Teagan Oliver's Blog, page 5

Changes are here...

After much thought I've decided that I need to streamline things a bit. In the past, TeaganOliver.com would forward you to a rather generic site that had book information, but not a whole lot about what makes me tick. It was on the Cup of Hot blog that I really showed my true self, as well as having the latest on book info. So, I combined the blog and the domain name and now you can read my latest blog hits at TeaganOliver.com and at the same time find information on myself and my latest releases.

If you want to find out more information about my paranormal pursuits you can follow me at www.gotghost.blogspot.com or for all things vintage at www.cranberryhornvintage.blogspot.com .

I hope you enjoy the visit.

Amazon’s At it Again

In case you haven't heard... Amazon’s At it Again Check out this post from Nina Pierce on the latest changes at Amazon that have most indie pubbers scratching their heads and trying to figure out the next course of action.

What To Do When Your Story Sucks

I didn't do too badly last year. I did manage to publish STEALING DARKNESS in April and OBSIDIAN in December. I wouldn't call it bad by any stretch, but wasn't there something missing? Something I promised, but couldn't quite deliver? Yup, it was the second book in the Darkness Paranormal Novella series.

So what happened to it? It sucked.

Oh, I wrote the story, but when it came right down to it I found that it wasn't the story that I was trying to tell. Somewhere along the way the magic in the story got lost and so did I. I started at point A... so where the heck did the point B go? I don't know.

Is the story lost? Nope. But it is still sitting in limbo until I can figure out just where I veered off the track with it. For now, I'm still hoping for the magic.

Reviews: Getting Perspective

Is this not an awesome cover?!
My longtime friend and fellow author, Michelle Libby just released her hot new book Crash and Burn from Lyrical Press. Anytime that you release a new work it's the equivalent to sending your child off to kindergarten and hoping you won't get a call from the Principal because they bit someone (long story). Still, there is that heart stopping rush that goes along with the fear of rejection. No one likes it. But one bad rejection is not the end of the world.

Offset the Balance...
Sounds like an odd thing, but the more reviews you have the less impact one bad review can have on your book page. We all have friends and relative who buy our books... ask them to write a review for you. Amazon likes to have that sale behind the review, but the more you have posted the better those little stars are going to look at the top of your page when a possible reader checks out your available book list.

Another option is to offer the book for review. Someone is going to balk at this, but it's incredibly hard for an author to get reviews. Not comfortable with offering that book for review? Offer an additional title. But keep in mind that when you offer that book out to John Q. Public for review you need to take what you get. It is what it is.

I would also add... as a reader, whenever I come across a book with all perfect reviews it tends to make me a bit suspicious. No book is completely perfect, nor is it going to satisfy every reader.

Author Pages...
Amazon has a great tool for authors called Author Pages. Don't have one? Set one up. They are easy and give your possible future readers a place to gather more information on you. Within the space for your bio I would also include any previous blurbs about your work. This page is going to consolidate all your available titles onto one page. If you are Indie pubbing, I'd suggest including some of that Author info in with your book information during set up. Use the available space to your advantage.

Book  Description from Stealing Darkness:

About the Author:
Few things in life can prepare a writer as well as growing up on an island in Maine. As a Romantic Mystery and Paranormal Suspense writer, Teagan relies heavily on her experiences in Maine and in her background as a paranormal investigation and spirit intuitive.

Teagan lives on the Maine coast with her husband and two kids, where she spends her time gathering stories. She's a frequent speaker, contributing her knowledge of writing to organizations such as Romance Writers of America, Maine RWA, New Jersey RWA, New England RWA and Rhode Island Romance Writers.

Other Available Titles:
Three Truths, a sweet paranormal set in Salem. Available in paperback and Kindle format.
Obsidian, a romantic mystery set on the coast of Maine. Available in Kindle format.

Negating the Negative...
If you receive a review that you feel is unfair and damaging you have the option of hitting the button next to the "is this review helpful". I would suggest have fellow readers and authors go in and tag unfair reviews as well. We are entitled to our opinion, but not at the sake of damaging a person's career. No one book will fit everyone's taste. Conversely, if you like a book then take a moment to post a positive review. And remember, don't post anything that will tip the reader off to cliffhangers or summarize a plot to the point where they no longer want to read the book.

Ultimately, we have no real power over public opinion. It is what it is. We can only write the best book we know how to do and to make each work better than the last. I was watching a biography of Jennifer Anniston this morning in which she said that she never pays attention to reviews. I guess if it's working so well for her then I'll just have to follow her lead.

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

If you are a writer, you've probably battled a time or two with acquiring just the right inspiration for a story. But it was just that dilema that led me to start off OBSIDIAN with a bang.

Let me tell you a fairytale... Once apon a time, so very long ago, a writer (Me) decided that she wanted to write a mystery, but she was in need of a place to start her story. She'd already decided that she wanted to write a mystery with a Coast Guard officer. This was really important to her since her dad served on Lightships. But she needed a place to start and she was having a problem coming up with ideas.
Enter, the writer's husband, who decided one day that it was okay if his boss put his 24 foot Bayliner in their side yard with a For Sale sign on it without asking his wife.
   "It will only be here a couple weeks," he said, not really thinking it was a big deal. The wife shook her head and consented (reluctantly).

A month later, the boat was still in her side yard and hubby was not answering questions as to the actual time the boat would remain.
   "That boat is worth more than all three of our cars," the wife said with a shake of her head. The stress of having such an expensive play toy in her yard was wearing her nerves thin. It was gaining a lot of attention, some of it unwanted and mostly by strangers.
   "It will be out of here soon," the husband responded.

Two more weeks went by and the boat was still there and the wife's nerves were now at the end of their mooring line.
   "I want it gone," she demanded. But the husband didn't want to tell his boss to get it out of the yard. So, there it stayed.

The wife, being a storyteller by trade, decided to take out her aggressions on the computer generated page. She promptly blew up the boat (fictionally, of course) and felt MUCH better. But the boat was still there.

And then, Fate decided to have a hand in the situation. One day, while the couple was at work, theives stole the VERY expensive outboard motor off the boat. The wife refrained from say "I told you so", but was very happy when the owner came and finally removed the boat from her yard.

Ultimately, the writer (Me) channelled her frustrations into a great opening scene. This scene became the beginning of her very first published novel.

The boat... never came back (thankfully), but you can read all about it in OBSIDIAN....

Happy Release Day to me!

I've waited a long time for OBSIDIAN to find a home on the ebook shelves! Today is the day!

Click here for link to Amazon
Tune in tomorrow for the real story behind the opening scene!

Covers! Ugh!

Covers. They are the bane of my existence, but without a good one you truly can't do much with a book. It sounds trivial to say, but it's that two seconds of recognition that initially pull in a possible reader. Especially, since the invention of the ebook. There is no more of browsing the local bookstore to read back copy or check out the latest release rack. We lost our only big chain bookstore within a 20 or so mile radius. We still have small bookstores that are great, but more and more I see people carrying around their Kindles, Nooks, Sony, etc. We've become the instant society, and as such, that means those 2 seconds are crucial to grabbing a reader.

This was the original book cover for OBSIDIAN when it was released from Five Star.

The cover Gods were nice to me and didn't put a goat cat or strangely awkward people on the cover. I was very thankful. This time around I needed a new cover. And while I loved the original cover (orange is my favorite color) the rights to it are still owned by Five Star. Now I had to come up with a whole new thing. The problem was that I have no extra money with which to hire someone or to buy a pre-made cover. Besides that, I wanted a cover that would convey what I wanted for the book, not what was someone else's interpretation.

Enter Gimp. Gimp is a free online graphics program that you can use to manipulate pictures. You can Google it. Once I figured out the size I wanted (Amazon suggests a cover that is 1275x1650). Size is important with cover because your image will come across as a thumbnail and you want to have something that will stand out, be readable and convey the right image.



I was lucky that I had an image that would work for the story. In this case, the picture was taken at Land's End, Bailey's Island, Maine. It was close to what I wanted, but I still had change it some to give it a title and a new look. I layer a filter over it that darkened the edges, making the sharpness of the rocks stand out. I also lightened the filter in the center until it drew the eye inward to the picture. I made the title as big as I could without making it look clumpy and the same with my name. I picked fonts that were classic and easy to read when they are shrunk down. I think one of the biggest problems that people have is that they get carried away with fonts and then it just becomes unrealistic.

Before you post it to Amazon it is important that the image is compressed into a single image (basically, this is sandwiching the layers together to make 1 image) and then I save it as a .jpg file.

If this sounds like a lot, then I'd suggest that you have someone do it for you. I've used programs like FrontPage and others when I worked for a publisher. But if this intimidates you I'd see if maybe you can swap jobs with someone. Editing for a cover or such. Or find a good cover designer like Sabrina Foreman. She did my cover for Three Truths and I was very happy with it.

Yeah!

It's Official! OBSIDIAN will be released TUESDAY (NOT Wednesday), December 18th on Amazon as an ebook!

This is where I've been for the last month, editing OBSIDIAN and getting it ready for publication as an ebook. It was originally published in 2007 as a hardcover from Five Star and later in large print edition. In case you aren't familiar with Five Star they are a Maine publisher that deals mostly in the library market. I was lucky to get in at toward the end of their romance line. They've since discontinued it. But I am glad that this book will gain a new life and hopefully new readers, and just in time for Christmas!

How's NaNoRiMo Going, You ask? Look at this--------------->

Well as you can see by the meter in my side bar, it's safe to say that NaNoRiMo is NOT going anywhere for me. I could give you all kinds of excuses as to why I'm not writing much, but frankly it comes down to letting stress interfere with my writing.

Anyone out there got an Amen for me?

When it's going good, it's great! When it's going bad... it sucks! Unfortunately, this has been a year where I have struggled to write more than other years. It's become hard to put the words on the page and it has more to do with my stress level than with anything else.

We all have stress, but for some this means that your mind and body shut down, especially if there is major worry involved. Our brains go into a survival mode and we function on on-dimensional level. This isn't good if you are trying to create stories out of your imagination. This is the holidays. Many writers have a hard time trying to fit in their writing around family committments and the multitude of other things that draw your attention away.

For me, I need to make a renewed commitment to the Nano project. It's a good one and it isn't the content that's holding me back. It's complete and utter worry that has stagnated me. I'm hoping that this week will change that I can get the household back on an even keel. I've still got 20 days to pull my butt out of the fire and get the pages done. I've done more, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't make it. I'll just set another goal.

To those of you toiling away on your NaNoRiMo goals I have only the best wishes for you! I hope you accomplish and even exceed all the goals you've set. I'll be cheering you on.

Best wishes to all,

Reality of Being a Writer (Author): Part 2

Not long ago I posted on an article that Jessica Jewett wrote about the Reality of Being a Writer where I address the myth that writers make a ton of money and live in mansions and travel to exotic places and... well, you get the idea. But the reality is that I have yet to meet more than 2 or 3 writers who can afford this kind of lifestyle.

Another reality is that being a writer and being an Writer (note: the title case), especially one that is published, are two very different animals.
But I wrote a book? I'm a writer! I used to think that there was no difference between claimed the title of "Writer" or "Author" when you are writing and actually having a book published. I hated the distinction of "Pre-Pubbed" or "Aspiring" and frankly thought that those pegging me with the titles could just go away. Permanently. However, I was unpublished, at the time. Now, when I look at it I find that the distinction isn't really between writing and being published. The distinction is really between writing sporadically with hope for publication and actively working toward a goal of publication... again, again, and again. And, the reality is that once you are published this widening distance doesn't diminish, especially in light of the tightening traditional markets and the boom of the Indie Pubbing trend.

I've published three books and written twice as many. I actively seek publication from the traditional publishers and I actively publish as an Indie Pubber. The IRS has qualifications for claiming it on your taxes. They want to be sure that you are actively pursuing your work. So, why shouldn't we demand the same from ourselves. I didn't start claiming taxes on my writing until I published OBSIDIAN and THREE TRUTHS. I believe the IRS says that you should go no more than three years without an income from your pursuit. (it may be 5 years. I'm trying not to focus on taxes at the moment.) They will also allow you to continue if you can prove that this is a day to day endeavor. You've done the professional thing and kept records and logs and rejection letters (yes, those count since they prove dedication to publishing). But the thing is that I went over 12 years without a sale. 12 years. That's a long time, even when it's not dog years.

I know that there are a few people who may not like what I'm saying. It really comes down to intention. Even before publication there is a vast horizon filled with people who are a differing stages of their writing career and dedication. The reality is that I've been around this profession for 18 years and I've seen just as many who are actively working toward publication as I've seen those who write because they like the idea of being a writer.

I'll give you another example that isn't writing related, but it does speak to what I'm trying to say. A few years back I was approached about being involved with the local Ghost Hunting group, Maine Ghost Hunters. I really wanted to do this, but I had reservations about whether I could give it a full measure of commitment. After all, I was already working a full time job, writing and had a child that was soon to be graduating. I joined because I wanted to be a part of it, but I also joined knowing that if the time came and I was unable to give it all I had then I needed to step away. I was heartbroken when that time came, but I needed to step away. I couldn't keep up the pace or the commitment and it wasn't fair to those around me. I still miss it, but that's reality.

There are some who will whole-heartedly disagree with me. I wouldn't have liked my stand any better just 10 years ago. But I can also see it from the perspective I'm at currently. I'm not a NYT author. I'm not a even a top 100 writer. But I am a "Writer" actively pursuing my writing.

In the end, you can join every group out there. You can go to every conference and workshop and even write a book, but just how committed to the goal of being a "Writer" are you?