Coffee with Mystery-writer Sandra Balzo discussion
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Sandra Balzo
Ask me a question . . . and I'll try to answer :-)
Do you have any other books planned for the Maggy Thorsen series, after Murder on the Orient Espresso? Are you planning on doing a book signing for this new book and if yes, where?
Woohoo! I figured this out, my first goodreads group, I'm so behind the times! I had to join this group, it's a Wisconsin writer! Go Badgers!I have a technical question, of sorts, as an aspiring writer I am often interested in hearing about others writers' processes...so...where do you get all your plot ideas? What inspires your writing? Your character?
Lisa
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Hi Candace! Yes, I plan on a ninth book in the Maggy series, set back in Wisconsin. (In Murder on the Orient Espresso, Maggy and Pavlik attend a mystery-writers conference where the sheriff is speaking. This gave me the opportunity of stranding them in the Everglades--a bit of a stretch in Wisconsin!!)The Main Street I'm working on ("To Heir is Human") will be out next spring, so I'm thinking Maggy 9 will be late 2014. Thanks for asking!
I don't have signings set up yet for December, but when I do I'll let you know!
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I have a technical question, of sorts, as an aspiring ..."
Glad you found me, Lisa! I'm still finding my way around the Goodreads groups, too. I love the Badgers, too! Sadly, I've been living in South Florida for a few years and don't get to the games in Madison like I used to!
Great questions! I keep a file folder and when I see something in the newspaper or a magazine, I tear it out and throw it in. Then, before I start a new book, I go through the file and see what inspiration comes from it (I hope :-) I only took a couple of writing classes, but one exercise I found really interesting was when an instructor gave us a newspaper obituary and had us each write a short story concerning that person. You wouldn't believe how many different scenarios that one short paragraph inspired (some a little scary!).
My characters are bits and pieces of people I know or read about. Maggy Thorsen is very much like me, except braver and younger. She was the first first-person character I ever wrote so, like many new writers, I put a lot of myself in her. I find now that I have to keep lists of characters, their hair color, their birthdates, their quirks, so I remember from book to book. that's especially important now that I alternate between the two series, so I'm away from the characters for longer.
Believe it or not, the thing I find toughest about characters is naming them! I've written entire books where I've used something like "Nasty Guy" as a name and then had to go back and do a global replace (first name "Nasty," last name "Guy") afterwards!!
Hi there! I just wondered if you knew when you wrote the first book that it was going to be a series?
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Knowing you're writing a series really does help. You can avoid problems like painting yourself into a corner, creatively, in one book and having to spend the next book getting out. Or setting the series in a place that's so small you run out of people to kill! :-)
Is Dead Ends going to be released for Kindle?
Sandra wrote: "Hi Edel! Interesting question. I guess when I wrote Uncommon Grounds, I HOPED it would be the first in a series. It wasn't published until six years (and lots of rewrites) later, though. I actually..."I never thought of it that way. (writing yourself into a corner on book 1 when you don't know as yet if it will be a series). Great answer!!!!
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It will be, Jennifer, but not for a couple of months. I hold the e-rights on it, but don't like to step on my hardcover publisher's toes, so we wait a bit. Look for it August, latest. Thanks!
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Believe me, I've learned by trial and error...lots of errors. :-)
Dear Sandra,if this is any consolation to you, I am new to goodread, and I joined the coffee store with you in hope of a good latte - no, not really.
I said on a thread about print vs. e-book tonight that I like the fact that books will never be "out of print" again. Then later on, I was wondering whether that is true at all. I'm not asking to know the exact details, but when you agree to publish to azw (kindle format), are there any time limits?
Your explanation for non-availability of an e-book was interesting. I guess I didn't think this through. Since mostly new books on kindle match the hardcover price and only come down when a paperback has been published, I always assumed that the drop in price was instigated by the one and same publisher.
I like how you deal with us so openly. Goodreads is where your readers are.
Any thoughts on my ramblings are welcome.
That explains a lot actually. Most of the books I read come out on Kindle when they are first released, but there are a few that don't. I never knew what the reason was, but now I do.I wanted to make sure Dead Ends was going to be released on Kindle at some point before I got involved in the first book. I hate getting involved in a series only to find that not all of the series are available on Kindle.
Sandra wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Is Dead Ends going to be released for Kindle?"
It will be, Jennifer, but not for a couple of months. I hold the e-rights on it, but don't like to step on my hardcover publisher's ..."
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if this is any consolation to you, I am new to goodread, and I joined the coffee store with you in hope of a good latte - no, not really.
I said on a thread about print vs. e-book to..."
Hi Stef--glad I was able to sucker you in!! :-)
Great question on e-books and, believe me, it's changing constantly. It's been really interesting to see everyone--writers, agents, publishers, booksellers--trying to find their place in a publishing world that's been turned upside down.
Before e-books took off, we signed contracts granting publishers rights to publish our books in hardcover or paperback original for a certain length of time.
Sometimes the hardcover publisher also has the right publish the paperback, or sell those rights or even movie/tv rights to other companies and get a percentage. That's why a writer needs an agent--it's really easy to sign things away without thinking. Especially when you're excited about that first book.
Often, in the olden days, contracts didn't include digital and e-rights. (In fact, when I first mentioned Kindle to my publisher, Severn House in London, they weren't at all interested. E-books hadn't made an impact there. Yet.)
That's why you'll see authors putting up there own back-list on Kindle/Nook etc. There is no time stipulation (hey! I finally answered your question!!) when you publish an e-book. You can take it down at any time but, honestly, we'd be crazy to do that, unless we were making a change for some reason.
I really do think e-books are forever. Not to mention a God-send. My first two books are out-of-print, so if people want to start a series from the beginning, like I do, they had to track down a used copy. I once saw a "collectible" hardcover of Grounds for Murder, the second Maggy, for over $5,000. (I have to admit, I wondered whether someone had cut out the pages and was smuggling drugs inside it....:-)
Publishers are now including digital rights in their contracts and, in fact, not offering authors contracts without them. The timing and pricing of those e-books has been interesting to watch evolve. At first, they tried the old model--waiting to offer the e-book like they did paperback editions, so they didn't cut into hardcover sales. Quickly, they realized readers wouldn't stand for that. So now they're pricing e-books closer to the hardcover price, as you say. And, if they ARE a little cheaper, the quantity sold and the fact there are no production and inventory costs to recover, means they make the same profit.
When an author puts their books up themselves (or with an e-publisher), they can really choose their own price. Because there's no production cost, I like to keep my prices down so the early books are accessible. It's a win-win, as far as I'm concerned.
OK, so did I give you waaaay more info than you wanted???
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I wanted t..."
I'm with you, Jennifer--I've gotten so I just want to click and have the book appear on my Kindle.
Dead Ends is the last of the books that I'll be putting up myself as an e-book. My new contract for Murder on the Orient Espresso and the third Main Street book (tentatively "To Heir is Human") stipulates that Severn House will publish the e-books. Hopefully that will be simultaneously with the hardcover, but if not, it shouldn't be far behind.
Like I was saying in answer to Stef's question, publishers (heck, and the rest of us!) are still trying to figure out what works. I'm excited to see how it all evolves.
Thanks for the question!
Sandy
Hi I've not read your books yet but going to read the first one this weekend. What's your favorite coffee? lol
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That Coffee Place, the Brookfield, WI shop that Uncommon Grounds is based on (though I SWEAR nobody was killed there), had some great coffee. Their Costa Rican Laminita (hand picked) and Mexican Alturra were two of my all-time favorites. Sadly, the store is closed now and I've moved, so I haven't had either for awhile.
That said, I have to admit that Dunkin' Donuts Original is darn pleasant stuff, especially in the morning when I like something a little milder. I also like New England Coffee's breakfast blend and their hazelnut creme.
Hmmmm, think I'm a quart low....
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Murder on the Orient Espresso back from my editor, so I'm going to work! Fingers-crossed they're not too extensive. I have a feeling that the Everglades--to somebody in London--may take a bit of explaining. :-).
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From the Grounds Up, to approve. Can't wait to take a listen!
Hi Sandra Nice to be part of your group. Hope we get to meet up with you again. I so enjoyed our conversation by the pool at Sleuthfest. Good luck with your edits. I'm trying to finish up a couple of romances for my alter ego Kendra James that I've pitched. bBut do enjoy writing the mystery more. But back to writing.
Bev Irwin / Kendra James
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I'd love to go to Thrillerfest this year but have to start making more from by books, but thinking about Bouchercon this year and Sleuthfest in 2014. Do you get to Bouchercon?
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Thrillerfest is wonderful, but NYC is always expensive. I usually go to Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention), but I don't think we'll be able to make it this year.
What we're talking about, everyone, are mystery and thriller conventions. Here's a list of a few of my favorites. They're divided into two types: Fan/Readers conventions and Writers conferences. Readers are welcome at both. In fact, you will be treated like royalty!!
FAN CONVENTIONS
As you might expect, fan conventions are designed for readers and it's where authors go to meet the people who read their books. Writing can be a lonely job, so these conventions are a real treat.
Bouchercon—The World Mystery Convention
www.bouchercon.info
The granddaddy of them all, typically attracting 1500-2500 people, 400 or so of them authors. Bcon is held in a different city every year.
Left Coast Crime
www.leftcoastcrime.org
Left Coast Crime, which draws 500-700 people, is second in size to Bouchercon. The “Left Coast” means that it’s held in a different western city annually.
Magna Cum Murder
Muncie/Indianapolis, IN
www.magnacummurder.com
A gem of a conference, organized by Ball State University. Magna is smaller than Left Coast and MUCH smaller than Bouchercon, but that’s often a good thing. It’s easier to meet people.
Love is Murder
Held in February of each year
Schaumburg, IL
www.LoveisMurder.com
Thrillerfest: Presented by International Thriller Writers
June 29 - July 2, 2006
www.thrillerfest.com
MYSTERY WRITERS CONFERENCES
Writers conferences teach the art of mystery writing, along with practical matters like getting published and staying published. Murder on the Orient Espresso takes place at a fictional version of a mystery writers conference.
Sleuthfest
www.sleuthfest.com
Great conference, put on by our very own Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
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. Getting the "suggestions" from my editor is always painful. ("What do you MEAN it's not the best thing you've ever read!") But damned if they don't always make the book better...
Thank you, Sara Porter of Severn House.
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I haven't checked Pinterest for a few days because of doing rewrites, but E-Mysteries (my book recommendation board) now has 950 pins, including some GREAT cozy recommendations. AND we're up to 1990 followers.
I'm aiming for 1000 pins and 2000 pinners within the month--come join us!
http://pinterest.com/sandrabalzo/e-my...
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Yeah, I know--what am I whining about? But I've graduated to progressive lenses in my glasses, so need to adjust for close-up as I'm trying to work. Give me a day or two, and I'm good. :-)
Congratulations on getting the edits done. I'm almost finished my latest romance and then sending it off to readers for edits. You have such optimistic nature. You say you've graduated to progressives. I say I've been demoted to them.
Hope the inflammation clears up quickly.
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That's life. With age comes wisdom and failing eyesight.
Hi Sandra,Glad to see this thread is still going. As I just mentioned to somebody else in this vicinity, during summer my garden is nearly as demanding as my boss and DH taken together, so I don't get that much reading and online time.
You didn't give me waaaay more info than I wanted, you provided the info plus some new threads of thought.
One being: I like to own a book I love. But would I be prepared to pay for it again (and again, as I have already "transformed" some of my favs into e.books) when systems change? I am not even talking about changing from Kindle to a different e-book provider, but maybe e-books will have to be updated so they can still be read with future technology, so just as you run into problems when you try to open a Harvard Graphics file with today's Powerpoint, will we just have corpses of book files? Hmm. Will you (and your publishers) look at readers past or just at readers buying, I wonder? This is not a question, just a thought on "Upside down".
I had to laugh at the "collectible" hardcover: I come across these "million dollar books", as I call them, quite frequently on Amazon's marketplace. I don't want to disappoint you, but most of these come down in price considerably after a while - probably when they have discovered they should have used a "." instead of a "," and the other way round...
I buy British murder mysteries from the twenties and thirties in good to very good condition, and even though I don't need "collectible" as in signed, first edition etc., they are usually very rare and I've bought them for the horrendous price of 20 to 40 GPB plus shipping just to lay my hot little hands on them - and read them.
I also looked at some Charlotte McLeod paperbacks on Amazon Marketplace some time ago - 21,000 dollars? Not likely. More like 21.00, and I thought that was a little overpriced, since it was neither a first edition nor signed... You get my meaning. The 21,000 catch of the day offer is gone now, btw.
Ok, back to the more serious parts of your answer - why an author needs an agent. I totally agree - it's a bit like "So-and-so's next superstar", you don't want to sell the next ten years of work when you're overexited and overkeen. Now when indie-authors self-publish an e-book, there are no choker contracts in sight. Neither is an editor. I'm wondering whether a whole new industry could spring up for "independent editing" - people who read books of self-publishers and edit at least for spelling and grammar, preferable for continuity? I am sooo put off by books which have clearly never seen a spell checker. The idea and the story line may be fantastic though. Now this is very clearly not your problem and I'm talking about enabling the competition, but still I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
And finally, eyesight: One more reason to have an e-book-reader. @Mom: Spoiler ahead, don't read on.
My mom will receive an e-reader for christmas. She's 81 now and she loves gadgets. She lives in a rather tiny appartment these days and loves her books, especcially English ones. Even with reading glasses, she needs excellent light these days to read, or she tires easily. And she has noooo room at all for books. With the kindle, she can choose to read at 14 pt instead of the 11 pt common to paperbacks. She's a one-book-at-the-time reader (old school), but she does like to annotate and to go back to those notes when she corresponds with friends.
So did I give you waaaay more info than you wanted???
Stef from sunny Germany
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Glad to see this thread is still going. As I just mentioned to somebody else in this vicinity, during summer my garden is nearly as demanding as my boss and DH taken together, so I don't..."
Hi Stef--where are you in Germany? I've visited only Berlin, but I"m half German, half Norwegian--my dad having been the German half.
Interesting you mention e-readers and eyesight. I was astonished when I was told that it older people who were driving the e-book market for the very reason you note--you can enlarge the type. Also, romance and erotica is incredibly popular in e-book form because no one can see what you're reading!
I honestly had never thought of the chance--or, more likely, probability--that e-book formats will change, with some becoming obsolete. I SHOULD have--I still have Lotus files on floppy disks that I'll never be able to access. And think about Beta versus VHS and ....gasp, 8-track tapes.
For the author/publisher, it's just a matter of converting your document to a new format (some easy and some not so much) and uploading it. I would hope that, eventually, there will be one standard that can be used across all the devices, but there's really no financial incentive for Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, etc. to do that. In fact, just the opposite.
Speaking of converting files, my fiancee is also a mystery writer, Jeremiah Healy. When Jerry's first books, which were written in the 80s, were turned into e-books, the hardcovers had to be scanned by an optical recognition system because there were no computer files of them. From the pdf, they were converted to Word and then proofed and re-proofed
I can't tell you how many mistakes we came across in the proofing process. For example, the computer may read a lower-case "l" as the number "1" or a lower-case "f." So the word "luck" might show up as it should or, just as easily with a number one instead of the "l" or, worst case scenario, an f!!
Yeah, I got all excited when I saw my $5,000 book. I have a box of hardcovers in my closet--figured I was rich! Interesting point about the "." versus ","--bet that happens quite a bit.
Along that same line, because Severn House is in the UK, my books use British punctuation. They have to change all my double quotes into single, among other things. Also, on the manuscript I just turned in, they changed the time 1:30 to 1.30. I changed it back, since my character is in the U.S. and is looking at a digital read-out on an iPhone and that's how it would appear. It'll be interesting to see if it's changed back.
OK, back to work--thanks, Stef!
Sandy
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Or maybe we just think we're wise because we can't see any different...
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http://pinterest.com/sandrabalzo/e-my...
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Great news Sandra- must be a great feeling! Just read the first in series and loved it. Really look forward to reading them all.
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Just read the first in series and loved it. Really look forward to reading them all."
Thanks, Valerie--I'm so glad!
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It's going to be very useful in writing the books--both because of the methods, but also to provide the little ticks and behaviorisms to my liars! Cool stuff!
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Exactly, Bev. It's also nice to have a reference book that talks about what people do in general when they talk--stage directions, of a sort. I sometimes have my characters nodding and shrugging way too much in the first draft.
So true, and talk about grinning, way too much grinning. LOL
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http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Se...
Hi again, sorry, I tend to splurge and then not come back for weeks. I was born in Duesseldorf, but I also lived in Trier and Freiburg. I also spent quite some time in the UK, namely in Rugby, St. Leonard's on Sea, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. These days I live quite close to where I was born and raised - in the Southern suburbs of Essen.Anything ring a bell?
How's the editing going?
Best, Stef
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If you want to enter to win
Bean There, Done That go to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SandraBalzoM...) and post. Heck, maybe "Like" me, too, while you're at it :-)If I pick your name, you'll receive the super-secret code to download your free copy!
I love the Maggy Thorsen series. will your current be going to kindle soon. can't wait to read it.
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I'm so glad, Renae--thanks! I've brought out the other seven Maggy books on Kindle myself, but Murder on the Orient Espresso is the first being published by my print publisher as hardcover, trade paperback and (yay!) ebook. I just sent them an email to find out if the ebook will be available when the hardcover comes out (Sept in UK, Dec in US). I hope so, but will let you know.
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It takes a village to make an audiobook :-) Thank you, Karen!!
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Some people do a lot worse, great job, first time out! :)
Coffee with Mystery-writer Sandra Balzo
Books mentioned in this topic
Murder on the Orient Espresso (other topics)Murder on the Orient Espresso (other topics)
Mystery Muses: 100 Classics That Inspire Today's Mystery Writers (other topics)
Ammie, Come Home (other topics)
Murder on the Orient Espresso (other topics)
More...
I'm the author of two mystery series--the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries set in Wisconsin and Main Street Murders, set in the high country of North Carolina. Here's a list of my books, in order:
Maggy Thorsen Mysteries
Enter the Goodreads drawing to win a review copy of Murder on the Orient Espresso (out December 1):
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
Giveaway dates: Aug 03 - Nov 01, 2013
Countries available: US, CA, GB and AU
Main Street Murders