Libby Thomas's Blog
October 29, 2014
To Conference! Definitely To Conference!
I had an amazing time at the Queen City Indie Conference! I have already been amazed over and over by the support in the romance author community online. I was blown away by the support of romance authors in person. It was amazing to sit in a room of like minded people and just absorb all of that positive energy.
Highlights of the weekend? I learned so much that I didn’t know. First of all I should have had a website by now. Technically I knew this but I didn’t fully grasp the importance until the conference. Now I am going to buy a domain name. Secondly Bookbub is a big deal. Like a huge deal. I don’t know how, but I need to get my book on Bookbub. Finally the best advice was simple- keep writing. I knew this already but it is sometimes hard to remember when you feel bogged down. The conference was just what I needed to get my mojo back on the writing front.
There was lots of other information to be learned but I have to go back through my pages and pages of notes to come up with a concise synopsis. The other highlight was actually getting to talk to some authors and getting one on one time and attention. I cannot say enough about generosity of these ladies.
From the lovely and talented Jayne Rylon. It is amazing! If you enjoyed those pick your own ending books as a child and even if you didn’t you have to give this book a shot! It’s like having eight short stories that fit each little mood. It’s the perfect way to relax at the end of a hard day, in your bathtub, with a glass of wine… I digress.
Anyway my first conference was absolutely fabulous and I cannot wait to attend my next. Thank you to everyone who made the Queen City Indie Con possible. And thank you to all of the authors out there who are so generous with your time and experience.
October 8, 2014
Quick Question: to conference or not to conference?
I really really really want to go to the Queen City Indie Con, but I don’t know if it wise to use that money for that right now. What do you think? I don’t really have a writing budget I just keep dumping money into the writing thing. You know the money that used to be reserved to luxuries like the electric bill. It’s not quite that dire yet but there’s not much wiggle room either. At want point is it worth dropping a few hundred dollars to attend a conference?
I really really want to go.
October 2, 2014
Publish and Republish
I have currently sold 24 copies of my book Ball in Hand. Actually I have sold 23 copies. Someone who paid in GBP bought it and promptly returned it. Just the fact that someone had to buy in another currency is incredibly exciting! Being able to track sales in real time is amazing. It also puts me in danger of becoming and abject narcissist, but I’m risking it anyway.
Along with sales there are also reviews which are largely positive. Of course they are though most of them came from my family and friends. Keep up the good work guys I really appreciate each and every one of you who have taken time out of your schedules to offer feedback. For those of you reading indie authors and self published books, please go leave reviews. They are incredibly important. Some of the reviews came from total strangers and they’re also mostly positive. Reading five star reviews from perfect strangers is a whole new high. It’s amazing. Write a review.
There was also a negative review about my character development. I disagree. Then there was a negative review about a few errors that should have been caught in the editing process. Honestly folks the editor and I each read that thing fifteen times. But something still got through. So now I am faced with the double edged sword of resubmitting. On the one hand it is insanely easy to just fix the two typo’s the reviewer graciously pointed out and upload the improved document. On the other hand am I going to do that every time someone points out a flaw?
I would love to hear someone else’s opinion on how to handle this. My current plan is to wait until it is time to release the whole series in a box set and spoof it up then when some reformatting will have to happen anyway. The tentative date for this is January 2015. But I could easily swayed to take a more immediate course of action if you think I should.
September 24, 2014
Where oh where has my attention span gone?
So a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. The printed copy of Ball in Hand came in the mail and it’s beautiful. I was a little disappointed to see just how big the 6″x 9″ copy is. I really wanted it to look like all of the romance novels I paged through over the years but it’s cheaper in 6″x 9″ and the bigger print is helpful. I love the cover even more in person. I wanted to sit down and lovingly stroke every page but after six or more edits ( ? I lost count) frankly I’m sick of the whole book and if I never read it again that will be fine. That being said you should read it!
The most amazing thing happened after I posted the live book on my facebook page. Someone bought it, and liked it, and wrote a review! It was a friend of mine from high school so it’s not a completely unbiased review but we haven’t talked in ten years so it felt pretty amazing! I can’t wait to send that reviewer a hard copy as a thank you.
I put two months into writing the thing. Then I put five months into publishing the thing. And now every thing I read seems to be saying I will be spending the rest of my life selling the thing. Selling is just not my forte. So I have enlisted the help of a friend who says marketing is her hobby. I think she’s crazy but that is the stuff of another post. For now I’m just grateful that she’s willing to jump on board and help me out with the mountain of work that is just starting.
Book two: Honeymoons are Overrated is in the editing phase. It’s cover reveal is tentatively scheduled for October 15th. If all goes well HaO will be available on November 17th. The first few chapters are available now in the back of Ball in Hand which is for sale on Kindle but also free to download on Story Cartel for the next twelve days! Honeymoons are Overrated centers around the relationship between Chad and Lisa and it’s a little hotter than Ball in Hand. Don’t start salivating on me, it’s no Fifty Shades of Grey. Sorry.
Book three using the working title Diner Undercover is in the rough rough rough almost draft phase. I have 12,000 words of hopefully 80,000. It’s a little faster moving and a little deeper subject matter. But if you liked reading about Sam and Luke, I’m sure you will love Lisa and Chad, and you’ll be so ready to read about the final couple of the Finding Home trilogy.
Needless to say between writing Diner Undercover, editing Honeymoons are Overrated, and promoting Ball in Hand my thoughts are pretty fragmented which is why this blog post is sadly overdue. I almost forgot the reading. Every time I get frustrated I just throw all the writing/publishing stuff down and read something. I have nearly finished Reading Lolita in Tehran which is fantastic and I also read Tipping the Velvet which was an education in and of itself. I also have all these pesky new story ideas rattling around in my head competing for their turn to be put on paper.
My question of the week for other writers out there do you force yourself to finish one project at a time or do you work on multiple rough drafts simultaneously? I’m scared that I start writing everything I want to start I will never get my attention span back in line.
September 2, 2014
The last step
So the last step of publishing my first novel is underway. The polished manuscript has been through five vigorous rounds of edits and it has a beautiful cover so the last step is formatting. There’s nothing for me to do now but chew my fingernails down to the nubbins waiting for the finished product to come back to me. Hopefully by this time next week I will be anxiously chewing my fingernails back a little farther waiting for a paperback copy to come via snail mail.
Yes I need a paperback copy.
August 17, 2014
Cover Reveal
The cover reveal for Ball in Hand was last Friday. This post was delayed because well, when you make plans the cosmos laugh and things change. The cover was revealed on time while I was stuck in an laptop free arena.
TADA! What do you think? I am in love with it. Now I have no excuses and it is time to do the final edit and get the final proofread done and ready for release on September 15th. It’s real now!
August 11, 2014
COVER REVEAL!!!!
Ball in Hand has a cover! Thank you very much Perfect Pear Creative Covers. https://www.facebook.com/PerfectPearCreative The cover reveal is August 15th, so in a few days the cover will be posted here and on facebook. It feels like a real book now. It went from rough draft to edited manuscript to real live book almost overnight!
Well it feels fast now. Last week it felt like it was taking eternity. Stay tuned for the cover reveal!
July 8, 2014
2 Rough Drafts…
Book 2 is done! It’s called Honeymoons are Overrated.
Lisa Jensen is an accomplished attorney who gets what she wants in an out of the courtroom. At least she did, until she met Chad Foster. Lisa’s desktop has never been more prolific but her bed has never been more barren. Lisa’s best friend Sam insists that Chad is actually a great guy, but Lisa’s instincts keep warning her off of him. When Lisa finds herself on a plane bound for an island honeymoon with none other than the Chad Foster, she has to change her tactics. Sparks fly when Lisa decides to change tactics and face her fear.
All in all I am incredibly happy with the book. It’s shorter than I would have liked. The rough draft word count is 74,525. Part of me loves that beautifully round number but it feels like I’ve cheated somehow.
I have not started on Book 3, the final book in the series because I am taking a vacation and transitioning to a new job and working on finalizing publication of book 1 and that is enough on my plate for July.
Since I am not writing I have the time and the concentration to read. I started on Reading Lolita in Tehran. I am in love with it so far. I would like to curl up with it and finish it tonight but again I have the feeling that I am cheating. I closed it and resolved to read Lolita before I open it again. I’ve never been a fan of the classics, but I don’t want to miss any of the references. I don’t want to observe the memoir from the outside. I want to make an effort to process the classics with the other girls.
Any one else have this same desire? If you haven’t picked up Reading Lolita in Tehran, what are you waiting for?
June 25, 2014
Word Count
My goal is to write 10,000 words a week. So far this has been doable most weeks. Last week I was distracted and didn’t get as far as I would have liked. Since my goal deadline for finishing this book is June 30th, Monday I was a woman on a mission. I wrote 5,000 words. Then Tuesday I put in another 4,000 words. I was so jacked! Today less than 500. Womp, womp. It would have been really nice to keep up that 5,000 words a day momentum, but I’m happy with the book so far. I know I’m going to miss the deadline but it won’t be by much.
So after resolving my self imposed deadline stress I discovered a second issue: the self imposed word count goal. Book 2 is just over 68,000 words right now. The goal for this book is 82,000 words. I don’t know if it’s gong to make it. I’m sure it will be at least 75,000 but it’s about time to get to the resolution. I freaked out like this a little bit with book 1 at the 66,000 mark so maybe this is my pattern? Does anyone else have anxiety in the home stretch?
June 19, 2014
Progress!
So the book is back from the editor. The process so far was much less painful that I expected. I have asked my editor to be a little rougher on me on the next round. I’m not sensitive.
I also have a tentative arrangement with a great cover artist. I’m hoping to go ahead and commission the covers for the whole series at once!
I’m 58,000 words into my second novel. Somehow the page count is not adding up as quickly as it did last time. I just shrug and keep writing.
Even better than progress on my own book I read something recently that I absolutely loved. Finding fiction I love has become a bit of a challenge lately. This book exceeded my expectations.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
