K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 133

March 20, 2017

Hashtag Hoedown



A hoedown is a social gathering where a lot of dancing takes place. Actually, a lot of lively dancing takes place at a hoedown. Pretty much everyone participating is giving all of their energy to keep up with the others on the dance floor.
Some people believe the more hashtags the merrier on a Twitter post. That is far from the truth. The rule of thumb is no more than three hashtags on a tweet. Otherwise, Twitter will consider your tweet spam and treat it accordingly.
As authors, we want our tweets to get the widest audience possible. Therefore, we search for and use hashtags that will get them noticed. The idea of paring down all the possibilities into a mere three hashtags is abhorrent to us. How can we discover new readers when we’re limited in the places we can reach?
What you can do is evaluate how you’re using those hashtags. Most authors tweet their books multiple times a day. Don’t use the same hashtags on each tweet. Mix and match, in order to get the best distribution.
Another thing you can do is decide which hashtags give you the best exposure. Groups like romance, fantasy, and science fiction are huge. Your tweet is likely to be lost in the wave of daily tweets being sent out. Instead of going for the obvious hashtag to identify your book, seek ones that are less popular. You’ll soon find people are retweeting your work and it’s getting noticed.
The secret to using hashtags is keep them to a minimum. Don’t confuse people with a tweet that’s mostly hashtags. Give them a real teaser from your book
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond. 


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:

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Published on March 20, 2017 00:00

March 19, 2017

Bullying





Bullying comes in all shapes and forms. In a connected twenty-four hours a day world, teens often find themselves targets of bullies on social media in addition to the traditional methods of bullying. How do teens deal with bullies? The methods vary and some teens never learn how to handle those who will put them down verbally and physically. The attacks can be emotionally painful. The scars can last forever.








Alex Starkey is a normal teenager with unfortunate initials. Initials which have been his nemesis his entire life. Initials matter when all the kids call each other by them instead using their names.
If that isn’t awkward enough, there’s Payne, who’s made a career out of bullying kids he thinks deserve it. Alex’s inits make him a target. Alex can deal with that on his own, until Payne crosses the line and tries to force him into doing things with long-range consequences. That’s when Alex stands up and faces him down.






Get Inits on Amazon

The first Wednesday in August arrives not with the promise of a day spent in the Recreation Center's pool. No lazy afternoon will float past while I play baseball or football with my buds. Band camp ended a couple of weeks ago, so sleeping until noon is no longer a luxury I indulge in.
Although I know what day it is, I revel in a dream – where I'm Mr. America. I flex my muscles, strut around a stage, and blow away the competition. This is my victory, my way of showing everyone that I'm the best.
All the problems in my life fly away. No one gives me any kind of trouble about my inits, they don't dare.
Nobody messes with Mr. America.




About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:
Facebook 
Twitter 
Website 
Goodreads 
Amazon Author Page 
Google + 
Manic Readers 
AUTHORSdB 
Readers Gazette 



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Published on March 19, 2017 00:00

March 17, 2017

Release Day ~ The Case of the Vanishing Girls Book 1 Wildcat Crew!







The long awaited arrival of Wildcat Crew is here! That’s right, you can finally get the first book in a brand new teen mystery series. Do you remember Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys? The Wildcat Crew handles their cases without cell phones, GPS, and the internet. Why? These teens may be seeing all sorts of new technology in 1973, but they still don’t have everything that would make solving their cases a lot easier!



Get The Vanishing Girls Book 1 Wildcat Crew on Amazon! 



Finally moving on from the horror of the Manson killings, the Los Angeles area has begun to return to normal. Until, that is, the small bedroom community of Monrovia skyrockets into the news. This sleepy little area, nestled up against the foothills, is probably best known for their football team, but that was yesterday’s news.
Three girls have vanished. Notes left behind have an “H” and a “S” with red dripping off them. People’s minds automatically go to the horror of 1969 and wonder if someone else is about to initiate “Helter Skelter.”
A group of teens, Wildcat Crew, doesn’t think so. Despite the police looking at a trouble teen, they focus on another teen whose past has some dark secrets. As the city moves toward the summer solstice, these intrepid investigators work diligently on solving this case before someone else vanishes into the canyon.







The moon hung low on a dark California night. June could be a mix of summer’s warmth with just enough of the coolness left over from spring to force the native Californians to retreat to their homes and huddle beneath blankets.
Fools they were, and The Mastermind would be the one to remind them of their folly. For he was the one who would wake them up from their quiet, peaceful lives and thrust them into the terror of his making. No one would rest easily until he had sated his hunger.
He crept along a quiet street. Homes were lit up. Images of families having an ordinary evening played through his mind. They had no idea of what he was about to unleash on them. His plan was very simple—no one had noticed his first attempt at fame a mere four years ago, because of the Manson Family’s rampage.
They will now. No one will ever ignore me again.







About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:  
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Goodreads
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Published on March 17, 2017 00:00

March 15, 2017

Deadlines



Authors are free spirits. That has been a long held belief. Meeting a deadline goes against everything we believe in. If the muse is calling us, we have to be involved in writing a new story while it’s fresh in our heads.
Yet, this can also hurt us as a professional. Many times, an author is writing a new book while they’re going through editing for their currently contracted book. This means they have to stop writing and go over edits in order to return them to their editor on time. They are also tasked with getting together the details and deciding on cover art. Adding a day job into the equation leaves very little time for the author to feed the muse.
This leaves the beleaguered author with a massive quandary. They really can’t give up sleep during these processes. That’s pretty vital for being able to function at the job that pays their bills, until they make it big. The pesky editor is continually emailing them, asking when they’ll have that round of edits back, so they can move forward. To top it off, their editor in chief wants to discuss all sorts of things, such as where is the necessary information to insert into the book once editing is complete, have they sent in their cover art form, and horror of horrors, have they begun to plan their release promotion yet.
All of this is enough to send the author into panic mode. They just can’t cope, so they dive into the one thing they know will give them a break from the reality of life—the new story.
Hang on there. Back up. Let’s look at your work schedule again. You have edits to complete. Spend a few hours, or a couple of days, looking them over. Make your comments and get the edits back to the editor.
Hey! Guess what? You’ve cleared one to do off your list.
Next up, learn how to compile that necessary information into a single file. Write up the blurb as a draft, to be gone over later. Add in your bio, social media links, and acknowledgements. If your publisher allows you to insert the books you already have published with them, set up that information too. Save all of this in a file with the rest of your book. Go back when you have a couple of free moments to proofread and edit that blurb.
Oops! It’s still early in the evening and you’ve completed the second job.
That leaves the cover art. Some publishers have you select a stock image from any of the websites offering them. Take some time to go through these. Learn how best to set your searches. Pick out a couple dozen to go back to later. Save those links to another file with your book’s information.
And it’s still early. Early enough that you can write another chapter in your new book. See? That was easy.
As an author, one of the biggest problems you will face is ensuring that you aren’t thought of as the person who can’t meet deadlines. Putting off editing to look over your already published books, because you’re sure there are errors in them, isn’t cool. It’s time wasting. Watching a movie you’ve been dying to see can be done on another day. Your responsibilities are with the contract you signed, which will always have a basic schedule of when things are to be done included.
Don’t be the troublesome author always ready with an excuse as to why you can’t meet the deadline. Be the author your publisher loves, by proving you want to work with them.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond. 


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:
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Twitter 
Website 
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Published on March 15, 2017 00:00

March 14, 2017

School Violence



It’s a fact of life in this modern world. Violence is all around us. It invades our lives through political protests, war, even school violence. Is there a cure for this problem? Or are we doomed to repeat this cycle of anger and violence without any recourse for change?
Blurb

Get Take Chances on Amazon 
Julie Bond grew up in Europe as a military brat. She found her very first permanent home in Landry, GA as a teen going into high school. Almost four years later, she's having pre-graduation jitters and flashing back to an incident of school violence she experienced in Europe. She attempts to convince herself that it can never happen again, but continually finds herself flashing back to that day no matter how hard she tries.
The people around her present any number of problems for Julie, and she's hard put to keep from drowning under all the issues. Then Michael--a cool guy she's had a crush on for the last three years—returns from traveling the US as a photographer, and Julie now has one more thing to distract her as she prepares to leave high school. One thing she firmly believes in: no one will ever invade her classroom with violence again.
Once again, the impossible happens. Once again, she's in a classroom with a madman holding a gun. Once again, she must survive.   Excerpt




The thud of something hitting the floor brings me back to the present. A stick-thin woman with a nose resembling a buzzard's beak fluffs her jet-black hair. She tugs at her flower print dress and stares right at me.
"Si content pour avoir votre attention, Juliette."
Grrrr! Doesn't she get how much I hate that name!
My hands curl into fists, until my chewed fingernails cut into my palms. This woman belongs in the present, but the sight of her dredges up my past – a past I thought was firmly hidden. The event, as I refer to that time, happened almost thirteen years ago at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Terrorists determined to free one of their compatriots chose my kindergarten classroom for their hostages. They left scars I try very hard to bury, but they slip out at unguarded moments.

About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:
Facebook 
Twitter 
Website 
Goodreads 
Amazon Author Page 
Google + 
Manic Readers 
AUTHORSdB 
Readers Gazette 

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Published on March 14, 2017 00:00

March 13, 2017

Sex in Teen Books



Can there be sex in books for teens?
Yes, to a degree but please don’t describe.
I can hear the protests now. Teens have sex. Yes, that is a given. Some teens do engage in sex. They believe they are old enough and responsible enough to handle this act and often don’t consider the consequences of such an act.
Why then, you ask, do most publishers avoid sex in teenage books?
The answer to that is not as simple as it seems.
First, most teen books cover subjects parents and/or caretakers find tough for teens. One of the ironclad rules to writing a teen book is that you must sell to those people. They have the power to make or break your book, and they will stand up and cry foul if they think you’ve gone too far.
Secondly, as more than a few teens I’ve talked to on this subject will say. “Big deal. It’s sex. We know about it. It happens. We don’t need a road map.”
Seriously, they have told me in so many words that the best way to have sex in a teen book is not to have sex in a teen book. To them, it happens with some people. More than a few have said they know of someone who has done it, but all in all, they’re more interested in a well-crafted book that might have a budding romance, or a couple that have known each other for years becoming a more than friends.
As for anything physical that might come out of the relationship… well, let’s just say they’re calling out the old Charlie Rich song Behind Closed Doors. In other words, close the door and change the chapter.
Instead of sex in a teen novel, concentrate on the storyline. Enhance the plot or deepen your characters. Hint at what might happen in the future but don’t get graphic. Once that happens, you’ve crossed the line from a teen book to erotica. If your characters are under eighteen, it becomes kiddie porn and no one will touch it.
Your best bet as an author of teen books is to leave the sex to the imagination or not involve it at all.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story. 
Social Media Links:
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Website 
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Published on March 13, 2017 00:00

March 11, 2017

Commitments







Friends are very important to teens, especially if those teens are military brats who are used to picking up and moving whenever the military decides they must. Many of these children are adept at adapting to their new homes but they hold their friends close.



Get Take Chances on Amazon
Julie Bond grew up in Europe as a military brat. She found her very first permanent home in Landry, GA as a teen going into high school. Almost four years later, she's having pre-graduation jitters and flashing back to an incident of school violence she experienced in Europe. She attempts to convince herself that it can never happen again, but continually finds herself flashing back to that day no matter how hard she tries.
The people around her present any number of problems for Julie, and she's hard put to keep from drowning under all the issues. Then Michael--a cool guy she's had a crush on for the last three years—returns from traveling the US as a photographer, and Julie now has one more thing to distract her as she prepares to leave high school. One thing she firmly believes in: no one will ever invade her classroom with violence again.
Once again, the impossible happens. Once again, she's in a classroom with a madman holding a gun. Once again, she must survive.



Achtung!
The German word for attention echoes through my head as I sit in the last French class I'll ever take. In an instant, the comforting cream-colored walls of Landry High School vanish. I'm crouched under a table with tears streaming down my face. Three men and two women point huge, black automatic weapons at my classmates.
It's not real! I'm almost eighteen – not five.



About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:

Facebook
Twitter
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
Google +
Manic Readers
AUTHORSdB
Readers Gazette
 
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Published on March 11, 2017 23:00

March 8, 2017

When Do You Contact A Publisher?



Contacting a publisher is at the top of every prospective author’s list. The time to do that is what’s questionable.
You’ve completed a work of art and are ready to let it out in the world. After cursory investigation, you decide a publisher is the better route than self-publishing. Now that you’ve decided you’re ready, you begin with an internet search for the right publisher.
All is going well. You’re getting quite a list of potential publishers and are feeling the eagerness to submit to one and all. At this point, you’ve decided your masterpiece needs no further work because you’ve done the best job possible so you compile your list and begin to assemble your query package. After all, all of the experts on the internet agree that despite what a publisher’s guidelines say, you always query with three chapters and a synopsis.
Stop right there. Back up. You’re missing quite a few important steps.
First of all, what have you done beyond writing your book and going over it looking for errors? Have you enlisted the assistance of a critique group or beta readers, to identify areas that need work? Have you done a thorough, word-by-word edit of the book, in order to ensure you haven’t missed anything at all? Have you ensured you don’t have any missing plot points? Are there any continuity errors?
Yes, you seriously need to do these things. They are the mark of a true professional. Yes, you will have to spend another few months ensuring your book is submission ready. Your only other option is to submit and be turned down time after time.
Fast forward six months. You’ve taken the time to do everything necessary to ensure your book is truly submission ready. You’ve spent hours upon hours writing and refining your synopsis. That’s perfect. Your first three chapters are so tight if you tossed a quarter on them, it would leap across the country.
Yup, you think, I’m ready now.
You go back to the publisher’s website and are irritated they don’t follow the rules your experts have told you to go by. You’re frowning and wondering how to get your synopsis and the first three chapters in the single upload allowed, all the while ignoring the fact this particular publisher requests a full manuscript and no synopsis.
No problem, you think, I’ll just lump everything together in one package. That’ll make it easier for the submissions manager to read through my masterpiece.
And you get a rejection. It only takes less than an hour after you uploaded what you thought was the perfect query. Turns out this publisher is serious when they say “send me the full manuscript not a query.” Not only that, but they haven’t invited you to resubmit with the full manuscript.
Time to step back and remember the very important rule of submitting to a publisher…
Read their guidelines and submit your polished query and/or manuscript the way they want it done.
That’s right. You aren’t in charge of the publisher. The managers in this company have these rules for a reason. They’re gauging your ability to read and follow the rules. Ask yourself if this were a company you were working for and someone applied for a job but only filled out what they wanted to on the application how you would feel? Would you be willing to hire them because they think they’re right for the job? Would you even look beyond the misspelled words and fancy rhetoric to see that this person might be worthy of your time and attention?
Probably not. You’d do as this publisher has done, told them thank you but you’re not interested and move on.
So, when do you contact a publisher?
Not when you want them to consider your book and desire a positive response prior to publication.
Not when you haven’t done all the background work to ensure you have the best book possible.
Not when you’ve read their guidelines but decide the opinions of many individuals on the internet are more important than the publisher.
The time to contact a publisher is when you’ve carefully read all of their guidelines and prepared your submissions according to them. The time to contact a publisher is when you are ready to follow their rules. The time to contact a publisher is, most importantly, when you’ve decided to release control of your book and become part of a growing group of authors who are with this publisher.
The most important thing to remember once you make this decision is that this publisher probably knows more about the book industry than you do.
About the K.C. Sprayberry


Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:

Facebook

Twitter
Website 
 Goodreads
Amazon Author Page 
Google + 
Manic Readers 
AUTHORSdB 
Readers Gazette 
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Published on March 08, 2017 00:00

March 7, 2017

Overcoming Loss



Losing friends, parents, or anyone close to you is a hard part of any teen’s life. To lose someone your own age makes things much worse. Teens, no matter what era they grow up in, believe they are invincible. They don’t think their friends will die, no matter what happens. This loss, when coupled with underage drinking, makes things so much worse.
Blurb



Get Softly Say Goodbye on Amazon 
Erin Sellers, an eighteen-year-old high school senior, hates teen drinking. She and her three friends – Bill, her guy, Shari and Jake - decide to use Twitter to stop a group, the Kewl Krew, from using their high school as the local bar. But the members of this group are just as determined to stop anyone from messing up their fun. Despite veiled threats to her safety, Erin continues her crusade.
To make matters worse for her, the stress of school and extracurricular work mounts and suddenly, shockingly, booze-fueled tragedy strikes. Erin is now under greater pressure as she spends all hours to produce a mural and other work to commemorate the death of a teen friend. Bill, Jake and Shari support her in all this...
But more tragedy lurks nearby… until it’s time to softly say goodbye.
Excerpt




A week before Valentine's Day, the most romantic day of the year, I want to throw my books into the nearest trashcan and run until my legs give out. Here I am, sitting in my art class, and Mr. Janks announces we have to do a term project but not just any term project. Oh no! We have to develop a major project like cleaning up the Rec Center's playground and painting a mural on the huge cylinders kids climb all over. Worse, I swear I heard something about a video. Who has time to do all that and a video?
“Tell me Mr. J didn't say that,” I cry.
The now protesting students echo my feelings. The new issue drives all other thoughts out of my head. Oh yeah, I heard right, and the timing is rotten.
Tuck Amstead rolls his eyes and glances at me. “Total pits, Erin.”
“Maybe we heard wrong?” I offer.

About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:

Facebook 
Twitter 
Website 
Goodreads 
Amazon Author Page 
Google + 
Manic Readers 
AUTHORSdB 
Readers Gazette 

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Published on March 07, 2017 00:00

March 6, 2017

The Child



As parents, we are often faced with a small child who wants a cookie, a treat, or to do something we don’t agree with and wouldn’t normally allow them to do. The ensuing temper tantrum often leaves the parent with a headache and the desire to do whatever it takes in order to stop the noise. Yet, we also know this bribe will lead to more and more demands that will eventually leave us in a position where we must say “No.” At that point, the child, believing they have the parent firmly in hand, will demonstrate they are quite capable of driving their parental unit over the edge.
Standing strong against such demonstrations of stubbornness is difficult. Far too many alleged experts have chimed in on this subject, saying it doesn’t hurt the child to get a reward in order to sate their desire to have their own way. Yet, these experts have no answer on when to stop handing out bribes nor do they take any kind of responsibility when their advice creates a situation where the parent must be the bad guy.
As an author, I’ve been a witness to the phenomenon of other authors kicking and screaming figuratively until they get what they want. At first, it’s the desire to be treated as if they are the only person who has written “The Great Novel.” Their desire to have perks other authors don’t receive begins with often subtle suggestions that they have no need to do this or that, or that they need the publisher’s often overwhelmed staff to deal with their promotional work.
Once they have whined and screamed until their desire is met, they usually move on to the cover art. It’s not right. You need to combine this element of picture A, with that element from picture B, and finally the font must be this color and in that size. No matter how many times they are told that isn’t possible, this author will stubbornly and with increasingly angry emails force the issue until they have worn down the publisher and agreement is reached.
Each successive step becomes more and more of a pitched battle with the publisher, until said author is literally demanding the sun and moon on a silver platter and they won’t move forward to the publication of their book until those demands are met.
What we have here is a child (the author) who has won cookies and candy from the parent (the publisher) until said child knows that if they continue to act in this way, they will get what they want. These authors have developed the attitude that despite having never been published, or only having a few books available that haven’t reached the status of well-known celebrity, they are worthy of attention lavished upon authors whose names are bandied about by the public. They ignore those who have walked the rocky and thorny path of name branding, claiming they are the next Steven King, J.K. Rowling, or Lisa Gardner. They are fixated on how they will replace Tom Clancy, Robert Jordan, or Isaac Asimov without lifting a finger to attract readers to their novels.
As with the child who has received undeserved rewards in order to do what they should have done when first told no, these authors have reached the meltdown point where they will be screaming and kicking their heels against the carpet to get their way. They will be amazed when everyone walks out of the room and they are alone, without an audience to witness, in their opinion, their justified tantrum to get their way.
The reality is that as an author, you will have to spend the first five to ten years branding your name, stumping with thousands of other authors to garner attention from the reading public, and constantly restructuring your promotional tools to get attention for your books. All of this must be done while also writing your next novel or scheduling your next appearance. No longer do publishing companies offer authors large advances for untested individuals because the book looks wonderful. No longer do publishers book authors on year long tours where they are feted at fancy dinners, interviewed on major talk shows, and set up for signings in the major bookstores.
Those days are gone forever.
Today’s author must jump into the slimy trenches of name branding and promotion, often unprepared for the vicious warfare already ongoing. The least slip means hundreds of others will climb over you while you lick your wounds and wonder what you did wrong. As you watch these other authors marching away, ready to tackle the next obstacle, you have two choices…
Do you scream and wail for your publisher to get out here and pick you up? Or do you squint, mutter “no way,” and take off to overcome those ahead of you, driving forward until your name is a household name and your books are selling.
A note: your books might start selling at a slow but steady pace. That is the norm. It will still take more time and a lot more trenches to slog through before you start that upward journey to superstar status.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond. 


She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.
Social Media Links:
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Published on March 06, 2017 00:00