Tudor Robins's Blog, page 23

When You Assume …

You know how the rest of that saying goes, right?

Some friends have asked me to sit in on their writing group to give some insights about why I think self-publishing is the way to go. While I’m not making a formal presentation, I have been thinking this topic over. There are all the obvious answers you’ll see quite a bit: keeping up to 70 per cent of the sales of each book, publishing on your own schedule, having control over cover and design decisions, etc.

But there’s a bigger one, too. One that took me a while to realize, because I had always assumed things were one way, when they’re not. Or not always.

I had always assumed a publisher would have the primary aim of selling books. I’ve even said this to people before (or something along these lines) “Well, we both want the same thing; to sell more books.” Of course we do – right? I’ve invested time and effort and hair-pulling in writing a book, and they’ve invested an advance, and payment of various people to do editing, design, etc., as well as printing costs – obviously we would both want to sell as many books as possible.

I’m starting to realize this is a pretty big assumption.

There are other things your publisher might want, than to sell your book, and these are some of them:

(1) To be nominated for / win awards. To be placed on lists. For some publishers this is a huge motivation. This explains why some quite small publishers punch well above their weight on awards lists. If there’s an internal focus on signing, and editing works that will be award-worthy, over time the awards come in. But, guess what – I hate to tell you this – awards and lists don’t always sell books. I’m not talking about the Giller here. I don’t expect to ever write a book that even qualifies for the Giller. The Giller may very well spike sales, but there are many industry-respected, coveted, honours that will not impact sales one whit. Real life example: Objects in Mirror was named a Best Book for Kids and Teens by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre a year ago. While I’ve heard many people get excited about being on this list, I actually didn’t even know my book was on it until several months later. I found out via a Google search. And sales? Well, traditional publishers send out twice-yearly sales reports to authors, so it’s basically impossible to tell if any one thing has impacted sales, but from the information I had, and some backward-figuring math, I’d say the effect on sales was zero.

(2) To get grants. I can only speak to Canada here, but the Canada Council for the Arts provides grants to Canadian publishers to support the production of Canadian literature. If you’re a Canadian, and you’re being published by a Canadian press, you’ll be asked to sign a little form stating that, which, in my understanding, makes your book eligible for Canada Council funding (provided all other criteria are met). I don’t know exactly how much grants offset the cost of producing Canadian books, but my understanding / belief is that many Canadian publishers would be sunk without these grants. You can look at this in a nice, warm, fuzzy way – and I support arts funding – but also realize that it takes at least some of the pressure off publishers to actually, you know, sell books to make money. It’s like if you crowdfund your book. Your main commitment is to get the book done, and to get copies to your initial funders – you may feel less impetus to kill yourself selling it on to third parties after the fact.

(3) Other. The first two are specific. This one is not. I don’t have any personal experience of a publisher creating a book which they then intend NOT to sell, however, there are many stories out there of writers who have found themselves in just this position. Their book exists, but their publisher changes ownership and, suddenly it’s not available. Or, more generally, lots of authors have been in the position of retailers telling them “I tried to order your book in, but I couldn’t get copies.” It happens. I’m not even talking about actively trying not to sell books, but of book sales just not being a priority.

I think it’s really important to mention this to prospective writers, because I don’t think it’s something you’d realize ahead of time.

I didn’t, and now I’m sorry. I really, really want to see Objects earn out its advance – that would benefit me and my publisher. My eyes are opened every day to the amazing digital marketplace out there that already appreciates Appaloosa Summer, and which, I’m sure would embrace Objects. I’ve written to my publisher and offered to work with them – share what I’ve learned – to get Objects selling as an eBook. Or, if they’re not interested in working with me, I’ve offered to buy back the erights so they get something back on their investment and I can sell the book.

Silence.

It baffles me. It really does. I can’t figure out – when you’ve taken the time and effort to make a beautiful thing – why you wouldn’t want to sell that thing. I know I do!

But there’s no point being baffled. I have to realize that I’ve been operating on an assumption that isn’t founded in reality. I may never have the opportunity to help my own first book be a digital success, but at least I can help other writers think hard about their writing goals before signing any contracts.

I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just saying, ask yourself what you really want from your writing experience, and then figure out if you’re completely positive the people you’re partnering with also want the same thing?

It’s an important question.

New Release – Hide & Seek

Here’s the beauty (or, I should say, ONE of the beautiful things) of self-publishing … I get to release what I want, when I want, how I want.

LOVE IT!

I’ve been truly overwhelmed and touched by the response to Appaloosa Summer. It’s just lovely to see readers from all over the world connecting with it, and pulling things from the story that (a) I hoped they would and (b) completely surprise me.

I want to stay connected with these people and I feel like asking them to wait until March (tentative publication date of Again, Someday – aka Island Trilogy, Book Two) just seems like far too long.

So, I’m releasing a short story!

I’m also releasing this story because I got the idea for it from a story that was in the news this summer and, because I’m self-publishing, I can do something with that idea. In a traditional world, there isn’t much of a market for one-off short stories. You could maybe submit to magazines, but the pay would be likely to be little to nothing. Or, you could try to find the right kind of anthology, and hope your story fit, both in theme and length but, beyond that, I don’t know of much call in the traditional publishing world for short stories.

And, of course, both of the above require being selected. Which means following submission guidelines and waiting, and waiting, and waiting to hear whether you’ve been accepted, and – realistically – having about a two per cent chance of being selected, and so on …

I love short stories, and I loved writing my short story, but I have to say, the idea of jumping through those hoops for a short story, just seems crazy to me.

Instead, I heard this story on the news, went running, fleshed out the idea in my head, spent the second half of the summer writing it. Had it edited, had a cover designed for it, and HERE WE GO! New story …

It’s going out in the world next week and it will be FREE for the first few days it’s published. Free, free, free … what a nice word!

After that it will be $0.99. Ninety-nine big cents!

I hope Appaloosa Summer readers will pick it up, and enjoy it until I can get them a new book to read, and I hope some new readers might find it and then go discover Appaloosa Summer.

I, of course, hope you’ll read it, too …

Here’s the description:

Anna Docherty loves the woods. Until the night a game of hide and seek sends her running a little too far, a little too fast.

Lost in the dark, it doesn’t take long for Anna’s love of the forest to turn to terror.

When Ryan finds her, huddled in his childhood hideout, and leads her back to safety, Anna is forever grateful to him.

But is she grateful enough to fight her fear when Ryan’s the one who needs help?

And here’s the nearly-final version of the cover (since you’re my blog readers you get to see the before-it’s-finalized version).

And that’s it!

I’ll post a link to it next week when it’s published, and free.

Let me know if you have any questions about this story, or writing short stories, or publishing short stories, or ANYTHING.

Wrapping up Wolfe Island

We always love it when the island throws some weather our way, and with so much sky, and so much water around us, we usually don’t have to wait long.

This is what it looks like when a thunderstorm advances on our bay. The skies are amazing, and the contrast of the last rays of sun, against the advancing dark.

And then the rain starts pelting, driven by island winds – which makes it horizontal – and there’s nothing else to do but run inside and make sure all the windows are closed!

Here are some shots I got before that happened:

That’s not ALL from Wolfe Island, but those are the last of our summer pictures. We’re heading back soon, for the annual plowing match and I can’t wait for that …

Appaloosa Summer Blog Tour!

Appaloosa Summer is going on tour! The month of September is going to be very busy. Here are the dates, in case anybody wants to follow along and / or discover any new book blogs:

Tour Dates: Sept 2-30

Tuesday, Sept 2

Manga Maniac Cafe – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt

Wednesday, Sept 3

Books, Reviews, Etc. – Book Review

Thursday, Sept 4

Keely Brooke Keith – Author Guest Post

Friday, Sept 5

FictionZeal – Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt

Monday, Sept 8

Wonderland Novels – Book Spotlight / Book Review

Wednesday, Sept 10

My Life, Loves and Passion – Book Spotlight

Thursday, Sept 11

Confessions Of A Bookaholic – Book Review

Friday, Sept 12

The Writer’s Life – Author Interview

Monday, Sept 15

A Simple Life – really?! – Book Review

Tuesday, Sept 16

Through The Open Book – Author Guest Post / Book Review

Thursday, Sept 17

Mom Loves 2 Read – Book Excerpt / Book Review

Friday, Sept 19

Book by Book – Book Review

Monday, Sept 22

As the Page Turns – Author Interview

Tuesday, Sept 23

Book Reviews from a Christian Gal – Author Interview / Book Spotlight / Book Review

Thursday, Sept 25

Genuine Jenn – Book Review

Friday, Sept 26

The Story Behind the Book – Author Guest Post

Monday, Sept 29

Undercover Book Reviews – Book Review

Tuesday, Sept 30

Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Review

Mid-Week

After the still night we had for viewing the super-moon, the wind picked up. So, of course, we did what you should always do in the face of white-cap whipping winds: we went for a bike ride on an exposed island, heading into the wind.

I really wanted to take another bike ride to Simcoe Island this summer because, much as Wolfe Island inspired Appaloosa Summer, the second book (working title Again, Someday) has been strongly inspired by Simcoe.

Hopefully these pictures will show you why I find Simcoe irresistible to write about.

First, there’s the cable ferry. A dollar per bike and you only pay to go to the island. It’s free to come back.

These are the rules of the Simcoe Islander:

And this is the view that Meg loves so much in Book number Two of the Island Trilogy:

You ride off the Simcoe Ferry right into the thick of the action at this busy intersection:

And this is the reward at the end of a surprisingly long (approximately five kilometre) bike ride, with the wind getting stronger and stronger as the island narrows to the point.

Waiting for the ferry to come back and return us to Wolfe (which felt huge and bustling after our retreat to Simcoe), you can see how strong the wind was. The flag blows away from the wind (of course), and the turbines on Wolfe Island face into it. We don’t need windsocks on Wolfe – we just check out the nearest turbine.

Finally, for those worried about Canada Post bringing CMBs (Community Mailboxes) to neighbourhoods across Canada – look how quaint these ones on Simcoe Island are …

What Happened Next on Wolfe Island

We started our week with windsurfing, and that was fun (and challenging!).

Then the wind picked up. This was really just a return to normal wind levels on the island, but it was far, far too strong for me to even be able to hold onto the sail. I suspect the sail on our windsurfer is a little too big for me, because when the wind’s blowing, I literally don’t have the body weight / strength to hold it.

So, the next thing the week brought us was the Super Moon. I’m not sure how many of you saw this wherever you were, but the island was an exceptional place to see this moon. This is definitely a case where a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m not going to say anything more – just show you the Super Moon as it appeared from our shoreline.

 

 

 

 

And the week wasn’t even half over yet, so I’ll be back with more about what happened during our most recent Wolfe Island week.

A Week on Wolfe Island

Weeks on Wolfe Island are always different. Depending on weather, and what’s going on, we never know what our time will be like. I have a BUNCH of photos from our last week on the island and I thought I’d use my next few posts to show you what one week might be like.

Some of you might know our powerboat is now gone. My dad sold it this year, and during our first week on the island we boated around the head of the island with him – into a very choppy Lake Ontario – to take it to Kingston where it was put onto a trailer to go to its new home in Muskoka.

Which leaves us with a canoe, rowboat, pedalboat, two sailboats (one that converts to a scull), and a windsurfer.

Our first three days on the island were sunny and 25 degrees, with a light, consistent wind. This is almost unheard of (the light, consistent wind). Growing up in Ottawa, my dad and I would watch for days when there would be enough wind to go sailing. On Wolfe Island we look for days when the wind is light enough to sail. I know some people love sailing in gale force winds, but not me, so much.

This light wind was especially important because my husband had decided he was going to learn to windsurf and, of course, after helping him rig the windsurfer, there was no way I wasn’t going to try too. He had watched a couple of YouTube videos, I had tried to windsurf once when I was twelve (unsuccessfully, as I couldn’t lift the sail out of the water) so, clearly, we were good to go.

First, taking a deep breath and getting the thing in the water:

Next, there was a lot of this – by both of us – between the two of us we must have pulled that sail out of the water over a hundred times:

And, finally, we both had some moments like this:

I learned that windsurfing uses pretty much every muscle in your body (maybe that lessens as you spend less time falling off and climbing back on again), and your palms get pretty sore from pulling on the uphaul rope (again, with less falling, that would get better). My husband and I would take turns with the windsurfer until we were both worn out, then we’d give the board to the boys and they’d “surf” on it.

The activity obviously had a lasting impression, because I had my birthday while I was at the cottage and these are the homemade birthday cards I received:

In addition to the windsurfing theme, you may notice Pokémon, which had a major resurgence in our house this summer …

So, we started our week on Wolfe Island with a new (sort-of) skill. More to come!

Where I Wrote Today

AKA the best seat in the house.

I couldn’t have asked for more as I spent the day sitting at a rustic picnic table, under a shady tree, with this as my view:

While my kids did this:

And tried to do this (the extreme early stages of voltige, in case you’re wondering – on a very patient mare):

It was a great day!

The Cover Story

I just sent my newsletter out and, in it, was some information about the Appaloosa Summer cover. Perhaps most interestingly, I posted the original photo I purchased rights to use from the amazing Kacy Hurlbert Todd of Bossmare Photography. This is it – it’s called Midnight Summer:

and then I posted the cover as it was finally photoshopped, designed and layed out by my super-talented cover designer, Allie Gerlach.

Pretty cool, isn’t it? At least, I think so. I loved Kacy’s photo from the first second I saw it, and then Allie made it into a cover I still love, even though I see it dozens of times every single day.

Anyway, in my newsletter I promised to tell the story behind the cover image, as told to me by the photographer herself. Here’s Kacy’s story:

I took this photo of a young lady (about 17 years old) at a place here in Georgia called the Chickamauga Battlefield. It’s a very historic place with beautiful wide open pastures. The horse in the picture is an older mare that this young lady barrel races quite competitively with. I had dreamed about this photo before I even took it. This was an image I had been wanting to try and it came together really well for me. Her horse was quite spirited, so it took some time before we could get her to calm down for this shot before the girl felt comfortable sitting sideways on her. As I am sure you know, horses often have their own agendas.

The thing that first grabbed me about this photo was how much it looked like Wolfe Island, right here in Ontario. Wolfe Island, of course, inspired the entire story, and so I wanted the feel to be right. To learn this was actually a photo from Georgia was so interesting. But, then again, I live in Ontario, and Kacy lives in Georgia, and we had a rapport right from the beginning, so I guess it’s just another illustration of how small the world is!

I only hope I can get another cover I love just as much for Book Two of the trilogy. I’ll definitely be checking out Kacy’s photos and calling Allie!

Back from Vacation with Agatha Christie

If any of you are also Goodreads friends of mine, you will have noticed a recent chunk of Agatha Christie mysteries appearing on my books list.

I devoured Agatha Christie books a long time ago – like when I was the age of my oldest son. At the same time as I was also reading everything I could find by Jane Austen. I found both writers provided a great escape. Both writers were wry and funny, and both of their time, while also being critical of their times.

I recently tried reading Louise Penny for the first time, and I like her books – I really do – but they mostly left me wanting more of the original cozy mysteries I fell in love with. So, what better opportunity than a week at the cottage to catch up on my mystery reading?

An added bonus is that my twelve-year-old is an avid reader. He’s read much of the YA that really interests him, and is looking for more to read. Agatha Christie is perfect for him – his reading comprehension allows him to easily understand the stories, and there’s nothing graphic, or gory, to upset him.

So, the six Agatha Christies I was able to grab from my library shelves the day before we left, fed not only my reading needs, but also my son’s, and my husband’s.

Side note: My first thought was to load up my Kindle with Agatha Christie titles, however, a quick shop showed me her publisher wants $12.99 per title. The stories are great, but I can also read them in about two hours – I averaged better than one book a day while at the cottage. At that rate, $13 / book would have bankrupted me. Had they been more reasonably priced, I would have bought them, and then Harper Collins, and the Christie estate, and Amazon would all have made money. As it was, I went to the library. As Hachette fights with Amazon over eBook pricing, this is a concrete example of how high eBook prices hurt EVERYBODY in publishing.*

Back to the books, though. One thing I didn’t remember at all from my younger reads of these books, was how prominently writers figure in these stories. There is often a writer of detective stories as a secondary character, and their treatment is interesting. Ms. Christie sometimes makes fun of them, but also sometimes allows them to be intelligent / helpful. I guess “mocking affection” would be the way I’d describe it.

She also has her characters say / show some really interesting things about the writing life. This is a passage I particularly liked from Cards on the Table:

” … Writing’s not particularly enjoyable. It’s hard work like everything else.”

“It doesn’t seem like work,” said Rhoda.

“Not to you,” said Mrs. Oliver, “because you don’t have to do it!” It feels very like work to me. Some days I can only keep going by repeating over and over to myself the amount of money I might get for my next serial rights. That spurs you on, you know. So does your bankbook when you see how much overdrawn you are.”

“I never imagined you actually typed your books yourself,” said Rhoda. “I thought you’d have a secretary.”

“I did have a secretary, and I used to try and dictate to her, but she was so competent that it used to depress me. I felt she knew so much more about English and grammar and full stops and semi-colons than I did, that it gave me a kind of inferiority complex. Then I tried having a thoroughly incompetent secretary, but, of course, that didn’t answer very well, either.”

“It must be so wonderful to be able to think of things,” said Rhoda.

“I can always think of things,” said Mrs. Oliver happily. “What is so tiring is writing them down …”

There was so much in here I liked, most particularly the idea that a writer really can, and should, be spurred on by actually getting paid! It seems like so many writers, and publishers, these days think we should write for the love, and the craft, and it’s just dirty, or bourgeois, or wrong, to expect to be paid. Obviously Mrs. Oliver didn’t think so.

So, my interest in Agatha Christie is thoroughly re-kindled. I love her pacing, and plotting – I feel like I can learn a lot from her, and I also feel her books are sufficiently different than mine that I can read them while writing myself and not get muddled up.

*Full disclosure on eBook prices – the eBook of Objects in Mirror, to my chagrin, is priced at $12.99. I love that book, and I would love more people to be able to discover it, but my personal belief – even as the loving author – is that price is far too high. If you’d still like to purchase it (and if you have a Kobo – because it’s not available for Kindle) then, great; I appreciate it. However, at that price I won’t, and don’t promote it to my readers. I don’t think it’s right, when Appaloosa Summer is so well-supported at $2.99.