Jade C. Jamison's Blog, page 45

Y’all a Bestseller, Say F**k That…

Apologies to Korn, but it works.

In all seriousness, I want to talk about a topic I’ve thought a lot about over the past year.  It has to do with indie publishing versus traditional.  I want to talk about it because it seems that being picked up by a big publisher is the ultimate goal of most indie writers.

Not mine.

I’ve seen lots of indie authors get picked up by publishers and, while that’s seemingly a good thing, I have also witnessed the pitfalls.  Sure, it’s good for the author (and I could even argue that point, but that’s not my goal here).  The author, it would seem, would have more time to write and have to market less.  That may be true, but not necessarily.  The author would possibly make more money (I have to guess that would be true, or why else would they all be signing those contracts?).  She could also benefit from having someone else coordinate and design her cover and she’d have big house editors polishing her manuscript.  But there’s a dark side.

I have given this matter a lot of thought.  I might not ever have a big publisher offer me a contract.  If one does, it better be a big f**king carrot.  Let me tell you why, because these are all the reasons why I don’t want to stop indie publishing:

1)   Readers have to start paying more—usually lots more—for the author’s books.  I’ve seen a lot of authors who have been picked up by traditional publishers in the past couple of years and their books have doubled in price…or more.  What a slap in the face to faithful readers.  I know we also all want to celebrate that they’ve been recognized by the big publishers who now deem them “worthy” to “play in the big leagues,” but really…what do readers get out of the deal?  A lighter bank account.  I’m guessing (although I could be wrong) that most of that extra money never makes it to the author, so what’s the point?

2)   Readers have to start waiting longer—sometimes lots longer—for the next book.  Yes, I know some of these authors will continue releasing some indie books as well, but I know of some authors who have had their releases delayed, p*ssing off their loyal fans, and I’m sure it’s mostly thanks to the big publishers holding the strings.  That’s a huge loss of control, one I’m not sure I want to give up.

3)   Writers might not have the last say in their books.  I have traditionally published friends.  Sometimes the editorial suggestions are welcome.  It’s nice as a writer to have others look over your work, because sometimes you’ve missed something, because you’ve been too close to it.  But let me tell you something that’s cool about indie publishing:  You can be unique and no one can tell you otherwise.  Sure, you might have some folks bash you in reviews, but they’re going to do that whether you’re an indie or not.  Anyway, I’ve had traditionally published friends who have been asked to make small changes—a word here or there—but I also have writer friends who have been told to change major parts of their story.  Yeah, sometimes it’s true that the traditional publisher knows…but what if they don’t?  What if they just want a mainstream, formulaic piece of sh*t?

I have other reasons too.  One is the rebel in me, not wanting to bow to “the man.”  Let me just say this—I have worked hard to get to where I am, and I don’t mean by marketing the sh*t out of myself.  Let’s tell it like it is—I suck at marketing (I know this!), so thank heavens I now have a kick ass Street Team.  But I always believed in the power of my writing, and every reader who loves me (or hates me) has been hard won.  So to have all that hard work p*ssed on by signing it over to traditional publishing seems to desecrate everything I’ve fought so hard for.

Let me put it this way—if I’m ever made an offer (and it doesn’t seem likely, but let’s entertain it for a brief moment just the same), I will have to first sit on my hands (you know my middle fingers get ITCHY AS HELL!!!), and then I will need some time to think about it.  Hard.

Because I really don’t see an upside.

Peace out, my friends, and rock the f**k on!!!  I LOVE YOU!

Satisfaction Guaranteed…for 90% of You

Oh, God.  I wish I wouldn’t read my reviews.  I really wish I wouldn’t.  Eventually, once one of my books starts getting some of the more critical ones, I do stop.  But I can’t help myself starting out.

I used to read them all, because my thought was that if a reader went to the trouble of writing a review, it might have advice for me.  After all, “the customer is always right.”

But I’m calling bullsh*t.

Some reviews (not just for my books, mind you—I’ve seen it happen with other authors as well) can be downright hateful.  My thought has always been that folks are entitled to their opinions, including if they feel the need to be nasty, but that doesn’t mean I have to read it.

That said, I usually read early reviews.  I just can’t help myself.

And I’ve been FLYING HIGH with the reviews Feverish has received. Yes, I’ve gotten a couple of lukewarm ones and one that said the reader flat-out hated the book (she said she felt that she had been “lied to” because everyone but herself liked the book), but it was doing great on Amazon.

And then…the first one-star review.

It’s always bound to happen.  That old saying “You can’t make everyone happy” exists for a reason.  No matter how fantastic I or a lot of readers think one of my books is, someone is going to hate it.  That’s a given.  The first one-star review Feverish received on Amazon, though, left me scratching my head.  The reader was complaining that, because Bullet was written in first person, Rock Bottom and Feverish should also have been written in first person.  First off, this person is obviously not familiar with my entire catalog of books.  Only two have been fully first person—Bullet and Then Kiss Me—and I’ll even give you that a large chunk of Quickies was written in first person.  However, that leaves eighteen of my books that were—you guessed it—written in third person.  I won’t say never, but I will probably never write a book told from the male’s perspective in first person.  I am not a man.  While I feel confident enough to write third person from a man’s perspective, I do not feel up to the task of writing first person point of view in a man’s voice.

Again, this reader is entitled to her opinion and I will not address her directly.  I would never do that, because I don’t feel it’s right.  I needed to vent, though.  I wanted to ask her why she didn’t read the sample first and then decide it wasn’t for her.  Actually, she probably did, because it’s not a verified purchase.  I just feel like reviews should be legitimate, if that makes any sense.  Bullet got a one-star review early on from one reader who said she was giving it one star because others had—she admitted outright that she hadn’t read it herself.

But I digress.  The other point I wanted to make is that I write what the story calls for.  I feel most comfortable writing in third person, which is why a majority of my books are written that way.  Sometimes, though, a book calls for first person, and Bullet happened to be one of them.  I am not going to be bullied by a reader into writing something that doesn’t work for the story.  I like my heroines to be an important part of my stories, and that’s why both Rock Bottom and Bullet have dual points of view.  I am writing my first book told completely from a male perspective right now—Fully Automatic.  It’s told from Brad’s point of view (make no mistake, though—it’s not just a retelling of Bullet).  But guess what?  I’m telling it in third person, so…bring the one-star review.  I’m not changing it just because one would-be reader feels the need to be nasty.  I know other authors who might cave to that kind of pressure, but I know this—there are lots of quiet readers out there (meaning non-reviewing readers) who loved the book just the way it is…and those folks are the ones I’m writing for.  You don’t like my stuff?  Don’t buy it.  Don’t read it.  Go away and read something else.  I don’t want your business.

Okay, I’m shutting up now.  Sorry to vent.  I hope you forgive me.

I also need to stop ranting because it’s NaNoWriMo, and Jade’s got two books to write.  Oops!  Third person!

Love to you all—yes, YOU.  If you’re reading this, you’re one of the folks I’m writing for.

Oh…one more thing.  My blog posts will probably always be written in the first person…mostly. 

For Crying out Loud!

I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that I feel emotions when I write my books, but I do.  I cried several times writing Rock Bottom, and I laughed at several spots during Feverish.  I tend to believe a scene in one of my books will also strike an emotional chord with my readers when, as I go back through the book revising and editing, I get emotional all over again in the same spots.  I laughed a lot writing Feverish.  Clay is a fun-loving, happy, laid-back guy, and he tends to be funny as well.  I laughed in several spots while I wrote the book, and I laughed again when I went back through.  What I hadn’t expected was crying.  Clay’s story is not like Ethan’s.  I expected Ethan’s to be hard and gritty and laden with tears.  Clay’s story is fun…but I still got misty at the end.

Honestly, I’d expected Rock Bottom to do better than it did, but as the reviews started rolling in, I saw why.  Lots of readers didn’t want Ethan to have a happy ending.  They didn’t feel like he deserved it.  I’m sad they weren’t willing to give Ethan a chance, but that also tells me that Bullet affected them emotionally as well, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.  I also know Rock Bottom is a hard read.  It deals with difficult subject matter and it’s not necessarily for everyone.

I’m hopeful, though, that Clay’s story will appeal to a wider audience.  He wasn’t a huge part of Bullet, but he was a big part of Valerie’s life and sparked the imagination of a lot of readers.  His story is as fun as you are expecting.  But I do want to tell you that there is a lot more to Clay than you might have seen coming.  I hope you love his story.  I know I did!

October 25 is right around the corner!

Shh!!!

One thing I will say about the publishing community of indie authors—we know how to network.  Yesterday, more drama, and it spread like wildfire.  We’d been hearing the buzz about Kobo/ WH Smith pulling down “questionable” content, but then they announced that they were pulling down everything indie without regard to content.  It was a no-holds-barred frenzy of figuratively pulling books off shelves.  Then articles appeared, accusing not only Kobo but Barnes and Noble and Amazon as well of the same sort of behavior.  Shortly thereafter, Facebook was going crazy with not whispers but shouts, crying censorship.  Readers were angry with the rumors that all their books could be deleted off their Kindles with no warning (because they’re paying for the “license,” not the “book”), and authors were angry because—bottom line—Amazon earns most of us more money than all the other outlets combined.  We reach a wider audience with Amazon, frankly, and to even dream that we can no longer use the seller as an outlet is upsetting, to say the least.

While the jury is still out—because neither I nor any other author or reader have seen anything in print from Amazon confirming or denying this rumor—I am a little hopeful, because not one but two readers contacted me to tell me they had spoken personally with someone at Amazon over the phone and were assured that these were rumors and nothing more.  One woman who posted on one of my discussions about the matter said they told her they would have someone in PR release a statement to quell the rumors on Facebook.

As you know by now, that statement has not yet been released…and, until it is, I and my fellow indie authors will wait, hopeful but nervous.

In the meantime, I have done all I can.  I have signed the petition at change.org (if you want to sign or see it, click the link.  When I signed it yesterday, it had fewer than 300 signatures and now, as I post this article early Tuesday morning, it has over 10,000!).  I also urged others to sign.  Deeper than crushing our livelihood is the threat of censorship, something I think most of us can agree is a bad thing.  When others can start to choose what you can and cannot read, then they begin to worry about all the other areas of others’ lives they aren’t happy with.  We live in a free country, folks, which means we have the liberty to choose what we personally like, and that also means that we might not always like what someone else is doing.  Get over it!

Bottom line:  I hadn’t published on Smashwords in a while, mainly because I have to reformat my books—both text and cover—for the site.  However, I’d had many readers urging me to do so again, because that was the only way they could access my books, so I published Rock Bottom on the site and planned to begin publishing with them again, as well as publish all the other books I haven’t been.  The point is that Smashwords is more a grassroots place.  Yes, they too are choosy about the type of books they sell (they announced a year ago that they wouldn’t sell books with questionable themes, such as beastiality), but they ARE indie publishers.  That’s what they do.  They take indie books and get them to outlets that wouldn’t be available to indie authors otherwise.  That will always be an avenue of publishing for me.  No, it’s not Amazon.  It’s not Barnes & Noble, and, in fact, Kobo (who, in addition to all their other outlets, gets books from Smashwords) had deleted many of my titles long before this most recent episode.  Barnes & Noble UK had as well.  But I will continue writing and will publish by whatever means are available.  I’d like to hope this is just a bump and that we will go back to business as usual soon.  If not, we will persevere.  We always do.

On a happier note…Feverish is scheduled to be released a week from Friday, and the cover reveal is next week as well.  I can’t wait for you to read this one!  Happy reading!  And…if it’s not available on Amazon, I will still find a way to get it to you!

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Wow.  I and the rest of the indie publishing community are still reeling from this latest scandal, although I’m sure it’s not just the indie publishing community.  If you haven’t heard about the latest whisperings of plagiarism in the romance community, consider yourself lucky.  There was a different one a few months ago involving authors plagiarizing multiple authors’ work, and you hear of these things happening every so often.  I remember ten years ago or so hearing about a teenage phenom writer, one being hailed as fresh and new…until readers discovered she was uncannily like one of their faves, and—upon examination—was discovered to be a word thief.

Bottom line (and something I used to tell my students when I taught writing classes)—if you steal someone else’s words, intentional or otherwise, sooner or later you will be caught.

But I didn’t start writing this post today to be all depressing or finger-pointy.  That author doesn’t need yet another person talking about her.  No…instead, I want to talk about my writing.  This latest incident really gives me a reason to talk about something lots of you haven’t fully understood about me, and that’s why I read what I read.

Every once in a while, someone will say, “Hey, Jade, you really need to read this author or that author.”  This or that author usually happens to write in the same (or in a similar) genre to mine.  I don’t read in my genre very often.  Usually, I read nonfiction, horror, suspense, or mainstream fiction.  I might read one or two books a year in my genre (if that).  Here are my reasons:

I want to sound fresh.  If I constantly read in my genre, I’m afraid I will start to sound like every other author out there.  In some ways, I suppose, that wouldn’t be bad, because what’s popular now is what’s selling, so I guess that would be a way to jump on the gravy train.  However, I do not want to sound or seem like every other author out there, even if it means I sacrifice audience.  I want to be different; I relish it (yes, part of it is the f**king rebel in me!).  And those of you who read my work regularly appreciate that.  I don’t plan to change my game plan now.
I believe that everything I read, whether I remember it consciously or it’s buried in the back of my mind, is constantly with me.  Actually, it’s not just everything I read; it’s also everything I see (right now, I’m referring to TV shows, movies, and plays).  With that in mind, I believe it’s quite possible to accidentally envision a scene or a character in my mind and think it’s brand new, but maybe it’s actually fashioned after something I’ve seen or heard or read.  So I do think it’s possible for stories to have similar elements, even when an author has done her best to be original.  I do not want that to ever happen, so I’d prefer to play it safe and not read much in my genre.  I’m not saying I never do.  I’m just saying I don’t do it that often.  That’s not to insult all the wonderful authors out there, those wonderful writers I’m proud to call my peers.  It’s to keep my work “pure,” for lack of a better word.  That said, I’ve read one and a half books in my genre this year, and I have a helluva TBR list that I’ll get to when I retire.

I realize I’m missing a lot of awesome fiction.  I do.  It’s a sacrifice I will continue to make, though, and in light of recent happenings, I feel all the more compelled to do so.  So please don’t take offense, friends, when you recommend a book to me (whether in my genre or on the fringe) and I politely decline, even and especially if you are a writer yourself.  It’s not that I don’t trust your judgment; I do it to protect myself, but I also do it to ensure that my writing is out of the ordinary, and I hope I don’t disappoint.  Fellow writers, know that I do this out of the utmost respect for you and your work.

With much love,

Jade

Oh, yeah.  And ROCK ON!!!

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Readers who have been “with me” for a long time know that I have a steadfast rule—I rarely read in my genre, and I don’t for lots of reasons.  The biggest reason is that I don’t want to sound like everyone else, nor do I want to compare my writing to other authors (for better or worse).  I want my voice fresh, and it is therefore better served by my reading far and wide…and out of the romance/erotica/rock star genre.

Once in a while, though, I do break that rule, especially when a book is particularly compelling.  One day I was reading reviews of one of my books on Amazon, and another author’s book was linked to Bullet.  I clicked on it because the cover intrigued me, and the blurb about the book convinced me to break that rule.  I one-clicked and it sat on my Kindle for a few months while I finished one of my TBR stacks of nonfiction.  A few months later I was in a waiting room and done checking my email and Facebook page.  I opened up my Kindle and there that little beauty was, calling to me.  I started reading and—two chapters later—was certain I would love the book.  In fact, the writing was so great, it made me feel like I need to stick to my day job.  Forever.

I start this out by reminding readers that, on more than one occasion, I have been accused of being “very vanilla.”  I’ll cop to it.  I don’t write about BDSM, ménage, anal, or kink.  Granted, my characters don’t just do missionary, but you bet I’m vanilla, and my readers have assured me that they’re okay with that, so I’m not even going to attempt something I’m not good at.  There are plenty of other authors who do other flavors quite well.  That said, let me just get this off my chest before we go any further.  Almost every sex scene in the book involved anal.  All.  But.  One.  As a woman who doesn’t open up the backdoor (sorry if that disappoints), that was a little…er, um…hard for me to swallow.  Okay, that’s out of the way.  I feel better now.

Over the past year, I have tried to “expand” my repertoire a little.  Riley and Erin played a little with handcuffs; Jet shared a little toy with Val; and one of my upcoming books later in the year will feature (thanks to popular demand) a threesome, but there are a lot of things I’m not comfortable writing about.  As I said a moment ago, I know there are plenty of other authors who handle other varieties better than yours truly, and I’ll leave it to them.  I guess this was just my way of telling you to never expect an anal sex scene from one of my books…in case you were looking for it.  But if you like vanilla, I’ve got plenty of that!

Anyway, I had placed myself in a rather precarious position by agreeing to review the book for one of my blogger friends who thought it would be cool to have authors reviewing authors.  I thought that was a fun idea, and since I loved the book thus far, I was certain I would love the whole thing.  Well, it turns out that I had to “bow out.”  I explained to my awesome blogger friend that even though I liked the book overall, there were things about it that didn’t work for me.  I would have either said that in my review and wound up coming across as a rude, mean and nasty author (something I never want to do) or I would have sugarcoated it and not been completely honest. Either way was a losing situation for me and for the other author.  Fortunately, my blogger friend completely understood.  Bottom line, though, and I feel quite strongly about this:  I know every book has an audience who loves it, even if I don’t, and I don’t want to destroy this author’s chance of finding a solid audience who will love her work.  I know it is well loved by a lot of people, so I am keeping my opinion to myself.

It also comes back to me.  I know not everyone loves my writing, and I’ve grown comfortable with that.  Again, it reassures me that there is an audience for every book written, and eventually that audience will find it.  I’m so glad you all found me!

A little more on reading inside my genre, though.  Some of you know I attended my very first book signing in Las Vegas last weekend (Naughty Mafia).  That was spectacular.  I met so many wonderful authors (there were several I didn’t have the chance to meet as well), and now I know I must read their books.  I just must.  I have loaded up my Kindle.  However, I still can’t make them a steady diet.  They will be my “dessert reading.”

In the meantime, though, I must focus on writing, something that’s become a little harder over the past year as I’ve begun interacting online more.  I won’t stop interacting, though, because I have met so many wonderful people online.  However, I do need to start setting time limits with myself so I home in on what you’re here for in the first place—my books!  You’ll be glad to know, on that note, that Rock Bottom is right around the corner!  A little over a week.  Thanks for the journey, folks.  It’s only just begun!

3000 Frickin’ Facebook Likes!

Wow.  2013 just keeps getting better and better for me.  I am blown away and so full of gratitude and happiness.  Anyway, to express that gratitude, I want to give a little something back.  Here’s a big giveaway from me to you that will go live at midnight tonight! 

Thank you.  Seriously.  Now enter.  You have more ways that you can shake a stick at to get your name thrown in the pot and you can spread even more love!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Difference a Year Can Make

My life has undergone a lot of changes over the past year, more than I ever would have imagined.  I’ve been through a lot of emotional stuff, some good, some bad, but I tend to focus on the positive (even though sometimes the negative lurks underneath).  But as I look back over the past twelve months, I’m amazed at what a difference a year can make.

This time last year, I was halfway through writing Everything But.  At the time—while I was writing it—I knew it was going to be special.  And, sure enough, it was.  When I released it in September 2012, it quickly became my bestselling book and put me on all kinds of Amazon charts.  It was quite thrilling for me.  So, when I started writing Bullet, I felt the same thing, but I had no idea just how special it would be.  For some reason, I didn’t get as high on the Amazon charts with it as I had with Everything But, but I sold a lot more copies and got serious attention.  That led to my first Blog Tour (thanks, Shh Mom’s Reading, by the way)!

I had no idea what was coming!  And that’s all good.  Now…Bullet has become a series, something I hadn’t intended, but I write for my readers.  I am now working on Rock Bottom, the second book in the series, but I haven’t given up on any of my other series either.  The difference a year has made means I’m spending more time chatting with readers.  I’ve made some close friends over this past year as well, and that has led to the creation of my Street Team (if you’d like to check out their shenanigans—and, trust me, you do—visit them on Facebook) who have taken over a good part of the marketing aspect for me.  I’m grateful for that.

I’m trying to make more time for writing, since that’s what I really want to do, but here are some of the other fun things that go along with it.  I was invited a couple of months ago to be an author at the Naughty Mafia in Vegas in August (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) as a Sunday Sinner.  I’ve also been invited to sign at the North Shore Author Signing event in Peabody, Massachusetts, in April 2014.  It’s these kinds of “events” that I had not anticipated a year ago, but it does tell me that I don’t want to stop now.  It had never been an option anyway.  I would have been perfectly happy to continue on the track I had been.  I’m the first to admit I’m not a shrewd businesswoman.  Frankly, I don’t want to be.  I simply want to be a writer and I want my books to be read.  I don’t have to be everyone’s favorite and I don’t have to sell millions of copies, but I will be quite content to be your writer.  The book signings for me are like icing on the cake and a huge reminder that I’m definitely on the right (or is that write?) track.  So stay tuned.  Coming up—Rock Bottom will be released (with an accompanying blog tour) in September, and I hope to release Nicki #9 (Fake) along with Tangled Web #3 (Seal All Exits) sometime this summer.  Guess I better get back to writing!

Wow! 2500 Facebook LIKEs

You folks just never cease to amaze me.  Thank you so very much for showing me so much love!  This giveaway begins tomorrow and you’ll notice you have a crazy amount of entry options.  I did this because I wanted to share the love.  There are so many wonderful bloggers, reviewers, and book lovers who have helped spread the word about my books, and I want to do the same.  (Oh, you’ll notice I have a few rock bands in the mix as well!)  Anyway, thanks much for the love!

Also…you’ll be happy to know that I have three books underway…Seal All Exits (Tangled Web #3), Fake (Nicki Sosebee #9), and Rock Bottom (Bullet #2).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are You Kidding Me? 2000 Likes???

This is absolutely crazy…and I mean that in the best way possible.  At the end of last year/beginning of this year while I was writing Bullet, I knew it was special.  But I had no freaking idea just how many people it would touch, would continue to move.  And because it resonated with so many people, I am continued to be floored by its success.  I ended 2012 with fewer than 200 Likes on Facebook.  Now I have ten times that amount.  That is crazy, but I am excited.  And so, as my thanks to you, I’m holding yet another giveaway.  This time, though, I’m sharing even more entry options.  You’ll get the chance to Like and Follow some of the awesome bloggers who have helped me on this journey.  I know I’ve forgotten some of that, and I’m offering an apology in advance for that, but they all deserve my deepest thanks.  They were instrumental in my success, because they put me in the spotlight, and for that, I really will be eternally grateful.  I’m also grateful to YOU, my readers, because you have helped too.  You’ve loved it and you’ve talked about it.  You’ve hyped it.  So…this giveaway is but a token of my gratitude.  Thank you so very much!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway