Lori L. Robinett's Blog, page 2

Gracie: Grieving the Loss of a Pet

I do an end of the year review each year. This year was particularly difficult to “review” given the fact that I’d floundered throughout the pandemic to find a bit of passion in my life. Then, it became even more difficult when my little mini Schnauzer, Gracie, started acting oddly the Saturday after Christmas. In a flash, my attention switched from review to sorrow.

I suspected that she, given her advanced age, might have suffered a stroke. She walked a bit wonky. Then, I noticed her right eye was very red and watery. On Monday, I called the vet and got her in. Our vet immediately noticed a brown growth on Gracie’s eye, which I had completely overlooked. The vet suggested I take her to a nearby vet hospital associated with a research university.

Two days later, I sat in the parking lot of that vet hospital with tears rolling down my cheeks as the veterinary ophthalmologist explained that my nearly-16-year-old girl most likely had a huge melanoma which had already metastasized. The tumor most likely already filled her “globe” and was so large it was literally leaking out of her eye. She had two other melanomas on her left shoulder, and another smaller one on top of her head. The vet specialist recommended removal of the eye so they could examine the globe and find out exactly what we were dealing with. When I asked how much it would cost and what kind of time that would give Gracie, the answer was $2k and maybe several months.

Given Gracie’s age, and the fact that the cancer had likely spread, we opted for the treatment recommended by our vet (who has been our vet for 25+ years). We gave her eye drops 3x a day to control the pressure in her eye and gave her cancer powder (a holistic type of medicine) once a day. I helped her up and down steps. Fed her all the canned food she wanted. Put her little red sweater on when she was cold. Helped her up and down the steps to get onto the couch. Flanked the steps with pillows in case she decided to navigate them on her own while I was at work.

Last week, my husband awoke me with a shout about 6 am. Gracie had fallen over and was seizing. It was time for the last trip to the vet. I cuddled her and soothed her until the vet opened, then made the necessary arrangements. Thankfully, our vet clinic allowed me to stay with her in spite of their Covid requirements of curbside dropoff only. I stroked her head as she gradually relaxed and drifted away.

I’m not sure why I’m sharing this, other than to say that I think losing a pet is as traumatic as losing a family member. I have mourned Gracie’s loss, and miss her deeply. We’ve had other pets that hurt when I lost, but none quite as keenly as this little salt and pepper fluff. When our daughter cut us out of her life (again) in 2020, it was Gracie who nuzzled me when I cried. When I felt down or depressed for any reason, it was Gracie who snuggled up in my lap, her head resting on my chest, looking up at me with total love and devotion. When I did anything – laundry, dishes, etc. – it was Gracie who trotted along at my heels, content to be my shadow.

Our home is not empty. We still have Peanut, a little Beagle with a huge heart, and we have Cagney and Lacey, a pair of calico cats who don’t act like cats. All three have been a blessing as we mourn Gracie’s loss.

I will be forever grateful that I spent a good chunk of 2020 with her sleeping at my feet while I worked from home. Gracie was the best part of the pandemic, without a doubt.

#writerslife Distribution

One night about a year and a half ago, I arrived home after spending the entire day at the hospital with my daughter, who was 36 weeks pregnant. Baby E threatened to make an appearance, then decided, nope. Gonna stay put. Because of that adrenaline-then-letdown, I was exhausted when I got home.

But, as an indie writer, you don’t get to take days off because you’re exhausted.

If you decide to be an indie author, there are many steps to getting published. Please, please, please, I BEG of you, before you present your book to the masses, make sure you edit, rewrite, run it through software (such as ProWritingAid), get the feedback of beta readers, and an editor. Your book must be as polished and perfect as possible.

The final actual act of publishing, is to, well, publish. You want others to be able to publish your work. You’re likely familiar with the end-result: walking into a bookstore or browsing Amazon or Kobo or Nook Books. But how does your book get there?

Direct or Distributor?

Direct means you as the author and publisher, contract directly with the book seller (Amazon, Nook Press, Kobo (Rakuten Kobo), iBooks, etc.).

Distributor means you, as the author and publisher, contract with a distributor (or aggregator) who will make your book available through various retail outlets such as Kobo, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Two of the main distributors that I’ve worked with are Smashwords and IngramSpark. There are others out there, such as Draft2Digital. For me, I prefer Smashwords. If you go that route, however, make sure you follow the Style Guide to the letter. No matter what route you go, that’s a good rule of thumb because Mark Coker’s Style Guide is a masterclass in formatting. Using a distributor is the easier method.

If you choose to go the direct route, you will upload your manuscript directly to KDP (Amazon), Nook Press, Kobo, iBooks, etc. That means that you will have a separate contract with each of them to distribute your book. It also means that any change you make to your book must be made on every single platform. Additionally, each platform will have its own fee schedule and royalty dashboard. If you are an indie writer and want to spend your time doing this, you’re welcome to do so. I caution you, though, to consider carefully whether your time is spent better writing or serving in an administrative capacity.

What are your questions about distribution?

Pandemic Fatigue

Image by 1388843 from Pixabay

I know I’m not alone in this, but my world has been turned upside down the past several months, which resulted in me losing my creative spirit. My muse has been AWOL since mid-March. I blame it on the ‘Rona.

While I usually read a book a week, I’ve read maybe two books in the past five months (including All the Light We Cannot See). And I haven’t written a word. Not a single word. Of fiction, I mean.

What I have done is journal. Many years ago, I began writing Morning Pages (if you aren’t familiar with The Artist’s Way, it’s worth checking out if you’re a blocked creative). During the pandemic, I’ve gotten back in the habit of journaling every day. Most days, I write 2 – 3 pages of longhand. It has become a ritual for me. After I feed and water the cats and dogs, I fix a cup of coffee, curl up in my favorite spot, and journal for a bit. I especially like sitting down with a fresh, clean journal and a good pen (this PILOT is my current fave). It’s helped me release tension, think about my place in the world, and be thankful for all that I have (running water! air conditioning!).

If you’re struggling with pandemic fatigue, perhaps feeling a bit down, take a few minutes out of your day to journal your thoughts. There’s something magical about putting pen to paper and letting your thoughts flow through your fingers onto the page.

If you have any tips for the love and feeding of an overwhelmed muse, I’d love to hear from you!

Top 5 Ways to Thrive During #CovidQuarantine

Like many of you, I’m at home. My day job has switched from an office to working from home. It has been a challenge, but is also quite nice. I’ve survived a week of this so far, and thought I’d share my Top 5 Ways to Thrive during this challenging time. In no particular order:

Read. The stress we feel during this crisis is real. We need to find a way to relax and, I don’t know about you, but there’s only so many hours I can spend streaming Tiger King on Netflix. Take advantage of this time at home to open up a book and escape into a new world. (shameless self-promotion: my entire western series – The Diamond J Collection – is available in a box set for only $2.99 for a limited time!) BTW – now is a great time to dip your toe into the e-reader world if you haven’t done that yet. I recently upgraded to the Kindle Fire HD 10″, which I use as a tablet as well as an ereader. Meditate. You don’t need anything special to do this. Simply find a comfortable position, sit quietly and focus on breathing. Either set a timer, or simply let yourself go as long as you want. Let your thoughts float away.Reconnect. Pick up the phone and call someone you care about. Not a text, not a message – a real, honest-to-goodness phone call. This would also be a good time to pick up a pen and write a letter to someone. Remember how excited we used to get when we received an envelope in the mail, the promise and surprise of it? Journal. This is a unique experience. If someone had told me three months ago that I would be self-quarantined under a stay-at-home order, I would’ve laughed. This situation is surreal. Write down your thoughts, make note of what is going on in the world around you, record how this is affecting your life. You can get fancy with a beautiful journal (like this Star Trek one, which is one of my personal favorites (are you surprised? I didn’t think so.).Exercise. You don’t need anything special – just you. If you need ideas, there are lots of resources on Pinterest, lots of videos on YouTube (my personal favorite is Leslie Sansone – who knew you could sweat so much walking in place?!). My hubs and I decided to convert a room in our shop to a home gym. I splurged and bought myself an Everlast speed bag to help me stay in shape.

Take a few minutes and let me know what you’re doing to thrive during this time. Let me know what books you recommend. And I’d LOVE to know if you have a favorite journal that I should consider.

Take care of yourself!

#CaryPress and the Better Business Bureau

I promise, my blog will turn back to reading and writing soon, but I want to share something I learned that may be of use to others who have problems with businesses.

If you read my blog, you know that I’m frustrated with my first publisher because they haven’t fulfilled the contract I signed with them. I had emailed a time or two a year to request the statements and royalties owed, to no avail. When I learned that they featured my book on their website as having been ghostwritten by them, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and emailed them to request the statements and royalties owed, and that they remove any reference to my book being ghost written from their website. In response, Dr. Robert Bassett responded with an unbelievably unprofessional email.

Robert Bassett also filed a response with the BBB claiming that their publishing program had been “terminated” in 2016. He also stated that I had harassed, threatened and blackmailed their employees. Apparently sending a businesslike email asking for what is contemplated in a contract is too much for CaryPress to handle. He also stated that they had terminated my contract.

Boom! That right there is what I have requested on multiple occasions.

It seems simple, right? If they want to keep the contract going, then they needed to send the statements and royalties as set out in the contract. If they didn’t want to keep the contract going, all they had to do was let me know.

ARGH. Frustrating as all get out.

The Better Business Bureau then closed the complaint. They show it as satisfied, even though CaryPress has not fulfilled their contractual obligations. That’s when I learned a very important tip. The BBB doesn’t do any investigation. My complaint, just as the others before mine, is considered “satisfied” simply because it exists and they responded. And now that I have filed a complaint, I am unable to leave a review on the BBB site. There is no warning out there to others who might fall prey to their unethical business practices.

In hindsight, I wish I had simply written a review. I suspect that most people who file a complaint with the BBB do so in an effort to protect others from doing business with a company with questionable business practices. However, if the BBB does not allow an individual with a complaint to leave a review, it seems that it would skew reviews to the positive side.

Tell me – have you ever filed (or considered filing) a complaint with the BBB? Do you check with the BBB before you do business with a company?

#CaryPress: The gift that keeps on taking #writers

Well, the saga with CaryPress continues. I hesitated to share any information about this, but I would have appreciated information such as this while I was shopping around my first manuscript. And, so, I humbly offer this story to serve as a learning experience so that other authors can learn from my mistakes, and not follow in my footsteps.

After receiving the hateful email from Dr. Robert Bassett with CaryPress, I responded in a polite manner. I expressed my surprise at receiving such an unprofessional email and offered that CaryPress should either terminate the contract or, if they desired to continue our contractual relationship, provide the statements and royalties contemplated in the contract. You can see their response above.

By the way, they sent the response above to my day-job email address.

Uh, why?

The only reason I can think of is that it’s an intimidation tactic. Ironic considering that CaryPress has accused me of blackmailing, threatening and harassing their employees (I have done no such thing).

I couldn’t help but laugh at demand number 1 – I have no control over Google search results. It’s as if they don’t know that once something is on the internet, it’s there. Besides, they’ve given me no reason to remove a negative review (but I would have reason if they would fulfill the terms of the contract). As for number 2, that would’ve been taken care of if they had signed the mutual release I provided for their convenience. As for number 3, well, again, I had to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. What are the “services rendered”? There are no “services rendered” in a publishing contract that require payment by an author (and if you do pay someone to publish your book, that isn’t a traditional publishing contract – that’s a vanity press. Royalties flow toward the author.).

The phrase that really got me, though was “exercise the buyout option: $950.”

Uh, what?

There is no “buyout option” mentioned anywhere in the contract. Why would I pay $950 to terminate a contract that they haven’t fulfilled in years?

Ahhhh . . . the joys of being a writer.

Seriously, this is why I opted to indie publish my other books, and I am so glad I did. I always disliked the cover of Denim & Diamonds, but that was out of my control. Readers found mistakes in it after it was printed, but that was out of my control. As an indie author, I run my writing past my critique group, and a professional editor (she’s well worth the money!). There are two cover artists I work with on the book covers and promotional materials. Pricing is my responsibility, so I’m able to run promotions during discounted periods. Best of all, all the profit flows directly to me.

Let me know your thoughts – have you used a traditional publisher? Indie published? Which do you prefer? Any words of wisdom to offer other writers?

CaryPress: Authors Beware

There are unscrupulous folks out there who prey on the desire of authors to be published. Unfortunately, I fell prey to just such a company and hope that by sharing my experience I can save others from making a mistake like I did.

In 2014, I entered an online contest to have my book published by CaryPress. I didn’t win, but received an email inviting me to submit a full manuscript. I did so, and received an offer to publish my book, Denim & Diamonds. It felt like a dream come true.

And, it was, for a while. The process was so exciting. My contact sent me pictures of models and asked me to choose the one to be featured on the cover of my book. Then they set up a website where people could preorder my book. I was given the opportunity to order paperback copies of my book at a discounted price. Receiving that box of books was one of the most exciting events of my life.

I coordinated with CaryPress so that the book could be priced at a discount during times that I paid for promotions. I hired a publicist to run a virtual book tour featuring Denim & Diamonds, which included stops like this one on Under the Covers. To my knowledge, CaryPress never paid for any promotions. The contract with CaryPress stated that I would receive statements and royalty payments twice a year. Frankly, I was disappointed with sales – and didn’t understand how the book’s ranking on Amazon was decent, but that wasn’t translating to sales. I still don’t understand that. The last royalty payment I received was in early 2015. At the next statement date, I was told my sales didn’t meet their $50 threshold for payment. At the next statement date, I was told my sales didn’t meet their $100 threshold. There was no such threshold contemplated in the contract. I continued to occasionally request statements, but haven’t received a statement in years (and have never received any information about KU payments).

During that time, I kept writing and decided to publish my next book on my own. That book, Fatal Impulse, did quite well. My next book was released, Diamond in the Rough, and then my next, Fatal Obsession. Just recently, Finding Clarity was released (originally as part of a box set, Tales from Big Country). This is key – even if you get into a situation with a publisher that isn’t working out, keep writing! If you are to succeed as an author, you need to be continuing to write, no matter what drama you’re caught up in.

When you start talking to a publisher, I recommend that you do your due diligence. Check Absolute Write’s Watercooler and any other “writer beware” sites, such as the original “Writer Beware.” Look for reviews. Talk to other authors who have signed with that publisher. If you do post a review/warning, be professional. Stick to the facts, and do not allow emotions to color your review. I posted a review on the Watercooler, which I thought about long and hard before submitting. I simply stated that they were slow to pay royalties. This is a fairly common problem with small presses. At that time, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I no longer give them the benefit of the doubt.

This past week, I was alerted to the fact that CaryPress had listed Denim & Diamonds on the home page of their website as having been ghostwritten by them. When you clicked on the book cover, it directed the viewer to CaryPress’s fiction page which again listed Denim & Diamonds as having been ghostwritten by them. I emailed CaryPress to request an updated statement, and to request they remove any reference to my book being ghostwritten by them. My email was polite and reasonable. I first contacted a couple other authors whose books were listed as having been ghost written because I wondered if my book had been listed accidentally. The two individuals I contacted stated that they had written their own books – they were not ghostwritten by CaryPress. Once I learned that fact, I filed a complaint with the BBB and sent out a few feelers to IP attorneys because ghostwriting is a huge problem in the publishing world right (take a peek at CopyPasteCris and you’ll see why) and I did not want to be a victim in this scenario. (When I checked yesterday, they had removed my book from their website, which was a huge relief.)

Yesterday, I woke up to a vitriolic, threatening email from someone purporting to represent CaryPress. It was appalling and unprofessional. Unlike anything I had ever received before.

I also received a response to my BBB complaint that doubled down on CaryPress’s defamation of me, claiming that I am blackmailing and harassing their employees. CaryPress claims that I demanded they promote my book. That is an outright lie, and I have provided the emails proving that to the BBB. I have not blackmailed anyone (I suspect this stems from the fact that CaryPress asked me to remove my Watercooler review, to not disparage them, and I proposed we settle for a sum of $500 instead of trying to go back and recreate reports on KENP reads since 2014 – I incorporated what they asked for in a mutual release, which is a common way to terminate a contract). I have not harassed anyone. In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to communicate with them in a reasonable, professional manner. At this point, I’m hopeful that they will agree to terminate the contract so I can get the rights back to my novel and move forward without the weight of CaryPress hanging around my neck.

I also want to encourage you to not fall into the trap of a “pay to publish” situation. Thankfully, I signed with CaryPress under a traditional contract. I did not pay them to publish my book, so I am only out the money that I spent to promote Denim & Diamonds. There is no need for you to pay to self-publish your book. I taught myself book formatting (I highly recommend Smashwords’ Style Guide, which is available free), and KDP makes it incredibly easy to self publish your book. However, I caution that you not rush the process. Before any of my books are published, they go through a rigorous process with my critique group (which consists of a publicist, a librarian, a teacher and a scientist), plus I hire a professional editor. You want your book to be the best it can be.

I wish you the best in your publishing journey! Please, if you’ve had any experiences in your publishing journey that you’d like to share with others, add your comment below. Together, we can support each other and build each other up.

What would you do with an extra $50?

As a writer, my greatest pleasure is having someone read one of my books. It truly means the world to me. So, as a thank you for your support, I want to offer you a chance to win the gift basket I’ve put together – it has a cool mug, a gorgeous bookmark made from a bullet and highlighted with a swarovski crystal, a t-shirt from the American Wild Horse Campaign, and – last, but not least – a $50 Amazon gift card.

What would you buy if you won?

Preorder your copy of Tales from Big Country today and enter to win. It comes out in less than a month, and you’ll get everything from adventure to romance for only 99 cents (and you can enter the big preorder giveaway!)!

And if you want more chances to win, plan to join the launch party on Facebook!

Preorder #Giveaway

As you know, my new book, Finding Clarity, is coming out exclusively in the box set, Tales from Big Country. We’re working really hard to raise money for the American Wild Horse Campaign, so your purchase – for less than a dollar – is much appreciated. To thank you, we want to offer you a chance to win this awesome gift basket filled with reader-themed goodies, including a $50 Amazon gift card!

To enter, send proof of preorder (screenshot or email from retailer) to westerncollection2019@gmail.com with PRIZE ENTRY in the subject line. Include your name, email address, and phone number.

By submitting your pre-order order # you agree to all contest rules, and if email is submitted, you further agree to receive emails from box set authors. We won’t share your info, and you can unsubscribe at any time. 

Must be 18 years old to enter.

Must be a US resident to enter.

Giveaway ends at midnight CDT on August 15, 2019.

One Grand Prize winner will be chosen at random from all entries for the grand prize gift basket.

Five First Place winners will be chosen at random from all entries for the Runner Up Prize consisting of two autographed books and an American Wild Horse Campaign t-shirt.

Winner selection is at the sole discretion of the box set authors. All decisions are final.

Winner will be notified via email.

Giveaway is sponsored by box set authors. No purchase necessary. To enter without pre-ordering, send a postcard to Paperback-Press. 1352 E. Sunshine, Springfield 65804. Participating authors are not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, damaged or returned mail.

How to Set up a Writer’s BuJo (Bullet Journal)

My new book, Finding Clarity, is included in the Tales from Big Country box set. Looks great, right? There’s nothing quite like seeing your book all polished up and looking great, but it doesn’t begin that way. (psst . . . have you preordered it for your Kindle yet? If not, click HERE.)

When you begin any project, it’s frustrating and chaotic. Actually, that’s pretty much the way my life is all the time! Because I’m not a Born Organized person, I have to work at keeping everything in order. Though I’d heard and seen a lot about bullet journals, I needed something beyond a daily planner (I used to be a die-hard Franklin Planner user, but switched to the Happy Planner a couple of years ago) to help me identify the big picture and break it down into doable chunks. (psst . . . want to know more about BuJo? I started with Boho Berry’s website.)

I came up with this system – feel free to copy it and adjust it to fit your own needs.

Section 1: Index. This is broken down into one page per section (so if your entire journal has 5 tabs, you’ll want 5 blank pages in your index).

Section 2: Notes. Honestly, I’ve found that I don’t use this section as much as I thought I would, though frankly, my critique group hasn’t been meeting lately.

Section 3: Next Actions. These are the things I need to do, broken down by project heading. Leave at least one page for each project (more for bigger projects). For instance, I have a section here for Finding Clarity, where I keep my master to-do list. I also have a section for the Gender Reveal I hosted for my daughter.

Section 4: Waiting For. This section is where I keep track of things that are pending, waiting for someone else or something else to happen before I can proceed. By putting something here, I can quit worrying about it for the time being.

Section 5: Someday/Maybe. This is my dream section, the place where I write all the things that I’d do if only there were more hours in the day and/or more dollars in my bank account. When an idea pops into my head, I add it so that I don’t risk losing that nugget of an idea. By revisiting this list every now and then, I make sure I pay attention to my dreams.

Section 6: Active Projects: This is a higher level view of Section 3. It’s a summary of the big projects I have going, and the types of things that need to happen within those projects. I use this to then create my to-do lists in Section 3. For instance, on my Tales from Big Country page, I have Promo / Weekly Emails. I then break that down in Section 3 to email 1 – cover reveal, email 2 – blurb, email 3 – description, email 4 – excerpt, etc.

Creating your own system is very simple. You’ll need the following:

A blank notebook or journal. I recommend Moleskin notebooks. Good quality paper, and they’re lined.
Blank tabs. I recommend making your own using a WRMemory Keepers Tab punch, along with the inserts, or getting rewritable tabs like these (available through Amazon or at your local office supply store).
A way to attach a pen, so that it’s always handy. Something like this works well, and I love the feel of leather.

If you give this a try, let me know how it works out for you. Or if you have suggestions for sections to include, leave me a comment. Have fun with this!