Your Monday Morning Chuckle

Frustrated? Whipsawed by the foibles of the publishing world? Having dark moments when you think there’s a conspiracy against you? 

Well, you may be a bit over the top, but we all go there sometimes. Here’s a statement of empathy to get us through. Perhaps, we, too, are surrounded by morons, and perhaps we must simply recognize that sometimes the cat door is closed. (you’ll understand when you watch this short video).

Check this out. :-)

Eet ees sooo . . . existential. (and french)

~ Linda

Writing Seminar

William Bernhardt Writing Seminar

OKLAHOMA WRITING
SEMINARS 2012 

-- June 18 - 22, 2012  (Level 1)
-- June 23 - 27, 2012  (Level 2)
-- July 5 - 9, 2012  (Level 3)
-- July 16 - 20, 2012 (Reunion Class)
-- September 15 - 16, 2012

Bill Bernhardt is one of the most fabulous teachers, and outstanding individuals I've ever worked with. He gave me the foundation to take my writing to a professional level. His style is supportive, yet honest. Constructive, yet compassionate. He knows what he's talking about and has a grasp of structure, character and story. I cannot say enough positive things about this man, and his skills. 

I highly recommend his seminars, for whatever Genre you write. Summer is a challenging time for me to get away from the airline business... people like to travel on during the summer months. But I'm going to try for the July 16 Reunion Class. I hope that you will all check out what he has to offer.

Please take a moment and look into Bill's seminar. It definitely take your writing to the next level. 

William Bernhardt Writing Programs

Enjoy the Journey!
XOX Karlene 

Know The Heart Of Your Novel

Happy conference season to all those who are submitting! During a writer's chat I took part in last week (#IndieChat on Tuesday at 6pm PT on Twitter) the question of how to pitch came up. Having landed two agents, the best answer I can give is that you must know what the heart of your novel is before you can pitch it or start submitting it. If you don't know, neither will the person you're trying to 'sell' it to, which means they won't buy off on the idea.

Knowing the heart of your novel is more than just saying it's about this character or that event. It's saying what is deep down, the idea that drove you to write the novel in the first place. Take one of my novel's for example, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll. At first glance it looks like a story about a girl who discovers she's a channeler after her parents are killed and she has to go live with her aunt in a strange little town. But that isn't the heart of the novel, not by a long shot. The heart of the novel is that Eren is part of an endangered species that is going extinct as the world slowly dies. See what I mean about the heart? The second description illicites a deeper response because it's about the big issue, what is outside of the character and drives them through the novel.

You have to get to the deep issue and bring it to the surface of your query or pitch. Only then will others see your novel and it's potential. You may have written an amazing novel but if you can't communicate what is so amazing about it then no one will ever know. It's all about that first impression. Those of you who are querying and getting no bites, take another look at your query. Does it get to the heart of things?

Best of luck!

~Heather

Author of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, Born Of Fire, Channeler's Choice, and coming in May of 2012, To Ride A Puca. A short story of Heather's is also available in the free In His Eyes eBook anthology. 

One More Article: the Lawsuit Against e-Book Price Fixing

A week ago today there was an article on the front page of the New York Times Business section that beautifully sums up what's really happening with the government vs. publishers and distributors and e-book pricing (at least in my humble opinion—it was great to finally see someone nail it in the news).

The article, written by David Carr, is called Book Publishing's Real Nemesis. It's not too long, and I'm including the link for you to read the full article (highly recommended). But for your skim-browsing pleasure, here are the highlights:

• The Justice Department finally took aim at the monopolistic monolith that threatened to dominate the book industry. So imagine the shock when the bullet whizzed past Amazon. . .and struck five. . . publishers and Apple.
• The (law)suit has its roots in 2007, when Amazon released the Kindle and began selling . . . books at $9.99 . . . to bolster sales of (Kindle).
• As an aside: Why the crumbling book business is worthy of so much attention from Justice while Wall Street skates is a broader question. . .
• . . . pull back a few thousand feet and take a broader look at the interests of consumers. From the very beginning Amazon has used its market power to bully and dictate. . . Amazon uses its scale not only to keep its prices low but its competitors at bay.
• . . . book publishers face an existential threat
• In defense of the agency model: the deal struck with Apple . . . allowed other players into the e-book business, including independent bookstores (that couldn't get in when Amazon had a lock on the $9.99 price). It was only after agency pricing went into effect that Barnes & Noble was able to gain an impressive 27 percent of the e-book market.
• Now Amazon has the Justice Department as an ally to rebuild its monopoly and wipe out other players.
• It is not clear that lower prices are necessarily in the long-term interests of the public at large.
• Scott Turow, a big-time author who is president of the Authors Guild, (says): "It is breathtaking to stand back and look at this and believe that this is in the public interest. The only rationale is e-book prices will go down, for how long? What happens when there is no one left to compete with them?"

With those wise and cautionary words from Turow, who is an attorney as well as a major author, the issue is summed up.

I'll be following this sort-of-bizarre lawsuit as it goes on. I have a feeling it will drag on, but what happens with it will certainly be of interest to us. I would love to hear all your thoughts on this. Do you think there's a silver lining? What is it??? Is self-publishing the best response for a writer? Is going with a major publisher? In either case, how hard is it to keep your head above water?

~ Linda

Fulfill Avery's Bucket List

My family's hospital ordeal started in March 27 th and continues. But when you read a story like this, it puts life in perspective. Be ready for a good cry. Then spread the word. Doing something helps with the reality that your baby is going to die.

Avery's Bucket List

"Imagine you've been diagnosed with an incurable genetic disease and you are told you will not only lose your ability to walk and move your arms, but you will die between now and the next 18 months. What would you do? My name is Avery Lynn Canahuati, I'm almost 5 months old, and this has become my reality. But before I die, there's a few things I'd like to accomplish...this is my bucket list and my story. SHARE IT & HELP ME TELL THE WORLD ABOUT SMA!"

Have a beautiful day.  

XOX Karlene

Writers Should Do Unto Others

A recent discussion with an acquaintance at work made me realize that we writers must do unto others as we wish them to do unto us. Don't worry, it wasn't anyone you know, this happened at my 'day job'. Though I was completely strapped for time (two full time jobs, and they knew it) this person was dying to have me read their writing and help them with it. You know me, I love to help others and normally I would find time to fit it in without complaint. But this person has been very honest with me about the fact that they have never read any of my books. So in essence, someone who doesn't have time for me, wanted me to make time for them. Not cool.

If you are an aspiring author then there will come a day when you will hope your friends (and the rest of the world) purchase and read your novels. And then you'll hope they'll like them so much that they'll recommend them to everyone they know. But before we put our hands out for support, we must give it. Part of building your platform (your life, your friendships even) is to support others. You're probably wondering how many of my published friends books I own. All of them, yep really, because I believe in paying it forward. 

If you don't have time for your friends, eventually, they won't have time for you. So when you're building that platform, understand that it isn't just tweeting, blogging, or commenting on a profile. It's actual support of others who are fighting the same battle you're fighting. 

~Heather

Heather is the author of the YA paranormal Channeler series which includes; The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, Born Of Fire, Channeler's Choice, and coming in May of 2012, To Ride A Puca. A short story of Heather's is also available in the free In His Eyes eBook anthology.

 

Publishers Weekly's Take on U.S. Lawsuit Against Apple and Publishers

In a March 12 post I mentioned the possible lawsuit against Apple and five large publishers by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, with a link to a New York Times article. This week I want to share a fascinating podcast from Publishers Weekly with you about that lawsuit, which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week. Amazon is deeply involved/affected by all of this as a major bookseller, as well.

Below is a link to the Publishers Weekly article in their Beyond the Book feature, and podcast:

http://beyondthebookcast.com/pw-041312/

Go to the bottom of the article to click the arrow above 'PW Preview' to get the podcast. The first ten minutes are an interview with PW's Andrew Albanese, in which he discusses the DOJ's case against Apple and five publishers and gives his educated opinion on what it all means, and its implications for Apple, the traditional publishing world, and Amazon. One of Albanese's most interesting conclusions: this lawsuit isn't really about achieving fairness to save consumers money, or about going after the publishing industry (in Albanese's opinion) nearly as much as it is about going after Apple, which the DOJ has been eyeing for a while. (The remainder of the podcast, if you choose to listen, is about PW's current book reviews.)

Enjoy . . .

~ Linda