Q. Kelly's Blog, page 13
October 5, 2012
Another Pet Peeve
A short (but maybe not so sweet post) today! :-)
A pet peeve of mine: when an author says his or her book will make me feel X way (for example, will make me laugh or cry or forget all my troubles, or fall in love with the characters). Uh, no. In these cases, I've found that my experience is usually the opposite and the book is so badly written I can't get far.
Maybe I'm in a minority, but I don't like being told how I'm going to feel about something I have no idea about. Just give the blurb and leave it at that. :)
For a more-juicy post on another issue of mine, go here: http://www.qkellybooks.com/2012/02/these-yank-moments.html
A pet peeve of mine: when an author says his or her book will make me feel X way (for example, will make me laugh or cry or forget all my troubles, or fall in love with the characters). Uh, no. In these cases, I've found that my experience is usually the opposite and the book is so badly written I can't get far.
Maybe I'm in a minority, but I don't like being told how I'm going to feel about something I have no idea about. Just give the blurb and leave it at that. :)
For a more-juicy post on another issue of mine, go here: http://www.qkellybooks.com/2012/02/these-yank-moments.html
October 1, 2012
Woo!
Stuff like this makes my day (heck, my week).
http://katwheelerbooks.blogspot.com/p/books-i-love-indie.html
This is what Kat Wheeler said about me: Q. Kelly is one of those authors that makes you think and makes you question what's right and wrong; she takes a subject that pushes the boundaries of what's normal and comfortable, shatters that idea and brings you into a world where love is never wrong, people are just people and it's OK to be who you are. Her characters are always interesting and well developed, her stories are always deep and multi faceted and I am always a little sad when it ends, if grateful to have been included in the experience. Her work is definitely worth the time to read it, always thought provoking and never disappoints.
Go check out Kat's site. Her new release, "Changing Shape," has been getting some really good reviews.
http://katwheelerbooks.blogspot.com/p/books-i-love-indie.html
This is what Kat Wheeler said about me: Q. Kelly is one of those authors that makes you think and makes you question what's right and wrong; she takes a subject that pushes the boundaries of what's normal and comfortable, shatters that idea and brings you into a world where love is never wrong, people are just people and it's OK to be who you are. Her characters are always interesting and well developed, her stories are always deep and multi faceted and I am always a little sad when it ends, if grateful to have been included in the experience. Her work is definitely worth the time to read it, always thought provoking and never disappoints.
Go check out Kat's site. Her new release, "Changing Shape," has been getting some really good reviews.
September 27, 2012
Forget Word Count. Give Me Count Dracula.
A lot of writers, including some close, dear friends of mine, like to post their word counts after a few hours or a day of hard work. For example, 986 words. 1,511 words. 3,789 words. You get the idea. I've only done this once or twice, though, and I immediately felt cheap. Here's why. (And I have NOTHING against these authors. It motivates them, and that's great. Just doesn't motivate ME.)
This blog post explains why I don't use word count to measure a day's progress/achievement.
First, I edit heavily as I write. Momentum/being in the moment is also important to me. This means I often go back and re-read the story up until that point so I'm in the exact right mindset for a new scene(s). This is true regardless of if I'm 10,000 words into the story or 40,000. I also like to go back and add/flesh out characters as I write rather than do so on draft two. Or three. So, some days I may get no more than 500 - 1,000 new words written and be at the same ending point I was the day before. But I feel very successful because I've fleshed out a character trait or changed a subplot. That kind of thing. But if I post "500 words!" that cheapens my achievement.
Numbers don't tell the story.
Second, I'm "weird" about coming across as bragging or trying to outdo others. And, yeah, I admit it, I DO get a brag vibe from some of these word count posts. Yeah, yeah, throw the rotten fruit at me. :P
Third, I'd drive myself crazy if I used word count as my day-to-day progress metric. My progress metric is intrinsic. I know if it's been a good or bad day.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but they escape me at the moment.
Count Dracula all the way, baby! I love my vamps and zombies.
This blog post explains why I don't use word count to measure a day's progress/achievement.
First, I edit heavily as I write. Momentum/being in the moment is also important to me. This means I often go back and re-read the story up until that point so I'm in the exact right mindset for a new scene(s). This is true regardless of if I'm 10,000 words into the story or 40,000. I also like to go back and add/flesh out characters as I write rather than do so on draft two. Or three. So, some days I may get no more than 500 - 1,000 new words written and be at the same ending point I was the day before. But I feel very successful because I've fleshed out a character trait or changed a subplot. That kind of thing. But if I post "500 words!" that cheapens my achievement.
Numbers don't tell the story.
Second, I'm "weird" about coming across as bragging or trying to outdo others. And, yeah, I admit it, I DO get a brag vibe from some of these word count posts. Yeah, yeah, throw the rotten fruit at me. :P
Third, I'd drive myself crazy if I used word count as my day-to-day progress metric. My progress metric is intrinsic. I know if it's been a good or bad day.
I'm sure there are other reasons, but they escape me at the moment.
Count Dracula all the way, baby! I love my vamps and zombies.
September 25, 2012
One Year and One Month Later
I always meant to do a "one year later" post marking my first year as an indie. Alas, I didn't. Chalk it up to no motivation, laziness or whatever. I still don't feel like it today, but for some reason, there's a little something driving me to. So, here's that post, except it's one year and one month later! ;-)
Last August (end of August 2011) I released my first indie book, "Strange Bedfellows." Now it's the end of September 2012. How has the year been?
Overall, pretty good. I've seen highs and lows. The best high for me probably was seeing my book "Waiting" hit #1 on the Amazon lesbian fiction list. Other close highs were seeing "Strange Bedfellows" do the same in the UK and Germany and hit #3 in the U.S. Unfortunately, because I'm no longer willing to read reviews of my own works and to put myself in a position where I accidentally might see them, I probably won't know if any of my future works hit #1. Not unless someone tells me, anyway. The thrill of having at least two books hit #1 in at least three countries is enough to last me a lifetime, anyway. :-)
Other highs: meeting many incredible people and making some incredible friends. Enjoying the freedom and flexibility that comes with being an indie. Being able to support myself on my indie income.
Lows: The writer's block that plagued me from April until August. Not a complete waste, though. I started and abandoned many story ideas during this time, but they will turn up again sooner or later in some form or the other. I already have quite an unique idea for one (more on this below), thanks to one of my fans. More lows: having to deal with some bitter people and some reviews that were entirely just posted to attack me.
But oh well. That's life.
I look back and can't believe I did all this in ONE year. Most of my works were already written in some form or the other, and several had been previously published. Still, I've put out a lot in this time span. I'm kind of exhausted. ;-) I told my wife earlier today that I think the work in progress I have now will be another novella (I'm aiming for at least 30,000 words). It may be a while, at least a few months, before I release a full-sized novel. Who knows, though, if this work calls for it, it'll certainly be a novel.
Where I am going from here: I'm eager to fire my brain up in a few different ways. I want to work on putting more novellas out. They're not as time-draining, not as brain-draining, and I can price them lower. My novella "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" is selling really well, so I know there is definitely a market for novellas that doesn't exist for short stories (my short-story collections didn't sell nearly as well as my novella right away. I had to spend a few months' promo/freebie time before getting them to sell decently). I'm also going to experiment with scripts (see the unique idea part above). I may put a script or two into another short-story collection or make it a full-fledged novel or novella script. People read Shakespeare's plays, so people DO read scripts. In my "Cupid Pulls a Prank" collection, one of the stories takes the form of a business letter, so a script will be a nice idea, too. I took a screenwriting class in college, so I'm coming to this with a knowledge base. I'm also hoping to collaborate on stories with some people. (If you're interested, hit me up!)
I'm also looking to expand on the success of my one general fiction work, "Miss Lucy Parker and Other Short Stories" (all my other works have been lesbian fiction). One of my goals is to put out another general fiction work this year. What it will be, I don't know yet. Maybe another short-story collection. Maybe a novella. Maybe a script. No idea.
I hope a year from now, I still have good news to share! ;-)
** Edited to add another high: I was also thrilled when my works won several awards, especially since I am an indie.
Last August (end of August 2011) I released my first indie book, "Strange Bedfellows." Now it's the end of September 2012. How has the year been?
Overall, pretty good. I've seen highs and lows. The best high for me probably was seeing my book "Waiting" hit #1 on the Amazon lesbian fiction list. Other close highs were seeing "Strange Bedfellows" do the same in the UK and Germany and hit #3 in the U.S. Unfortunately, because I'm no longer willing to read reviews of my own works and to put myself in a position where I accidentally might see them, I probably won't know if any of my future works hit #1. Not unless someone tells me, anyway. The thrill of having at least two books hit #1 in at least three countries is enough to last me a lifetime, anyway. :-)
Other highs: meeting many incredible people and making some incredible friends. Enjoying the freedom and flexibility that comes with being an indie. Being able to support myself on my indie income.
Lows: The writer's block that plagued me from April until August. Not a complete waste, though. I started and abandoned many story ideas during this time, but they will turn up again sooner or later in some form or the other. I already have quite an unique idea for one (more on this below), thanks to one of my fans. More lows: having to deal with some bitter people and some reviews that were entirely just posted to attack me.
But oh well. That's life.
I look back and can't believe I did all this in ONE year. Most of my works were already written in some form or the other, and several had been previously published. Still, I've put out a lot in this time span. I'm kind of exhausted. ;-) I told my wife earlier today that I think the work in progress I have now will be another novella (I'm aiming for at least 30,000 words). It may be a while, at least a few months, before I release a full-sized novel. Who knows, though, if this work calls for it, it'll certainly be a novel.
Where I am going from here: I'm eager to fire my brain up in a few different ways. I want to work on putting more novellas out. They're not as time-draining, not as brain-draining, and I can price them lower. My novella "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" is selling really well, so I know there is definitely a market for novellas that doesn't exist for short stories (my short-story collections didn't sell nearly as well as my novella right away. I had to spend a few months' promo/freebie time before getting them to sell decently). I'm also going to experiment with scripts (see the unique idea part above). I may put a script or two into another short-story collection or make it a full-fledged novel or novella script. People read Shakespeare's plays, so people DO read scripts. In my "Cupid Pulls a Prank" collection, one of the stories takes the form of a business letter, so a script will be a nice idea, too. I took a screenwriting class in college, so I'm coming to this with a knowledge base. I'm also hoping to collaborate on stories with some people. (If you're interested, hit me up!)
I'm also looking to expand on the success of my one general fiction work, "Miss Lucy Parker and Other Short Stories" (all my other works have been lesbian fiction). One of my goals is to put out another general fiction work this year. What it will be, I don't know yet. Maybe another short-story collection. Maybe a novella. Maybe a script. No idea.
I hope a year from now, I still have good news to share! ;-)
** Edited to add another high: I was also thrilled when my works won several awards, especially since I am an indie.
September 13, 2012
Two New Print Books!
Proofs for my two new print books have arrived, and all is great! So the books have been approved and are on sale now in the CreateSpace store. They'll take a few days to show up on Amazon.com. The CreateSpace links are below:Print: "The Girl Prince and Her Princess"
Print: "3 in 1"
I will also do direct sales (with autographs upon request) as usual, so contact me if you're interested!
The "3 in 1" collection includes the novella "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" as well as my two lesbian short-story collections, "Cupid Pulls a Prank and Other Lesbian Tales" and "The Old Woman and Other Lesbian Stories." The covers for all three are also inside the book. It's a rather nice looking interior, if I may say so. ;-) All three works are available individually as e-books at $2.99, although the "Cupid" collection is free for a limited time at Smashwords and most e-book stores (I think all except Amazon, at least for now).
New Service for GBLTQI Books
I have launched a new service that will (I hope!) bring more attention to GBLTQI books. Please spread the word.
Here is the link to the site that explains all: http://queerbookreviews.blogspot.com/.
Please email queerbookreviews (at) yahoo (dot) com if you have questions and/or want to participate, either as an author, a reviewer or both.** Straight books and reviewers of straight books are welcome too!
Here is the link to the site that explains all: http://queerbookreviews.blogspot.com/.
Please email queerbookreviews (at) yahoo (dot) com if you have questions and/or want to participate, either as an author, a reviewer or both.** Straight books and reviewers of straight books are welcome too!
September 7, 2012
"The Girl Prince and Her Princess" Is Out! (edited to add BN link)
I'm happy to announce that my lesbian fairy tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" is out! It is selling for $2.99 and is about 23,000 words.Here's the Kindle link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096WOS10
And here's the Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229910
Kobo link: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Girl-Prince-Her-Princess/book-GdwNTfQz4kqYFbc9FVwNrA/page1.html?s=6PxSPCCZXEC2P-FqeUll0g&r=1
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girl-prince-and-her-princess-q-kelly/1112808799?ean=2940015459876
For giveaway details, blurb and excerpt, check out this link: http://www.qkellybooks.com/2012/09/fairy-tale-novella-giveaway.html
OK, Smashwords is out of free ISBNs. It has ordered more, but hopefully that will not delay the novella's distribution into Apple, Sony and other e-reader stores for too long.
Today I am getting to work on the "3 in 1" -- the print version of the novella and my two lesbian short-story collections. Look for its release soon! :-)
** What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?
Time to get a new fence!
"The Girl Prince and Her Princess" Is Out! (edited to add Kobo link)
I'm happy to announce that my lesbian fairy tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" is out! It is selling for $2.99 and is about 23,000 words.Here's the Kindle link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096WOS10
And here's the Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229910
Kobo link: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Girl-Prince-Her-Princess/book-GdwNTfQz4kqYFbc9FVwNrA/page1.html?s=6PxSPCCZXEC2P-FqeUll0g&r=1
For giveaway details, blurb and excerpt, check out this link: http://www.qkellybooks.com/2012/09/fairy-tale-novella-giveaway.html
OK, now onto some more factoids. BN's Pub It! is experiencing what has to be one of my favorite phrases (NOT!): "technical difficulties." I was unable to upload the book last night, and again this morning, it was a no go. I will keep trying, but for people who want the tale right away and read on the Nook, Smashwords has all formats, including .epub. Also, I never have DRM on my books, so Calibre can convert a copy from Amazon.
In further difficulties, Smashwords is out of free ISBNs. It has ordered more, but hopefully that will not delay the novella's distribution into Apple, Sony and other e-reader stores for too long.
Today I am getting to work on the "3 in 1" -- the print version of the novella and my two lesbian short-story collections. Look for its release soon! :-)
** What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?
Time to get a new fence!
"The Girl Prince and Her Princess" Is Out!
I'm happy to announce that my lesbian fairy tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess" is out! It is selling for $2.99 and is about 23,000 words.Here's the Kindle link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096WOS10
And here's the Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229910
For giveaway details, blurb and excerpt, check out this link: http://www.qkellybooks.com/2012/09/fairy-tale-novella-giveaway.html
OK, now onto some more factoids. BN's Pub It! is experiencing what has to be one of my favorite phrases (NOT!): "technical difficulties." I was unable to upload the book last night, and again this morning, it was a no go. I will keep trying, but for people who want the tale right away and read on the Nook, Smashwords has all formats, including .epub. Also, I never have DRM on my books, so Calibre can convert a copy from Amazon.
The book should be up on Kobo in day or two as well, but in further difficulties, Smashwords is out of free ISBNs. It has ordered more, but hopefully that will not delay the novella's distribution into Apple, Sony and other e-reader stores for too long.
Today I am getting to work on the "3 in 1" -- the print version of the novella and my two lesbian short-story collections. Look for its release soon! :-)
** What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?
Time to get a new fence!
September 3, 2012
Fairy Tale Novella Giveaway
Hey everyone!
I've noticed quite a few book giveaways/contests lately, so I figured I would get in on the fun with the upcoming release of my lesbian fairy-tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess."
For a blurb and excerpt, go here.
(Word count of the novella is about 23,000 words.)
So, onto the fun part! What you have to do to enter is e-mail me or comment with your answer to the following question wherever it is posted (I will probably see your comment, but if you want to be 100 percent safe I see your comment, e-mail me your entry answer). The question is....!
What do you think is the most creative fairy tale, and why? (Note: This isn't necessarily your FAVORITE fairy tale, just the one you think is most creative. Be sure to include why!)
I will hold a drawing and select a winner at random. The winner can choose between the e-book version (any format, I plan to retail it for $2.99) and the print version (which will also include my two lesbian short-story collections BUT which will be out about two weeks after the e-book version). An international winner will have to go with the e-book version because of shipping costs.
Y'all have until next Monday (let's say 3:30 p.m. EST) to get your entries in. Happily ever after! ;-)
I've noticed quite a few book giveaways/contests lately, so I figured I would get in on the fun with the upcoming release of my lesbian fairy-tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess."
For a blurb and excerpt, go here.
(Word count of the novella is about 23,000 words.)
So, onto the fun part! What you have to do to enter is e-mail me or comment with your answer to the following question wherever it is posted (I will probably see your comment, but if you want to be 100 percent safe I see your comment, e-mail me your entry answer). The question is....!
What do you think is the most creative fairy tale, and why? (Note: This isn't necessarily your FAVORITE fairy tale, just the one you think is most creative. Be sure to include why!)
I will hold a drawing and select a winner at random. The winner can choose between the e-book version (any format, I plan to retail it for $2.99) and the print version (which will also include my two lesbian short-story collections BUT which will be out about two weeks after the e-book version). An international winner will have to go with the e-book version because of shipping costs.
Y'all have until next Monday (let's say 3:30 p.m. EST) to get your entries in. Happily ever after! ;-)
