Writing Quandries on Marketing the Non-Commercial

The Northern Colorado Writer's conference is coming up [March 30-31] which means I have to decide if I'm going to pitch or not. Bummer, because I'm not particularly interested in the pressure of commercial publishing. -[No, that doesn't mean I don't promote.]- Have a possible publisher of my MG manuscripts, but that leaves my Half-Elven in the breech without only my weak marketing skills to sell it. To add to the quandary, a fantasy agent is coming to the conference. Decisions. Decisions.

 Don't think I have to worry. I don't think the Half-Elven are really commercial enough. [Do I waste the agent's time or not? That is the question.] Or, to phrase it differently: I'm not commercial enough. Still, the Half-Elven haven't bored fickle-me yet after writing in their world for years.

If you're at the looking-for-an-agent-stage, you might read Rachelle Gardner's article: Is Your Book Good, Great or Hot? It gives writers an insight into how and why agents make decisions. [Yeah, if I pitch, I'll be going in, expecting to be rejected.]

Not commercial or hot enough? Another blog I read on "strong women" emphasized why my stuff isn't commercial ... even though I write strong women characters, I think.  [My son says Mariah doesn't kick enough ass, though.]

Anyway, check out J. C. Andrijeski's blog: "Strong" Female Characters and Why So Many Bug Me. It's one of the best thought out blogs I've read in a long time and continues my previous comments about "strong" women.

The above link is an example of why I like Twitter and visit it a couple times a day. I discover interesting points of view now that my following's inching towards 300. Once I skim though all the promotion stuff [ Yeah,I'm guilty of posting my Half-Elven stories there too.], I stumble upon retweets or links to information I might miss otherwise.

Hanging in the same pack can reduce your exposure to new ideas, however much you enjoy them. Preconceived notions are limiting and sometimes wrong. Had to chuckle when I crossed with a Galley Cat blog, thanks to Tamela Buhrke. It's a great listing of how many one star reviews besting selling authors gathered.  


No. Bad reviews aren't the reason I think I'm not commercial. My worst review was two stars for the free Gorsfeld short story. Complaint? The story was too short ... even though it's free!  Speaking of free. I've permanently made "Cavern Between Worlds" free too. Hopefully, both stories will lure more people to buy Taking Vengeance -- if I can break out of the "writer track".

And, remember. You don't have to have an e-reader to read an e-story. You can download both into your computer at Smashwords.

Finding Book Reviews, etc.

Grumbling About My Book Review Lessons:

Haven't progressed much on soliciting book reviews, even though its a primary task.  The week-end frittered away into nothing.  I accept on faith that the more reviews, the better which means I've got to shift the stick.  If you're in the same boat, the Indie Book Collective has a list of reviewers on Goodreads if you're self-published.  

[While you're there ... if you join or are a member, you can "friend" me.  I plan to get back to visiting there regularly again.]

Then there's Maria Zannini who  blogged on good cover design as a guest blog on Kristen Lamb's site: Creating Cover Art: Down and Dirty Tips.  The sources of artwork is well worth the price of admission if you're self-publishing ... or considering it.  Wished I knew about the sites when I was working of the cover for Caverns Between Worlds.  [No, I hired it done ... but who knows what I might have found "wasting time".]

You'd probably do yourself a favor if you follow Kristen Lamb and Maria Zannini.  Zannini has a link to her Indie Roadshow, a whole four weeks of self-publishing tips where she discusses various aspects of self-publishing.

Zannini does a lot of "dutch-aunting", basically with the warning self-publishing isn't easy, especially when it comes to editing.  Yeah, self-publishers are in charge of the entire show ... including spending money on your project.  But, that may not be much worse than low-level publisher-published authors.  I've heard many complain they spent more than their advance on promotion of various kinds. --  I know I did for Taking Vengeance.

If you are interested in the changing parameters of the publishing world, you might also take a look at her guest blog at Mason Canyon's, Thoughts in Progress.  Zannini writes about the steps in her game plan she made to get her novella, The Devil to Pay, published so the advantages stay in her pocket.

Anyone care to share their experiences?

In the end, the self-publishing explosion may actually be changing the parameters of book reviews.  Writer Beware shares a link for an article by Patti Thorn, a former book review editor of the Rocky Mountain News [A Denver newspaper which went defunct].  First she gives a behind the scenes description of the book review desk.  Then, she discusses her business:  book reviews for hire ... sorry, making the case for fee book reviews, aka Blueink review.  Thinking about it?  I'll warn you the fee is respectably professional ... which is not to say that free reviews aren't necessarily profressional.

One networking thing I have accomplished:  setting up my author's page on Facebook.  Hopefully I'll be adding something new soon ... if I can get it written.  So far, I've my critiquers and beta reader set up for The Trouble with Somant.  Anyone care to like the page?

Quest: Chapter 8 in Bad Haiku

False King Seeks Allies

8

In the dark of night,

Smoke surges from toxic herbs,

Polluting dank air.

Rats stop gnawing, cough.

Roll over, die.  Rightful king

Slumps in his shackles.

Blood drips in circle

As the False King seeks help from

Depraved ghosts and ghouls.

Trivia:

I've enjoyed a couple of Tess Gerritsen's mysteries from time to time.  Her comments on her Six Favorite Books Featuring Female Sleuths. is a nice read for all writers, I think.  Not only does she mention Julia Spenser-Fleming's Episcopal priest, the Rev. Clare Fergusson [one of my favorite sleuths], but she gives an ode to Nancy Drew ... even if she was written by a composite of  writers.  Yeah, I was a Nancy Drew sort of gal rather than a Sue Barton one.  [from The Week, thanks to a link by Tamela Buhrke]

Fast Start, Slow Start.

The Read ...

 Fast or slow, the start of your novel and its speed off the blocks are always a problem.  A breaking point for agent, publisher, and reader.  My latest read has me puzzling this question ... because the start of next year's "novel" is breathing down my neck.   

I bought Cricket McRae's mystery, Lye in Wait, at a local author's reading.  She read such a vivid characterization of an interfering mother getting her way within the context of a brother's mysterious suicide that I thought she was worth buying a trade paperback for ... the first in the series.  Then, I read the first chapter and wondered if I'd lost my mind.

Oh, the book started great.  Opening sentence:  "That Thursday morning had been going so well until I found the local handyman dead on my workroom floor."  

A wonderfully simple opening line that'd warm the cockles of any critics heart.  But, the character turned out to be something of a dip.  In the first chapter, she committed two stupidities the likes of which'd get any teen in a horror movie killed ... or at least, lose a finger when she put it in an unknown substance by a dead body.

Since McRae didn't strike out with a third goof-up ... and then, used the protagonist's bad decisions as a point of humor in the book ... I kept reading and was rewarded with a neat, intricate plot that illustrated that having a family can be dangerous to your health.

Web and Other Stuff ...

Tamela Burhke at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's asks a question I often ask myself:  basically Why blog?.  One of the first things she mentions is what a time-sink it is.  Many of her comments seem to apply to non-fiction writers more than fiction ones.  Still, you should make note of her comments.  Oh, I've followed the blog too so I can read the next installment in the discussion.

Overwhelmed by all the tweets on Twitter?  Roni Lauren over at *Fiction Groupie* has a simple way to organize your Twitter "follows"?  -- "Authors on Twitter".  You might go over and take a look.

Did you catch the Thursday (12/9) front page article on e-books in the New York Times?  Romance readers seem to be buying the most e-books.  (Link courtesy of the AW Water Cooler.)   Seems like they don't have the courage to show the semi-salacious print covers in public.  ...  Don't quite understand it, but then, I've always thought Favio something of a turn-off.  Maybe shy away for displaying erotica?

One more media networking thing.  David Wisehart is doing a promotion experiment on Twitter -- #Sample Sunday.  Visit his blog, Kindle Author, to get the details.  Published, work-in-progress, short stories -- the categories are open.  This is listed as an experiment on AW Water Cooler.

Progress ...

If cleaning is progress, I'm making it.  So far, it's only manuscripts ... but I have loads of paper piling up again that needs to be sorted and filed and recycled in the printer.  Now ... if only some of the places where I have long standing submissions would start cleaning up their files.

Guess, I just as soon have a rejection after three months as let a submission continue to hang in the nether regions.

Trivia ...

The rest of the house needs sorting and dumping and cleaning too.  Part of it gets done today and tomorrow.  A friend who's allergic to cats is coming to visit.