Lynn Shurr's Blog, page 13

I was born...

I was born, now that is a leading opening  Could be followed by: in a log cabin; when Halley's Comet streaked across the sky; or none of the preceding.  Recently, I received some advice from Amazon on how to improve my writer's profile.  Number one was to redo my biography in the first person to be more warm and friendly, but heck, I like pretending I have a staff to do this stuff.  The truth is in the e-publishing world, the author writes everything from her bio to her backcover blurbs, so you may blame me for any and all errors.

Suggestion number two: have a professional portrait done.  Check.  I did this early on paying a lot for three poses which I have used liberally, so a good investment.  However, they do stress not to put pets or anything else distracting the photo.  Personally, I think a dog or cat would add to the interest rather than just a head pose of me.  I am not that gorgeous, but do have a good smile.

Number three: Give only a few details about your life in the first paragraph, i.e. I live in Louisiana, then cram a second paragraph full of awards you have won for your writing.  Now, when I was a librarian, I received some pretty prestigous awards, the best being the Culver Award for Outstanding Librarianship, but that gives me no creds as a writer. Personally, I've found the more awards won, the drearier the book.  Unhappy ending assured.  I might never have a writing award to list, but my books won't leave you depressed and saying, "Why did I ever read this?"  I could give specific examples, but don't believe in dissing other writers.  Again, I am cautioned not to talk about pets, children, or my last road trip, this being unprofessional.  Frankly, I'd rather hear about an author's cat than some obscure award, but that's just me.

Four: Establish a feed to your blog.  I managed to do this for www.romancingthejock.com almost by accident, but never did tie this one on to my profile.  No matter.  I am not the most prolific blogger.  Once a month for both blogs is all you will ever get out of me.  I so much prefer to be working on my latest novel.  As I like to say, I write two of those a year whether any publisher wants them or not.

One thing I do like about blogging is getting comments, which rarely happens, and looking at my statistics so nicely provided by Blogger.  Today, I learned my biggest following seems to be in Russia.  Go figure.  I did study Russian in high school and could greet you with the first dialog we memorized, that is to say "How are you?"  "Very good, and you?"  However, I have no idea how to type that in Cyrillic.  Other than that, I have retained only a few stray words, most of them regarding food.  See, this tidbit did not make it into my biography at all.  So, Hi to my friends in Russia and good-bye for the month of March.

Samoans in Football

     Last spring, I was hard at work on my new Sinners football romance, Paradise for a Sinner.  A new character, Adam Malala, a Samoan cornerback, joins the team.  His story required a large amount of research into the culture of American Samoa, and his conflict is deeply rooted in the customs of that country.  We encounter him newly jilted by his fiancee back in the islands.  She is the village virgin or princess who upholds the traditional ways and serves as a model for young women. Pala feels Adam has abandoned his origins and glories in all being a star football player provides. In the Samoan culture, personal ambition is subordinated to the good of the extended family, and those who give the most away, keeping little for themselves, are greatly lauded. Adam is caught between his two worlds. He soon takes up with Winnie Green, a newly divorced nurse. Both think a quick fling is what they need to get over their losses, but of course, they get more than they bargained for in the end. The book should be out in March or April and was long since edited before the whole Manti Te'o scandal happened.
      Watching Dr. Phil and Katie Couric interview these young Samoan men made me cringe.  I thought when doing my research, the island life would be wide open and rather sexy. Turns out Samoans are rather conservative having been converted by the London Missionary Society (think Puritans) centuries ago.  Homosexuality is condemed in the way it is practiced today.  Traditionally, a place was made for men with such impulses by allowing them to live as women and even marry. Often, they became village entertainers.  But today, Samoa is not a place to be recommended for a gay couple to vacation. Even meeting a woman online would be frowned upon since families and family connections are all-important. I do believe that Te'o lied to his family about how he met this fictional woman. They would not have approved. I also think, he would have cut off the relationship if he had any idea he corresponded with a man.
      As for the other guy whose name I will not attempt to spell, he described himself as sexually confused.  It would be hard for him to admit to homosexual feelings so publically. I feel he did great harm to Te'o emotionally, but do doubt that such a good player will be overlooked in the draft. He might expect some harsh jokes about his situation, and I hope he has the inner strength move forward with his life.  Frankly, I think his prankster is still glorying in the ruse and deserves no more notice.
     I'll probably write more on other aspects of Samoan life next month.  I did find the research fascinating and unexpected.  My editor says Paradise for a Sinner is my best book in the series, but I am still partial to Wish for a Sinner. You will have to let me know which you like best.

Promotion - What works for me - Continued

Here I am a back again in the New Year having survived the Mayan apocalypse (as did we all) and the dreaded Fiscal Cliff which was even more to be feared.  I finished all my edits for my 2013 releases, A Trashy Affair, Paradise for a Sinner, and Courir de Mardi Gras. That's the good news.  Now the bad - I am having knee surgery next Monday and will be laid up for six weeks or more.  I do hope to spend that time working on a new Sinners novel and catching up with piles of unread books and unwatched DVD's, hopefully while eating chocolates and being waited on by friends and family, but I don't think it will be that much fun.

Other mentionables: I am participating in a new blog, www.romancingthejock.com aimed at readers of sports romances and will post once a month, my first time being January 5th.  This group of twelve authors, many more talented than I, is starting things off with a bang.  Visitors to the site will be entered to win a Kindle or Nook tablet or one of several gift baskets, so it is worth a look-see on your part.  Now, having done my bit to promote the new site, on to what you really want to read, more promotional ideas.

Last time, I left off the one idea that helped me the most.  A fellow writer of sports romances, Jami Davenport, developed a Listmania on Amazon of books with sports heroes.  She graciously added my first two books, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner.  There I was co-mingled with the likes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Bella Andre.  Soon, the Listmania (a bibliography of similar titles if I did not make that clear) appeared alongside my books on Amazon. Sales that had slacked off for my first book blossomed again and continue to grow and extend to other titles.  So, if you can devise a list of well-known books similar to your own and post it, this might mean sales for you as well.

The final and most obvious advice is to write your next book.  Do not spend all your time and effort trying to sell your first.  If you are doing a series, this is even more important.  You must have more to offer and quickly or readers will pretty much forget about you.  Quickly in publishing terms means a one year period, even better if you can get two out fast in that time span.  But, I caution, write them with the same care as your first or your series and sales will fizzle.

In parting before I hobble off to the hospital, welcome to my new follower, Suzanne, and have the best of New Years.

Promotion - What Works?

     Ah, another trick question to which I do not have an answer.  But, since we are so near Christmas, I will tell you what works for me and what doesn't as a gift.  Keep in mind, this does not mean it will work for you, and some of the things I have tired and failed at do work for others.
   
      Expensive ads do not work.  An investment of $350 to place an ad did not amount to one discernable sale, not even at the local bookstore.  I asked myself when I ever bought a book because of an ad placed in any magazine and replied to me, "Never."  I buy from reviews, book club recommendations, the word of friends, or a favorite author.  All of these are free but hard to come by.
    
     Blog tours do not work for me, though I often get offers to have one set up for me for a fee. Frankly, most bloggers will let you take over the task for nothing.  I did four guest blogs for Mardi Gras Madness and Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball. Though some of the spots gave me lovely layouts, only one resulted in a few sales.  It takes time and thought to create a good blog geared toward the site.  So far this has not paid off for me.  Yet, I will be blogging once a month at a new site, www.romancingthejock.com starting in January.  Designed especially for women who love sports romances, we have a target audience.  Eleven other authors are participating.  If you like blogs, take a look at it.  Will it increase my sales? I'll have to wait and see.
    
     Promotional items are fun, but mostly people pick them up and do not buy your book.  The wisdom here is to offer something people will take home like pens and notepads.  I give away fabulous flaming foam footballs.  The footballs amuse the children while the mothers browse your offerings and do have order information stuck to them.  Usually, I will throw one in free with a sale or give them to any who ask nicely.  As for the woman who squeezed and coveted my balls and then said she didn't want any of my books in a rather nasty manner-her I charged a dollar. I am under no illusion that any sales ever came from them.  I scarf up free pens and such, but rarely even read the imprints.  Bookmarks and magnets just get thrown out.  Save your money.
   
      Postcards work for me, but often not for others.  However, I do not give them out wholesale and never do a mailing.  Like everyone else, I order from Vista Print and design my own. The front is my bookcover, the back: a blurb, order information, and other books in the series. I give them to people who show an interest and might later order on their Nook or Kindle as a reminder. Where do I find these people-everywhere. Last night I handed out a few at a party.  When I go on vacation, I give them out to other people on the tour, especially if I cannot take any of my books along.  By the time I get home, I usually notice an increase in sales.
   
      Face-to-face meetings sell books far more than book signings, though I've had good ones and bad ones.  I've worked up two lectures: Adventures in E-publishing and Writing the Historical Novel.  Generally, I will have sales after addressing a group and more later from those who buy the e-book. The hard part is finding places to host you and getting people to attend.  I have filled entire rooms and fallen flat on my face when only two people showed up  (neither bought a book). A recent readers' luncheon I attended gained me twelve new readers.
   
      Art walks and arts and crafts fairs also work well for me, but beware of paying much money for a special booth. Unless the space is free or very cheap, I wouldn't bother. You will never make up the cost in sales.  I know one man who keeps up his membership in an art group simply to sell his books at their events.  He doesn't paint at all, yet always has sales.
    
     This has gotten long and must end with wishing you Happy Holidays and a Great New Year- with lots of books sales and new contracts galore!

Working the Book Sale

This weekend, I worked as a cashier for our local library book sale.  This is no cunning publicity stunt as I have done it for years. I especially enjoy Friends Night Only when dealers and collectors pay in advance to feed like sharks on the first offerings.  What they drag out of there is astounding - two cartons of stereopticon photos, the entire cookbook and crafts section swept into boxes without even looking at the tiles, heaps of hardcover Nora Roberts, James Patterson or other favorite author's books, and a single copy touting the use of human waste to fertilize your garden.

I did take the occasion to talk with old friends and regulars at the sale and handed out postcards containing order information for my two new books, Mardi Gras Madness and Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball, for those who showed an interest.  Give these things out wholesale, and they only end up in the wastecan or the gutter.  I may make some sales from this effort.  Hard to say.  But, I was there for hours anyhow, so why not?

Of course, I also had to face the fact one day my own books would show up marked fifty cents on the paperback tables. Since my first book, Goals for a Sinner, has been out two years and reached 5,000 sales, I sort of expected copies to show up last year, but no.  This year, however, the first three resales occured-all to me.  Yes, I gathered them up and plan to resell them slightly marked up because I know the fate of leftover paperbacks at the end of the sale - the dumpster. I am not so well-known that anyone is "collecting" my work.  My prose is not deathless, merely entertaining. I live in a fairly conservative small town where some folks still whisper that Miss Lynn is now writing dirty books, which just shows they haven't read them as mine rate only three flames our of five on most review sites.  Still, friends and family bought my first work despite the hunky, half-naked football player on the cover.

Since all of the locally sold copies were autographed, I do know who discarded them, but no hard feelings.  One did not appear to have been read at all, while another was definitely thumbed to the very last page. The third had an inscription I remember doing very well since the purchaser asked me to declare her my very best friend though we are barely acquainted. Hey, anything for a sale. I hope to find new homes and readers for them.  As of October, I have five books in print, three in the Sinners series and now the new Mardi Gras books.  Next year finding and saving my babies will be more of a challenge.

You should write...

     This happens to every author.  A person approaches and begins to tell you what you should be writing.  It's never what you are known for writing.  Usually, they suggested their memoirs or family stories, but sometimes not.  I recently took a long vacation by train.  During the trip, a window popped out of one the cars.  We were sidetracked, literally, until the police could arrive and determine if our train has been shot at. During the long interval, several of my fellow travelers suggested I write a mystery where someone is shot on a train.  They were willing to be in the book. Of course, I told them at the beginning of the trip that I wrote romance novels and some historicals.  Sure, this story would be great - if Agatha Christie hadn't already written Murder on the Orient Express.  Still, some of the tourists were interesting enough to make great characters in any book.
     The saddest incident I ever encountered was when a Holocaust survivor approached me about writing her story.  I was still working full time as a librarian, had a family to care for, and very little writing time.  I urged her to record or write down her own memories for her family to cherish. To create a book from her story would have required hours of fact checking and historical research, time I did not have. Eventually, she did tell her story to the local paper and perhaps that sufficed.
      Some have said I should write my autobiography.  Believe me, although I speak vividly about parts of my life, it would not be of wide spread interest.  No abuse, drug use, or murders occured.  I had a pretty typical small town upbringing and do use bits and pieces of it in my fiction, but an Oprah Book Choice it would not make.
     Not that I am without guilt in this area.  I once told well-known author, James Lee Burke,that he should write a mystery taking place in our local Laotian community.  He gave me the standard polite answer.  "You should write that story yourself."  Which when this started happening to me, I felt free to borrow.  However, I do doubt I will ever write a hardboiled dectective novel that takes place in our Laotian community.  It's still a great idea.  Someone should do that.

Taking Big Chances

     I am gratified and a bit amazed by the popularity of my Sinners sports romances.  Royalties from those books paid for my recent jaunt to Alaska.  Most likely,they won't make me rich, but I will settle for being well-traveled.  While trying to pitch my Regency series to an agent, she just waved her hand and said, "You should stick to the football stories if they sell."  In other words, don't try anything new.  Of course I did anyhow.  I think all writers like to spread their wings a little.  Certainly, an author risks losing fans when starting a new venture.  Hence, taking the Big Chance.
    So, this month my new Mardi Gras series will make its appearance.  The stories vary in time and place, but each one contains a pivotal, life-changing event that happens during Mardi Gras.  The first, an historical titled Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball, takes  place in New Orleans during the late 1920's.  Flapper Rosamond St. Rochelle desperately wishes to defy her family by having a career rather than serving as queen of the ball, chosing the best suitor, and taking up her place as a society matron.  Rosamond's struggles to find herself make for a compelling book that culminates with the Great Flood of 1927.  Yes, a love story is also part of her tale though this is not a traditional romance.
     Mardi Gras Madness has a mystery that intrigues Laura Dickinson, the new librarian in a very small Louisiana town.  Trying to escape her own past, she finds herself embroiled in the history of the Robert LeBlanc family and greatly intrigued by the owner of Chateau Camille though she tries not to admit that.  This one has an old-fashioned Gothic flavor, not a lot of gore but a complex unfolding of events.  The third title in the series, Courir de Mardi Gras, is another mystery, this one unraveling during a country Mardi Gras.  Expect to see it during summer, 2013.
      I have I given up writing Sinners books?  Nope, but the newest one already with the publisher takes a chance, too.  It departs from the Cajun Country I know so well and takes off for American Samoa as Sinners cornerback, Adam Malala, returns to the islands taking with him the serious and rather unadventurous, Winnie Green, the Rev's newly divorced sister-in-law.  Looking for a fling to get over her bad marriage, Winnie is in way over her head in more ways than one.  Paradise for a Sinner should be out by March, 2013.
     When taking big chances like these, an author can only hope her readers will go along on the new ride and enjoy a different kind of adventure.

It's all on me - or you

A friend recently finished reading Kicks for a Sinner and informed me that among its 92,000 words were eight errors.  She had marked all the pages so I could make corrections.  I had to tell her in e-publishing, we rarely get second chances to improve.  Once a book is out there, that's it.  Other than mildly depressing me, her efforts had done no good.  While I'd like to say eight errors is a very small percentage, I cannot.  Two maybe would have been acceptable.  I see that many in most books I read.  I combed through that book four times, my editor read it twice, and my publisher once before the book went out into the world, and still eight errors.  The eye tends to skim, especially when tired.  The brain most willingly fills in a dropped article or corrects transposed words and letters.  But when it comes right down to it, the final approval of the galley lies with the author and I own those errors.  They will make me more careful when I get the final versions of Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball and Mardi Gras Madness in the next month.

E-publishing and small presses offer an infinite number of ways for an author to screw up.  No one writes our back cover blurbs for us.  We do.  Same for our biographies.  If they sound cheesy or uninteresting, we have only ourselves to blame.  We don't have research assistants or fact checkers.  I honor my editor for suggesting that "child molester" was too modern a word for the 1920's setting of Queen.  She was right.  Fortunately, "perverts" have been around since 1300 and certainly before that, but few were literate enough to write it down.  However, I do want to assure you Queen is not about perverts, though it might sell better if it were (he flogged her mercilessly with those Mardi Gras beads!).  Anyhow, the word is used in a joking manner in my book.  So aspiring authors, be aware that there is so much more to publishing a book than simply writing it.

Fifty Shades of You Know What

     Why am I writing about Fifty Shades of Grey?  Because everyone else is, which I suspect is why everyone is reading this book.  We all want to be in the know, to be a little naughty at times.  I don't begrudge the author her success.  More power to any writer who can attract so many readers.  As a former librarian, would I have purchased this book for my library?  Yes, but based on demand for it, not from the reviews.  Would I withdraw it if some patrons protested?  No, because others want to read it and should not be censored.

     As for the book itself, I found the first fifty plus pages to read like a very mediocre romance novel.  One friend admitted she skipped all that and went straight for the goodies, not such a bad idea. Anyhow,the incredibly innocent new college grad, Ana, spends most of this section wondering if billionaire Christian Grey likes her or not, very childish, very high school Twilighty. This book started at Twilight fan fiction, and I do see the resemblance.  Then, she discovers he not only likes her but wants to make her his SM and Bondage submissive.  They negotiate a contract that has sexual acts in it I had to look up.  I guess I am a little innocent myself, but I don't want anybody training my anus!  Anyhow, the "plain vanilla" sex scene is very hot but somewhat ruined by all the Holy Craps and Holy Shits Ana is thinking as Christian takes her virginity.  His Oh Babys somehow don't fit a sophisticated man of the world either.  Then of course, on to kinkier things and his total control of Ana's life.

     The author tries to make Christian more sympathetic by hinting at an abusive childhood and an early introduction into perversion by an older woman, but he still comes across as one sick puppy.  Some worry this book and those that follow will convince young girls this kind of sex is normal.  I will give them credit for being a great deal smarter about sex than Ana and knowing the difference between an abusive relationship and a loving one.  At least, I certainly hope so.  I won't be reading the rest of the series as I have better things to do and read.  I suppose I will have ask someone younger and more into this if Ana brings Christian to the point of enjoying vanilla sex or merely escapes his controling clutches.

The Wonderful Dilemma

     Here it is near the end of June and I almost forgot to do my monthly blog post.  Why?  Edits for my two new books came in back to back, a problem I never thought I'd have. Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball went well enough, but being 114,000 words long, took some time. One week later, the edits for Mardi Gras Madness arrive.  One of my earlier books oft rewritten, I had so much more to do to satisfy my editor.  I worked long days getting the first edits done, then the second arrived on their heels.  Ahead, a long-planned week at the beach with my family loomed. By the time I finished, I needed that vacation.  Meanwhile, I had thought to finish Paradise for a Sinner by the end of June, but take out of month of writing time to do edits, and I am way behind.  Poor me!
    
     True, all this work did wear me out and put me behind my own self-imposed schedule, but what I am doing here is bragging.  I have two new books coming out this summer.  I have another nearly finished and desired by the small press that puts out my work.  And, they just sent me a contract for my beloved Trashy Affair which should be published next summer along with Courir de Mardi Gras, not back to back, I hope.  Look at me.  I have a real writing career.  Who would have thought it?