Theodore’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

Theodore’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Just received this...something you might want to try...

Greetings Past Guests!

We have had an amazing year here at the Reading With Your Kids Podcast. As many of you know we have hit #1 on iTunes Kids and Family charts almost every day in 2018. And we were recently nominated as an iHeartRadio Best Kids and Family Podcast for 2018!

I know you are all gearing up for the big Holiday Book Buying Season. We would love to help you reach all of your sales goals. We have a number of ways to help you promote your book.

Many of your know about our Reading With Your Kids Certified Great Read Program. This program has helped many books get the attention they deserve. We also offer promotional packages that include commercials on our podcast and blasts out to our 30K plus Social Media followers.

Please feel free to email me at jedlie@jedlie.com or call 617 833 7063 if you would like to explore ways we can help you promote your amazing Children's Book.

Thanks

Jedlie!

Dale wrote: "Theodore wrote: "Dale wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Dale wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Agents and publishers all over the world have a couple of model paragraph rejections that, if you are lucky, they send. It i..."

Well, the alternative, as you've found, is to submit to one agent, wait two or three months (or whatever they stipulate), receive a rejection (or not), and start all over again. Wash, rinse, repeat. At that rate, you can only approach 4 of 5 agents a year without making simultaneous submissions, significantly reducing your chances of success as someone who's throwing your book "over the transom," as it were.

You pay your money and you take your choice.

Carole wrote: "Mindfulness For Kids made the local paper! Check out what all the buzz is about... Grab your copy of Mindfulness for Kids here: http://bit.ly/MindfulnessForKidsBook

June 7 is by Brittney Bass"

Booyah!

Kimberly wrote: "Theodore wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "This summer I became 2018 Female Author in Poetry.

After cancellations after cancellations due to Hurricanes, I finally was able to do my radio interview. The int..."

Well, we all wish you every success.

Alex wrote: "I wasn't meaning that authors should work to catch a trend, I mean agents and publishers are looking for whatever they believe will be the next trend.

You could write an amazing vampire book, but ..."

No, I understood that, Alex. But there are authors who attempt to morph their styles and focus/genres to adapt to changing trends, something in which I've never been interested.

Kimberly wrote: "This summer I became 2018 Female Author in Poetry.

After cancellations after cancellations due to Hurricanes, I finally was able to do my radio interview. The interview was posted today on The Aut..."

I think you did a terrific job...you certainly had great answers for his questions.

Carole wrote: "“This above all: to thine own self be true, ""

Yes, of course (;>)

Alex wrote: "I think something to be considered on this subject is that agents and publishers are all trying to predict, or catch the tail of, the latest trend.

What they reject today, they might accept next m..."

That may be, but I would not write "to catch the trend." Be true to thyself. (Or whatever Young William said.)

Dale wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Dale wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Agents and publishers all over the world have a couple of model paragraph rejections that, if you are lucky, they send. It is rather sad that those suppos..."

I tend to agree with Dale.

That said, you may want to avoid agents who require you to commit your work solely to them until you either hear from them or a specified period of time (e.g., 3 months) has elapsed. Put another way, submit only to those agents who will accept simultaneous submissions (and be sure to let everyone know if an agent has made you a offer!). Otherwise, you could end up waiting up to 3 months for a rejection letter, and then, have to start the process all over again. With simultaneous submissions, at least, you increase your chances significantly over the time period of interest.

D.J. wrote: "Theodore wrote: "BTW, here is a blog piece I wrote about my experiences seeking an agent. It might be of benefit in steering you to those who at least will give you a response:

https://www.goodrea..."

I agree...there is no excuse for not giving an author the courtesy of a reply.

When I was the VP for Research many years (decades) ago at a firm in DC, I had a rule for HR: the receipt of every (!) resume was to trigger the release of a postcard (this was before the Internet and e-mail were widespread), thanking the applicant for his or her interest and indicating we would be in touch within 30 days if we wanted to pursue the matter further. This was the least we could do.

BTW, here is a blog piece I wrote about my experiences seeking an agent. It might be of benefit in steering you to those who at least will give you a response:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

D.J. wrote: "Just had a rejection from an agent for a book I self-published five months ago. Usual thing. Enjoyed it, liked it. Just never enough to take me on. I'm beginning to think all agents state they like..."

Hey, I have enough rejections to paper the loft! I wear them as a badge of honor!

The facts are (in my humble opinion), agents these days, I think, are looking for authors who (1) have an MFA, (2) multiple publications in literary journals, (3) a significant online presence, (4) a following on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, and, (5) basically present them with a situation that maximizes the possibilities for success AND minimizes the outlay of cash on their end.

Even if you succeeded, you would have to be prepared to go through the agent's editing process, wait while they sell the manuscript, and then, wait up to a year for the publisher to edit and release the book.

I've come to terms with the fact this never is going to "happen" for me. And frankly, I no longer am pursuing it as a goal.

I guess G_d's plan for the Universe did not include making me rich. (;>)

Feel better, Sam!

Alex wrote: "Cheers, Ted. It only took me 3 days and 5 mins to set up the pre-order. 5 mins to do it and 3 days to get around to it, lol."

That makes perfect sense! LOL

Alex wrote: "After a week or so after accomplishing almost nothing because of sucky mental health, I have set up my latest title for pre-order

A Stone's Throw: Inspector Stone Mysteries #5 will soon be availab..."

Excellent news, Alex!

Stand-Alone, Post-Modern Novel

The audiobook for Frozen in Time, the first book in the Antarctic Murders Trilogy, now is available:

https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Mu...

The trail from a major theft at the Banco Central de Chile in Talcahuano following the Great Chilean Earthquake of May 11, 1960 leads to Base Bernardo O’Higgins, a wind- and snow-swept Chilean Army outpost on the North Antarctic Peninsula. When Chilean Army 1SGT Leonardo Rodríguez fails to return from a seal hunt in the waters around the base, two Chilean Navy non-commissioned officers, CWO Raul Lucero and CPO Eduardo Bellolio, become LCDR Cristian Barbudo’s prime theft and murder suspects. Fearing he will die, Barbudo reveals the identity of his two suspects to visiting scientist Ted Stone, thereby placing Stone’s life in jeopardy. But who can Stone trust with this information, if it comes to that, to see justice done?

This story is a work of fiction based on real events that took place between 1958 and 1965. It is a tale of greed, betrayal, and murder—one in which the reader is given a window into the frozen world at the bottom of the Earth that few people ever will read about, much less experience. Among other things, it explores why, though seemingly unfair, bad things happen to good people; how the battle between good and evil can change forever even the most innocent person; and most of all, the role deception plays in Nature, Man, and Life.

Free with your Audible trial.

You can listen to an excerpt on the audiobook’s Amazon.com webpage.

Dale,

A few weeks ago you asked how popular flash fiction was, in general. On October 16th, the third book in my flash fiction series, Creative Ink, Flashy Fiction, was Ereader News Today's (ENT's) Book-Of-The-Day. Since then, I've sold 63 books and recorded more than 600 Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP) Read from KU and KOLL. The books still are on sale for a few more days (especially Books 7 and 8 in the series, given their contract periods), so these number may increase slightly in the days ahead.

For reference, I've sold well over 100 copies of my Det. Louis Martelli, NYPD, mystery/thrillers on each ENT sale for these books, both using Book-Of-The-Day and ordinary ENT submissions. They still are my Go-To marketing site.

BTW, I tried a BookDoggy effort a few days earlier using the third book in my Martelli series. Only 21 books were sold with no readings from KU and KOLL. This is the first time I've used this site, so I have nothing with which to compare it. However, on its face, I find it disappointing.

Whoops...almost forgot...

This is to announce the release of the eighth book in our Flash Fiction Anthology series, Flash Fiction Stories for the Young , by Theodore Jerome Cohen and Alyssa Devine. (Know that Alyssa Devine is a pen name used by Theodore Jerome Cohen for Young Adult (YA) and some other writings.)

Comprising 73 stories in a wide variety of genres, these tales—each 250 words of less and “prompted” by an intriguing photograph—are sure to enthrall you with their humor, pathos, and intrigue. (The photographs in the Kindle edition are in color.)

A reprint of what can be found on the back cover is below, as is the link to the book’s page on Amazon.com:

“George Bernard Shaw once said: “Youth is wasted on the young.” Hopefully, you didn’t waste yours! Growing up as six-year-old child working in the coal mines of England in the 19th century, for example, precluded anything even close to what today would be considered a “normal childhood,” much less giving you a good chance of living past 30. Your chances of surviving to old age were somewhat better if you were born during the Great Depression, though then, many children often went to bed hungry. Compare their lives to those of children born after World War II. This anthology comprises 73 stories related to childhood selected from the 438 stories found in Books 1 through 6, incl., of the Creative Ink, Flashy Fiction anthologies. The stories, each 250 words or fewer in length, are best compared to a handful of peanuts or M&M’s. Which is to say, they’re tiny, bite-sized morsels that won’t let you stop with one!

“If you like your fiction entwined with fact (“faction”), this collection of flash fiction (less than 250 words per story) is for you! Theodore Jerome Cohen is an award-winning author who has published more than ten novels—all but one of them mystery/thrillers—two short-story anthologies, and one Young Adult (YA) mystery/thriller written under the pen name Alyssa Devine. During his 45-year career he has worked as an engineer, scientist, CBS Radio Station News Service (RSNS) commentator, private investigator, and Antarctic explorer. What he’s been able to do with his background is mix fiction with reality in ways even his family and friends have been unable to unravel!”

I hope you enjoy all of these anthologies and would love to hear what you think of the stories. You can write to me via my Website. And, as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms!

You’ll find Book 8 on Amazon.com at the URL below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...

If you’d like to read one of the stories in Book 8, visit the book’s Webpage on my Website, and click on the hotlink for “View an Excerpt.” There, you’ll find an interesting exchange between a little girl and someone at the door who wants to speak with her mother.

https://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com...

As always, thanks for your support.

Ted (aka Alyssa Devine)

PS: Did you recognize the young woman whose photograph appears on the cover? That’s Alice Liddell of “Alice in Wonderland” fame, here dressed as a beggar-maid. The seductive photograph was taken by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll in 1858. Alice’s parents eventually became suspicious of Lutwidge at one point (he was a photographer and fond of taking pictures on young women). Eventually, they excluded Lutwidge from their and their three daughter’s life. T

A brief history of young adult literature:

https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/living...

Margaret wrote: "I teach middle schoolers and high schoolers and it's true that far too many of them treat a writing assignment as if they're texting. It's shocking, really, what I see turned in as a final copy."

Perhaps they were sleeping or texting when you handed the assignment out.

BTW, the local high school where I occasionally lecture (and in which my YA novel is part of the curriculum) now teaches creative writing using photographic prompts...the kind of stuff I use in my flash fiction anthologies.