Blogging Authors: PUBLISHING

Showing posts with label PUBLISHING. Show all posts

Monday, September 17, 2018

A Very Crooked, Rocky Path to Publication by Brenda B. Taylor

A Very Crooked, Rocky Path to Publication

By Brenda B. Taylor

For most of my life I dreamed of becoming a writer of wonderful novels about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. While studying history in school, I imagined the many ups and downs, the twists and turns in the lives of the characters we studied. Sometimes stories and even conversations between the characters ran around in my head. My teachers called my thoughts, daydreaming, and I suppose they were a daydream of sorts. At times when I finished my school work, I found a clean sheet of paper and began a story. The first one I completed was about a horse similar to Black Beauty. The plot had a happy ending and my parents enjoyed reading the two-page story. Their smiles made my day.

After that first attempt at being an author, I wrote short stories for my family’s enjoyment, but never shared with others outside the family circle. I felt too embarrassed about my attempts at writing and my ambitions to be an author. After finishing high school, a college degree became my goal and ambition. In the meantime, I married and had children, but finished a degree in elementary education. Life became hurried and hectic with a husband, children, and teaching career. Writing was pushed to the background, but as I stood over a stove cooking one of many meals, stories popped into my head. I engaged in daydreaming again, while watching the beans boil or waiting for bread to bake. I wrote many stories in my mind, but never on paper.

After retirement my husband and I bought a recreation vehicle, traveling most of the United States and Canada. During that time, I began putting thoughts on paper and making copious notes. Several of our trips were made to the home sites of my ancestors, especially those who resided in Missouri. The Wades of Crawford County series came from those RV journeys to Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri.

Through genealogy research I discovered my Scottish roots and heritage. My ancestor, Duncan Munro, immigrated from Scotland to North Carolina in the early 1800’s. He married, then moved his family to Alabama. After the Civil War, his son immigrated to Louisiana where his daughter met and married my great-grandfather. I traveled to Scotland three times in search of my Scots family and found them in the Highlands. While in Scotland, I toured the seat of Clan Munro, Foulis Castle, and the land of Ferindonald or “the land of Donald. Donald, ancestor of the Munros, ventured to Scotland from Ireland as a mercenary soldier to assist King Malcolm in fighting Viking invaders. After visiting Scotland, the Highland Treasures series was born.

My efforts in traditional publishing were fruitless, and self-publishing loomed as a viable means of getting a manuscript out to readers. I joined several author organizations and attended conferences. After studying the self-publishing process, I decided to form a company and publish my own books. Also, I came to the conclusion that I don’t have enough life left to go the traditional publishing route.

I view my writing and publishing as a fulfillment of a long-time dream, and I encourage other writers to go ahead and jump in there. Don’t give up, write those fantastic, amazing stories. Someone is waiting to read them.

About the Author

The desire to write historical fiction has long been a passion with Brenda B. Taylor. Since elementary school, she has written stories in her spare time. Brenda earned three degrees: a BSE from Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas; a MEd from Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas; and an EdD from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; then worked as a teacher and administrator in the Texas Public School system. Only after retirement could she fulfill the dream of publication.

Brenda and her husband make their home in beautiful East Texas where they enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling, and working in Bethabara Faith Ministry, Inc. She crafts stories about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people in her favorite place overlooking bird feeders, bird houses, and a variety of blooming trees and flowers. She sincerely thanks all who purchase and read her books. Her desire is that the message in each book will touch the heart of the reader as it did hers in the writing.

Her latest book is the Scottish Historical Romance A Highland Emerald.

Author Contact Information:

Historical Heartbeats

http://www.brendabtaylor.com

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http://www.facebook.com/authorbrendabtaylor

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http://www.twitter.com/rayburnlady

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http://amzn.to/2hSKCXt

BookBub Author Page

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brenda-b-taylor

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Goodreads

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About the Book:

Title: A HIGHLAND EMERALD
Author: Brenda Taylor
Publisher: Bethabara Press
Pages: 268
Genre: Scottish Historical Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Aine MacLean is forced into an arranged marriage with Sir William, Chief of Clan Munro, yet her heart belongs to a handsome young warrior in her father’s guard. She must leave Durant Castle, the home of her birth on the Isle of Mull, and travel across Scotland in a perilous journey to her husband’s home on Cromarty Firth. William agrees to a year and day of handfasting, giving Aine an opportunity to accept him and his clan. He promises her the protection of Clan Munro, however, Aine experiences kidnapping, pirates, and almost loses her life in the River Moriston. She doubts the sincerity of William’s promises and decides to return to Durant Castle when the handfasting ends. William determines to win Aine’s heart. Will the brave knight triumph in his fight for the bonnie lass?

A Highland Emerald is the third book in the award-winning Highland Treasures series. The novel tells the story of Aine MacLean and William Munro and is the prequel to A Highland Pearl.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

# PUBLISHING

Monday, June 18, 2018

Should You Or Shouldn't You Self-Publish? l Lydia & Santina Casablanca @TDawsons #vbt #fantasy #romance #puyb

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

SHOULD YOU OR SHOULDN’T YOU SELF-PUBLISH?

Every writer that has a dream to be published think about what they’re going to do and how they’re going to go about it, when their manuscript is complete. They think about how they want to publish and who they want to publish with. Now we thought about it for years, wondering how it would happen and what would happen once it was done. We somehow always knew that we were going to need money to fulfil our dreams, even before we decided to sign up with a self-publishing company. We wanted to work with a mainstreaming publisher. Of course we did, but we always had concerns when it came to giving the rights to our work to a publisher. We were worried that they would change everything, like the name of the book, the characters names, their features, personalities, the places they went to, the powers they possessed. We were worried that so much would be changed and we refused to let that happen. It wasn’t an option because we loved everything just the way it was.

Finally, when the manuscript for The Dawsons was almost complete and we were thinking about which option we would go with, either it be the mainstreaming route or the self-publishing one, our best friend tagged us in a post on Facebook where Xlibris Publishing was advertising their company and what they offer. We took it as a sign that self-publishing was the way to go. We filled out a form on Xlibris’s website and the next day we got a call. Of course we were really excited, and new nothing when it came to the publishing industry. We spoke to them for hours, sussing them out and finding out what was involved. At the end of the conversation we told them that we would think about it. Our story is precious to us and we wanted to make sure that it was in safe hands so we did our research. We did see some bad reviews about the company but we decided not to think much of them at the time because we were impatient, we really wanted to publish our book and we saw it as every company has bad reviews. Other than the reviews everything seemed good. Xlibris gave us a call the next day and we decided to go ahead with them. Xlibris was also offering discounted prices with publishing packages and we didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity, so the pressure was on. Self-publishing companies offer you deals and marketing options at a high price when you can find the same options somewhere else that are a lot cheaper. You can even do some of the stuff yourself for nothing. Unfortunately we didn’t know this at the time.

Since then we have spent over $27.000 on The Dawsons and continue to do so today because the success of our book means so much to us. But that is how these companies suck you in. They know how badly you want it. From word go Xlibris has continued to ask us for money. We think that they even added an error in the final draft of our manuscript just so we would pay more money to get it fixed. We didn’t. We are still signed up with Xlibris but refuse to give them any more money. This has been our mistake.

We were told recently by an award winning author that if you publish with a mainstreaming publisher they are unlikely to make many changes. They just make suggestions to improve your work and make it make sense. If we had been told this earlier we probably would have gone down another route. We were in the dark when we decided to self-publish. We have since then learnt so much. Every dream is hard and takes great dedication. With self-publishing you need to make all the decisions and do all the hard work. So much more than if you were to publish with a mainstreaming publisher. The only hard part would be getting awareness for our book. But it’s hard enough getting the attention of people when you self-publish, definitely so much more expensive. If we went the other way and got picked up by a mainstreaming publisher we would have spent hardly anything, if anything at all.

We are sending cover letters to mainstreaming publishers anyway, hoping to catch a break. Save yourself a lot of time and just get an agent who will only get paid when you do. Keep sending cover letters to mainstreaming publishers and if you’re manuscript is good and you’ve worked hard for it you’re bound to be noticed and get signed. Don’t waste your time and money on self-publishing. They are all scam artists. Do it the old fashioned way. It’s got to be worth it in the end.

If you self-publish your work you get to keep all the rights but you spend a hell of a lot of money and time on the marketing of your book. You barely get time to write which is what you really want to be doing. If you go with a mainstreaming publisher they might change a few things but it will still be your story, your work. And the great part is they do mostly everything for you. You get better marketing and you don’t have to pay for anything. So, should you or shouldn’t you self-publish? We wouldn’t, if we had known what we know now. If you don’t want any surprises learn the game before you enter into it. You want to know what you’re getting involved in. If you do know everything that is involved and you decide to self-publish we admire you tremendously. It is a lot, and I mean a lot of hard work and time. We’ll let you know if it’s worth it in the end. If it is your dream to be a successfully published author then never give up. We know we won’t, not even after all this hard work. Thank you for reading! We hope it helps. God bless. Love from Lydia and Santina Casablanca. The authors of The Dawsons.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Lydia and Santina Casablanca are twin sisters who were born in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. They grew up mostly in New South Wales, moving around all the time and never staying in one place for more than three years. Growing up, Lydia and Santina were left at home a lot with nothing to do while their mother worked to provide for them. The twins had wild imaginations and would often play make believe where they lived in this world where only the supernatural inhabited it. They made up all kinds of characters and story lines, and in doing so they did not realize that they were creating magic.

When Lydia and Santina were 14 years old they noticed they were starting to forget the stories, the characters and the families they had made up and they didn’t want to forget, they wanted to always remember the adventures they went on when they played, pretending they were witches who lived in a magical place. The twins decided to put down all their adventures they had had, all the characters and the families they had made up on paper so they would always remember them.
While writing their book they were suddenly aware that they had a passion for it, and realized they didn’t want their stories to be hidden, to just be shared between themselves. They wanted to share the families they had created, the adventures, the characters with the world. The twins wanted to share their love of writing, their magic and write for a living.

Lydia and Santina worked on their first novel (The Dawsons) for ten years, adding to the story, maturing and professionalizing it, editing it and trying their best to make it as perfect as a manuscript can be before they approached the self-publishing company Xlibris in October 2016. The twins knew that self-publishing a book is not cheap so they saved up for years, working at Gloss Cosmetics, Coles, etc. to earn the money that would help them to publish their first novel.

Lydia and Santina’s book The Dawsons was finally self-published with Xlibris Publishing in April 2017. The twins went through a crazy, exhilarating ride making their book a reality, and haven’t regretted taking all the nerve-racking risks in the hopes of being successful. They have been trying to get as many people as possible to know about their book, contacting radio and television stations, bookstores, newspapers and social media in the hopes that their dreams will come true.
The twins are now 24 years old and are living on the Central Coast, New South Wales. Lydia is currently working on the second installment to The Dawsons. She is also working on the first novel by contacting anyone she can to popularize their book. Santina helps Lydia with the marketing of The Dawsons whenever she can.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

Title: THE DAWSONS
Author: Lydia and Santina Casablanca
Publisher: Xlibris
Pages: 432
Genre: Fantasy/Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Witnessing the horrific demise of everyone he knew and loved has made Derrick Dawson strong, but it has also made him cold and broken. Tormented by his past and fears for the future, Derrick drowns himself in alcohol and drugs to dull the pain he can’t seem to escape. When Rose, the granddaughter of his sworn enemy, suddenly appears in his life, his world turns upside down. The wall he has built to protect his heart is crumbling. Will Derrick ignore what he feels or will he let the wall fall?

Francesco has felt alone and miserable all his life. The loss of his family and the harshness he receives from his constantly intoxicated older brother has left a void inside him that he thought he would never fill. Until a young princess named Rosa stumbles into him and changes his life forever. There’s only one thing that stands in his way—King Antonio has forbidden Rosa to have anything to do with a Dawson.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

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# PUBLISHING

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

My Publishing Journey l Karen Arnpriester @karenarnprieste #writing #publishing

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 1 Comments

My Publishing Journey

Writing is a treasure I never expected to find. I was a story-teller for my children and grandchildren, and they loved my attempts. I also must admit that I was a good liar when I thought I had to be. Very believable. Even with these reinforcements, I never considered writing a book, let alone seven. It was a fluke really that got the whole thing started.

My women’s group at church was putting together a fund-raising book and asked us to submit testimonials for consideration. I had experienced incredible miracles in my life and decided to share. All of my submittals were accepted for content. After the book was completed and printed, multiple people asked me if I was a writer. I was flattered but said no. They said I should be. It’s interesting how encouraging comments can inspire someone. These brief comments planted a seed that truly began to grow.

I asked myself what I would even write about and came up with a beginning and an end, nothing in between. So often, people complain about their lives, their family, and their trials. I’ve always wondered how we could react if we found out at the end, that we had known, that we had agreed, seeing the bigger picture. This was my beginning and end.

I just started writing, whatever came to me. I wasn’t taking it seriously, so I picked it up and set it down many times. I do have a spiritual element to my writing, since it’s part of who I am, and I truly felt led in certain parts of the story. As if a scene was downloaded. I have to admit, I struggled with self-doubt, who did I think I was, writing a novel? Luckily, I had dear friends that pressed me for the next chapter. They had to know what happened next. Within six months, I had a finished book, not the final version, but the story was complete.

I didn’t know what to do next. Everything I read about agents was discouraging. Many publishers wanted a huge amount of money to print my book and supposedly market it for me. I did my research and decided that was not within my budget or a direction I wanted to go. The sales needed to recapture four thousand dollars through royalties would be incredibly difficult to accomplish. I figured I’d run off a few copies and share with friends and family. My daughter, Jenn, called one day asking me if I had heard about Amazon’s self-publishing plan through CreateSpace. I hadn’t and checked in to it. It was perfect for me. My book would get on Amazon and I could purchase reasonably priced copies of my book to give away or sell at events.

With the help of brutally honest test readers and assistance from an editor, the book was finished. I remember crying when I received the first proof copy in the mail. I worked hard at marketing and acquiring reviews for my book, Anessia’s Quest. I am so proud to have received sixty reviews at a 4.4 star rating.

I cried as I read the reviews as they came in. Lives were profoundly touched in ways I hadn’t even considered. I received calls, emails and conversations that confirmed my destiny as an author. I encourage you to write that book that lurks in your brain, or whatever else your creative mind teases you with. You never know who’s life you will touch and how it will enrich your own.

About the Author

Karen Slimick Arnpriester (October 1953) was born in Alton, Illinois and moved to California when she was eight. Karen has owned her own graphic art business for thirty years. Anessia’s Quest is her first book. Her second book is titled Raider’s Vendetta. Slimy and Miraculous Relationship are non-fiction books that share Karen's years as a bullied child and real-life miracles. The first two books of the Dream Realm trilogy, her newest endeavor, are now available. Awakening: Dream Realm One and Deception: Dream Realm Two are available as paperback and e-books through Amazon.

http://www.facebook.com/karen.slimickarnpriester
https://twitter.com/KarenArnpriester

Title: AWAKENING: DREAMERS’ REALM ONE
Author: Karen Arnpriester
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 344
Genre: Christian Fantasy

BOOK BLURB:

The horror of her sister's abduction and Lucinda’s guilt manifest into years of acute insomnia. She appears to be miraculously healed when she participates in a test program that provides restful sleep but awakens a new dream realm … an alternative existence where Lucinda can create and manipulate any fantasy inspired by her imagination. Lucinda’s new realm is shattered by a dark evil that lurks there. Evil that is not confined to nightmares, but a sinister foe that also hunts for victims in the real world. Lucinda's discarded spiritual beliefs resurface and prompt her to begin a perilous journey against this very real threat; a heartless creature that destroys innocent lives. The dream realm, spiritual domain and Lucinda’s physical reality integrate and twist together as Lucinda rediscovers her faith and confronts the monster that threatens her very life and those she loves.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

# PUBLISHING # WRITING

Thursday, November 2, 2017

How I Got a Publishing Deal and What's Next / Michael Okon @IAmMichaelOkon #monsterland

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

How I Got a Publishing Deal and What’s Next

By Michael Okon

It’s a pretty incredible story that I have a hard time believing. I wrote Monsterland and self-published it in 2015. My mom is my publicity manager and she blitzed the bloggers with my book. That fall I was reading a book called Selling a Screenplay by Syd Field. In the book, there was an entertainment attorney named Susan Grode who seemed very knowledgeable about the publishing and film industry. I told myself, when I receive my first contract, I’m going to reach out to her to see if she could help me. About two months later, I received a post on Facebook from an agent in London who asked to represent me. I said sure and asked him to send me a contract. I emailed Susan and introduced myself and mentioned that I had someone who wanted to rep me and I was hoping she could read this contract. She told me before I sign with this London agent, why don’t I meet her friend in Brooklyn, an agent named Nick Mullendore with Vertical Ink Literary Agency. I met Nick for lunch and he signed me that day as his client. That evening, Susan brought me on as her client as well.

Nick began trying to sell my book Monsterland to the big publishers and, as expected, it was rejected. Throughout his attempts of selling, he had a call with a film agent and he was pitching her a romance novel. She said she wasn’t really into romance and was looking for something with monsters. He sent her my book Monsterland, she read it over a weekend, and we had a call that Monday. She told Nick and me if we get the book published, she will get it into a producer’s hands to make into a film. Nick found a publisher called WordFire Press owned by Kevin J. Anderson, who has written all the Star Wars and Dune canon books. WordFire signed me to a two-book deal for Monsterland 1 & 2. After the deal was signed, my film agent did what she promised and got my book into the hands of a billion-dollar grossing producer who is now shopping my book to certain studios.

In two years, I went from a self-published author, to a published author with a literary agent, an entertainment attorney, a film agent, a two-book publishing deal, a publicist, and a producer who is interested in turning my book to a film. It’s been one wild ride, to say the least.

Now, what’s next? Well, one may just sit back and relax, and do nothing. Not I. I’ve already completed Monsterland 2 which comes out May 26, 2018. I’m knee-deep in Monsterland 3. I’ve already started beating out the stories for Monsterland 4 and 5. It seems that the next five years are going to be extremely busy with creating stories centered on monsters. What could be wrong with that?

About the Author

Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling is his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.

Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

His latest book is Monsterland.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

Welcome to Monsterland—the scariest place on Earth.

The last couple years of high school have not been fun for Wyatt Baldwin. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An on-going debate with his best friends Howard Drucker and Melvin over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance.

But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can rock out with vampires at Vampire Village, be chased by actual werewolves on the Werewolf River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.

With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

# PUBLISHING

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Kimberly Fisk Talks About Her Path to Publication

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

Hello!! Thank you for having me here today. I love connecting with other writers and readers so this is a true treat!!

I think the question I’m asked most often is how did I get published. Or, what was my path to publication. How I wish I could tell you I was handed the secret map and by following it step by step, it led me straight to where I wanted to be. Alas, no. Sorry. But through my pursuit of that ever seemingly elusive goal of receiving “The Call,” I did pick up a few tidbits of wisdom that were of

great benefit. I hope they will help you, too!

· Write. Sounds so obvious, right? But while many of us dream of being a published author we fail to do the one thing we must: write. It’s not pretty or glamorous for the most part; it’s a lot of hours sitting in front of your computer or laptop or notepad mining for the right words. It’s a lot of hours spent crafting a story that might never sell. Scary stuff there! But here’s the rub: if you don’t write it, the publisher can’t come. (Terrible spin on the Field of Dreams quote but I’m sure you get the idea.) And if your book never sells? You will still have accomplished two incredible things: YOU WROTE A BOOK! How awesome is that?! And two, by writing that book, you learned so much about the writing process.

· Read. Again, sounds obvious. But reading is a key element to writing. Reading keeps your pulse on what is selling; it also helps teach you the art of writing. What the author did right…what didn’t work as well for you. Character development. Pacing. And the list goes on and on. And don’t just read in the genre you aspire to publish in. Read voracious. Read everything. Read fiction blockbusters, the how-to write books. The classics. Before I sold, I read every current debut I could get my hands on. Gobbled them up as fast as I could. Those debut books grabbed an agent and/or editor and sold for a reason. I wanted to know why.

· Invest in your dream. Invest not only your time (which is extremely valuable) but also invest your hard earned dollars. I know this bit of advice is difficult for a lot of us moms to wrap our heads around—spend money on ourselves even if we don’t see an immediate return—but it wasn’t until I started doing just that that I started to see positive progress. By my taking my dream seriously enough to spend money on it, my family began to realize just how important it was. My writing wasn’t just a fun hobby—but a serious pursuit of a dream. Another benefit of plunking down those dollars for a workshop or conference or how-to book? I was going to get the biggest bang for my buck. The notes I took were college worthy if I do say so myself and the connections I made with other writers just like me has been invaluable throughout the years. Also, don’t forget that there are a lot of ways to obtain these resources for discounted rates. Many times you can volunteer at a conference that will reduce your fees or you can buy the workshop tapes from the conference and save the cost of travel and other costs.

· Another important step in this path to publication is to learn the value of feedback and revisions. For this step we need to develop a thicker skin. It’s very easy to get attached to our “baby” and not want to hear that anything is wrong with it, but we all know the truth: almost everything can be made better through revisions/re-envisioning/rethinking. But (and this is a big but) chose your beta readers/critique partners well. I count myself extremely fortunate that I landed with three amazing writers early in my writing days. They were (and are) instrumental to my success.

· So now that you’ve written and revised a book, honed your craft through reading books and attending workshops and conferences, you are itching to send it out to the world. Or at least a publishing professional who can get your dream in front of readers. Even among my group of writer friends there is an ongoing debate as to whether you should get an agent or not. My advice—GET AN AGENT. But like with all the steps along the way, research, research, research to find that perfect match for you.

While this is in no means a complete list, I hope it helps you fulfill your dream of becoming a published author just as it did for me. And if you have tips you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to drop me a note through my website (www.KimberlyFisk.net) or FB (https://www.facebook.com/kimberlyfiskauthor/). Connecting with other writers and readers is one of the best gifts this career has given me.

About the Author

A past recipient of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart Award, Kimberly Fisk is the bestselling author of Lake Magic. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three children, and too many four-legged critters to count.

Her latest book is the contemporary romance, Boardwalk Summer.