L.C. Hamilton's Blog, page 2

Cover Reveal! Follow the Music

I am so excited to finally be able to reveal the cover of my second novel, Follow the Music. I absolutely adore this cover, designed by me and illustrated by the incredibly talented Fariza Dzatalin. She took my vision and made it pop! I have been dying to share it with everyone. It was so hard to wait until the official release date!

[image error]Follow the Music

Middle Grade Fantasy

recommended for ages 8+

Synopsis: Ama is a talented, young musician whose life is changed forever when she is kidnapped by bandits and wounded so badly that she loses her hearing. Far from home and newly deafened, Ama discovers that the music she has been learning all her life possesses hidden powers. The music may even be powerful enough to guide Ama home … if she can learn to listen without hearing.

Follow the Music will be available on March 7, 2017.

You can pre-order the Kindle edition HERE.

Or you can claim a limited First Edition signed paperback HERE.

 

 

 

Follow the Music

“Ama tried to hear. She tried to hear the words spoken by the girl with the honey-brown eyes, who held out her hands to push her back down when she tried to sit up. She tried to hear her own ragged breaths as panic welled inside her. She strained to hear the music that had accompanied and defined every moment of her life. But she heard nothing.

Nothing.

And that’s when Ama knew, absolutely knew, that she wasn’t dead. Because Ama’s mother had always told her that Heaven was made of music. And this strange place was nothing but silence. The quiet was so loud that Ama wondered if sound had ever existed.

She couldn’t even hear herself scream.”

“The Spirit Chaser” series by Kat Mayor

This is my stop during the book blitz for Melancholy Ghost by Kat Mayor. This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 21 till 27 February. You can see the blitz schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/book-blitz-melancholy-ghost-by-kat-mayor/

Overall Rating: 

Watch Out For: Language and a few “adult” scenes

I received a free digital copy of both Spirit Chaser and Melancholy Ghost to read and review as part of a blog tour with Lola’s Blog Tours. Since I was pressed for time, I decided to read them both and post a review on both books as a series, with most of the focus being on Spirit Chaser, the first book in the series.

Ghost Hunters meets Ghostbusters in this fun paranormal fiction series. Austin Cole is the handsome star of a very popular paranormal investigation television series called Spirit Chasers. Their job is to visit haunted places and catch video evidence of paranormal activity. Sometimes, if possible, they will try to close portals or force the angry spirits away. Every member of the cast has some sort of sensitivity to the paranormal — Thai can see auras, Gary can hear their whispers, Barrett is psychic, Bob has spirit guides and Juan is a Catholic ex-priest trained in exorcisms — except Austin.

Austin is both deaf and blind to the spiritual entities he hunts, but that doesn’t stop him. He has a reputation for running recklessly into danger, deliberately trying to get a rise out of ghosts and demons. Anything to get the ratings up. Unfortunately, Austin’s actions go too far when he catches the attention of a powerful and malevolent she-demon.

When the demon possesses and injures the Spirit Chasers’ psychic (and Austin’s closest friend), Barrett decides to leave the show. Austin is forced to find a new psychic. He finds and hires the incredibly talented, down-to-earth psychic Casey Lawson  But will Casey’s talents be enough to protect Austin and his crew from the demon who wants to destroy them?

The Spirit Chasers series is a fast-paced and exciting adventure that had me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put either of these books down! They were both full of fun twists and turns that really got my heart pumping. I was drawn to the series by the beautiful covers and I don’t regret picking them up.

There isn’t much more I can tell you about these books without giving spoilers. Trust me: they are fun! Scary, intense, and even funny at times.

Pros: As a Christian, I loved reading a series where many of the main characters were people of faith. I loved Casey. I found her personality likeable and real. I also enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t the normal cookie cutter standard of beauty and that she wasn’t super fit for no reason. I really connected with her as she struggled to keep up with the men in the crew. I cheered for her all the way.

Cons: The first chapter of the first book was very confusing. Too many characters introduced at once. The story floundered until Casey’s introduction. The plot meandered a bit at first before really taking off. I struggled to keep track of the action when the narration jumped from one person’s head to another so quickly. In one scene, the perspective could switch every paragraph between five people. It made me a little dizzy. Austin and Casey’s relationship felt odd to me, as well. It felt very rushed and forced. I wish the author had taken the time to let their relationship develop a little more organically, if at all.

Favorite Quote: “She definitely would have considered his offer to buy her a beer if he hadn’t been dead for over ten years.”

Kat Mayor’s Spirit Chaser series is available on Amazon. You can find the first book, Spirit Chaser, HERE. The second book, Melancholy Ghost, can be found HERE.

Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an arts educator and writer. Her second novel, Follow the Music, will be available in March 2017. She currently lives in Ogden, UT with her amazing husband.

This is my stop during the book blitz for M...

This is my stop during the book blitz for Melancholy Ghost by Kat Mayor. This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 21 till 27 February. You can see the blitz schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/book-blitz-melancholy-ghost-by-kat-mayor/

Overall Rating: 

Watch Out For: Language and a few “adult” scenes

I received a free digital copy of both Spirit Chaser and Melancholy Ghost to read and review as part of a blog tour with Lola’s Blog Tours. Since I was pressed for time, I decided to read them both and post a review on both books as a series, with most of the focus being on Spirit Chaser, the first book in the series.

Ghost Hunters meets Ghostbusters in this fun paranormal fiction series. Austin Cole is the handsome star of a very popular paranormal investigation television series called Spirit Chasers. Their job is to visit haunted places and catch video evidence of paranormal activity. Sometimes, if possible, they will try to close portals or force the angry spirits away. Every member of the cast has some sort of sensitivity to the paranormal — Thai can see auras, Gary can hear their whispers, Barrett is psychic, Bob has spirit guides and Juan is a Catholic ex-priest trained in exorcisms — except Austin.

Austin is both deaf and blind to the spiritual entities he hunts, but that doesn’t stop him. He has a reputation for running recklessly into danger, deliberately trying to get a rise out of ghosts and demons. Anything to get the ratings up. Unfortunately, Austin’s actions go too far when he catches the attention of a powerful and malevolent she-demon.

When the demon possesses and injures the Spirit Chasers’ psychic (and Austin’s closest friend), Barrett decides to leave the show. Austin is forced to find a new psychic. He finds and hires the incredibly talented, down-to-earth psychic Casey Lawson  But will Casey’s talents be enough to protect Austin and his crew from the demon who wants to destroy them?

The Spirit Chasers series is a fast-paced and exciting adventure that had me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put either of these books down! They were both full of fun twists and turns that really got my heart pumping. I was drawn to the series by the beautiful covers and I don’t regret picking them up.

There isn’t much more I can tell you about these books without giving spoilers. Trust me: they are fun! Scary, intense, and even funny at times.

Pros: As a Christian, I loved reading a series where many of the main characters were people of faith. I loved Casey. I found her personality likeable and real. I also enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t the normal cookie cutter standard of beauty and that she wasn’t super fit for no reason. I really connected with her as she struggled to keep up with the men in the crew. I cheered for her all the way.

Cons: The first chapter of the first book was very confusing. Too many characters introduced at once. The story floundered until Casey’s introduction. The plot meandered a bit at first before really taking off. I struggled to keep track of the action when the narration jumped from one person’s head to another so quickly. In one scene, the perspective could switch every paragraph between five people. It made me a little dizzy. Austin and Casey’s relationship felt odd to me, as well. It felt very rushed and forced. I wish the author had taken the time to let their relationship develop a little more organically, if at all.

Favorite Quote: “She definitely would have considered his offer to buy her a beer if he hadn’t been dead for over ten years.”

Kat Mayor’s Spirit Chaser series is available on Amazon. You can find the first book, Spirit Chaser, HERE. The second book, Melancholy Ghost, can be found HERE.

Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an arts educator and writer. Her second novel, Follow the Music, will be available in March 2017. She currently lives in Ogden, UT with her amazing husband.

What is Middle Grade Fiction?

I recently announced the upcoming release of my second book, Follow the Music. Unlike my first book, which would be categorized as a Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy, Follow the Music is a Middle Grade Fantasy. The use of the term “Middle Grade” has raised some questions from my readers. I decided a blog post would be a great way to describe this little known but very popular book category.

What is “Middle Grade” Fiction?

Middle Grade Fiction books are targeted to kids ages 8-12. These books are what I like to consider the “gateway drug” to lifelong reading. Middle Grade books feature younger protagonists (usually 10-13) and begin to have more complicated plots and relationships between characters. Many of your favorite books that you read in late Elementary and Middle School/Jr High were probably Middle Grade Fiction. Popular Middle Grade books would be the first three Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Fablehaven series.

Most Middle Grade books feature a hero or heroine that is between 8 and 12 (sometimes 7 and 13). In fact, if the main character of the book is older than 13, it is no longer considered Middle Grade. It becomes Young Adult if the main character is 14-18, New Adult if the main character is 19-25, and Adult for anything beyond that. Before I started my writing career, I had no idea that the age of the main character had so much to do with the target audience and how it would be categorized. But of course there’s more to it than that.

Middle Grade books tend to have word counts between 20,000 and 55,000 words, though there are exceptions to this rule (particularly with fantasy books that require more time to set up the world, setting, and plot). At about 47,000 words, Follow the Music is comfortably within this guideline.

Middle Grade books focus a lot on relationships and friendships. They are never romantic. At most, a Middle Grade book might feature a character’s first kiss with their crush, or maybe include a subplot with other, older characters falling in love. The focus of Middle Grade books isn’t love or lust, but relationships with friends, cousins, siblings, parents, teachers, and so forth.

Middle Grade books can vary greatly in complexity and difficulty. Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe both fall into this category. Generally, the language is not simplified in Middle Grade books. Unlike chapter books and early readers, where every word choice is deliberate for the age group, Middle Grade fiction’s target audience generally knows how to use a dictionary and context clues to figure out the meaning of unusual or difficult words.

In a Middle Grade book, the main characters (the kids) have to figure out how to solve their own problems. Sometimes this feels ridiculous when you read them as adults and all you can think is “Why is no one telling the adults what’s happening???!” Great Middle Grade writers create compelling circumstances in which the adults can’t help or find ways to remove the adults from the story (as in the movie Home Alone, where the main character’s parents are across the country). While many Middle Grade books do prominently feature adults, the kids are the ones who resolve the conflict. The idea behind this is that the target audience, kids 8-12, are beginning to earn more independence from their parents/guardians. They want to read books about kids their own age outsmarting the bad guys and solving the mystery.

Now, let’s talk about what Middle Grades books ARE NOT: They are not “edgy.” They have no swear words, vulgar language, sex scenes, or anything of the type. While Middle Grade books can have violence, they are never gory. Characters can die in Middle Grade books, but it isn’t usually the main character doing the killing. It’s pretty rare for a Middle Grade protagonist to kill someone, even accidentally. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but when it does, the author has to handle it very carefully. Books about domestic abuse told from the perspective of a child is NOT considered Middle Grade. Middle Grade books are the ones that elementary schools can stock on their library shelves without causing a revolt (usually).

Many of my elementary students have read and loved my first book, Fatal Heir, which is categorized as Young Adult. However, for some of my students, Fatal Heir is too long, too difficult, or too scary for them. Though most of the books I am planning to write in the future will be in Young Adult category, I wanted to write a series I could comfortably suggest to my students and their parents. That’s where the idea of The Collective series (of which Follow the Music is Book 1) began. So don’t be surprised when Follow the Music feels a little simpler and shorter than my usual work. It was deliberately crafted to be that way. It’s meant for a younger audience. But I find that many Middle Grade books have universal appeal. I hope Follow the Music will as well.

Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an educator, playwright, artist, and author of YA and MG fantasy novels. Her next book, Follow the Music, will be available in March 2017.

“I, Girl X” by Annalise Grey

Overall Rating: 

Wow. I cannot say enough good things about Annalise Grey’s I, Girl X.  Let me preface this all by saying that I absolutely love novels in verse. Just love them. So I was thrilled when author Annalise Grey approached me about reviewing her book, which is written in verse.

Carleigh’s younger brother is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness that is tearing her family apart. Her brother’s “learning disabilities” are invading every aspect of her life, even when she tries to distance herself from him. Her aunt gives her a journal that becomes her lifeline during her family’s difficult journey. In her journal, she spills her heart and soul with some of the most emotional verse I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

I seriously could not put this book down. It struck a chord with me from page one. Carleigh is a character that feels so real you just want to reach through the pages and give her a hug. Carleigh has a mature and thoughtful view of the world that is just so beautiful. I have recommended this book to basically everyone I know. It is just that good. This book is a treasure that I want multiple copies of to hand to any young person who feels overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control.

Carleigh loves her brother. She recognizes that he is just as much a victim of his mental illness as she is. Her concern for him makes this book just so incredible and touching. She runs to help him, even though it means reaching out of her comfort zone and dealing with the consequences. Though the subject matter is dark, Carleigh’s words are full of hope and introspection.

What a stunning book. I just … wow. I feel blessed to have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing this book. Definitely recommend to everyone and anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed or hopeless, especially by their own or a family member’s mental illness.

There are resources cited at the end of the book, but I kind of wanted more. I wanted follow-up questions, maybe an interview with the author, maybe even some prompts to get readers writing their own journal entries about their own struggles. Seriously, I could build a curriculum around this book (am I a teacher or what?). It’s just so good.

Pros: Oh, where do I start? All of it was fantastic. Go get a copy! Seriously. I was given a digital copy for free to review, and I am still going to order a paperback I can hold in my hands. I have highlighted lines on basically every page. Rarely do I find a book that inspires me so much that I want to share it with my students, but this one is just superb. I have already suggested it for my school libraries. This book is written with such care and such lyrical, moving verse. After finishing this book, I sat down and wrote some poetry of my own. It’s that inspiring. So good. Just … wow.

Cons: The only downside to this book is that there were some formatting issues. Halfway through the kindle book, it seems to glitch and just drop off. The kindle will tell you there’s more, but the pages just won’t turn. I emailed the author about this problem and she promptly sent me a PDF version. Through the PDF version, I was able to see the verse the way the author intended it to be seen. Much better than the kindle version! With so many different screen sizes and e-reader brands today, the formatting of poetry can really suffer. The author’s words are still powerful, but if you can get your hands on a PDF or print version to read it as it was intended to look, I would highly recommend it.

Favorite Quote: (Seriously, this was so hard. I think more of this book is highlighted than not!) “My little brother will be fine and so will I / I’ve written in down in my journal so it must be true”

I, Girl X is available in paperback and ebook format on Amazon: HERE. Go buy it! You will NOT regret it. Ugh, I love this book.

Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an arts educator and writer. Her second novel, Follow the Music, will be available in March 2017. She currently lives in Ogden, UT with her amazing husband.

“Gnarled Bones and Other Stories” by Tam May

Overall Rating: 

I won a free copy of Gnarled Bones and Other Stories (ebook format) from an author takeover I attended on Facebook. The author then requested that I review her book on my blog.

Gnarled Bones and Other Stories is a collection of psychological short stories by author Tam May. Each story follows a female protagonist dealing with a crisis of character. One woman realizes she has wasted her life away worrying about others. One woman witnesses a horrible accident. Another meets a suffering stranger on a train ride and realizes that her greatest talents are in healing others, physically and emotionally.  The last woman watches helplessly as her sick brother dies, jealous of another woman in his life.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. But instead I found several confusing issues. The stories were oddly paced. The author’s style had a rolling, lyrical feel that made me want to get sucked in (even though the number of “and”s drove me a little nutty). But there was nothing to suck me into. The stories fumbled from beautiful descriptions to sudden passages of time that left me feeling lost. The narrative frequently jumped from one head to another. I found myself struggling to keep up or make sense of what was actually happening. I just didn’t get it. Most of the stories felt pointless to me. They were like rather crude rough drafts of ideas that ended abruptly before the story ever started. The ending of pretty much every short story in the collection just dropped off, as if the author had abandoned it. The stories were too short. Just as I was starting to feel invested and beginning to get an idea of the characters, the story ended. I think the endings were supposed to be dramatic, but I must have really been missing something because the majority of them just fell flat.

The author clearly loves the title story, Gnarled Bones. I wonder if perhaps she wanted to get that story published but realized it would be too short on its own, so hastily wrote some others to slap in with it. I held out for that last story, really expecting it to shine. But I found even Gnarled Bones disappointingly choppy and confusing. And once again, the ending just sort of dropped off without any sense of closure. As with most of the other stories, I found myself wondering, “what was the point?”

Pros:  I enjoyed the story Broken Bows. It was one of the longest stories in the collection, which may be why I enjoyed it more than the others. It actually gave itself enough time to spread out. Rather than jerking to an unsatisfying end, this story had a sort of wistful and melancholy ending that I found much more satisfying than the others. The characters were better fleshed out and interesting, and the writing was more skilfully handled in general in this story. I wish more of the stories in the collection had been like Broken Bows.

Cons: The whole book needed a pretty thorough editing. There were grammatical errors, skipped words, misspelled words, some words used incorrectly, and some words that were unnecessary to the sentence throughout the book. I find errors in books pretty commonly (both indie and traditionally published),  so a couple errors don’t usually faze me. But these errors were frequent enough to be annoying. The other cons have already been written about above.

Favorite Quote: “Those who are pushed, push others.”

Gnarled Bones and Other Stories can be purchased in paperback and ebook format on Amazon: HERE.

 

 

“The Spark” by Sylvie Stewart

I was given a digital copy of The Spark by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Overall Rating: 

Watch Out For: Frequent vulgar language and two “adult” scenes.

Fiona is a wealthy childhood cancer survivor haunted by survivor’s guilt.  She is spunky, spazzy, and daring despite the invisible scars left by her childhood fight for her life. Mark is a gym junkie content to bounce from woman to woman until a nearly disastrous experience has him rethinking his life and his relationships.

Fiona and Mark’s paths cross when Mark’s father, who abandoned his family years earlier, returns to town. He has been beaten to a pulp by dangerous men to whom he owes money. His estranged family is dragged into the drama when his attackers threaten Mark’s mother, Kelly. Mark and Fiona join forces to protect his mother and find the money his father has hidden somewhere. In the course of their adventure, Mark decides that if he’s going to try this real relationship thing, it’s going to be with Fiona. But Fiona is convinced that she just isn’t relationship material. Will love win in the end? Or will Fiona’s inner demons keep her from happiness?

Overall, I found The Spark charming and fun. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but if you are a fan of romance novels, this will definitely appeal to you. As far as romance novels go, it’s absolutely perfect. Fun, flirty, and sexy. I actually found the plot enjoyable, though my attention began to wane a little bit when the conflict was resolved 60% of the way through the book. The rest was just relationship drama – though again, very typical of a romance novel. So if you love romance novels, you will love this book.

Pros: Fiona is delightful. Her inner voices are amusing and her tendency to ramble had me smiling often. There are many fun and well-fleshed-out supporting characters that give depth to this charming read. But the best character in the book is definitely Kelly, Mark’s wonderfully endearing mother. My favorite parts of the book were the scenes in which Fiona and her friend Laney spent quality time with Kelly. Spoiler alert: I also very much appreciated the fact that Fiona got help for her issues at the end. Rather than just using them as a plot device, the writer wisely and sensitively decided to have Fiona take her problems seriously and get help from professionals. This wasn’t a quick fix, either. Much appreciated.

Cons: I found it difficult to get over the original nasty impression you get of Mark. I liked Fiona a lot, but I couldn’t help thinking sometimes that she could do better than Mark. The constant swearing was a little much for me. Maybe I’m a prude, but I found it distracting. I was also a little disappointed with the climax. I never once believed that any of the characters were truly in danger. I guess I would have enjoyed more urgency. Spoiler alert: Also, for all the effort the author went to to make Fiona a strong-willed and brave character, she was basically useless at the climax. I would have enjoyed seeing her sweet-talk her way out of trouble when it really mattered, instead of sitting stunned in the car while Mark did the work. 

Favorite Quote: “A relationship meant transparency. It meant vulnerability. It meant he would find out who I really am and all the things about me that are broken.”

The Spark is the second book in a series (though I read it as a stand-alone without any trouble). The first book is called The Fix. You can find The Fix HERE and The Spark HERE. Both books are available in ebook and paperback.

Writer, Beware! 4 Companies Indie Authors Should Avoid

I mentioned in my previous post about indie publishing that the self-publishing community is very open and supportive. However, just like in any industry, there are some snakes you need to be aware of. Here is a list of 4 companies that have been known to take advantage of authors.

Writers Beware!

 Author Solutions, also known as AuthorHouse, Xlibris, and iUniverse, was once owned by Penguin Random House. This self-publishing press was set up as a response to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. However, Author Solutions had a very different idea of how to help independent authors and line their own pockets in the process. Author Solutions offers “all-inclusive” and way-overpriced packages along with mostly fraudulent claims about everything they can do to make your book a success, including promises that successful books might be picked up by editors from traditional publishing houses. Most of these claims aren’t true or simply won’t live up to their bloated expectations. Author Solutions has very few repeat customers, so they rely on taking advantage of authors that are brand new to the publishing scene. They’re pretty underhanded and aggressive about it, too. Trust me, if anyone suggest Author Solutions, they are likely getting paid to do so. Beware!

Indie Author David Gaughran wrote a fantastic article detailing exactly how Author Solutions takes advantage of writers. You can find that article HERE.

America Star Books, formerly known as Publish America, has a different tactic for taking advantage of writers. Unlike Author Solutions, which charges exorbitant fees for services that can be done cheaply or freely by authors themselves, America Star books promises no upfront fees. Their website says, ” We charge no, as in: zero, author fees in our standard contract.” This sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is. American Star Books will provide authors with editing services, cover art and design, the whole works for free. Then they’ll turn around and price your 300-page paperback book at $24.97 or something outrageous like that. They rely entirely on you and your family to make the book sales in order to recoup what they have put in to your book. That’s right; you are the target audience for your own book. That’s bogus. As an indie author, you should maintain the control to set reasonable prices on your books. Worse, America Star Books requires writers to sign a contract giving the company the rights to their book for seven or more years. If you want out of the contract early (because surprise, surprise, it isn’t selling with that outrageous price tag), be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars to buy back the rights of your own book. Beware! And always be extra careful when signing ANY contracts. PublishAmerica changed their name to America Star Books after being sued at least twice by authors who made the mistake of working with them.

See more information HERE.

 Author Marketing Ideas, and many other similar companies, take advantage of authors by charging them ridiculous upfront fees in order to promote your book. Whether your book is actually ever promoted after paying for their services is debatable. They might use buzz words like “web optimization” to scare and confuse authors into paying for services that might be inexpensive or even free for the author to do on their own. These services might include setting up Facebook pages, setting up websites (but charging extra for hosting), and adding your book to existing newsletters and websites. If companies such as these aren’t completely clear about exactly what services they are providing or are overly aggressive in their marketing, they’re probably scams.

See more information HERE.

The America Library of Poetry specifically targets poets, teachers, students, and parents. This so-called poetry competition is actually a thinly veiled “anthology scam.” They make their money by selecting “winners” of made-up prestigious poetry contests, putting the poems into a volume, and then charging the poets and their families to buy the anthologies. Companies such as this one are plentiful, so do your research before you enter their contests. Many of them are just trying to sell your poem back to you. “Winning” the right to be in their books isn’t even worth mentioning in resumes. The awards literally don’t mean anything, since they accept most poems that are entered. And you’ll find yourself paying upwards of $30 for a book with only one little poem in it written by your. These books are almost never actually marketed to anyone except the families of the entrants.

 

These are only a few of the companies to look out for as you embark on your self-publishing journey. Keep these things in mind before you decide to work with any company:

If you don’t know exactly what you are paying for, don’t pay for it.
If the business is not willing to answer questions, they are either a scam or have poor customer service. Avoid these companies!
If a company makes promises that seem too good to believe…they are.
Research every company before you choose to work with them.
ALWAYS read the contract. If it seems fishy, ask questions. If it gets fishier, run!

5 Reasons Why You Should Self-Publish Your Book

Being an indie author is exciting and scary. When you become your own publisher, you have all of the control. You can read that last sentence with enthusiasm or dismay. It’s true both ways. While it’s great to have so much control and freedom to make your book match your vision, it also means that you have a lot of learning to do. With indie publishing, you are basically taking over the jobs of an entire publishing company. That means you are in charge of editing, typesetting, creating the cover, marketing, the actual act of publishing itself, and of course you still have to be able to focus on writing the book in the first place. If you can’t do everything I’ve listed yourself, then you need to find other reliable creatives to outsource your book to. That sounds scary and overwhelming, but it can also be lots of fun. With indie publishing, you are the boss.

When I was writing my first book, Fatal Heir, I never considered going the traditional route. I wanted to create a book that had my fingerprints all over it. I was excited to learn all the ins and outs of publishing. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work. But I still don’t regret my decision. In fact, the more I learn about indie publishing, the more I love it. And I am still learning more everyday.

So here’s a list of my top five reasons you should consider self-publishing your book.

Traditional Publishing is Dying.

That sounds dramatic – and it is! Like it or not, indie publishers are taking over the book scene, thanks to businesses like Amazon who provide a marketplace for self-published work. Let me make one thing clear here; publishing itself isn’t going anywhere, but our traditional concept of it is. Traditional publishers no longer provide the services they once did. Even if you did manage to find a literary agent to represent you, get the attention of a big traditional publishing company, and sign a deal with them, you might still find yourself spending more time marketing and promoting your book than writing the next one. Even traditional publishing houses require their authors to have an online presence. You would end up doing a lot of the same work anyway, but you would be making an even smaller percentage per book sold. Indie publishing cuts out all of the middle men. When you sell your own published book, you make a much greater profit. Money aside, the traditional publishing industry is accepting fewer and fewer authors now. Even if your book is “too good to be self-published” you might never find a publisher willing to take on a new author. Many of the smaller traditional publishing houses who might have given your book a chance are closed already or will be soon. I know a few authors who had their books published by traditional publishing houses who closed and sold the rights to their books. So now the authors just have to sit back and watch their books sell on Amazon, without earning any of the profit, until the contract finally expires and they can claim their rights back. That’s kind of disgusting, don’t you think?

The Public Will Buy Self-Published Books. 

One of the biggest fears of indie publishers is that readers don’t want to read self-published works. It is often believed that traditional publishers are the “gatekeepers of the literary world.” They were the ones who decided what was worth reading and what was rubbish. That is true, in a sense. But you have to remember that traditional publishers are businesses. Your book could be the Next Great American Novel, but if it doesn’t fit the publishing house’s formula for success, it isn’t going to be selected. Traditional publishers want to make money. That means they publish a lot of very similar books that appeal to the vast majority of the market. If your book doesn’t fit their mold, you won’t have much luck finding a publisher. But don’t despair.  In my experience readers enjoy indie books. There is a bookstore in my city that makes most of its profits from the sale of books by local authors. That’s what people want to buy!  Readers don’t need “gatekeepers” to tell them what is worth reading. They can figure that out on their own. An eye-catching cover, a well-crafted synopsis, and an interesting first chapter is all most readers need to decide whether to invest their time and money. In my experience promoting Fatal Heir, no one has ever learned that I self-published the book and decided not to buy it. In fact, the opposite tends to happen! Readers today are used to having a wealth of information and entertainment at their fingertips. They know how to find what they like without being told what to consume. This is good news for indie publishers! WARNING: Don’t misunderstand me here: If your cover looks like crap and your book has never been edited or even proofread, you won’t get many readers. If you act like an amateur, readers will treat you like one. You have to put in the time and the work (and often the money) to make your book look good and read well OR IT WILL FAIL. Treat your readers with respect. Put out a good product. PLEASE don’t skip the editing stages! Don’t rush your book.

The Indie Publishing Community is Awesome!

You might think that indie publishers would be very competitive, secretive, and uncooperative. I have found the total opposite to be true. Indie publishers can be some of the most friendly and open people I have ever worked with. I am amazed by how supportive other indie publishers have been. If they find something that works, they share it. If they have successes, they’ll tell you exactly how they did it. If you need help finding a specific resource (editors, book cover designers, ebook promoters), they will point you in the right direction. There are all sorts of websites, blogs, and Facebook groups full of indie authors helping each other make their books successful. It really is so neat to be a part of!

As an Indie Publisher, You Make the Decisions.

I remember reading a book when I was a teenager about a girl and her magical frog friend. The girl was specifically described as having brown hair and being overweight. The fact that she was fat was a huge part of the story. It influenced her character immensely. But on the cover of the book this same girl was depicted as this cute little blonde thing with big blue eyes and a bow in her hair. None of this was true for the actual character in the book! Imagine what the traditionally published author must have felt, after having crafted this realistic and diverse character, when she saw what her publisher had chosen for the cover. As an indie author, you never have to accept what others decide about your book. You have the control to make sure your cover accurately depicts what you want your book to portray. Your message doesn’t take a back seat to your publisher’s desires. This can be scary, having to make all of those decisions yourself, but it can also be incredibly empowering.

Indie Publishing Allows You to Create at Your Own Pace.

When you self-publish, you are your own boss. If you write fast and find a fast editor and get the cover art done quickly, you can get your books published much more quickly than traditional publishing houses, where your book could take months or even years to finally hit the shelves. Or, if you are slower or want to take the process slowly, you can choose to do so without your publisher hanging deadlines over your head. You can choose to publish a memoir and only share it with close friends and family. You can choose to write a novel and throw your whole heart and soul into creating a mass marketing plan and trying to get your book into as many hands as possible. Maybe you want to put a current project on the back burner and try your hand at something new and fresh. You can do that without having to get permission from your publisher or agent.

As you can see, there are all sorts of great reasons to consider self-publishing your book. Indie publishing isn’t the only way, of course, but for many of the authors I know, it is the best way to get their books out there. It is said that everybody has a book in them. Indie publishing makes it a lot easier to get that book out to the world. Of course, when I say easy, I mean tons and tons of work. But if you have the passion and are willing to learn, choosing to self-publish your book may be the best decision you ever make.

Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an arts educator and writer. Her first novel, Fatal Heir, was published in Oct. 2015. She currently lives in Ogden, UT with her amazing husband.

Shooting Your Darlings

I had a fantastic Creative Writing professor in college. Taking his class was by far one of the most helpful things I could have done to improve my writing. But one lesson that he taught me was a hard lesson to swallow.

Sometimes you have to shoot your darlings.

“Darlings” are the parts of your story that you absolutely love. A darling could be that perfectly crafted sentence that makes you smile. A darling could be that fight scene in Part Two that you are so proud of. A darling could be a character that is so well designed they feel like a real, living, breathing person to you.

But maybe, when you really look at it, that sentence describing the dust mote floating in the air is a little too on the purple prose side. Or maybe that fight scene just can’t belong in Part Two because Greg hasn’t learned to control his powers well enough yet. Or maybe that character that you love just doesn’t belong in your story.

My first novel had a lot of darlings. But one darling hurt more than any to shoot.

It was the week before my final manuscript of Fatal Heir was due to the printer for publishing. The cover art was complete. Every chapter heading was finally where I needed it to be. The formatting was done for both the print and kindle editions. I was ready to go! But there was a major problem. I had one more BIG DARLING and she needed to be shot.

We’ll call this darling “Anita.” Anita was a major character. She provided an opposing view for the main hero. She teased him, she enticed him, and she made him curious about a facet of his reality that he otherwise would have avoided. She was a catalyst for the plot, and a very important one at that.

Or so I thought.

I spent hours editing and revising each of her scenes, growing more and more frustrated that they just didn’t fit. I found myself cutting some of her most important appearances because I simply didn’t need them. The realization that I didn’t need Anita at all developed slowly like a bad cold.

But I needed Anita. Anita was in several scenes. Anita was a major player in the finale. Anita was very important.

But she wasn’t.

Actually, she was a major distraction, a huge spoiler for the ending, and there was nothing she could do that couldn’t be done by another character. She needed to go.

But Anita was so important (or so I thought) that she was prominently displayed ON THE BACK COVER.

I sent a desperate email to the artist to see if she could throw together some sort of abstract doodle I could use in place of Anita’s picture. To my great surprise, Fariza agreed to paint an entirely new background of another major character to replace Anita. She completed it in four days. Further proof that who you choose to work with is just as important as the work you do yourself. Fariza Dzatalin was a total life-saver on this project.

Meanwhile, I was desperately revising my whole novel. I had to completely rewrite entire chapters. The finale had to be changed because Anita was no longer there. I had to re-read the whole book to edit out any tiny reference to this character that I could find. I still lay awake at night thinking I might have missed a mention somewhere.

It was horrible, depressing, and desperate work. But in the end my novel was a much tighter, neater story. It was a good change. It hurt, but it truly helped my story to shoot my darling. And now as I begin work on the greatly anticipated sequel to Fatal Heir, I see that I definitely made the right choice. Because “Anita” will play a major role in this second book that she could never have filled if she remained where she was in the first one. I perk about shooting your darlings is the unique ability writers have to resurrect their shot darlings into other projects where they fit better.