Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 167

I finished a book… what now…

Filed under Qs writer get asked… a lot…

On my facebook page the other day somebody asked me…(paraphrased…)

I've finished a book-what's the next step in possibly getting it published?

And since I (and many, many other writers) get asked this sort of question, I'm going to past my response here:

That's a hard question to answer, because there's no easy answer.

There's no straight out path to publication-it changes for everybody. If you're looking for print publication, you can always try querying agents-check out agents who represe…nt writers in the genre you're interested in. Look for their submission guidelines and make sure you FOLLOW them. Now I suck at offering query advice-I found both of my agents years after I'd been published and they both took me based mostly on my history and potential sales I already (or did) have in front of me-and in case of my current agent, she fell in love with the project I had-there wasn't much of a query needed, thank God, because I'm lousy. But you need to understand that a good query for a new writer is vital, and you need to make sure you follow submision guidelines. Hang out at some industry blogs, good ones are http://blog.nathanbransford.com/ (former agent-go through his archives) or Lynn Viehl (http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/ ) woman is my guru… troll their archives, see what you can learn from there.

You can hang at places like the water cooler on the absolute write forums (do a google).

But you need to be prepared to a lot of research, and start soaking up a lot of information before you do anything.

If you're more into the idea of an epub, start checking out the epubs you're interested in. I've got some info on my sites for what to watch out for with epubs, because some come and go FAST, and even those that have been around for a while aren't always in the best interest of a writer. Just visit my blog @ http://shilohwalker.com/website and look in the archives for Thursday Tips, or do a search.

You can also think about joining RWA** or maybe just visiting the local area chapter blogs or that sort of thing. The more immersed you get into writing communities to soak up the knowledge about the industry, the easier it is to figure out what might be the next step. I don't get much 'writing' knowledge from writing communities, nor do I want to-I write in my style and don't want to alter that other than to improve it, but the industry knowledge I get from other writers is invaluable.

~end of that answer~

Adding to it…

There are other writing groups out there, but with RWA, you don't have to be published.  A lot of the others require publication, so RWA can help grow an unpublished writer into a published writer.

The writing biz, before publication, and after, is a waiting game and a learning one.  My best advise, if you're writing a book now, don't wait until you've finished to start that learning game.  Hang out where writers talk online.  Those two blogs I posted up in earlier in this post, Lynn Viehl & Nathan Bransford, they can give invaluable advice.  There is already a lot of advice on their blogs if you go through their archives.  Absolute Write can be an interesting resource and you can ask questions there, but any time I read things there, I take it with a grain of salt because there are a LOT of people giving opinions and sometimes that will result in conflicting advice.

But don't look for an easy answer, a straight answer or an easy solution.  There just isn't one.  I've been writing since I was twelve.  I started submitting books when I was 19.  Stopped for a few years, started again a few years later.  I don't have files full of rejections letters, but I've got my share.  You're going to get rejections, from agents and from publishers.  It's just part of the process.  You have to go through the process-and it makes your better.

If the agent or editor offers you insight on how to improve your book…listen. Don't assume they don't know what they are talking about-they are in that job because they do know what they are talking about.

If they offer you a form letter…don't get pissed off.  If they offered everybody personalized responses, they wouldn't have the time to stay open for submissions which means the next time you had a book, possibly even the book that might sell, maybe they won't be able to take a look.

If that sounds like a cold, impersonal way to look at it…well, it is.  But this is business for them.  And if you want to be a writer?  You have to treat it as a business as well.  Once it leaves your hands, it's a business.  You can wring your hands and worry and sweat over it in private all you want.

When publishers act unprofessionally, a reader's take.

Forewarning, this is a pretty long rant, read at your own risk

Hey all, Nicole here, Shiloh's admin. You can find out a bit more over at the FAQ page. But ya know, I'm that person you'll see answering questions on occasion either here or over on Shiloh's Facebook. Just FYI, ya know, if ya wanna; I have FB page and a twitter. Facebook is Admin SWalker and twitter is @Admn_SWalker. Though, if you follow Shiloh, which I'm sure you do, I'll be reposting a lot of her stuff…but will try and post fun things on occasion, and you're free to reach me on one of those. Just another source of Shiloh-news if you will . Shiloh has been kind enough to let me blog here about some recent events concerning a pretty big taboo an e-pub recently committed (IMHO, anyway). Without further ado…

As many of you may have seen, there was some drama surrounding how a publisher, Decadent Publishing to be precise, handled a negative review of one of their author's books. Please note the following is simply MY opinion as a reader, NOT Shiloh's, NOT my "professional" opinion in an occupational sense. I'm not a publisher/editor/agent. Right now, just a reader. So, please please understand I do not wish for any repercussions to come back on Shiloh, if you disagree with me, that is fine, but these views are NOT Shiloh's. They are MINE and mine alone. I will mention, however, feel free to post if you disagree, but if you get nasty, Shiloh or myself can, and likely will, delete your comments. If you wish for a nice, thoughtful discussion, I'm all for it. But no bashing authors, Shiloh, me or others who may comment. Keep it respectful.

OK, now to the meat of this post…

Apparently The Enders, a blog review site, had one of their members purchase a book and post a review on said book. The publisher is Decadent Publishing. Now, let me be clear that I don't know all sides here, as in I don't know if the author simply mentioned the negative review to her editor or other representative at Decadent and Decadent on their own volition decided to go to the blog and comment or if the author asked Decadent to go and intercede on her behalf regarding the negative review of her book. My thought, I really, truly hope the author didn't request Decadent take any action and it was a decision made solely by Decadent. Because if the author requested any such intervention, well as a reader, I won't be buying ANY of this author's work no matter who publishes her in the future. Negative reviews are gonna happen. Not all of us readers are going to like each and every book in the genre(s) we read, for whatever reason. Maybe we didn't like the plot line, the author's writing style, how a particular sub-plot was handled, etc. But, to me, as long as a review remains constructive in it's criticism, they are entitled to their opinions. I know I haven't always like every book I've ever read. In fact, I have not always made it through every book I've picked up. Now, if I've tried it once and I have trusted friends who rave on and on, I may give it another go. Alas, I digress. Back to main point. If this author asked Decadent to intercede, well it is MY opinion that maybe this person should re-think their intended career. Not every reader (or agent or editor or publisher) will like your book. Take the constructive criticism if you think it can improve your writing or do what I think (based on tweets from authors or what authors have posted on their respective blogs) do and ignore the negative review. Either way, if you don't have thick enough skin to deal with the negative review, um, well…find something else to do. That being said, I wish them luck finding ANY profession where at some point you will get negative feedback about some aspect of your performance. That's just life.

Now, what I'm hoping happened is either the author or someone at Decadent stumbled across this review (maybe a google search?) and either the author happened to be venting about it to her editor or whomever at Decadent or what have you, and then this person decided to either speak with others at Decadent or on their own, made the decision to email the people at Enders. From the information I've seen, these emails were scathing and threatening to the persons who make up the collective group of bloggers (some of which are authors) and Decadent found out WHO these persons are. First, as a publisher, really and truly you have no business emailing the review site or it's members or even commenting on the actual review. You should know this, really you should. Negative reviews are gonna happen…you should be explaining this to your clients. What did they hope to accomplish by not only sending a nasty email, but continuing to bash these people via comments? All you've really done is piss off other authors (who are quite vocal and LOVE to share information), which means you've ruined your rep in the industry. This is an industry, IMHO, that is similar to my "day" job…your reputation is EVERYTHING. If you get a bad one, you're finished, essentially. At very least you'll have a hard time getting in decent talent and only get those poor poor writers who haven't done enough research to figure out they shouldn't sign with you. Also, us readers, we like to follow our fave authors. That means we go to their blogs/websites for information, we follow them on twitter if they have an account, we find them on Facebook. Why? We like information. Authors give us readers little goodies and fun bits of information. This can be snippets from upcoming releases, information on new WIPs, contests, etc. So, if you upset an author, especially one (or as in this case based on all the twitter activity I followed on Thursday) who is well known and has a large reader base, um, well hate to tell Decadent this, but you've just pissed off readers, as well. Know what that means? Less profit for you cause if you've upset us by your actions, know our way of handling it? We DO NOT BUY from you. That means your authors suffer, which if they're innocent in all of this, I offer my sincere apology (and suggest they find way out of their contract with you so they can find a more reputable publisher). It also means your bottom line suffers. Hey, it's the least us readers can do to make a statement.

Second, there is some speculation on whether Decadent has shared personal information about their authors or about the persons running the Enders. Again, you HAVE to be kidding me. Not only have you acted in a seriously unprofessional manner, this could very well violate some rights. Now, let me be very very careful and issue a clear disclaimer. YES my day job is an attorney. NO I do not practice IT/Copyright/privacy issues, etc. Nor do I know the terms of Decadent's contracts with its authors. I AM NOT submitting a professional opinion as to whether they have or have not violated any laws, etc. I'm just saying writers/authors, should tread very carefully if you decide to sign with Decadent. I'd be pretty cautious…THAT IS ALL I AM SAYING. Be cautious, make sure you're INFORMED and making INFORMED decisions, make sure I's are dotted and T's are crossed. How you go about that is up to you. I offer no advice AT ALL. Hope we're all clear there .

Bottom line is this. It is MY opinion (and mine alone) that as a reader, I believe Decadent has overstepped its bound and acted in an extremely unprofessional manner. In MY eyes, their reputation is nil. I do not plan on buying anything published by them. I hate that the repercussions of this decision will affect innocent authors (none that I'm currently reading I do not believe are published via Decadent…so will be cautious when checking out new authors). But, unfortunately, they've signed with a company who apparently can't abide by industry standards and handle business "in-house" as it were.

Kudos to you if you've stuck with me through my rant . One final thought, many thanks again to Shiloh for letting me rant as a guest blogger *G*. In future, I promise to hopefully keep my posts shorter if she's still willing to let me blog again he he.

Saturday Snippets…Tempt Me

From another indie title I'm working on. This one is called Tempt Me

"Cole?" She tipped her head back, studying him. "You know, I should probably get this out. It's been a while since I've done dates and all. But I don't sleep with men on the first date."

"Ah…" A muscle jerked in his jaw. "Well, I don't think we'd really even gotten to that point, right? This isn't even a date."

"Right. So when you take me home…either your place or mine, and we sleep together tonight, just be clear. We haven't had a date."

Disclaimer:  Like Beg Me, this is an independent project-I'm doing it on my own through Smashwords & Kindle.  I don't know when it will be done, just depends on my work load and stuff.  Also, I don't know if it will go into print.  The tentative plan is to pair it with Beg Me and put them up on Lulu or something in print, but I don't know how that will work, if it will work, etc.  WHEN I know, I'll post info to the blog.

The Friday 56…a Nora Edition

Today we've got…

Nora Roberts' The Name of the Game.

"I bought the place about three years ago.  Convinced my accountant it'd be a great tax shelter.  It made him feel better."

About the Friday 56

Grab the book nearest you. Right now
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Not what I'd wanna see in my epublisher… EEK!

Okay, FYI, this is an opinion, this is only an opinion and should anybody not like that opinion, you can click away real fast. Okay?  And the screaming cat might be a warning.  This isn't a warm & fuzzy post.

So I'm not in the market for a new epub. Two is good. But if I were looking, and I saw a publisher saw this, this publisher would fall very far from my list.

(Comments from Decadent Publishing, copied from this blog The End is Not the Final Word)

Would you like out of your contract with Decadent Publishing since you don't seem to respect either them or their authors?

Another DP comment, same thread, was:

This blog is not about doing legitimate reviews. This is a platform for ambushing an author for personal reasons. One of the owners of this blog is actually under contract with Decadent Publishing at this very moment. I've got to ask "why" would she ever submit to us if she thinks so little of our authors/company and has made public statement of the fact? Is that something a rational human being would do? For real?

My opinion to answer those questions… well personally, I don't think the author should review the books from DP, a conflict of interest, IMO.  But I also don't think DP should publicly confront a review site.  A REVIEW SITE.  COME ON. DID YOU NOT THINK PEOPLE WOULD SEE IT?

Now Decadent looks like a bully..in my opinion-can't threaten me over having an opinion, and I'm not contracted-nor would I ever me and FYI, if I were, after this, I'd be BEGGING to be let out of the contracts.

More concerning though…this…"Your Privacy is Not Protected at Decadent Publishing." Click the link…read it.  It's…ah…strange.  FYI, Enders people, your enders names are confusing.  Very dramatic, but confusing.  Anyway, the post is twisty.  I don't know what's the real story there…don't know, to be honest, don't entirely care, but if Decadent is sharing personal information of their authors or their readers, then they are the last place I'd be giving my books or my dollars to- a business should have some standards, some ethics.

I don't care what this author or the readers supposedly did or didn't do.  IMO, the only reason to justify sharing private information would be if laws were broken, and if laws were broken, they share it with legal personnel or the cops.  Not with their authors.  IMO, that's so fricking irresponsible, it makes me sick.

Were laws broken?  Do they have proof?  Did they share this info with the proper authories? If not, then I question their standards.  Again, again… my opinion…

If they can't respect the privacy of their authors and their readers…well, it's something to think about.

My my my…

Now… a note to anybody who may choose to comment.

Comment away.  Disagree with me.  I don't care, but two things-my blog, so my rules, which are stated pretty clear in my disclaimer .  If you want your comments to remain on my blog, I'd suggest you keep them civil (this is where my readers hang out and I don't want them having to deal with nasty tones).  If you can't be civil, be warned, your comments get deleted.  I even enjoy doing that. Disagreements don't bother me, although don't expect a lot of commentary from me.  Deleting nasty comments gives me and my admin all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings, so if you want to make give me warm & fuzzies…You can disagree & be civil, or disagree and be ugly…and be deleted.
You threaten me, I will laugh at you, then I may mock you, and possibly delete you.  Anybody who might try to threaten me over this post isn't very likely to be a threat & likely they know it.  Threats tend to be more an attempt to shut somebody up or intimidate somebody into going silent or removing something.  Not going to happen here, and FYI, all I did was state my opinion, and I copied a few comments and linked back, with attribution.

Another note, to innocent authors for this pub who are likely going to get caught in this?  You've got my sympathies.  Really.

Harder on Heroines

Be warned…today's post might irritate some people.  Sorry, not my intention-just need to get this off my chest.

Something that has always amused me in Romanceland about reviews, discussions on heroines & heroes, etc…some people are always harder on the heroine. Please note… I said some.  And this isn't about getting negative reviews.  It happens even in good reviews.  And it's not always in reviews, sometimes it's just discussions.

FYI…  I'm going to do very MINOR spoilers-although probably not really, since it's all mentioned in the blurb.

A case in point… some people have mentioned Sarel from my Hunters books…and this is to me, so I feel it's fair to use this as an example.  She's the heroine in book 2, HUNTERS ELI & SAREL.  They loved Eli.  He was awesome.  He was wonderful.  His heroine?  They hated her.  She's a bitch.  She's spoiled.  She didn't deserve him.  Why do they feel this way?  Well… the blurb reads:

After three long centuries of aching loneliness, Elijah Crawford, Hunter of the Council, has finally found a woman. Maybe she can replace the obsession he has for Torrance Reilly, the wife and lover of his best friend.

Sarel is a lean, red-haired, wild-eyed witch with a soul to match his. She has a thirst for justice, and a yearning for a love to fill the void inside her. Sarel has been searching for Elijah. She is here now, prowling his grounds, waiting to get into his house.

Sarel has come to kill him.

She's there to kill him.  Why does she want to kill him?  When she was just out of her teens, I think 19 or 20, she returns home after being gone quite a while and finds her sister just gone.  The house is a bloody-and I mean literally-wreck.  She thinks her sister is dead.  And she's a witch, self-trained.  She doesn't know entirely about vamps,weres, etc.  But she knows Eli had been there, she knows her sister is gone-assumes she's dead.  In her mind, she sees Eli as her sister's killer and she wants vengeance. Now once she realizes how wrong she'd been? She's willing to make amends, even willing to die for it, even though she's not happy over it.

Had this been a guy?  Sorry, I can't help but think everybody would have been just peachy keen with the scenario, because some people are just harder on the heroines. Now…that heroine could go through hell and back and try to be strong as Job, overcome more hell than I'd ever want to consider…but if that heroine does anything so human as make a mistake? She gets slaughtered.

The hero? Oh, he's fine. There are definitely some who will flay a book over a hero being an ass, and that's perfectly understandable. And don't get me wrong-if a person doesn't like the heroine, that's fine.

It just always amuses me that the hero can screw up, make mistakes and still come out smelling like roses. But the heroines? If they don't do everything perfect? They judged so much harsher. They are bitches, they are petty, they are shallow, they are immature…ironically, that's kind of the way some women are about other women. Some judge so much more harshly. We can't screw up, we can't make mistakes–we aren't allowed to be human.

That's kind of sad, when you think about it. Not sure why it amuses me so much in romanceland, but it does.  Maybe it's because I still so often see the arguments where we get pissed off when we don't get treated equal, or when we get pissed that people mock or deride the genre or give it a fair chance.   I just see some serious irony going on, I think.  And irony very often amuses me.

Repost: Lets talk 'master resale rights' and ebooks

FYI, I'm going to be reposting this.  Often.  Probably once a month-I've even set up a REMINDER..gak.  I want those idiots who claim to have rights to my copyright aware of the fact that…well, they don't have rights to my copyright.  So…  (:  I'm just keeping this word out there.  BTW, this stuff also applies to writers who aren't me.   For modern works, after 1978 and somebody is claiming to have 'master resale rights' or "I'm the copyright owner" or any crap like that over a work…it's very likely FALSE.  Copyright remains in place for the author's lifetime, plus 70 years.  Info on that can be found at copyright.gov – a nice government-y website so don't be fooled by the BS.

Okay, I'm hoping some people out there researching 'master resell rights' stumble onto this page.  Or I hope some of the people mistakenly claiming to be 'authorized ebook resellers' find this page.

Because I've got news for you.

You can't buy the resale rights to my work…unless you go through me, and I can't sell them to you, because it would be conflict with my contract to my publisher. Which could get me sued.  Which is why I'm pretty certain other authors out there aren't likely to be doing this either.

You can resell a paperback, because after all, there is just the one copy.

But you can't resell ebook after ebook after ebook because that's not selling one copy-that's making new copies and you know what that does?  That violates my copyright.  I own the rights to my work. Me.  Just me.

I contract with my publisher and they publish the books.  Through my publisher, I may sell the foreign rights (and please, dear God, I'd really love to), I can sell the audio rights (please God, I would love to) and other assorted rights.  I own the rights.  They are mine.  You can't buy a 'master resale right' to anything I've written, because I won't give it up.

If somebody claims they can give you master resale rights, you were lied to.   Possibly by mistake, possibly with the intention of deceiving you, I don't know.  Email the publisher if you don't believe me-ask the person claiming the 'resale rights' bit who their contact at the publisher was.  But don't shell out money to somebody who claims to give you master resale rights to ebooks.

Now this isn't to say there aren't books out there with 'master resale rights'.  I see all this 'set up your own ebook biz' and all the ebooks are self-help and do-it-yourself, and maybe, just maybe, those do come with legit resale rights.

But if you think Nora Roberts sold her resale rights to somebody who in turn now sells them out to others so they can sell a slew of them on ebay for a few bucks when the author doesn't see a red cent for all her hard work, you're wrong-somehow, I suspect Nora Roberts is a little too smart for that. She doesn't do it.   Neither does Shiloh Walker, neither does Larissa Ione, neither does Lauren Dane, neither does any fricking writer I've talked to about this…and yeah, writers do talk about it.  A lot.

Publishing doesn't work that way.

Ebook publishing doesn't work that way.

This is about rights.  Plain and simple rights.  When people 'create' digital copies of our work, they are making new copies-that is copyright infringement-and that violates our rights.  Plain and simple.  It violates our rights and if somebody came in and rode roughshod all over your legal rights, you'd be  bit upset.  You do not have the legal rights to resell our works, no matter what you were told.

And if anybody who was told this is reading this…seriously, completely seriously, I want to know who is telling you.    You were misinformed.  A lot of people have been misinformed and that circle won't stop until we get to the root of it all.

Feel free to email me.  Shilohwalker(at)gmail.com.  Of course, if you're emailing me just to tell me how I mean I am for wanting people to respect my fricking rights…don't waste your time.  I'm really handy with that delete button and I don't waste my time arguing with people who can't understand that I'm entitled to have my rights respected, the same way others want their rights respected.

Quickie update… a few people have emailed, wondering how to get their own work down at iOffer.  It's easy-send a DMCA.  They have to honor a true DMCA takedown request from the copyright owner.  They are protected by safe harbor laws – meaning they can't get sued – as long as they are taking action against those who are infringing on copyright owners' rights.

You can find a sample listing *here*.  Save the info to a word doc and just keep using the same form as needed. One bit of advice-stick to the DMCA, be courteous, be professional, give them just the info needed and nothing more, nothing less in the take-down.

If you send a DMCA takedown, they'll remove your works.  Use the DMCA–follow it, to the letter.  I use my PO box, if you don't have one you can use a legal representative, say your publisher's street addy.  Also, for those on ioffer & ebay who repeatedly infringe, those safe harbor laws only protect these sites if they take action against repeated abusers, I believe.  When I see those repeatedly abusing my copyright, I point out repeated complaints, and those sellers often go bye-bye, their entire accouts.  Yes, they pop back up, but keep at it.  The more people who become vigilant and stay vigilant, the better.  Since these sites have to take these listings down within a timely manner, perhaps if more authors became proactive, these sites would become proactive as well.

Eleven Things on 1.11.11

I had another post set to go live today. But instead, it's an 11 sort of day, with it being the eleventh day of the eleventh year.

So here are 11 things I'd like to see happen in 2011…

I want my family to stay safe, happy & healthy.
I'd like to go the rest of the year without getting sick.  PERIOD.  Since I'm sick now, this is like uber-important.  I even have a shiny new sick for me-I have pleurisy.  This is new for me.  DO NOT LIKE.
I'd like to be able to run 4 miles.  Which means…I need to STOP GETTING SICK.
I want to sell the two projects I have floating out there.
I want to take my family on really cool vacation, some place we haven't been before.  If I sell those books, I could maybe do this.
I would like to see more of a focus in general on piracy.  I'm already seeing this, so hey, maybe it will happen.  Folks…if you got new eReaders for Christmas, please try to remember, piracy is bad.  If you want to see writers continue to write, they do need your support.  Writers write because it's their job.  They get paid when people buy books.  If books aren't bought, there is no guarantee they'll get future contracts.  We work hard.  Don't steal from us.  Downloading illegally is theft.  Buying from those people who claim to have 'master resale rights' on sites like ebay & ioffer?  Yes, this is also theft, because those rights they claim to own?  NOT REAL.  More on that here…
I want to try out more indie projects like BEG ME
I want to see my name on a major list…pretty please, God?
I want to lose these last twenty pounds.
I want to see my kids continue to do well in school
I want to go to at least one new writer's convention

If you've got an 11 on 11, leave it below…

A Mama Moment

Was at the store and ran into the monster's teacher from last year. We said hi, I mentioned monster was doing well this year, liked his new teacher, blah blah blah… then I also told him that monster had tested into the accelerated program. The teacher wasn't surprised, said that was where monster needed to be.

I kind of laughed and mentioned that I'd be so worried because monster's current teacher had kept sending home notes about parent/teacher conferences-previously, I'd never had to go. They'd always been optional and I never messed with them because I kept up with the teachers through volunteering. But this time, it was very clear it wasn't optional and I worried monster had been talking too much, playing too much, causing trouble, not turning work in-SOMETHING.

I even had monster worked up because he knew he'd be in major trouble if he'd been acting out in school. Once the conference had rolled around, we get there, sit down. Teacher smiles and says…'The main reason you're here is because I'd like your permission to have him tested for the accelerated program…'

The previous year teacher laughed as I told him how worried I'd been that monster had been talking too much/playing/etc, etc. And… here's the proud mama moment. He smiled and told me, "He's that last one I'd worry about that sort of thing with. He's one of the best students I've ever had."

Sniffle. Good little monster. Although he's not really so little anymore…

Familiar with North Carolina? Asheville?

Looking for a romance friendly bookstore in the Asheville, NC area..Know any?

If so, can you leave the name in comments?  Again, has to be in Asheville, folks.

I've checked the web for the bookstores, but I can't get the info about which ones are romance friendly unless people who actually shop the stores give me feedback…