Katharina Gerlach's Blog, page 18

J – jigsaw puzzle

I think I mentioned before that I’m going to run a kickstarter campaign in May. The book I’m going to finance that way is the German translation of Jason Brubaker’s graphic novel remind.

jigsaw puzzle Jigsaw Puzzle

 

The story is very well thought out and features gorgeous artwork. You can read it for free online. If you want to help me spread the word about the campaign, please sign up below.

I – Indie publishing

I started publishing independently in late 2012 not knowing anything about what I had to do. It’s been a steep learning curve since then. Now, my sales are slowly picking up. There are some things I have learned:

1. do your writing before you do anything else

2. always be polite when you’re online – you can throw your fits in real life when no one’s watching

3. always thank your reviewers if you can even if it’s the worst review you ever got

4. social media isn’t half as important as you think

5. social media is more important than your think

6. write a series or two

Yes, I know that 4 and 5 seem to contradict each other but in reality they don’t. The problem with social media is that as an Indie author, you tend to think you need to do it all. You don’t! Do the one or two or more things you enjoy and ignore the rest. And always remember rule #1. No browsing before your work is done. In the end, no amount of social media activity will get your books written and published. Right?

H – Heroes Wanted

September last year, I started an experiment. I produced the audio book “Heroes Wanted” with talented narrator Linda Joy. I was skeptical considering how much money it costs to produce an audio book. To see if there’s a market for my stories, I chose two short stories that would go together nicely and set up the whole endeavor. I was pleasantly surprised. Royalties for audio books are much higher (in absolute numbers) than for eBooks or print books since they’re priced higher. Of course, after barely more than ½ a year, I haven’t broken even yet, but the numbers are encouraging. In fact, they’re so encouraging that I’m going to turn “Scotland’s Guardians” into an audiobook too some time soon (I just need to figure out how to finance it since I do not like Audible’s split royalty agreements). I will keep you posted on this. Have you had any experience with audiobooks?

G – gratitude

OK, it’s not thanksgiving today but we’re nearing Easter, so I thought I’d let a couple of people know how much I appreciate them. Aside from my family, there’s my critique partner Will L. Hahn whose novels are so good I love them, although I’m not a big fan of Epic Fantasy. He always manages to avoid what I consider the bane of Epic Fantasy: boring descriptions.

Then, there’s Texanne, the mother of all HTTS-ers. Without her, Holly’s forum wouldn’t be what it is today (even though we mods are temporarily locked out). Of course, there’s Holly Lisle herself. Without her courses, I would still be looking for an agent (which I’ve got) or a traditional publishing deal (which I no longer want).

There are many more people I owe (you know who you are, right? Amy, Sally, Kathryn, Marni, Kathi, Tom, Peter, Delle, Debbie, Sue, Walter… [oops, I just realized there are more women than men…]), and I want to tell you that I’m really, really grateful that you’re part of my life. In the comments, tell me who you are glad to have at your side if you want.

F – fresh from the garden (Authors in Bloom)

So, this is a post for both, the A-Z Blogging Challenge (sorry for the lengthy post) and the Authors in Bloom Bloghop.

Spring has come and with it the time to cut your roses. The thing is that if you ask 100 gardeners how to do it right, you’ll get at least 120 answers.

Truth be told, roses are surprisingly forgiving if you cut them wrong. Of course, there are some things you should know. There are two types of roses, floribunda roses and hybrid tea roses.

Floribundas are easy to cut since you can crop them to any size you want at any time you want. As long as you leave at least three finger width of the stems, it will grow back to its former size without complaint.

Tea roses are more delicate. There’s a whole science to the question of how to cut them right, and I don’t presume to have the only answer. I do it this way, I wait till they start pushing out leaves, then I cut the stems to about knee height. I look for an “eye” (that’s a latent bud) that faces in the direction I want the rose to grow and cut it one inch above it. That way, I can control (a little), how my rose bushes develop.

But as I said, roses are forgiving. The winter before last was so hard, I had to cut down all my roses to less then five inches, and except for one, they all came back.

One more thing, remember to cut off the wilted rose blossoms. That way, the rose will make more blossoms because the rose hips don’t ripen (it’s actually quite unfair on the rose because its major goal is to fructify not to bloom). In my garden, the roses sometimes bloom till December (if it’s not too cold).

Now, for the things you can win. The organizers of the Authors in Bloom Bloghop are giving away a Kindle Fire or Nook (winner’s choice) with a $25 gift card to one of the persons who manages to comment on ALL participating blogs (80 in total, see linky list below).  They are also giving away a 2nd prize of $25 gift card, and many of the participating authors host their own giveaway (like I do, see rafflecopter below). The winners of the eReader will be announced on April 18th on www.diannevenetta.com and www.acozyreaderscorner.com. I will announce my winners on the same day here, on my blog. Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The linky list of participating authors. This makes it easy for you to visit each site without having to return to a main hosting site.

E – elves and orks, or Epic Fantasy

Do you like Epic Fantasy? I have to confess that I don’t – normally (The only exception from this rule are Will L. Hahn’s epic and heroic fantasy stories). It’s not so much because of the creatures or the setting, I love elves, orks, fairies and medieval settings. The problem I face is more related to what I call padding. Often, the descriptions are long and poetic, action is interspersed with lots of internal dialog, and suspense grinds to a halt so the character can determine his/her feelings, examine his/her surroundings, or study another character. For me, there has to be a balance– and I prefer descriptions to be short and to the point. Most Epic fantasy I read doesn’t comply with my needs, and I struggle through 100 pages that take the main character from point A to point B, featuring lots of interesting creatures that will never show up in the novel again. (Wo)Man, I understood that the Main character is a great adventurer around page ten of this epic journey… So, what about you? Do you like epic stories (be they fantasy or some other genre)? Do you think I’m wrong equaling epic with padding?

D – dreams come true

Even as a kid, I loved writing stories but I didn’t consider myself an author until recently. Often, I’d sit there and dream of writing my own novels and getting them published. I held long conversations with the authors I loved, Michael Ende, Astrid Lindgren, and Edith Nesbit.

But here I am, and author of eight fully fledged published novels (with more lined up). I’ve had short stories included in fourteen anthologies, and there’s a non-fiction eBook available too. So, that part of my dream did come true. It’s just a pity that the authors I loved so much as a kid are no longer round for me to talk to (unless I’m dreaming). Well, time for a new dream… Do you have one? Or did one of your dreams come true already?

C – chaos, the writer’s favorite state

In my house, I hate chaos. It really irks me when my husband doesn’t put away his newspapers and laptop, or the kids forget about their shoes, their toys, their jackets… It takes so much time to tidy up after them. However, I do not mind the chaos in my study. That’s the one place where I really need it. Orderly rows of books, pens, or paper would drive my Muse into hiding. She’s just not that kind o’ gal. The thing is, that without her help, none of my books would ever be interesting, so I give in. I only tidy the room between projects so we’ve got a clean workspace when we start something new (yes, I know it sounds crazy if I’m talking about myself as two people, but being a writer is socially sanctioned craziness, so live with it). How about you? Are you tidy?

B – book reviews, why do I bother?

As an Indie author, I’ve been struggling with learning everything about marketing. It’s the hardest part of an otherwise lovely job. However, the one and only marketing tool I found worthwhile is, surprise surprise, Word of Mouth. Since no one can buy that, authors have to write good books. Then, how will readers know if I consider something a good book? I have to let them know. So the short and sweet answer is:

I write book reviews because a) I want to help readers find books they might like, and b) because I hope readers will do the same for my books. And writing a review is not even really hard. You simply state what you liked and disliked. If you’ve got enough time, you can add the reasoning behind your likes and dislikes but you don’t have to. Just be honest. Have you written a review yet?

A – announcing A-Z Blogging Challenge

A-Z Blogging Challenge

In the Beginning was the Word… and then (wo)men (why should men get all the blame, ey?), in their ignorance, invented the alphabet (actually they invented several different ones: ours, the Baltic language alphabet, the Chinese symbols, Arabic writing, Hieroglyphs… you get the picture) to complicate things. Now I’m stuck with it in my everyday work – writing novels can’t be done any other way (notice something? I get sidetracked easily, words are so much fun). To celebrate the complication of our lives through the written word, I decided to try my hand at the http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ “Blogging from A-Z April Challenge” (and no, that’s not an April Fool’s Joke… I’m really that crazy). I promise I’ll keep my posts short and to the point (no more parenthesis in following posts… well, let’s say less parenthesis) except for Monday, April 7th, when I’m posting “Authors in Bloom” and Wednesday, April 23rd, when I’m giving away reading fun in German (Blogger Schenken Lesefreude). I hope you’ll all be along for the ride and share the word.