Jennifer Becton's Blog, page 61

Ebook Pricing: Avail Yourself of Current Info

A big–and controversial–topic in the book world these days is finding the optimum price point for ebooks.

Do I know what it is? No.

Do I know what's working for me? Yes.

Will that work for you? I don't know.

So how do you decide where to price your own book? Avail yourself of current information and make the most informed decision you can. Then, experiment. Given that there are so many factors influencing book buying, my price point may be different from yours.

So, if you are interested in reading three different takes on optimum pricing, use the following links. If you are sensitive to the business side of the book world, surf elsewhere. If you're on the fence, pretend you are in Regency England and that frank discussions of finances are acceptable.

Victorine Lieske, author of Not What She Seems, and the results of her $.99 ebook pricing experiment.
Robin Sullivan, wife and marketing guru for Michael J. Sullivan, author of The Crown Conspiracy (The Riyria Revelations) and the other books of the Riyria Revelations series, and the conflicting results of her $.99 ebook pricing experiment.
Bookbee.net's mathematical calculations for finding the optimum ebook pricing based on data from J. A. Konrath. (Edited to add: The origins of the conclusions in this blog come from Dave Slusher, of whom I will be reading more in the future.)

Confused? Me too. But in my view, the last article is instructive. It shows how to take your own data, based on your own experimentation, and use it to find your best price.

Go forth and write!

Austen Critics

Coincidence? This image of Bronte is the same one used in the Caroline Bingley/Cow cover.

Not everyone likes every book or becomes a fan of every author. Although many modern Janeites find it unbelievable, many people, including some famous authors, did not care for Austen or her writing.

Charlotte Bronte on Jane Austen from a letter to W. S. Williams of April 12, 1850:

Anything like warmth or enthusiasm, anything energetic, poignant, heartfelt, is utterly out of place in commending these works: all such demonstrations the authoress would have met with a well-bred sneer, would have calmly scorned as outré or extravagant. She does her business of delineating the surface of the lives of genteel English people curiously well. There is a Chinese fidelity, a miniature delicacy, in the painting. She ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him with nothing profound. The passions are perfectly unknown to her: she rejects even a speaking acquaintance with that stormy sisterhood … What sees keenly, speaks aptly, moves flexibly, it suits her to study: but what throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what is the unseen seat of life and the sentient target of death–this Miss Austen ignores….Jane Austen was a complete and most sensible lady, but a very incomplete and rather insensible (not senseless woman), if this is heresy–I cannot help it.

I disagree with Bronte. Austen had a clear understanding of the darkness that existed in her world, but her decisions about how to address these passions and deeds in her writing diverged from Bronte's choices. Bronte saw life as tragedy and Austen saw it as comedy, but they were both looking out on the same world.

Mark Twain also had quite a great deal to say on her writing:

Jane Austen? Why I go so far as to say that any library is a good library that does not contain a volume by Jane Austen. Even if it contains no other book.

–quoted in Remembered Yesterdays, Robert Underwood Johnson

To me his prose is unreadable — like Jane Austin's [sic]. No there is a difference. I could read his prose on salary, but not Jane's. Jane is entirely impossible. It seems a great pity that they allowed her to die a natural death.

–Letter to W. D. Howells, 18 January 1909

Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it.

–Following the Equator

I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.

–Letter to Joseph Twichell, 13 September 1898

Harsh. He was obviously not a fan. How might Austen respond to such criticism? Well, here she writes in response to a critic (Mr. W.) in a letter to Fanny on March 23, 1817:

I am very much obliged to you, my dearest Fanny, for sending me Mr. W.'s conversation; I had great amusement in reading it, and I hope I am not affronted, and do not think the worse of him for having a brain so very different from mine…. Do not oblige him to read any more. Have mercy on him, tell him the truth, and make him an apology. He and I should not in the least agree, of course, in our ideas of novels and heroines. Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked; but there is some very good sense in what he says, and I particularly respect him for wishing to think well of all young ladies; it shows an amiable and a delicate mind. And he deserves better treatment than to be obliged to read any more of my works.

I find it interesting to read the criticism of Austen's writing; it is instructive, and it also helps me solidify my view on her compositions. I also like her response: If you don't like it, don't continue to read it.

Well, Ms. Austen, I like it, and I'll keep reading it.

Caroline Bingley…Is a Cow

My next Jane Austen sequel focuses on another minor character: Caroline Bingley. When I announced that on Twitter, the general response was curiosity about how I would handle her character because, to quote my friend Mark, "she is a cow." In fact, he designed a book cover in honor of dear, sweet Caroline. I kinda like it.

I agree; Caroline definitely behaved like a total cow in Pride and Prejudice. She was rude to Elizabeth, Jane, and their whole family, and she was all that was insincere and unkind. She conspired with Mr. Darcy to separate Mr. Bingley from Jane, and she had the audacity to be in love with–or at the very least to have marital hopes for herself and–Mr. Darcy.

Who in the world would want to write a sequel about her?

Well, me. Minor character development was part of the genius of Jane Austen. Her fictional world was filled with so many interesting people, and I wanted to know what became of them too. And much as I love the stories about Lizzie and Darcy, I was yearning for something different. I wrote Charlotte Collins because I wondered if she remained as content in her marriage to Mr. Collins as she had hoped to be, and I am writing about Caroline Bingley because I wondered what became of the woman who found her Mr. Darcy and then lost him.

Ok Jennifer, if you insist on writing about her, aren't you going to improve her a bit?

Nope. I've never been particularly interested in sequels that radically alter a character. In Charlotte Collins, I tried to follow what I believed to be Jane Austen's intentions for the character. I imagined how she might grow and change as a result of her marriage to Mr. Collins and attempted to write her as she might have been 7 years after Pride and Prejudice. I don't know if I succeeded, but that was what I tried to do.

In Caroline Bingley, I plan to do the same thing. Yes, she will grow a bit as result of what happened in Pride and Prejudice, but will she totally change? Will she suddenly become sweet and reserved? No way. Here's the way I see it: she will make a great anti-heroine. 

Here are some of my thoughts on Caroline:

Although Jane Austen does not give us the exact birth order of the Bingley family, we know that Charles is 22 during most of Pride and Prejudice. He had at least two sisters: Louisa and Caroline. Louisa was already married and is only described as older than Caroline. In P&P 1995, Caroline was portrayed by an older actress, and in the 2005 version, she was more youthful. Even though I did not care much for the 2005 version, I did agree with their casting choice. I have always imagined Caroline as the youngest of the family. Even though Charles is often portrayed as wishy-washy, Austen's text indicates he was clearly in a position of authority over Caroline and could correct her when needed. Indeed, her actions, her style of flirtation, her reliance on insulting others to raise herself in Darcy's esteem, and her frequent effusions on Darcy's penmanship indicate, to me at least, that she was quite immature–adolescent in fact. She reminds me of a girl of middle school age who is overcome by hormones and grown-up emotions and has not yet learned how to behave in adult society.
Caroline endeavored to hide her background. When Austen introduces the Bingley family, she reveals that their fortune was earned "in trade." Despite the fact that Caroline acted as though she were a member of the landed gentry, her family did not possess an estate. They were not titled. In my view, Caroline likely spent a great deal of energy concealing the truth of her family's history. In short, her family situation was really no more lofty than Elizabeth Bennet's, whose fortune may have been small indeed, but it was, at least, not earned in trade.
Caroline was motivated by many of the same things that influenced other women–the desire for love, status, and a home–but the way she went about accomplishing her goals went beyond what was socially accepted.
She wanted to protect her brother from an unequal marriage, and Darcy wanted to protect his friend from the same thing. They conspired together, and although Lizzie believed Caroline to be the sole perpetrator, Darcy confesses to the crime as well. In fact, Bingley's belief in their supposition that Jane does not love him seems to emanate from his faith in Darcy, not from the machinations of his sister. Still, readers are happy to forgive him, but not Caroline.
Caroline was very much like Darcy at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice. Neither of them were very charitable to their new acquaintances in Hertfordshire. Darcy was quite cutting in his remarks, no less so than Caroline. However, he changed his opinion–at least regarding Jane and Elizabeth–whereas Caroline did not.
Was there a shred of humanity in her? I've often wondered at her motivation for warning Elizabeth Bennet away from Mr. Wickham. Why would she tell Elizabeth that there had been some conflict between Wickham and Darcy and that Wickham was in fact a very bad man? Sure, I can see that she might have been attempting to wound Elizabeth, but wouldn't it have been more effective to conceal the truth of Wickham and let Elizabeth make a mistake that would forever remove her and thoughts of her fine eyes from Mr. Darcy's mind? I'm still mulling this over. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Upon Darcy and Elizabeth's marriage, Caroline "was very deeply mortified." I feel a bit sorry for her. Hasn't every young woman, during those tender and vulnerable teen years, fallen in love with some boy, behaved foolishly or even meanly, and then lost him to someone else? Was that not the most horrible feeling in your young life? It was for me.  Sure, Austen went on to say that her primary concern was to ensure that she would not lose her invitation to Pemberley, but that little snippet at the end of Pride and Prejudice really got my attention. It made me ask…

…what would become of the woman who found her Mr. Darcy and then lost him?

Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Post

Today marks the beginning of the Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary celebration on My Jane Austen Book Club, which is hosted by Maria Grazia. I had the privilege of writing the inaugural post, so I hope you'll go over and take a look.

If yet another blog post by yours truly isn't enough inducement to visit, let it be known that you can also enter to win a free copy of The Three Weissmans from Westport by Cathleen Shine. See the bottom of my guest post for entry details.

Mary Lydon Simonsen Skids in Sideways

Today, I am honored to introduce a special guest who was once Skidding in Sideways like me. Now, Mary Lydon Simonsen is the successful, traditionally published author of two novels and has two more on the way! Welcome, Mary!

The Unexpected Author

Five years ago, it was necessary for me to undergo total knee replacement surgery, requiring eight-weeks leave from my job as an after-school tutor for a non-profit organization. When I gave my supervisor the news, she said, "No problem. This site is being closed anyway." And so I became a limping, unemployed, and unemployable woman in her fifties. My husband suggested that I do some of the things I had talked about doing once I retired. I had just finished a detailed family history, and I was in a writing mood. Thus, I became the unexpected author.

After my surgery, flat on my back and with my leg strapped into a medieval continual motion torture device, I had plenty of time to think about the plot of a novel. When I was finally able to go vertical, I started writing. It took fifteen months to complete my novel, and I self-published my work as Pemberley Remembered. My sales on Amazon were modest, but I eventually worked my way into the black. But self-promotion was never my strong suit and finding ways to get my book "out there" without actually leaving my house was becoming more difficult. Then I received a call from Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks saying that they would like to publish my book. Sold! Searching for Pemberley came out in December 2009.

But that was only the beginning as I became an instant writing addict. In the next year, I wrote and sold to Sourcebooks: The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy, A Wife for Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy's Bite. I also wrote two self-published novels: The Second Date: Love – Italian American Style, which takes place in the Italian-American community of North Jersey where I grew up, and Anne Elliot, A New Beginning: A Persuasion Re-imagining, a parody of Persuasion. My cup runneth over—all thanks to Jane Austen.

Although I am in awe of Jane Austen's talent, especially since she wrote her masterpieces with a quill pen, I would like to think that she wouldn't want me to be in awe of her—that we could sit down and have a cup of tea together and talk about some of her favorite passages from her novels. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of immense talent must want to share that gift with her fans.

Do you have a favorite Austen quote? I have many, but on top of my list is a line spoken by Mr. Bennet to Lizzy:  "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn." I hope you will share yours.

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Mary Lydon Simonsen's first book, Searching for Pemberley, was acclaimed by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and RT Book Reviews. She is well loved and widely followed on all the Jane Austen fanfic sites, with tens of thousands of hits and hundreds of reviews whenever she posts. She lives in Peoria, Arizona where she is working on her next Jane Austen novel. For more information, please visit http://marysimonsenfanfiction.blogspot.com/ and http://www.austenauthors.com/, where she regularly contributes.

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Giveaway!  Giveaway!  Giveaway!

Win a free copy of Mary's newest novel The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy courtesy of Sourcebooks. There are two ways to enter:

Comment on this blog post and include your favorite Jane Austen quotation (1 entry).


Tweet one of the following including this hashtag: #perfectbridefordarcy (1 entry)




 Your favorite Jane Austen quotation


A link to this blog post


A link to The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy on Amazon.com.

You must include the hashtag #perfectbridefordarcy to enter the drawing or else I won't see your entry!

Winners will be announced January 29. That's 10 days from now, so get Tweeting.

Writing Fear Free: Deleting Scenes

In novel writing, nothing ever disappears completely; it just gets rearranged.

I don't know why, but somehow it always turns out the same for me. If I am really, really proud of a scene that I've written in a novel, I end up having to cut it.

It must be a law of Newtonian physics.

So how should a writer react when faced with the prospect of cutting the most incredible piece of writing ever?

Just do it.

Why? Shouldn't I fight for my literary integrity? Shouldn't I hold fast to my principles and keep it no matter what anyone says?

Well, let me ask you a question. Which is more important: providing your readers with the best book possible or assuaging your ego?

First, examine the passage in question. Does it advance the plot in the direction you are trying to go? If so, keep it. If not, cut it. Every single word, paragraph, page, and scene should serve to advance the plot or elucidate the character. Keeping a scene that does not serve these purposes just because you like it is not doing your book any favors.

Second, consider rewriting the scene. Sometimes you can revise the section in question so that it does serve your ultimate purpose and prevents you from removing the work you love so much. But do so carefully. Every scene must advance the plot.

Third, recognize that you can use the scene elsewhere. Maybe you can even build your next novel around it. Or maybe you can use it in a short story. If the scene is as great as you believe it to be, wouldn't using it in a free short story generate interest in your novel? And if you had enough short stories of great cut scenes, wouldn't it make a fine anthology one day?

Remember, in novel writing, nothing ever disappears completely, it just gets rearranged.

Ebook Samples: Another Positive

Yes, I am having an ebook love affair, and I just can't stop singing it from the rooftops. And the reasons to love them just keep occuring to me.

This weekend, I realized that I didn't have anything new to read. Ordinarily, this would necessitate a trip to Books-a-Million, which is the closest bookstore to my house. I would spend a lot of time browsing the shelves and consume a delicious–albeit pricey–coffee beverage. (Which is actually a double-edged sword since my BAM started locking the bathroom door. Who serves highly caffeinated beverages and then bars you from the bathroom?! But I digress…) I would select a paperback based on the cover, back copy, and first few pages. Then, I'd drive home and hope I liked it. I like bookstores, so for me, that's a pretty fun outing. Unfortunately, it was late at night and the store was closed. Before my Kindle, I would have been out of luck and forced to reread something.

So I might have decided to order something from Amazon and wait for it to arrive later in the week. Also a great way to buy books, but then I always take the risk that I won't like what I've ordered. The Look Inside feature is great, but it's limited. I don't want to spend $10 or more on something only to find that it's not for me.

But no! Instead, I flip open the laptop, browse Amazon, find a book that appealed to me, and then download a Kindle sample based on the cover and description. The sample is quite lengthy, more extensive than what I would read in the physical store, so I could really get a feel for the plot, theme, and writing style.

And after reading the entire sample, I discovered that I did not like the writing at all and promptly deleted it from my device. (No, I won't say what it was.) No money spent at all.  I downloaded more samples until I found some that I knew I'd like. I chose one, purchased it, and kept the other samples on my TBR list so that I could buy them later. Pretty dang cool!

What? You don't own a Kindle? Well, that's no problem! You can still use the sample feature! All you have to do is download the free reading apps below and have the sample delivered to your PC, Mac, or phone. So even if you are not an ebook convert and are planning to order a paperback, you can still take advantage of the ebook sampling feature. And by the way, you can do this on nook too!

So save yourself some money and download a sample first. Read it in the privacy of your own home or car or boat or train or airplane or bathroom–ewww–and then decide if the book is for you.

I discovered some fun books that way. I'm sure you will too.

Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary

October 2011 will mark the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. This is why My Jane Austen Book Club wants to dedicate a special space to the celebration and discussion of Austen's first achievement as a published writer. I have invited some expert Janeites to contribute to the discussion and they have kindly and generously accepted . Katherine at November's Autumn and Gaskell Blog contributed the cute button on the left. Each month one of them will deal with a theme, a character, a topic somehow linked to Sense and Sensibility. The discussion will be open to you all with your comments, questions and suggestions. There will be a monthly giveaway and you will have the chance to win a book or DVD connected to our celebration. Here's the schedule of our virtual meetings. Take notes.

1. January Jennifer Becton: Marriage and Money in Sense and Sensibility

2. February Alexa Adams: Sense and Sensibility on screen

3. March C. Allyn Pierson: Inheritance laws and their consequences in Sense & Sensibility

4. April Beth Pattillo: Lost in Sense and Sensibility

5. May Jane Odiwe: Willoughby: a rogue on trial

6. June Deb @JASNA Vermont: Secrets in Sense and Sensibility

7. July Laurie Viera Rigler: Interview with Lucy Steele

8. August Regina Jeffers: Settling for the Compromise Marriage

9. September Lynn Shepherd: The origins of S&S: Richardson, Jane Austen, Elinore & Marianne

10. October Meredith @Austenesque Reviews: Sense and Sensibility fanfiction

11. November Vic @Jane Austen's World: Minor characters in Sense and Sensibility

12. December Laurel Ann @Austenprose: Marianne Dashwood: A passion for dead Leaves and other Sensibilities

JANUARY GIVEAWAY

If you comment on the announcement post at MJABC or/and on upcoming Jennifer Becton's post about marriage and money in Sense and Sensibility, [which will be posted January 22], you'll be entered in the giveaway of The Three Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Shine. This novel, published by Picador, is a new modern re-telling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

*Text provided by My Jane Austen Book Club.

Thank you, Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club for the invitation to participate. I had not read Sense and Sensibility in a few years, so it was a real pleasure to reread the text and enjoy the tale again. I look forward to reading the upcoming posts of those who are contributing after me. Those are the real experts. I'm just an Austen enthusiast who does the best she can. –Jennifer

Regency Romance and Modern Mystery?

One of these things is not like the others.

I've decided that I've enjoyed my journey into indie publishing so much that I'm going to release another novel that has been hiding in a drawer for a year or two. This novel is completely different from Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it's a modern mystery set in the Southeastern United States.

Austen Experience: Regency Dress up Dolls

Check out this cool Deviant Art page by Savivi in which you can dress paper dolls in Regency attire. I had way too much fun last night making paperdolls of the characters from Charlotte Collins. Or at least the way I imagine the characters.

Then, I discovered the Jane Austen Artists page and the Jane Austen Lovers gallery.

Enjoy your Jane Austen experience.