Kiersten Fay's Blog, page 13

Into The Scrap Bin…

Into the scrap bin.

I've been doing a lot of research on publishing and promoting and am getting my foot into a lot of doors. I read a lot of blogs by other writers, some with sour-grapes, and some with more of a business attitude. I hear a lot of comments about the success of authors such as Amanda Hawking's; some good, some bad, some plain jealous.

Lucky Duck!

The thing about Amanda Hawking is that she hit the market at the exact right time, with an insane price to her books—and congratulations to her, it worked! But what worked for her then, won't work for everyone now, though many are following in her footsteps and in my opinion, degrading the integrity of the industry. People are starting to feel entitled to an author's hard work for pennies. (I call them scrap biners).

I work hard at what I do. I'm looking to make a career of writing. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't, but I'm not about to throw my work into the dollar bin for scraps. I'm going to continue to work hard, write like a maniac, and produce the highest quality writing I'm capable of, and if the scrap biners don't like it they can go buy someone else's book.

Entitlement breeds bad reviews

People like the scrap biners centers are usually the type of people who get a bargain and then complain about it, or demand more. Their reviews are usually more negative than people who actually want to read, rather than just looking for a great deal. I don't usually buy books set at 99 cents because if it's not good enough for a higher price, then why should I waste my time reading it?

As an author who knows all the time and effort that goes into any piece of writing, I don't mind paying for something I think is worth my time. I try to give reviews when I find a book to my liking. If I don't like a book, I might give it a low star rating, but I won't offer up a reason. I want to show my opinion but I don't want to get into the whys of it. It's just that, for whatever reason, that particular book didn't interest me and my reasons are my own.

To each their own

Some writers won't review other peoples stuff, especially if they're afraid they won't like it, and I understand their reasoning. You're judging others as you don't want to be judged yourself. I also realize that people will be doing the same to me. Although my book has done well so far in the review aspect, I know there are people out there who are going to read my book and think "Eh" or give me a bad review. It's inevitable when you put your stuff out there for others to judge. Not everything we write is going to appeal to everyone, and we just have to brush it off and keep working.

What Now?

I've published my book in all the e-reader formats necessary, and set it up for sale in the major online book outlets. So what do I do now? I was intending to be an e-writer only but, after doing a little research on what it will take to publish a physical book and get it distributed in all the right places, I've decided to do a print version of my book, Demon Possession.

What does this mean?

What this means I that I have to completely reformat by book for print, get back and spine cover art, because I only worried about the front of the book for Internet purposes, and choose the right company to print and distribute my book for me. I need to figure out what size book I want to go with, what paper to choose, what size text I want in my book, because there's no changing it like there is on e-readers. I need to decide at what price to sell my book, so it's not too outrageously priced, but I'm not paying the printer every time my book is purchased.

Whew, that's a lot.

Self-publishing is not an easy road, and I didn't expect that it would be. I spent a year just writing my book, while studying the in's and out's of self-publishing. There's a lot to it, and I knew that going in. I also know it's going to be a while before I have the kind of readership that will allow me to write full time. There are still a lot of hardcore, old school readers out there that still only purchase printed books, and I'm hoping the print version of Demon Possession will help to increase my readership.

Why self-publish?

I'm an artist from birth, I've moved from creative outlet to creative outlet since I could hold a pensile, a paint brush, click a mouse. I love everything creative. What I don't love is being rejected; none of us do really—unless you're a little sick, but to each their own. I also don't like people telling me how to be creative, and if I had gone the traditional rout, I know from speaking with published authors, that everyone has an opinion about how you should change your book. That's why I chose to bypass the whole mess.

Demon Possession – AVAILABLE NOW!

I'm super excited to announce that Demon Possession (Shadow Quest – Book 1) is now available in ebook format. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, or Smashwords.

I've already received such great feedback from everyone. Thanks guys! Self-publishing has been such a trial-and-error experience—A charting new territory type of venture—that I'm a little shocked to have finally completed the process. Now that I have, I can't wait to get going on the next book in the Shadow Quest series, Demon Slave.

How Can You Write Better

I once went to visit Niagara Falls and upon seeing it, thought, "Wow." But is that the best word? Isn't there a better word to describe one of the world's natural wonders? Commanding, elegant, grandson, sublime. There are probably a million words in every language imaginable that are better than, wow. Although I think wow pretty much says it all.

So how do you use words to enhance your writing? First write a sentence, then rewrite that sentence in a different way. After that, choose specific words and consult a thesaurus—Thesaurus.com is a great resource—and rewrite your sentence again. Repeat this process till your heart's content.

Then, or maybe this should be the first thing you do, decide what emotion your sentence should portray, or what information should be gathered, and search for words that fit your goal.

Sentence 1: Niagara Falls took my breath away.

Sentence 2: When I saw Niagara Falls, I lost my breath.

Sentence 3: As I approached the edge, I felt the roar of the falls, and my heart shuttered as Niagara Falls came into view.

The last sentence evokes a visual effect for the reader.

Why I Love My E-Reader

I used to love paperback books, still have a bookstand filled with them, and couldn't believe I'd ever get used to anything different. You can see each spine and can associate the cover with the story or author. And it may be weird, but I like the way they smell.

But with my e-reader, when I finish a book, and want to start the next one, it's just a few clicks away! I don't have to go to a store and check if the book I want is in stock, or buy online and wait for it to ship. I also no longer have great piles of books taking up every corner of my home.

I feel a bit better about the environmental impact. I've already gone through over 20 e-books, and that's an estimated 8,000 pages in paperback form.

Before I became a romance writer, I read romance like an addict. And, like many of you, I always hated, hated, hated, those super steamy covers that scream smut. I could never get fully comfortable whipping out a book at Starbucks or the doctor's office, even though I still did.

Now I carry my e-reader wherever I go, and read whenever I want, without advertising half-naked highlanders with too much hair.

How do you use your e-reader? Do you keep it at home? Or have you purchased a spacious purse just for your e-reader, like me. =^_^=

Editing Woes

I' nearly finished editing my book and I couldn't be more excited! Only a few more chores before I can finally publish. Formatting comes next. With self publishing you really learn what's involved in producing a quality product, and because this is my first book I'm finding all the snags. Which is good for working out the kinks for my future books, but it's really slowing down the process on this one.

I can't decide if I want drop caps at the start of each chapter or not. It seems like a dying trend. Also, when I read them sometimes they seem awkward if they are too large.

I currently own a Kindle and am thinking about getting a Nook. The problem I'm noticing with Kindle is—even with the most coveted mainstream authors—there seems to be a lot of editing issues that you wouldn't normally see in a paperback. Why is that? It should be the same content. Right?

Could it be that errors are easier to spot on a screen than they are in a book? Or is this some kind of kindle specific issue?

Finally Finished? Yeah Right.

I finally finished the last chapter of Demon Possession. *Sigh of relief* Now I have the daunting task of editing. I've been researching the process of self-publishing and came across a very helpful book by Zoe Winters called Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author.

Zoe pretty much gives an inside look and the publishing do's and don'ts. One thing she suggested is, duh, edit your book. You'd be surprised how many people believe they don't need an editor. Seriously, when you're writing professionally, how could you not?

Another useful suggestion was to use a program called Editor by Serenity Software, which I downloaded, and it is fabulous! Zoe warns that it is not to be used as a replacement for an actual editor, but it will help you to see where the problems are in your writing. Using it, I've caught so many small issues that an editor shouldn't have to bother with.

Confusing My Cats

When I first made the decision to write a book I imagined the end result. First the Agent would call and praise my work, wanting to work to get me a publishing deal, then I would jump up and down with excitement, screaming through my house, and confusing the hell out of my cats. Then the publisher would call the agent and offer a lucrative deal, again I would jump up and down with excitement, screaming through my house, while confusing the hell out of my cats.

But after hearing the downside of the publishing world, and realizing that, with the introduction of e-readers, the industry is changing. So I made the scary decision to self publish, digitally. Now I imagine, once my book has been distributed to all the e-reader outlets, with my first sale I will jump up and down with excitement, screaming through my house, and confuse the hell out of my cats. =^_^=

A girl needs to know her priorities.

Be Warned

Hello world! This is my first attempt at blogging, so be warned. First off, a little history; When I was younger I, like most Americans, went through the public school system and was exposed to the most boring books written by humankind. Forgive me if I've insulted anyone who loves Lord Of The Flies, along with all the other mundane, mind numbing, uninspired literature that hasn't been protested by the book burners.

Don't get me wrong, Lord OF the Flies was an interesting analysis of humanity, regarding social law versus natural instinct. In fact, it was the most interesting book that I read in school, which is probably why it's the only one I really remember. It—unlike anything else we were required to read—was humanity in the raw. There was death, betrayal, envy, and hatred. Plus there was a little gore thrown in; nothing like a rotting, bloody, fly covered boars head to get your attention.

Do you remember the books you read in school?

I remember having to read many books and had written many reports, in hope of getting at least a B+, I just don't remember any of them. What were they about? Why did my teacher want me to read them? Was I supposed to learn something? I still can't answer these questions.

Based on the books I had been exposed to, I couldn't imagine any book being entertaining enough to hold my attention. So through middle school, high school, and even collage I refrained from reading for the purposes of pleasure. Then I read a little book by the name of "Harry Potter" by J. K. Rowling. I wasn't the teenybopper looking for an interesting read, I was actually in my twenties at the time, working as a front desk agent at a motel. There was no television, and time would drag between client walk-ins. So a friend of mine lent me Harry Potter and the Sorceress Stone. Wow!

Buffy Freak

I had always loved the supernatural. Buffy, Angel, X-files, Xina warrior princess, you name it I probably recorded it on VHS and watch the reruns to this day, so Harry Potter was a fantastic transition into books. Unfortunately, I got busy with life and didn't really pick up a book again until Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. After that, the hooks were deeply lodged in my flesh and a floodgate had burst. I had to read. Everything. As long as it was supernatural or fantastical I bought it, ordered it, downloaded it, and read it in two days or less. I couldn't get enough.

Imagination is Invaluable

All these books that I read after that, eventually convinced me that what I really wanted to do, was write. I love coming up with strange an interesting worlds. Characters with depth, personality, and more than a few flaws. I've done this since I was a child. Most call it daydreaming, others call it a distraction. In school I had a habit of zoning out, meaning I would retreat into my mind and forget I was in a classroom, where a teacher was speaking about things that might be on a midterm. My mind would wonder and create off-the-wall scenarios, with indepth storylines and intricate characters. It was a problem when I was trying to focus on studies, so I tried to train—what is now a valuable asset—out of myself, when I should have been nurturing it. Imagination is invaluable to writers.

A lifetime of Development

My first book, Demon Possession, is a novel that, honestly, has been in development since I was old enough to imagine a world other than my own. As a child the story was much shorter and simpler, as a teen romance was introduced, and as an adult it became edgy. The final product is really the result of a lifetime of development.