Writers should never write for a genre or trend. They should write the stories in their heart. However, if you want to write a story that sells then focus on the characters and not the situations in the story. The most famous novels focus on the characters with events playing a secondary role.

CM: What is the one thing which would cause you to unquestionably reject an author’s work submitted to Enspiren or Grace Publishing?

SJ: The simple answer is grammar. Authors are wordsmiths. You wouldn’t hire a hairdresser who doesn’t care enough about themselves or their careers to take courses. A writer who cannot write in active voice, with good sentences, is not a wordsmith. They don’t care enough about their future to create their best work.

That said, I have turned a blind eye to a manuscripts with poor prose if the author wrote a compelling story about people. Look at all the great authors, King, Cook, Grisham. They write about people and how the events in the story change them. New writers make the mistake of writing about situations with the characters just floating through the plot as if they are the props, not the other way around.

I was talking to a freelance editor the other night about when I worked as a junior editor for a publishing house. We didn’t really read manuscripts, there wasn’t time. We just looked for red flags, overusing the word ‘was’ and ‘had’, overusing tags, spending too much time writing about settings instead of people, narrating the story instead of painting pictures.

CM: What is your favorite read of all time and why?

SJ: Dicken’s A Christmas Carol is one of the best written books of all times. The character development and growth is perfect. Its structure is perfect. I just love that book. My list of favorite books, my A list, has more than 100 books on it. I love reading.
CM: Can you tell me what book(s) you’re currently working on writing?

SJ: I am working on my first character driven story, Montana. It is a story about mail-order brides in 1850. I chose that time because things were very primitive. I’ve had fun researching it. My friend is going to take pictures of a grass fire on the prairies for the book. I am not primarily an author so I don’t have a lot of time to write. I spent the last two years working on two reference guides to help writers edit and rewrite their novels. I based these books on problems faced by the 2000+ writers who’ve taken my courses in the last 7 years. I tried to focus on the writing aspects that cause the most problems. I rewrote my Scot Historical The Pledge just for fun. I really enjoyed getting back to writing.

CM: Please share one moment that was a defining point in your life.

SJ: The defining point in my life would be when my husband suggested I take a fiction writing course at the local university. I had been writing for two decades, for fun. I never realized that the instructor had 15 books published and had a contract in New York. Training under the ‘old style’ and learning the old methods of writing became the foundation of my writing career.

CM: And, finally, the most important question of all: chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate – lots and lots of chocolate.

Thanks, Suzanne, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your insights. You can read the latest on Suzanne and her various business pursuits by visiting the following websites:

www.weathy-writer.com

http://historical-novel.blogspot.com/

http://publishedauthors.blogspot.com/

http://inspiredauthor.com/v3/how-write-novel

Top 10 Benefits of E-Publishing

I finally did it.

Today marks my official entry into the world of blogging.

I have to post a shout-out to my friends at the most wonderful website ever created for romance authors, www.romancedivas.com. Many of my fellow authors also have myspace pages and blogs and their support certainly helped me to get this far. Thank you divas! It is great to be one of you!

My first book is being published in an e-book format. Many discussions at Romance Divas concentrate on the pros and cons of e-publishing. If, as a romance author, your manuscript does not get accepted by Harlequin (the premier romance publisher), take heart. There is no shame in contracting with a smaller publishing house who first offers your book in an e-format. Here are 10 reasons to feel good about e-publishing:

1. E-publishers only accept quality works, just like the big New York print publishers do. Your e-book will join many other well-written and enjoyable reads by up and coming authors.
   
2. E-publishers have similar rejection rates to print publishers based on the quality (or lack thereof) of the manuscript submitted. If you write something bad, don't expect an e-publisher to pick it up because it is easier to get in with them.
   
3. Royalty percentages for e-books are higher since production fees are much lower.
4. Smaller publishers treat you more like a member of the family. In a big publishing house, you're just a number (unless you're Nora Roberts in which case you get to call all the shots while you count your millions).
5. E-publishers work hard at promotion of your book, as well as themselves and their websites. BUT, the author must also make an effort to promote him/herself.
6. E-books are very popular overseas, particularly in Asian countries. The trend can only continue to rise.
   
7. Even big print publishers are getting their hands into e-publishing. HarperCollins and Random House are both in the process of digitizing their large libraries of books.
   
8. Many e-publishers, such as Champagne Books, offer wonderful editing and cover art services. Champagne artists produce some of the most beautiful covers anywhere.
   
9. While many people still like to cuddle up with a good book in print, the availability of book readers like the Sony Portable Reader and STAReBOOK is making e-books more popular. Downloads are instant and cheaper than buying a printed book. Fictionwise offers a huge selection of e-books for download.
   
10. E-publishing is not vanity publishing. The author pays for nothing (at least they shouldn't and if you are asked to, run, don't walk, to a new publisher) and receives the benefit of excellent services from the publisher.
    

Write on!