Barbara Eberhard's Blog, page 4
August 13, 2023
Day-To-Day Life
Novels aren't exactly about real day-to-day life. After all, real life can be pretty mundane.
But, in the course of any novel about people finding love and deciding to make a life together, I think it's important that they trying to get past the romance of new love, when we behave and do things we might not otherwise do, and get to the point of being truly themselves in a more "routine" life. So, that's what I'm trying to establish with my characters in today's chapter.
However, these are not people with ordinary lives - she's a world-famous author and he owns a beef ranch - and they don't live in the same place. Which means, by necessity, one of them is not going to "at home" wherever they are.
Most of the novel to this point has taken place on the Colorado ranch. That's where Andrew lives, grew up, and what he does for a living now that he's an adult.
This chapter moved the action back to New York City, which is where Anna is a novelist. She didn't grow up in NYC, but she has an apartment there and enjoys the energy of the city. She had been anonymous until the start of the novel, when her pseudonym was revealed to the world. So, back in New York, she has to get used to being recognized. And Andrew has to figure out how to just live vs. visiting NYC like a tourist.
Anna's got a lot going on with her books and other things. Andrew runs the ranch remotely, but also has some other things going on.
But it's the mundane living together that we get to see a bit more of, to convince us - and them - that there's a future.
But, in the course of any novel about people finding love and deciding to make a life together, I think it's important that they trying to get past the romance of new love, when we behave and do things we might not otherwise do, and get to the point of being truly themselves in a more "routine" life. So, that's what I'm trying to establish with my characters in today's chapter.
However, these are not people with ordinary lives - she's a world-famous author and he owns a beef ranch - and they don't live in the same place. Which means, by necessity, one of them is not going to "at home" wherever they are.
Most of the novel to this point has taken place on the Colorado ranch. That's where Andrew lives, grew up, and what he does for a living now that he's an adult.
This chapter moved the action back to New York City, which is where Anna is a novelist. She didn't grow up in NYC, but she has an apartment there and enjoys the energy of the city. She had been anonymous until the start of the novel, when her pseudonym was revealed to the world. So, back in New York, she has to get used to being recognized. And Andrew has to figure out how to just live vs. visiting NYC like a tourist.
Anna's got a lot going on with her books and other things. Andrew runs the ranch remotely, but also has some other things going on.
But it's the mundane living together that we get to see a bit more of, to convince us - and them - that there's a future.
August 12, 2023
Resolution Begins
Today's writing starts the reconciliation of Anna and Andrew. They're finding their way to being together in the real world.
And that begins the resolution of the tensions of the book. The protagonists are talking to each other, rather than past each other.
It took some doing to get them to this point. I try to think about the hard conversations I would have had to have with my husband if we had been in similar circumstances. These two have a history that's fraught with complications. They lust after each other, sure. But that's not enough to build a solid foundation on, regardless of what the rom-coms like to portray.
In this case, there have been past mistakes that needed to be resolved. There were conversations that had happened that needed to be rewound or unwound, to get to the real truth behind the quips.
And the two protagonists had to see each other as the fully fledged people they are now, versus the children they had been.
They've had those hard conversations now. They've acknowledged their past pain. And they've started to figure out what the future would bring and the challenges they will face to make it reality.
Though there's one more complication before we have our happy ending.
And that begins the resolution of the tensions of the book. The protagonists are talking to each other, rather than past each other.
It took some doing to get them to this point. I try to think about the hard conversations I would have had to have with my husband if we had been in similar circumstances. These two have a history that's fraught with complications. They lust after each other, sure. But that's not enough to build a solid foundation on, regardless of what the rom-coms like to portray.
In this case, there have been past mistakes that needed to be resolved. There were conversations that had happened that needed to be rewound or unwound, to get to the real truth behind the quips.
And the two protagonists had to see each other as the fully fledged people they are now, versus the children they had been.
They've had those hard conversations now. They've acknowledged their past pain. And they've started to figure out what the future would bring and the challenges they will face to make it reality.
Though there's one more complication before we have our happy ending.
August 6, 2023
Plans Change
Yesterday, I wrote about a conversation between my two main characters. I called the chapter "An Attempt at Talking".
Because these two have trouble talking. They've been denying their passion for each other for weeks since Anna came to the ranch. Really, they've been denying their passion since they were teenagers when Anna's mother interrupted them before they had sex. There are decades of pent-up passion that have underscored their more recent interactions.
Because there is this passion, and because neither of them is sure about the other, there has also been a lot of defensiveness. And pushing the other one away. Or not listening, jumping to conclusions. Almost every conversation ends up in an argument.
Except Andrew finally told Anna about his childhood. About losing his mother. And why he calls her Raggedy Ann. I don't want to ruin the book for readers, so I won't say anything more about that. But it was something he needed to tell her. And it led to them having sex. Finally.
But sex doesn't always solve everything. In fact, most of the time, it just creates complications. Which is what it has done between Anna and Andrew.
Because they don't communicate well. And communication has to be part of any relationship, along with sex. Or to put it another way, they will only be having sex if they can't find a way to communicate and start making love instead.
So, the day after their first foray, they try to talk about things. Really talk about the challenges between them. Anna's mother has convinced Anna that she and Andrew don't really know each other anymore. Which is true because they aren't good at communicating. And being honest with each other. And being themselves.
Anna tries in this chapter. She talks about her life now. How she's a successful writer. She's gotten a movie deal. She's wealthy. She's got a life back in New York.
But Andrew is still being defensive, and he doesn't hear her. And so, she reverts to being defensive, too.
And their attempt fails.
My intent was to have the next chapter be called, "Another Attempt". For Anna and Andrew to talk to each other, and really listen.
But, as is often the case, the characters had different ideas. Anna had a conference call for her movie deal. And then she had to talk to her editor. And her publicist. In short, she had a morning being the businesswoman she is.
Then, she went to Cecelia, who is the heart of the ranch - and the heart/conscience of the book. Anna talks to Cecelia about the fact that she and Andrew don't communicate well. And Cecelia disabuses Anna of some of her defensiveness about Andrew.
And, so, now Anna is ready to talk to Andrew again. 12 pages later.
Because these two have trouble talking. They've been denying their passion for each other for weeks since Anna came to the ranch. Really, they've been denying their passion since they were teenagers when Anna's mother interrupted them before they had sex. There are decades of pent-up passion that have underscored their more recent interactions.
Because there is this passion, and because neither of them is sure about the other, there has also been a lot of defensiveness. And pushing the other one away. Or not listening, jumping to conclusions. Almost every conversation ends up in an argument.
Except Andrew finally told Anna about his childhood. About losing his mother. And why he calls her Raggedy Ann. I don't want to ruin the book for readers, so I won't say anything more about that. But it was something he needed to tell her. And it led to them having sex. Finally.
But sex doesn't always solve everything. In fact, most of the time, it just creates complications. Which is what it has done between Anna and Andrew.
Because they don't communicate well. And communication has to be part of any relationship, along with sex. Or to put it another way, they will only be having sex if they can't find a way to communicate and start making love instead.
So, the day after their first foray, they try to talk about things. Really talk about the challenges between them. Anna's mother has convinced Anna that she and Andrew don't really know each other anymore. Which is true because they aren't good at communicating. And being honest with each other. And being themselves.
Anna tries in this chapter. She talks about her life now. How she's a successful writer. She's gotten a movie deal. She's wealthy. She's got a life back in New York.
But Andrew is still being defensive, and he doesn't hear her. And so, she reverts to being defensive, too.
And their attempt fails.
My intent was to have the next chapter be called, "Another Attempt". For Anna and Andrew to talk to each other, and really listen.
But, as is often the case, the characters had different ideas. Anna had a conference call for her movie deal. And then she had to talk to her editor. And her publicist. In short, she had a morning being the businesswoman she is.
Then, she went to Cecelia, who is the heart of the ranch - and the heart/conscience of the book. Anna talks to Cecelia about the fact that she and Andrew don't communicate well. And Cecelia disabuses Anna of some of her defensiveness about Andrew.
And, so, now Anna is ready to talk to Andrew again. 12 pages later.
August 5, 2023
Dialogue-Driven Writing
My novels involve a lot of dialogue, particularly the fantasy ones. As I think I've written before, I have to remind myself to include things like descriptions of surroundings, buildings, what people look like, clothes they're wearing, etc. Most of the time, I'll put that kind of narrative in, but it's rarely important to the plot.
I know there are novels where the location is an important part of the story. Some use the state of the home as a metaphor for the family's dysfunction. Some have such detailed descriptions of buildings and locations that you can imagine where the story is taking place in exquisite detail.
For whatever reason, that's just not me. For me, the relationships between people, led by their dialogue, is the most important part of the novel. I "hear" their voices in my head, and sometimes I can't type fast enough to capture the conversation. I see them interacting, and I usually include things like "she smiled" and "he grinned" in between the lines. But what people are wearing is rarely important to a storyline. And where the events are happening rarely drives the plot forward.
So, dialogue is my main way to create exposition. What people say, how they say it, and to whom they say things is what creates the drama and what makes the characters interesting.
Another device I've used frequently, sometimes a lot, is thoughts from the main characters. Because my fictional biographies are written in first-person narration, we can know what the protagonist is thinking. I've had a few books where this device has been used heavily, such as Best Meet-Cute Ever. In that book, Tina talked to herself a lot, and I even had a special style format for her self-dialogue. But most of the time, there are just occasional glimpses into the character's inner thoughts, usually when there's turmoil. Because my fantasy novels have an omniscient narrator, the reader sometimes learns about a character's inner thoughts or responses. But not an inner dialogue.
In the case of the fantasy novels, the inclusion of the familiars - the animals to whom the mages are bonded - serves a similar purpose, as the dialogue between mage and familiar is often the most honest. Or revealing perhaps may be a better way to put it. A familiar knows everything the mage is thinking anyway. So, their conversations often let the reader in on something - similar to how inner dialogue would.
In today's writing, the main character of Rich People's Problems - who is a novelist - has the opportunity to write a screenplay for a movie that's being made of one of her novels. She's convinced she can do it since her novels are largely driven by dialogue anyway. The male protagonist isn't so sure, having been an actor at one point in his life. Which made me wonder how writing a screenplay would be different from writing a dialogue-driven novel. Guess I'll need to do some research.
I know there are novels where the location is an important part of the story. Some use the state of the home as a metaphor for the family's dysfunction. Some have such detailed descriptions of buildings and locations that you can imagine where the story is taking place in exquisite detail.
For whatever reason, that's just not me. For me, the relationships between people, led by their dialogue, is the most important part of the novel. I "hear" their voices in my head, and sometimes I can't type fast enough to capture the conversation. I see them interacting, and I usually include things like "she smiled" and "he grinned" in between the lines. But what people are wearing is rarely important to a storyline. And where the events are happening rarely drives the plot forward.
So, dialogue is my main way to create exposition. What people say, how they say it, and to whom they say things is what creates the drama and what makes the characters interesting.
Another device I've used frequently, sometimes a lot, is thoughts from the main characters. Because my fictional biographies are written in first-person narration, we can know what the protagonist is thinking. I've had a few books where this device has been used heavily, such as Best Meet-Cute Ever. In that book, Tina talked to herself a lot, and I even had a special style format for her self-dialogue. But most of the time, there are just occasional glimpses into the character's inner thoughts, usually when there's turmoil. Because my fantasy novels have an omniscient narrator, the reader sometimes learns about a character's inner thoughts or responses. But not an inner dialogue.
In the case of the fantasy novels, the inclusion of the familiars - the animals to whom the mages are bonded - serves a similar purpose, as the dialogue between mage and familiar is often the most honest. Or revealing perhaps may be a better way to put it. A familiar knows everything the mage is thinking anyway. So, their conversations often let the reader in on something - similar to how inner dialogue would.
In today's writing, the main character of Rich People's Problems - who is a novelist - has the opportunity to write a screenplay for a movie that's being made of one of her novels. She's convinced she can do it since her novels are largely driven by dialogue anyway. The male protagonist isn't so sure, having been an actor at one point in his life. Which made me wonder how writing a screenplay would be different from writing a dialogue-driven novel. Guess I'll need to do some research.
July 31, 2023
Realist Romance?
As I've written before, I have hesitated to call my non-fantasy novels "romances". I demurred this was because I don't have a lot of sex in the books. Which is true.
But also I've tried, in this novels, to bring a realistic portrayal of relationships.
I based my first novel, Life Reimagined, on my life. It was a retelling of a relationship I'd actually had and two takes on what might have happened - good and bad - if he and I had been able to work through the reasons we didn't end up together. In the process, I realized that the reasons we'd had for not making it as a couple had, in fact, been good ones. And getting the fictional couple past them had required some changes for both main characters that I don't believe would have ever happened in real life.
Two more of my novels are loosely based on actual events: Pre-Bound Girl and The Drum Set. In Pre-Bound, the main character falls for men who are never quite everything she wants based on a checklist she created for herself of the perfect man. In the end, she marries a man who isn't perfect, but who is perfect for her. I believe this is a realistic perspective, though also a romance trope. No couple is ever going to be "perfect" for each other; as a favorite columnist has written (I'm paraphrasing), "You aren't going to agree on everything. But you have to be able to live with the things you don't agree on, and you have to be able to disagree with honesty and trust." The Drum Set was based, in part, on the trauma and drama of a life-or-death situation. And that sometimes, facing hard situations forces one to come to the realization of what one wants, or makes one be honest with oneself and one's partner. Whether that ends up positively is a whole other question. In the case of my novel, it did. But again, the resolution felt real, probably because it mirrored much of what had actually happened in my own life.
The Gift for Michael has a supernatural component. In that, it's not realistic at all. How the two main characters come to love seems authentic, nonetheless. And there's a bit of a denouement where we learn a bit about what happens after the book ends. While the story ends with some aspects being idealistic (she gets a job that barely exists and probably isn't one you could afford to have a family on), I'd like to think the relationship between Michael and Amanda is honest and forthright.
Best Meet-Cute Ever had one of my most "controversial" relationships, because Jake starts off lying to Tina. Getting these two characters to be honest with each other and get past his terrible behavior took some doing. I'm happy that at least one of the reviewers said something to the effect of "Tina believed in Jake, so I tried to, too, and eventually did." That's entirely how I thought about it as I was writing. What could Jake do to gain her trust again? It's incremental. It's not like some romance novels I've read where the couple have one heart-to-heart conversation, and all is forgiven. Jake has to earn Tina's love after hurting her.
I'm at the point now in Rich People's Problems of trying to get the main characters back on track without making it forced. Anna's mother just called her out on thinking Anna and Andrew know each other when they haven't really spent time together in a couple of decades. Having been best friends when they were kids is a nice foundation. But it's not enough. And they aren't the people they were then. So, a magical post-sex, all is well, let's be together forever isn't in the cards. They have a couple of hard conversations ahead of them. The good news is that they've already had a couple of those deep discussions. They know how. They are learning to trust each other again after a teenage drama broke them apart. But it's not going to be easy.
So, is there a genre called realistic romance? Because I'm a romantic, which is why I've read hundreds of romance novels in my life. But I'm also a realist, which is why I call my books fictional biographies - because I'd like to think the people and stories could have been real.
But also I've tried, in this novels, to bring a realistic portrayal of relationships.
I based my first novel, Life Reimagined, on my life. It was a retelling of a relationship I'd actually had and two takes on what might have happened - good and bad - if he and I had been able to work through the reasons we didn't end up together. In the process, I realized that the reasons we'd had for not making it as a couple had, in fact, been good ones. And getting the fictional couple past them had required some changes for both main characters that I don't believe would have ever happened in real life.
Two more of my novels are loosely based on actual events: Pre-Bound Girl and The Drum Set. In Pre-Bound, the main character falls for men who are never quite everything she wants based on a checklist she created for herself of the perfect man. In the end, she marries a man who isn't perfect, but who is perfect for her. I believe this is a realistic perspective, though also a romance trope. No couple is ever going to be "perfect" for each other; as a favorite columnist has written (I'm paraphrasing), "You aren't going to agree on everything. But you have to be able to live with the things you don't agree on, and you have to be able to disagree with honesty and trust." The Drum Set was based, in part, on the trauma and drama of a life-or-death situation. And that sometimes, facing hard situations forces one to come to the realization of what one wants, or makes one be honest with oneself and one's partner. Whether that ends up positively is a whole other question. In the case of my novel, it did. But again, the resolution felt real, probably because it mirrored much of what had actually happened in my own life.
The Gift for Michael has a supernatural component. In that, it's not realistic at all. How the two main characters come to love seems authentic, nonetheless. And there's a bit of a denouement where we learn a bit about what happens after the book ends. While the story ends with some aspects being idealistic (she gets a job that barely exists and probably isn't one you could afford to have a family on), I'd like to think the relationship between Michael and Amanda is honest and forthright.
Best Meet-Cute Ever had one of my most "controversial" relationships, because Jake starts off lying to Tina. Getting these two characters to be honest with each other and get past his terrible behavior took some doing. I'm happy that at least one of the reviewers said something to the effect of "Tina believed in Jake, so I tried to, too, and eventually did." That's entirely how I thought about it as I was writing. What could Jake do to gain her trust again? It's incremental. It's not like some romance novels I've read where the couple have one heart-to-heart conversation, and all is forgiven. Jake has to earn Tina's love after hurting her.
I'm at the point now in Rich People's Problems of trying to get the main characters back on track without making it forced. Anna's mother just called her out on thinking Anna and Andrew know each other when they haven't really spent time together in a couple of decades. Having been best friends when they were kids is a nice foundation. But it's not enough. And they aren't the people they were then. So, a magical post-sex, all is well, let's be together forever isn't in the cards. They have a couple of hard conversations ahead of them. The good news is that they've already had a couple of those deep discussions. They know how. They are learning to trust each other again after a teenage drama broke them apart. But it's not going to be easy.
So, is there a genre called realistic romance? Because I'm a romantic, which is why I've read hundreds of romance novels in my life. But I'm also a realist, which is why I call my books fictional biographies - because I'd like to think the people and stories could have been real.
July 23, 2023
Amazon Book Categories
With each book I publish, I agonize over which book categories to use to list the books on KDP, which translates to their listings on Amazon. You only get to choose three categories on KDP, and obviously, those choices help readers find the books - or not.
With Maverick for the Built Environment, biography was the obvious choice. But...there are all kinds of biographies. I chose "biography: artists, architects, and photographers" - which is kind of a weird set of choices - "biography: science and technology". When I first published the book, it topped out at 272 on Kindle under "biography: artists, architects, and photographers". That was amazing; today, two weeks later, it's at 909, which is still amazingly high. Amazon also added the book to "biographies: scientists", which I would argue doesn't really apply. And also to "artist and architect biographies", which is somehow different than "biography: artists, architects, and photographers" where it is also listed.
To try to get more views on Amazon for my fantasy books, where there are millions of fantasy novels, I tried to be a little more selective than just "fantasy". Eric did some research, and between us, we came up with "fantasy: epic" - which I think of as tales with life-and-death choices - and "juvenile fiction: fantasy & magic". The idea of "juvenile fiction" was to get younger readers to consider the trilogies; Harry Potter and the Anne McCaffrey books have created young readers for fantasy series. KDP didn't like the combination, though. It didn't understand how a book could be both juvenile fiction and adult fiction. Clearly, the algorithm was not designed by authors. As with Dad's biography, Amazon also has added categories for the fantasy trilogies. The last book in the first trilogy, The Prophecy Fulfilled, is #48,072 in sword and sorcery fantasy and #83,774 in children's fantasy & magic books. Sword and sorcery fantasy is another category I thought I'd used for the trilogies, though KDP doesn't reflect it. There are not really swords in my fantasy trilogies. But there is lots of sorcery, aka magic.
The last category of books I write, though, has proved the most difficult to categorize. I called the novels I write about love and life from a woman's perspective (first person narration) fictional autobiographies or fictional biographies. In KDP, I'm using the choices of "romance: contemporary" and "women's fiction: contemporary". On Amazon, they have also categorized the books under "biographical fiction", which I don't think I knew was a category. The problem with these categories are that I don't think of my novels as romances, at least not the kinds of romances I've read since I was a teenager. While the women and men I write about fall in love, and often have sex as a result, there is not a focus on the sex part. I don't write sex scenes in graphic detail. I chose "romance: contemporary" as a category because a lot of women read from that category. I just hope anyone buying one of my books and expecting lots of sex isn't disappointed. Likewise, "biographical fiction" is problematic as a category - to me - because the novels are usually only about a small part of the woman's life, the meeting and falling in love - not an entire lifetime. There's usually some other elements to the novels, as well, generally related to how they get past themselves and do the falling in love part. So, in that regard, romance is the focus on the books. But "biography", to me, implies a whole life's novel. So, I worry, again, about whether people will be disappointed in buying the books with that category when they find out the novels only cover part of the main character's life. Overall, I think "women's fiction: contemporary" is probably the best fit. I've read other authors in this genre, like Emily Giffin, and I would say my novels are similar in nature. Girl meets boy. Problems get in the way. Girl and boy have to find their way past them to find love.
When and if I ever do full marketing campaigns for my writing, I'll probably have to rethink these categories. Again. Maybe.
With Maverick for the Built Environment, biography was the obvious choice. But...there are all kinds of biographies. I chose "biography: artists, architects, and photographers" - which is kind of a weird set of choices - "biography: science and technology". When I first published the book, it topped out at 272 on Kindle under "biography: artists, architects, and photographers". That was amazing; today, two weeks later, it's at 909, which is still amazingly high. Amazon also added the book to "biographies: scientists", which I would argue doesn't really apply. And also to "artist and architect biographies", which is somehow different than "biography: artists, architects, and photographers" where it is also listed.
To try to get more views on Amazon for my fantasy books, where there are millions of fantasy novels, I tried to be a little more selective than just "fantasy". Eric did some research, and between us, we came up with "fantasy: epic" - which I think of as tales with life-and-death choices - and "juvenile fiction: fantasy & magic". The idea of "juvenile fiction" was to get younger readers to consider the trilogies; Harry Potter and the Anne McCaffrey books have created young readers for fantasy series. KDP didn't like the combination, though. It didn't understand how a book could be both juvenile fiction and adult fiction. Clearly, the algorithm was not designed by authors. As with Dad's biography, Amazon also has added categories for the fantasy trilogies. The last book in the first trilogy, The Prophecy Fulfilled, is #48,072 in sword and sorcery fantasy and #83,774 in children's fantasy & magic books. Sword and sorcery fantasy is another category I thought I'd used for the trilogies, though KDP doesn't reflect it. There are not really swords in my fantasy trilogies. But there is lots of sorcery, aka magic.
The last category of books I write, though, has proved the most difficult to categorize. I called the novels I write about love and life from a woman's perspective (first person narration) fictional autobiographies or fictional biographies. In KDP, I'm using the choices of "romance: contemporary" and "women's fiction: contemporary". On Amazon, they have also categorized the books under "biographical fiction", which I don't think I knew was a category. The problem with these categories are that I don't think of my novels as romances, at least not the kinds of romances I've read since I was a teenager. While the women and men I write about fall in love, and often have sex as a result, there is not a focus on the sex part. I don't write sex scenes in graphic detail. I chose "romance: contemporary" as a category because a lot of women read from that category. I just hope anyone buying one of my books and expecting lots of sex isn't disappointed. Likewise, "biographical fiction" is problematic as a category - to me - because the novels are usually only about a small part of the woman's life, the meeting and falling in love - not an entire lifetime. There's usually some other elements to the novels, as well, generally related to how they get past themselves and do the falling in love part. So, in that regard, romance is the focus on the books. But "biography", to me, implies a whole life's novel. So, I worry, again, about whether people will be disappointed in buying the books with that category when they find out the novels only cover part of the main character's life. Overall, I think "women's fiction: contemporary" is probably the best fit. I've read other authors in this genre, like Emily Giffin, and I would say my novels are similar in nature. Girl meets boy. Problems get in the way. Girl and boy have to find their way past them to find love.
When and if I ever do full marketing campaigns for my writing, I'll probably have to rethink these categories. Again. Maybe.
July 9, 2023
Royalties and Marketing
I've published 12 books now: 7 fantasy, 5 fictional biography/romance, and 1 biography. All are self-published, including my father's biography.
Since I've never published in any way other than self-publishing, I don't really know how more conventional publishing works. But I have read about it, and as I've written before, on the whole, I'm happy with self-publishing. I write what I want, when I want, and for whatever audience I choose.
The downside of self-publishing is a lack of marketing support, though from what I understand, even publishers don't do much marketing in support of new authors these days. I have this blog. I post about my books on various forums - several on Facebook, I just joined Instagram, and Eric shares my blog and book information on Twitter. I send out emails, both from my website and from my personal account.
But I've never made much of a concerted effort at marketing much beyond family and friends. It takes a fair amount of time to do it right. And money. I have done a couple of Book Bub advertisements. And I've done giveaways on Goodreads. Those have been helpful in getting more of the word out. And getting some reviews, as well, which are helpful. Honestly, I'm not planning to focus too much on marketing until I'm retired and can spend the time to do it right.
But Dad's biography is getting marketing from other sources, which I'm finding fascinating. First, one of the contributors posted about the book on LinkedIn. She's garnered many more likes than I have for the same topic. But then again, she's an architect, so that makes sense. I've sold at least one additional book to someone through her. She also posted a review about the book on Amazon, helping with my marketing there. Second, ANFA - the last organization Dad helped found - is planning to share about the biography on their website. Third, the contributor is planning to share about the biography at ANFA's annual conference, which ANFA may do as well - I don't know. Because - of course - Dad was an important part of that organization. Fourth - and I don't know if this will have any real impact - the biography is ranked #272 among biographies of artists and architects, far higher than any other book I've written in any of their respective categories.
The reality is that I've sold more of Dad's biography - Maverick for the Built Environment - than any book before. And that's before ANFA shares about it.
The royalties are still not much, just enough for a treat of a special dinner or something.
Writing and publishing has always been more about the fun of doing it than the money I make.
But I am finding this marketing and its effects fascinating. And somewhat financially rewarding. :)
Since I've never published in any way other than self-publishing, I don't really know how more conventional publishing works. But I have read about it, and as I've written before, on the whole, I'm happy with self-publishing. I write what I want, when I want, and for whatever audience I choose.
The downside of self-publishing is a lack of marketing support, though from what I understand, even publishers don't do much marketing in support of new authors these days. I have this blog. I post about my books on various forums - several on Facebook, I just joined Instagram, and Eric shares my blog and book information on Twitter. I send out emails, both from my website and from my personal account.
But I've never made much of a concerted effort at marketing much beyond family and friends. It takes a fair amount of time to do it right. And money. I have done a couple of Book Bub advertisements. And I've done giveaways on Goodreads. Those have been helpful in getting more of the word out. And getting some reviews, as well, which are helpful. Honestly, I'm not planning to focus too much on marketing until I'm retired and can spend the time to do it right.
But Dad's biography is getting marketing from other sources, which I'm finding fascinating. First, one of the contributors posted about the book on LinkedIn. She's garnered many more likes than I have for the same topic. But then again, she's an architect, so that makes sense. I've sold at least one additional book to someone through her. She also posted a review about the book on Amazon, helping with my marketing there. Second, ANFA - the last organization Dad helped found - is planning to share about the biography on their website. Third, the contributor is planning to share about the biography at ANFA's annual conference, which ANFA may do as well - I don't know. Because - of course - Dad was an important part of that organization. Fourth - and I don't know if this will have any real impact - the biography is ranked #272 among biographies of artists and architects, far higher than any other book I've written in any of their respective categories.
The reality is that I've sold more of Dad's biography - Maverick for the Built Environment - than any book before. And that's before ANFA shares about it.
The royalties are still not much, just enough for a treat of a special dinner or something.
Writing and publishing has always been more about the fun of doing it than the money I make.
But I am finding this marketing and its effects fascinating. And somewhat financially rewarding. :)
July 1, 2023
Back to Fiction
Now that I'm only writing one book at a time, it's been going a little smoother. At least it did today.
Last night, as I was settling into sleep, I had an idea. Or rather a series of ideas about a fight between my two main characters in Rich People's Problems and how the resolution of it would bring them to resolving all the underlying tension they've had between them the whole book. It felt like resolution of my challenges, as well.
It also would solidify the book's subtitle: The Story of Raggedy Ann and Andy. I wanted that subtitle to end up with a positive spin. And up to this point, it's been a source of contention.
I don't want to spoil the book by giving away too much. But suffice it to say, Anna and Andrew find their way to each other. As one would hope in this kind of novel.
Last night, as I was settling into sleep, I had an idea. Or rather a series of ideas about a fight between my two main characters in Rich People's Problems and how the resolution of it would bring them to resolving all the underlying tension they've had between them the whole book. It felt like resolution of my challenges, as well.
It also would solidify the book's subtitle: The Story of Raggedy Ann and Andy. I wanted that subtitle to end up with a positive spin. And up to this point, it's been a source of contention.
I don't want to spoil the book by giving away too much. But suffice it to say, Anna and Andrew find their way to each other. As one would hope in this kind of novel.
June 18, 2023
Putting Mom in Dad's Biography
As I've written about before - many times - I'm just finishing the writing for a biography of my father, John Paul Eberhard.
As Dad's career is what makes his biography of interest, that's what the book is mostly about.
However, my parents married in college and were married for nearly 70 years. They died within weeks of each other, as is relatively common for people who were married that long.
So, I wanted to make sure to include my mother in my father's biography. The question was how?
In the early years, it is easier. I talk about their college years, how they met in 1948 and married in 1950, when Mom was 19 and Dad was 23. How they met is not known precisely. But they were both active in the Lutheran Student Center, which is known from pictures I found on Ancestry. So, that seems the likely way they met.
Dad mentions Mom in his autobiography pieces, which start most chapters of his biography, especially when he's just starting out. Apparently they lived on an inheritance Mom got from her grandfather in some of the early, lean years. I have the paperwork from the inheritance, and it wasn't more than a few thousand dollars. While things were cheaper in the 1950s, they also had three children by 1956. Dad also mentioned that he and Mom ended having to "buy" a strip of land for one of the houses Dad designed, because the survey - that Dad had done - was a little off and the newly built house encroached on the property next door. Knowing my parents, that had to have been a hard conversation - both for my father to admit fault and for my mother to agree to use what little money they had to cover his mistake. Yikes.
After that first job, after Dad went to MIT for grad school, his autobiographical pieces don't mention Mom again.
But I do.
I wrote a bit about where we lived, as my parents moved often, at my father's behest and for my father's career. This topic became a source of some contention late in my parents' marriage, when they lived in a fancy apartment building in Pittsburgh when Dad was at CMU with a doorman and an elevator man. Mom HATED that there were people who knew her every move coming and going to the apartment. She also struggled because most of the families in the building used maids for their laundry, and Mom still insisted on doing their laundry herself. The move to Asbury was also a source of conflict, especially when Asbury built an iron fence around the property. Mom said she felt like she lived in a prison. The fence isn't that high, but you did have to use a card to get the gates to open.
I also included my mother in referencing a bit of her schooling and career. Mom had gone to grad school herself when we lived in Buffalo, presumably not the least of which was because she could go for free as her husband was dean of the school of architecture at SUNYAB. But I do mention, and I think it bears repeating, that my mother not only completed her undergraduate degree, even though she'd gotten married before graduation, she also earned a master's degree and worked throughout her life. As far as I know, she didn't work when my siblings were little. But she went back to work when I was a child and worked until her 60s.
So, in the end, it was important to have my mother mentioned in my father's biography. And, yes, when I created the Index of People (for people mentioned other than my father), she's the person who shows up the most often.
As she should be.
As Dad's career is what makes his biography of interest, that's what the book is mostly about.
However, my parents married in college and were married for nearly 70 years. They died within weeks of each other, as is relatively common for people who were married that long.
So, I wanted to make sure to include my mother in my father's biography. The question was how?
In the early years, it is easier. I talk about their college years, how they met in 1948 and married in 1950, when Mom was 19 and Dad was 23. How they met is not known precisely. But they were both active in the Lutheran Student Center, which is known from pictures I found on Ancestry. So, that seems the likely way they met.
Dad mentions Mom in his autobiography pieces, which start most chapters of his biography, especially when he's just starting out. Apparently they lived on an inheritance Mom got from her grandfather in some of the early, lean years. I have the paperwork from the inheritance, and it wasn't more than a few thousand dollars. While things were cheaper in the 1950s, they also had three children by 1956. Dad also mentioned that he and Mom ended having to "buy" a strip of land for one of the houses Dad designed, because the survey - that Dad had done - was a little off and the newly built house encroached on the property next door. Knowing my parents, that had to have been a hard conversation - both for my father to admit fault and for my mother to agree to use what little money they had to cover his mistake. Yikes.
After that first job, after Dad went to MIT for grad school, his autobiographical pieces don't mention Mom again.
But I do.
I wrote a bit about where we lived, as my parents moved often, at my father's behest and for my father's career. This topic became a source of some contention late in my parents' marriage, when they lived in a fancy apartment building in Pittsburgh when Dad was at CMU with a doorman and an elevator man. Mom HATED that there were people who knew her every move coming and going to the apartment. She also struggled because most of the families in the building used maids for their laundry, and Mom still insisted on doing their laundry herself. The move to Asbury was also a source of conflict, especially when Asbury built an iron fence around the property. Mom said she felt like she lived in a prison. The fence isn't that high, but you did have to use a card to get the gates to open.
I also included my mother in referencing a bit of her schooling and career. Mom had gone to grad school herself when we lived in Buffalo, presumably not the least of which was because she could go for free as her husband was dean of the school of architecture at SUNYAB. But I do mention, and I think it bears repeating, that my mother not only completed her undergraduate degree, even though she'd gotten married before graduation, she also earned a master's degree and worked throughout her life. As far as I know, she didn't work when my siblings were little. But she went back to work when I was a child and worked until her 60s.
So, in the end, it was important to have my mother mentioned in my father's biography. And, yes, when I created the Index of People (for people mentioned other than my father), she's the person who shows up the most often.
As she should be.
June 17, 2023
Changing Course - Again
When I first conceived Rich People's Problems, it was based on a dream.
In that dream, a rich woman - who others didn't know was rich - was miserable because her wealth had been revealed to the public after she had donated money to a good cause. She hadn't wanted to be famous. She had just wanted to do good things. In her panic over sudden being in the news, she runs away - and runs to the only famous person she knows - a childhood friend. The two of them work through her issues together and, eventually, fall in love.
When I started to put pen to paper, I had to solve some problems:
1) Where did this woman's wealth come from? I decided to make her a romance novel writer. Not that dissimilar to my own writing, though more straight-up romance novels than what I write.
2) If she was a romance novel writer, and making money from it, then how come she wasn't already famous? I decided that she wrote under a nom de plume. Lots of romance novelists do, so it made sense.
3) Why was he famous? And why did she know him? I decided that they had grown up together - which had been part of the dream - and that he had grown up rich, while she had not. And then I decided to make him a cowboy. This served several purposes. a) She would flee the city for the "country" or ranch in this case. b) He would already be rich, as well as famous, which would help with any inequities once they got together. c) It was a bit of an inside joke with my husband, who used to get advertisements on his Kindle for "billionaire cowboy" romance novels all the time.
4) What was their relationship in present day? I decided that it would be problematic. She would be asking for his help, yes. But they had a history that wasn't always nice. So, what had happened? Well, I had come up with this subtitle for the novel "The Story of Raggedy Ann and Andy". I needed an explanation for that. I invented a story of how Andrew's rich friends had called Anna "Raggedy Ann" when they were kids, insulting her and pointing out how different they were, even though they had grown up together on the ranch. Anna's mother worked for Andrew's father, making the kids not exactly peers. As kids, they were Ann and Andy, which is why the nickname made sense, even though the reader only knows her as Anna to start.
As I started to write, the part about Anna coming to see Andrew on the ranch got thrown aside. Instead, Anna comes to the ranch to be comforted by Cecelia, the ranch's chef, who was like a second mother to Anna. And I created more antipathy between Anna and Andrew.
But the original idea still lingered.
So, today, I softened some of Anna's anger toward Andrew - she's still insulted by his friends, though - and I put in about her wanting to consult with him about being famous - which I had taken out.
It feels better.
Though no promises that I won't change my mind again.
In that dream, a rich woman - who others didn't know was rich - was miserable because her wealth had been revealed to the public after she had donated money to a good cause. She hadn't wanted to be famous. She had just wanted to do good things. In her panic over sudden being in the news, she runs away - and runs to the only famous person she knows - a childhood friend. The two of them work through her issues together and, eventually, fall in love.
When I started to put pen to paper, I had to solve some problems:
1) Where did this woman's wealth come from? I decided to make her a romance novel writer. Not that dissimilar to my own writing, though more straight-up romance novels than what I write.
2) If she was a romance novel writer, and making money from it, then how come she wasn't already famous? I decided that she wrote under a nom de plume. Lots of romance novelists do, so it made sense.
3) Why was he famous? And why did she know him? I decided that they had grown up together - which had been part of the dream - and that he had grown up rich, while she had not. And then I decided to make him a cowboy. This served several purposes. a) She would flee the city for the "country" or ranch in this case. b) He would already be rich, as well as famous, which would help with any inequities once they got together. c) It was a bit of an inside joke with my husband, who used to get advertisements on his Kindle for "billionaire cowboy" romance novels all the time.
4) What was their relationship in present day? I decided that it would be problematic. She would be asking for his help, yes. But they had a history that wasn't always nice. So, what had happened? Well, I had come up with this subtitle for the novel "The Story of Raggedy Ann and Andy". I needed an explanation for that. I invented a story of how Andrew's rich friends had called Anna "Raggedy Ann" when they were kids, insulting her and pointing out how different they were, even though they had grown up together on the ranch. Anna's mother worked for Andrew's father, making the kids not exactly peers. As kids, they were Ann and Andy, which is why the nickname made sense, even though the reader only knows her as Anna to start.
As I started to write, the part about Anna coming to see Andrew on the ranch got thrown aside. Instead, Anna comes to the ranch to be comforted by Cecelia, the ranch's chef, who was like a second mother to Anna. And I created more antipathy between Anna and Andrew.
But the original idea still lingered.
So, today, I softened some of Anna's anger toward Andrew - she's still insulted by his friends, though - and I put in about her wanting to consult with him about being famous - which I had taken out.
It feels better.
Though no promises that I won't change my mind again.
