Cyndi Tefft's Blog, page 6

Missing my friend

Today marks the three year anniversary of the passing of my friend, Lisa Surdyk. I know she's filled to the brim with Jesus' love while I'm still here on earth, making my way through this crazy world, but she is in my thoughts today. I miss you, Lisa.

I'm Going to Be On the Radio!

Real Sisters Talk Radio is going to interview me on their show November 27th at 3pm. If you miss the live interview, never fear! The interview will be replayed on their online radio show for several weeks after the fact. Here's the link so you can bookmark it:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sister-talk/2012/11/27/seattle-romance-author-cyndi-tefft#.UJK8wismRmc.mailto

I've never done a radio interview before, so fingers crossed that I don't screw it up. But hey, it's all about me so it can't be that hard, can it? It's not like I should have to study. hehe

Can't wait to hear what you think of it, so be sure to listen in!

Self Pubs are the New Minor Leagues

Okay, I'll be honest: I don't know that much about baseball. But I do know that the Major League teams draw their new players from the Minor League teams. So if you want to be a player in the majors, you start out in the minors, perform really well, and then you have a chance to get pulled up.

Seems to me that this is the new model for publishing.

Traditional publishers used to get their debut authors from agents whose interns sifted through the slush pile day in and day out to find what they considered to be gems. Aspiring authors had no access to the big publishers; they had to get an agent first. Agents became the gatekeepers to publishers and it was their job to weed through the masses and present only the best books to editors for consideration.

As we all know, the Kindle revolution threw a monkey wrench into that time-honored structure.

Aspiring authors who'd been turned down by hundreds of agents started self-publishing their books online. And people bought them. Lots of people bought them. Some of these authors were so incredibly popular that their books ended up hitting bestseller lists.

Other authors took note and followed, tired of the gatekeeper system that kept them from doing what they wanted to do: write books and connect with readers.

As a result of the self-publishing phenomenon, many have been wondering what the future state of publishing will look like. Where will agents add value? Will they disappear forever? Will the traditional publishing companies collapse altogether?

Au contraire, mes amies. I would say traditional publishers are better off now than they were before.

Now, the TPs (I'll call them that since I'm getting tired of typing it out! Well, and it sounds like toilet paper, which is funny.) are cherry-picking the self-published authors who do really well. It's the Majors drawing from the Minors, people. The TPs don't have to take a chance on a debut author or cross their fingers and hope that the public will react well to the book. They don't have to do much editing (if any) and they don't have to worry that the market will be gone by the time they've slotted a book for release.

When a TP sees a self-published book topping the charts, they can swoop in, throw around the bucks and their impressive distribution (which, let's admit it, is an obstacle that self-pubbed authors can't really seem to overcome), and viola! They have an instant hit on their hands and a happy, successful author with a bright future. It's win, win.

And I think it's the future of publishing. It's only a matter of time before everyone will have to prove their worth via the self-publishing route. Few, if any, debut authors will get picked up via the old querying model.

I'm not saying this is good or bad, just different. And what's a revolution if not to shake up the old and come up with something new? Readers who buy ebooks will become the new gatekeepers to an author's success, not agents.

What do you think? Have I missed the mark? Or do you think this is where publishing is headed? I'd love to hear what you have to say on this brave new world of publishing.

February conference in Florida- Come one, come all!

Dearly Beloved, 
We are gathered here today, to join two awesome things in a state of increased awesomeness. Today, we're bringing together an author/reader mini-con, and the chance to WIN YOUR WAY IN FOR FREE!
That's right, ladies and gentlemen... starting today, you will all have 7 days to hop around from author to author, blogger to blogger, and enter at every stop to win one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to Olde City, New Blood, the upcoming urban fantasy/paranormal romance mini-con in St. Augustine, FL next February.

You can check out the official website for the complete list of Featured Authors (I'll give you a hint... one of them is ME!) and Featured Bloggers. There's also a main contest post with all the participating authors, bloggers, and dates for the contest. It's super easy. Visit each of the spotlight blog posts and author websites listed, fill out the Rafflecopter link on each one (one entry PER POST, not per day... and yes, they will be checking), and POOF, multiple entries to WIN!

The prize is one of 3 FREE REGISTRATIONS to see me and about 49 other authors on the sunny beaches of St. Augustine, Florida, from Feb 8th-10, 2013. We're going to be doing panels, readings, meet & greets, and just generally having a fun weekend with our incredible fans!! Please keep in mind, if you win, you'll have to cover your own travel and hotel expenses, but your ticket into the party will be on Olde City, New Blood!

The contest runs from September 30th - October 6th, and the 3 winners will be announced on September 7th. Don't forget to click the Rafflecopter link below before you hop off to check out the rest of the contest posts. Good luck, everyone. I hope to see you ALL in Florida this February!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aiden's Angels has a Fan Site!

Every author dreams of having readers who love their characters so much that they just can't get enough. I'm beyond tickled to announce that thanks to the hard work and passion of Vicki Trask, Aiden's Angels now have their own fan site where you can connect over your love for the hot Scot Aiden MacRae!

*bounces around the living room like a baby kitten*

Aiden is one busy reaper, people, with a Twitter account and a Facebook page. On top of that, the angels have their own merchandise page and Goodreads group!

Huge thanks to Vicki and all of you for spreading the word about the Between series to your friends and social networks. It's because of you that I'm feverishly working on the third book now.

Oh, and speaking of the third book, the fan site also has all of the teasers in one place, so be sure to check it out in case you've missed any!

Wanna See My Notes?

Before Between was published, I posted the manuscript on Authonomy, a writing community, in order to get feedback. When I was crafting query letters for agents, I made a list of words from the Authonomy comments in order to help me appropriately capture the feel of Between. I have carried that list in my purse for the last two years and now it is barely legible!

So I scanned it in and thought my readers might get a kick out of seeing the list. There are even some editing notes to myself in the upper right hand corner. :)

There were times along the way that I wanted to give up--no, TRIED to give up--but the words on this sheet of paper kept me coming back until I finally decided to self-publish. And I'm so glad I did.

Hugs to you, Aiden's Angels!

He Knows Me So Well!

Lookie what my wonderful hubby got me as a surprise gift last night! He knows I have a book buying addiction and has fully embraced his role as The Enabler. LOL I loves him so much!

Fan Fiction for Between! How cool is that?

The oh-so-lovely Vicki Trask from Aiden's Angels wrote a fabulous fan fiction story featuring Aiden and Lindsey that takes place at the end of Hell Transporter. I think she did a marvelous job capturing the love between them.

I wanted to honor her awesome creativity, so I decided that anyone who writes a fan fiction story of the Between series will receive a free ebook copy of Between from me to give away to a friend. Let's share the love of Aiden MacRae! Just send me the link to your story and your friend's email address and they'll get a copy for free from me.

Thank you, Vicki!

Six-Year-Olds Ask The Best Questions

The other day, my six-year-old son piped up from the backseat, "Why do all the songs have to be about God?" I explained that we were listening to the Christian radio station and that's what they play. He seemed satisfied with the answer, but I was not. His innocent question has needled me ever since.

On Sunday, the pastor preached on holiness, which actually means to be set apart. He mentioned that we often segment our lives, that we are different people at church than we are at work, that we are different people with our friends than we are with our family, and so on. What is holy and what is whole?

I don't want to be set apart, exactly. I want to be one person, one God-loving person who is also living in this world, participating in the joys, sorrows, ups, and downs that God has laid out for me. I want to be fully present and whole, the same to my church friends as I am to the public, a person who loves God, but also loves food, sex, alcohol, laughter, dancing, singing, and great big bear hugs. I don't want to denounce the flesh he's wrapped me in, to pretend I'm someone I'm not, or that my thoughts are always pure. They're not. But He knows that anyway. I want to be the same person to the world that I am when I'm alone with God.

It's a scary and vulnerable thought, but there it is.

And I wish I lived in a world where there was no such thing as "secular" but that God was part of the mainstream, day-to-day existence of every one of us, not set apart in a corner by himself, but a dominant thread woven into the air that we breathe. Because when we break ourselves into different segments and only show pieces of the whole, it's bound to catch up with us. We're bound to hate one part (or more) because we all have sins that we struggle with. There's a reason we hate the "holier than thou" stance. We can't be good enough, and God knows that. But the greatest disservice we can do, the greatest dishonor we can bring, is to show up on Sunday and pretend to be whole when we're not, when we're only giving Him a sliver of ourselves. Lukewarm worship is no worship at all.

I don't want there to be a "Christian" radio station. I just want there to be music. I don't want there to be "Christian" books. I just want there to be books. Not all of the songs or stories have to be about God, but some of them do. Because God matters, as does all the rest of it.

Fifty Shades of Funny

On the way home from a business trip recently, I sat next to an older woman and her granddaughter on the airplane. The woman was just a little ways into Fifty Shades of Grey, while her granddaughter was reading a YA novel. I asked the woman if she read much romance. She replied that Fifty was her first one! While I was absorbing that, she said, "Actually, I hardly ever read, maybe one or two books a year."

I explained to her that romance novels vary in the level of heat from sweet up to erotic and that she'd jumped into the deep end of the pool by picking this one up. She seemed a bit comforted by that, the thought that not all romance was at this level. I chatted a bit with the younger girl about YA novels, and then settled back in my seat for the remainder of the flight.

Grandma wasn't a very fast reader, I noticed, as I peeked over from time to time to see how far she'd read. By the time the five-hour flight was over, she'd made it to about page 200. Unable to tame my wicked curiosity (having read all three Grey books myself), I asked her what she thought of it. I'm not sure what I expected her to say, but the words out of her mouth about make me choke with laughter.

She frowned a bit and said, in all seriousness, "I think MEN should read this book."

Go, Grandma! LOL