L.M. Long's Blog, page 38

So you're like famous, right?

I am in the middle of a full swing blog tour right now. Somehow, in the minds of all that know me, this equates to selling thousands of books. I almost titled this blog post misconceptions of the indie kind, because basically that's what this is.

A funny thing happens when you put a book out there for the world to see.

Everyone suddenly believes that you are instantaneously, and without any effort, famous.

And of course if I'm famous, I'm obviously suddenly wealthy as well.

I'm an indie author, self published, but I have to believe this happens to anyone who has every published a book. Traditionally or otherwise. It can't just be my friends and acquaintances, that are this misguided and silly.

Right?!?

Inevitably I respond to their question with a question of my own, "Well. . . have you read my book?

This is generally followed by stuttering, a sheepish look, and barely coherent muttering to the tune of, "I've been meaning to get to it. . . ."

"So if you haven't read my book, and you are my friend, what could possibly give you the impression that anyone else has read it?"

Mind you, this probably isn't the nicest response to someone who honestly means well, and wishes me all the success in the world. But it makes me want to scream.

Every. Single. Time.

"I am not famous! I barely make enough each month to cover date nights with my husband! This is some gosh darn hard work!"

So please, bite your tongue next time you feel like asking me if I'm famous yet.

I'm pushing a giant boulder up a mighty big hill.

A mountain really, with a peak I can't even see.

How do you really think it's going?

I'm not famous, but I'm surviving, I'm pushing, I'm struggling, and I'm writing.

So I guess you could say it's going well enough.

-Laura

(Shameless plug here, but if you'd like to follow my blog tour you can connect through my website at www.lmlong.net)

Day 15: Rewards and Reviews

[image error] If you are doing the 30 day challenge according to the calendar you should be halfway done!  Go ahead and give yourself a figurative pat on the back (or literal if you want to find a friend willing to do it).  Rewarding yourself for your hard work should be more than internal satisfaction.  I highly suggest taking some time now to plan out what kind of reward to intend to give yourself when this challenge is completed.  A night out with friends?  A fancy dinner with the hubs?  The cell phone of your dreams?  In planning your reward think of whatever thing you want most and contemplate why you have failed to give it to yourself before?  Why will completing this challenge help you feel you now deserve it?
For those of you who followed my advice and called week one a "prep" week you should have just wrapped up your first seven days of actual writing and have finished Act I as well.  It may be a bit premature to start planning rewards, but it is a great time to take a look back on your progress so far by reviewing the worksheets you've filled out these last two weeks.  BUT PLEASE REMEMBER that while your current work may not match up with your previous expectations it is important that you do not go back and rewrite anything!  Reviewing your work is only to help ensure your story stays on track from this point on.  If you find what you have already completed needs to be edited, take note of changes you would like to make and then continue writing as if the first portion of your story had already been rewritten.  Only after the 30 day challenge can you go back to edit.
Review DAY 1:  Does your one-sentence summary accurately reflect your novel thus far?  Is your Story Idea Map still relevant for the work you'll be doing in the next two (or three) weeks?  If there are discrepancies, do you need to adjust your sentence summary, or does your story need to be steered back toward it's core idea?

DAY 2:  Are you continuing to record new ideas for scenes on your Scene Cards?  Would the story move more quickly or be more interesting if some scenes were omitted, combined, or put in a different order?

DAY 3:  Review your At-A-Glance Outline and adjust weeks two, three, and four where necessary.  Continue taking note of items to be researched after the 30 day challenge on your Research Tracker worksheet (scroll down to page 252 after clicking the link).

DAY 4:  Make sure that your characters are acting consistently and are properly motivated.  Review your Character Story Sketch (page 253), Character Snapshot (page 255), and Character Revealing Scenes (page 258) worksheets and make whatever updates or changes you've decided upon for your character.

DAY 5:  Ensure that your Act I turning point presents enough challenges for your characters to keep the readers engaged.  Review your Act I Turning Point Brainstorm worksheet (page 259).

DAY 6:  Take note of how effectively you've spread your characters' backstories throughout Act I.  Add any new backstory ideas to your Backstory Brainstorm worksheet (page 260).

DAY 7:  Be sure to look back through Act I for any plot or character holes using your checklists.  
MY DAY 15:  I found myself losing steam.  Although I'd planned to write three scenes a day I was only able to complete one scene on this day because I was feeling the strain of such a frenetic writing pace.  I also found the mess in my house and the neglect of my family members pulled me from my creative thoughts and had me a bit sulky and feeling deprived of my loved ones.

Quotes

 

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Heritage

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Founder

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When Lara is suddenly confronted with some very ugly family truths, a whirlwind adventure of mystery and discovery begins.

When she meets Marta, a sheltered teenager living in the Amazon jungle, her adventure becomes a nightmare.

Founder is about choices. Choices made in fear, choices made to protect those we love, choices to let go of our control.

 

Contains mature content, but no crude language or gratuitous sex. Recommended for ages 14 and up.

Available in paperback and e-book on Amazon

Blog Tour

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How to Indie Publish (the condensed version)

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I get this question all the time, "How do you do it?"  Which ultimately means, "How do I do it?"  So here's a blog post devoted to just that.  I am by no means a best selling indie author, but maybe my story will give you a little encouragement to keep on chugging.

In "The true story behind Founder," I tell you about my dream.  This is completely true.  I wish I had recorded the exact date in my journal scribblings, but I didn't- so I'm only aware that it was in late October, early November, I woke up and began scribbling out the character of Marta.  She was the only character I didn't actually invent a name for, she was called Marta in my dreams.  The moment I woke up, she was a real person to me, and I couldn't rename her.  My head was filled with dialogue that winter.  I was constantly racing home from places to scribble another scene down.  My iPhone, and iPad were filled with abbreviated notes- I always had trouble deciphering.  I was a couple weeks into this when I spoke with a good friend Elaine.  She was the first person I mentioned writing a book to, I hadn't even told my husband up until this point.  Of course being the amazing friend she is, she encouraged me to do it- so I spoke with my husband- ordered a writing program for our Mac (Scrivener- I highly recommend it), and started typing.  My sister's Kimi and Katrina became my first sounding boards.  I would forward them whole sections to ask opinions, and Kimberly really became my motivation to finish.  She would impatiently email me asking for the next chunk, pestering me until I forwarded it, in all it's grammatically incorrect glory.

Eventually I had a somewhat completed manuscript at 80,000 words.  I was so proud of that baby I printed it right off, and it still sits on the bookshelf behind me.  The very first draft of Founder.  This was in February.  Then began the round of edits.  I started sending it out to friends to read.  Julianne was my biggest help here- I would send her one chapter at a time, as I rewrote- and she would make comments and helpful suggestions.  I would rewrite again right behind her.  It took nearly a month of daily, hourly, rewrites.  Do you see a pattern here?  I have absolutely incredible friends- who devoted a huge chunk of their own lives to my pet project.  After the first and second rewrite, I was ready for beta readers.  I also started sending out query letters to agents.  This was my one huge mistake- my book was not completed and I still sent out query letters.  Some of the feedback I received from agents, proved invaluable- but I would still recommend waiting, and waiting, and wanting, to send out those query letters- especially if you're going to try and go the traditional route.

My beta readers were fantastic.  Two of my friends from goodreads, Chris and Colette, gave me incredibly critical and honest feedback, which caused two major rewrites of sections, and a brand new character to be developed.  My sister Katrina, helped me to rewrite the beginning of my book- when she told me she couldn't even make it through the first chapter, there was no hook.  My mother was the fourth reader, who hated my book.  Yes, I said my mother hated my book, so those of you out there that think family is just going to blow smoke up your butt- mine didn't.  I changed, and added an entirely new chapter and ending, after my mother complained about it.  All of this was completed in April of 2011.

I ended up receiving 25 rejection queries total, which in the scope of things- is not many.  It was the feedback that made me reevaluate was I was doing.  Most of the agents wrote things like, "incredibly well written, loved your voice, well developed characters, but. . ." Every single one of them found my book "unmarketable."  There simply "isn't a market for your book."  That line, from one of the top agents in the industry, is when I decided I could market it myself, and started investigating the world of indie publishing.

One of the first things I did was buy Zoe Winter's book on Amazon, "A guide to indie publishing."  It offered all kinds of advice, which I began doing.  I found a stock photo for my cover, and did a little photoshopping.  I created a new website, signed up for twitter, and began lurking in the book forums.  Then in May of 2011 I released my book on Amazon for kindle.  They have probably one of the best platforms for authors.  It's completely free, easy to format for, and they give you 70% of royalties for books priced under 9.99.  I also hired a professional formatter, and submitted my book to smashwords, another free indie site- that helps get your book published to iBook, and B&N.  Currently I'm in the works of having my book available through create space, another free service, that in-demand publishes paperback copies.

My best advice to those of you who want to write a book?  Have a thick skin, be able to use rejection and negativity- it has to fuel you.  Read your genre.  I am a notorious bibliophile.  I pop books like candy, and I keep current on what is out there.  Then write.  It doesn't have to be your book.  Write in your journal, write a blog, write letters to friends.  Craft your sentences, and have fun with them- but write.  I write constantly, and when I'm not writing, I'm developing stories and plot in my head.  Like everything else, you can only get better with practice.

 

The True Story behind Founder

I do in fact have a great aunt Marian.  Notice the spelling.  In the early forties she tried unsuccessfully, with her brother John, to create what they called a New Royal Race of blonde "Veracocha's" in Ecuador.  John believed he was to be the Master and spiritual director for this expedition.  Marian was to be the Princess, and Mother to a new generation.  The newspapers of the time caught wind of this, and sensationalized it into a secret Aryan movement among cannibals.  In reality they were attempting to promote a new order of natural living, based upon strange ideologies loosely associated with extreme Christianity.  They believed this new order had to take place in South America, to better promote a super race of humans.  Still crazy, but not quite as terrible as the rags of the forties made them out to be.

My mother was digging through her genealogy a few years back, when she discovered Marian was still alive and in her late nineties.  As in the book Founder, she did attempt to visit her, but Marian was unresponsive and died only a week after my mother made contact.  We were left with her possessions, and now are owners to the insane ramblings of lunatics.

These papers, and the newspaper articles, are the idea behind the Patron Identity Series, but the books are still works of fiction.  There are no White Supremacist colonies hidden among us (at least not that I know of).  There are however, groups all over the world that believe in racial superiority.

If you would like more information on how you can help put a stop to the hate, join the movement:

http://www.niot.org/

Here you can request a screening of a great documentary film at your local school, and take action in your local communities.

Founder: Your Questions Answered

 

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This section contains spoilers.  You've been warned.

Lot's of questions for Marta, keep 'em coming!

Q: Marta, do you miss Henrik?  Why did you ultimately decide to leave?

A: I think I will always miss him, but not him exactly, more like his friendship.  He really was one of my only sources of amusement in Founder, so he's connected to all my good memories of home.  Lara says I'm homesick for him, but I'm not really sick, so that doesn't make any sense.

Q: Marta, what has been your favorite thing since leaving Founder?

A: Definitely the ice cream!  Unbelievable stuff- I could eat it all day!  Lara's laughing at me now.

Q: Lara, what have you enjoyed introducing her too?

A: I think the coolest thing has been showing her how big the world is, how many different people there are.  I try and terrify her as much as I can, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger right?  Lol.

Q: Marta, what message did you send to Henrik through James in Chapter 24?

A: Oh! I wanted James to tell him I was coming along.  James thought it was a bad idea- because of everything going on.  He thought it might not be safe for anybody.  I wasn't about to let Lara go by herself, and I thought I might be able to help if there was trouble.

Marta

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