Pages

Friday, October 28, 2011

Fast Fiveday!

My blog-o-pause is due to lots of writing things happening in the background! Good things! Snoopy dancing time sorts of things! 

Things I can share are today's fast five:
1. My first Indie book's title initials are MOB
2. The cover is READY and I'll have the big reveal on 11-11-11
3. Edits are absolutely critical for Indie books. Don't skip this step no matter how long you've been writing!
4. My cover makes me giggle and smile, every single time.
5. Next week I'll be blogging about finding and making most effective use of an indie editor

This weekend I'll be reading Nikki Burnham's latest, SHOT THROUGH THE HEART because
a. It's a lyric in an 80's hair band song
b. Water guns are central to the plot. Yes, water guns, who can resist?!
c. She's the Yoda of YA Rom-Com. 
d. The scoop is here: http://www.nikiburnham.com/shot-through-the-heart.php


Have a great Friday...let me know what you're reading this weekend!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Motivational Monday - Indie Authors

Today I'd like to share the story of an Indie Author who took the eBook route after numerous accolades from her peers but couldn't break into the traditional publishing world.

Debra Holland, author of the Wild Montana Sky series, is a three time Golden Heart finalist and one time winner. For those of you not familiar with RWA's Golden Heart contest, it's a tough contest in that the judges give a single number rating - no comments on how or why the number was given, there are no specific elements of story which the judges must have in mind during the reading/judging. It's fair to say an author who manages to final more than once knows not only how to tell a story, they've also got advanced storytelling elements mastered.

But as many authors know, telling an exceptional story isn't enough. There are certain elements traditional publishers like to have in genre fiction (in general, I know there are some outliers!) and if a story doesn't have those elements, readers don't have an opportunity to read it.

This is the beauty of indie publishing. No longer are readers given choice between a filtered range of stories. The preference for specific elements and genre-specific stereotypes has been removed! Unconventional stories, unlikely time periods, unusual characters....readers have more variety, more choice than ever before.

Readers and writers benefit. Welcome to the Indie Book Age!

I don't know Debra but I have read both her books after hearing the buzz online - both books in her Wild Montana Sky series were refreshing and ended too soon!

For more information, here's a couple of interviews with Debra:
http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2011/06/kindle-author-interview-debra-holland.html
http://heatherthurmeier.com/2011/08/ask-an-author-debra-holland/