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Adventures in Promotion By Irene Peterson

Being a published author has weird requirements. A blog is one. Another is having a glamour photo, so you look all sexy and interesting and intelligent or hot or something. I didn’t want to have one, but I was almost forced to get one.

Elder daughter and I went to the mall and just wanted to find out how it was done and how much it would cost. The youngsters were all dressed in black, supposedly hip and cool or whatever the word is for hip, cool people who are supposed to take sow’s ears and turn them into silk purses.

They “had a sudden opening” and could take me right away. Here I was looking like rat’s butt with no make-up and a t-shirt and jeans and messed up hair and they wanted to make my portrait. They even had clothes for me to change into.

Yatch. The thought of wearing somebody else’s clothes was so gross. Most of the photos were taken in my own black shirt, but they convinced me to wear this really low-cut vee shirt with decoration around the vee.

Some high school age chick with some metal in her beautiful face made me up by shoveling a ton of grease and paint on me. My face felt as if it would crack if I smiled.

I was posed like some 40s movie star and this kid so fresh he smelled of green kept telling me how great it was and had I ever modeled.

That in itself is hysterically funny, but I tried, I really tried.

Daughter #1 was laughing her butt off watching me.

Full body shots were a real eye-opener. I am a lot to love…let’s just leave it at that.

So, in the end, I had something like 20 shots to look at and choose the one I wanted. See, you have to own the image and that costs a hundred bucks. The other crap costs about three more hundred, but because they were so bloody bored, they only charged me $340, which I had to pay immediately. See, you get to choose that one picture that they will doctor up and let you buy even though it is your own face, but you own the photo so you can use it. They can’t. Why they’d want to use my face, I will never, ever know. But now they can’t and I can because it’s MINE.

Okay. I have the glamour pose and they erased all the dots and marks and lots of lines and a couple of “beauty marks” and the line that was the top of my nose. I ended up looking sort of like Odo on Deep Space Nine without a definite end to my nose on my face.

It has been used for promotion. Everybody says it looks so good and it doesn’t look like me now (which is great, since I really do have a nose and it ends, unlike Odo’s) and my kid is still laughing and daughter #2 refuses to put it up on my website.

She’s right. I don’t look like the glamour shot, but then, who does?

The first time I ever met some of the most famous authors in romance and women’s fiction, I couldn’t believe they were who they said they were. Glamour shots aside, every single one I’ve ever met was more beautiful than her photos, anyway, but her hair was thinner, she didn’t have raccoon eyes, she wore regular clothes like bluejeans or skirts and blouses. None ever carried around a feather boa and absolutely no one was without a wrinkle or two, but they were sort of laugh lines, not ugly hag lines.

Glamour. It means a trick, a fake, a spell cast to disguise. Yeah. Right.

I paid $340 for one print, a CD with the one photo on it and a contact sheet of all the ugly, stupid pictures I didn’t want. Two days later I took the one 8×10 to a copy shop and had 4 more copies made, lighter and actually a better skin tone, for seventy five cents apiece.

I kicked myself all the way home.

Other

Word Wednesday – Evanescent By Chris Redding

evanescent \ev-uh-NES-unt\, adjective:
Liable to vanish or pass away like vapor; fleeting.

This word does not mean what I thought it was going to mean.
Sounds like some thing bubbly. Like effervescent. Ginger ale. Champagne

No one knew their pensions were evanescent. Or their jobs for that matter.
It sounds more upbeat than the word really is. It’s a fleeting thought that you can’t get back. Not something you pop open to celebrate.
It’s not a word that springs easily off my tongue. It isn’t a word I use at all so it was new to me when I saw it in my inbox.
And I can see how powerful it could be. But for me it now has negtive connotations.
But things that are fleeting can be negative. In the sense that you’d like them to last longer.
Can you use it in a sentence?

Chris Redding
The Corpse Whisperer August 2007
www.chrisreddingauthor.com
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com/

Other

Perserverance By Joanna Aislinn

I love tennis. I fell in love with it by total accident,  during a sopping, rain-drenched fourth-of-July weekend  at the shore. The streets flooded so badly, the water was thigh-high on my five-foot frame. We were stuck indoors at a bed-and-breakfast with no cable and only Wimbledon to watch on NBC.

My friend’s soon to be husband had played on the satellite pro circuit, so she knew the game and explained it to me. (Having Stefan Edberg to watch didn’t hurt, nor did David Wheaton lack in the  ‘hot’ department of that semi-final.) Years later, she likes it–I get obsessed during the Grand Slams and have been known to suffer some serious sleep deprivation during the US and recently, the Australian Opens. I’m up to guessing my favorite players’ zodiac signs and nailed Nadal as a Gemini and Federer as a Leo 🙂 I can see the Aquarian in Venus, but Serena–a Libra?

Of course, I was home for ‘Breakfast at Wimbledon’ this past Sunday–drove home from PA right after the BBQ at my cottage community on Saturday to insure I’d be in front of my TV in time for that first serve. Andy Roddick played the no-words-left-to-describe-the-phenom Roger Federer, who, as John McEnroe so aptly put it, “makes the rest of …the undisputed greatest players of the Open era…look average.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Roger’s artistry in motion, but I rooted for Roddick. I had to. I don’t even count Andy among my favorite players, but in the past few tournaments I’ve seen a young guy who has transformed himself out on that court. And I’ve watched him persevere right into his first five-set match against the ‘greatest player of all time’ and hold his own up to that last–and only–devastating break of serve that cost him the match. Yes, losing that second set tiebreaker didn’t help, but in the past, Andy might have given up and ‘gone away’ as tennis commentators tend to say. But he didn’t. He got right back up and held on for three more sets, only to have what could have been the most meaningful win of his life become his most significant tennis  loss, I’m sure.

Yet, if Andy wants to claim another Grand Slam title, he needs to persevere. He needs to take a hard, honest look at his match–go over what worked and be willing to change what didn’t. And he’s got to dig the deepest he ever has if he plans on walking onto tennis’ biggest stage again, let go of the past, and persevere another three, four, most likely five sets.

As writers, teachers, parents, people–don’t we need to do the same?

Other

Word Wednesday – Proponent By Chris Redding

proponent \pruh-POH-nuhnt\, noun:
One who argues in support of something; an advocate; a supporter

I am a proponent of:

Four day work weeks.
Healthcare for the poorest.
Realizing that the uber-rich and the just wealthy are two different animals.
Every child should have some kind of pet.
Someone else cleaning my house. (Not that I get to experience that.)
Sleeping 9 hours each night.
Term limits for congressmen/women.
We should be good to the evironment, but not at the expense of our economy.
Wine with dinner.
Full day kindergarten.
Sleeping in on Saturdays.
Working out at least 30 minutes a day.
Teaching your child about how the world is and how you’d like to change it.
Some people should not have children.
People should realize that celebrities are not normal.
That I’m done now. Have a good week.
What are you a proponent of?

Chris Redding
The Corpse Whisperer August 2007
www.chrisreddingauthor.com
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com/
Events, Other

Editor Interview with Leis Pederson

We’d like to welcome Leis Pederson of Berkley, a division of Penguin USA to Liberty States Fiction Writers’ blog.

Liberty’s members and blog readers would love to get to know a bit about you. Can you tell us a little about your: background, what inspired you to be an editor, how long you’ve been an editor, what types of books your handle, which authors do you edit, and maybe something a little unexpected.

I come from a Clinical Psychology background and made the move into editing for the simple reason that I love books. I’ve been in publishing for over three years now and I have had the pleasure of working with authors such as Michael Walters, Kimberly Frost, Beth Kery, Nancy Haddock and Christine Wells. I currently edit all kinds of romance, erotic romance, women’s fiction, mysteries and thrillers.

An author first has to submit his or her manuscript to you in order for their story to be considered for acquisition. Do you accept unagented manuscripts? If so how do you prefer to be queried?

We generally prefer agented submissions but for those who don’t have an agent we ask that you send a brief synopsis and the first three chapters including a brief description of the plot, previously published works (if applicable), as well as any other pertinent information.

Let’s talk a little about the querying process. What intrigues you to want to see more of a story? What about either the story description or the query letter itself would quickly turn you off of a story? Is there something you haven’t seen that you would love to see in a submission?

I’m always looking for something unique that will make a submission really stand out from the rest, whether that is the voice or the story itself. I really hate getting submissions riddled with errors. Proofread, proofread, proofread.

Based on a query letter or pitch, you ask to see a partial.  You love it, ask for the complete, but eventually reject the manuscript.  What are the top reasons for a manuscript’s rejection in such a scenario?

Each circumstance is unique so it’s really hard to generalize.

Can you tell us a how the acquisition process works at Berkley? If you read a manuscript and love it can you acquire it? Is it a committee that decides what books to purchase based on your recommendations? What is the response time on queries? Partials? Completes?

The process varies. Sometimes it goes to committee and sometimes maybe just one other editor will read it along with me. Our response time for all requested submissions is approximately 6 months.

You’ve acquired a novel and it’s moving along the path to release. In order for the book to do well there is going to need to be some promotion and marketing. How involved are you in coming up with a marketing plan. Do authors who submit manuscripts along with solid marketing plans have a better chance of acceptance than a good manuscript with no marketing plan?

We have wonderful publicity, marketing and promotions departments that work with our authors to ensure that each book gets the attention it deserves.

Clearly editors are very busy individuals. What do you like to do when you want to turn off the editor for a little while?

Believe it or not, I like to read something just for fun. No editing hat required.

If there was one piece of advice you could give to writers what would it be?

Just keep writing!

Other

The Best Research Tool Is A Four Letter Word By Dianne Gerber

My heart beats faster than a teenager who is about to be kissed for the first time. Why you ask? Life. A simple four letter word that holds meaning beyond any other. Life.

Life takes over sometimes. It gets in our way, causes our desires to be on hold and plays havoc with our goals. Life frustrates us, causes us to worry and keeps us up all night. Life can sucky and suck our energy, leaving us drained, unable to think. But life also brings us friends and family, laughter and love.

Deep breath. Even though life spins us in circles, it’s important to remember to stop and breathe. Slow down, lighten up, chill out and enjoy what life is teaching us. The circle of life is ever evolving and it’s your turn to step up and take the wheel. The car can be replaced-a life can’t. A closing door opens another.

Life is why we exist. And it’s what makes a great story.

Breathe and take notes.

A lilac scented breeze lifts my hair and softly caresses my cheek. Two golden finches chirp excitedly in unison over the birdfeeder. My husband’s warm hand covers mine and my heart beats like a teenager about to be kissed. Life.

Dianne Gerber writes as Autumn Jordon

2009 Golden Heart Finalist

www.autumnjordon.com

http://autumnjordonsnotes.blogspot.com

Other

That Trip to England. When will the book be out? by Shelley Freydont

That Trip to England.  When will the book be out?

It’s weird, people’s perceptions of writers . . . or maybe not.  Pearl and I just spent two and half weeks in England and Dublin.  People asked “Are you doing research?”  Of course we were.  So, okay, Pearl writes the regency period, that made Bath, etc. obvious stops for her. But what about a contemporary writer like me?  My last books were about baseball and Sudoku.  That’s a little harder to explain.  And you can immediately see that “oh sure” look in the questioner’s eyes.

Others were fascinated.

I had an interesting two rain days (the rest were bright, blue, beautiful. ) No I swear , cross my heart, it was sunny in England for two whole weeks. But on the two mizzley days in Dublin, I hung out in coffee bars or just a bar and chatted with people—research.  (Also my favorite thing to do on a trip.  And the ale will definitely find its way into a book, yum).

When are you going to write this book?  When will it be published?  What’s it about?

Well, I don’t really know.  And the location may change.  And the ale might be lemonade and the old man in the Fish and Chips place might be an Italian vintner. Or it might just be about two writers on a trip to England.

The thing is, unless you’re writing non fiction under a deadline, things are not so cut and dried.  Two years ago, I went to Rome with several women, only one of whom I really knew.  I didn’t really care about going to Rome, I’d been there lots, but I thought what the heck, this will be fun.  As always I took copious notes, jotted down ideas, filled my camera’s memory with interesting pictures.

And forgot about it.

Then a few weeks ago I’m sitting on the top level of a tour bus, clicking pictures of London landmarks, and a story based on the Rome trip comes to me, full blown.  I put down my camera and quickly wrote down the essential points.  So maybe the Rome book (actually I’ve already moved it to a village outside of Rome (seen on another trip.) is close to being written.  Or at least closer to being written.  But what about the England book?

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Shelley

ShelleyFreydont/GemmaBruce

Sudden Death Sudoku/The Man For Me

shelleyfreydont.com/gemmabruce.com

Other

Hook ‘Em with Your Best Shot by Anne Carole

As both a reader and a writer, I admire authors who can hook a reader in a few sentences, so I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite openings. These are openings that make me want to keep reading to find out more, or surprise me with the unexpected, or make me feel something. The authors whose work I’ve cited include Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Eloisa James, Rachel Gibson, Linda Lael Miller, Jennifer Crusie and Elizabeth Lowell. For a little fun, try to match the author with her writing. I’ve given the answers, listed in order, at the end of this article. 

Ready? Here goes: 

(1) She found the paper while she was sorting through the personal things in her father’s desk. Michelle Cabot unfolded the single sheet with casual curiosity, just as she had unfolded dozens of others, but she had read only a paragraph when her spine slowly straightened and a tremor began in her fingers. Stunned, she began again, her eyes widening with sick horror at what she read.

(2) Devon Hamilton-Zemaitis was a beautiful woman. Being dead didn’t change that. 

(3) One hot August Thursday afternoon, Maddie Faraday reached under the front seat of her husband’s Cadillac and pulled out a pair of black lace underpants. They weren’t hers.

 (4) “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe.”

The man’s low, emotionless voice was enough to freeze Sarah Kennedy in place. But even if his voice hadn’t stilled her, the rest of him would have. 

(5) He wanted a drink. Whiskey, cheap and warm. After six weeks on the trail, he wanted the same kind of woman. Some men usually managed to get what they wanted. He was one of them. Still, the woman could wait, Jake decided as he leaned against the bar. The whiskey couldn’t. 

(6) Knowing precisely why no one wants to marry you is slim consolation for the truth of it. In Lady Roberta St. Giles’s case, the evidence was all too clear—as was her lack of suitors. 

(7) The noose lay heavy around Jolie McKibben’s neck, smelling of sweat and horseflesh and hemp. Frantic protests of innocence had long since rendered her throat too raw to speak, and she felt nothing except a certain defiant numbness as she stared back at those who had gathered to see her hanged. 

Now here’s an opening excerpt from my story in the anthology Return to Wayback, just released TODAY at the Wild Rose Press and available on www.amazon.com. It contains three stories about three hard-driving men with three different reasons to return to Wayback and the women who could give them a reason to stay. Besides my story, Re-ride at the Rodeo, Return to Wayback  also features two other great Wayback stories,  Payback in Wayback by Lynda Coker and Roped and Tied by Mallary Mitchell. 

“There he goes, ladies and gents. Tyler Wright has done it. An eighty-five. That’s about as good as it gets,” the announcer blared over the loudspeaker.

The cheers from the crowd were deafening, but Dusty didn’t care to notice. She’d heard it all too many times before. Since the start, just about any weekend from March to November, it seemed she’d been at the rodeo arena. First watching from the stands. Now as barkeep handling the beer stall. There was no escaping the rodeo if you lived in Wayback. It was the only game in town, except for Friday nights at the high school field during football season. It was also the major source of the town’s revenue. One way or another, if you lived in Wayback, you were connected to the rodeo. She was connected in more ways than she cared to count. More ways than she cared to remember. 

Here’s the list of the authors and the book the opening hook was taken from—how’d you do? 

(1)  Linda Howard, Heartbreaker

(2) Rachel Gibson, Not Another Bad Date

(3) Jennifer Crusie, Tell Me Lies

(4) Elizabeth Lowell, Winter Fire

(5) Nora Roberts, Lawless (her only western, I think)

(6) Eloisa James, Duchess in Love

(7) Linda Lael Miller, Daniel’s Bride 

Now, any of those openings that you liked?  Want to share any favorite books whose openings hooked you? What makes a good hook?

Leave a comment and you could be a winner. Because to celebrate the release of Return to Wayback, I’ll randomly choose one lucky person who leaves a comment to get a free copy of Return to Wayback and I’ll announce the winner tomorrow, Saturday, on my blog at www.annecarrole.blogspot.com! So comment! 

Anne Carrole

www.annecarrole.com

www.annecarrole.blogspot.com

www.myspace.com/annecarrole

www.twitter.com/annecarrole  

Book Purchase urls to insert with underlines above:

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.thewildrosepress.com  

www.amazon.com :   http://tinyurl.com/Return-to-Wayback-Amazon

Other

The Letter by Christine Bush

I received a letter today.

It touched my heart.

Now, I’m a “writing-word-communicating” sort of person. Daily I receive a zillion emails, business mailings, memos, text messages, phone calls and an assortment of loop mail. All are good.

But this was different. It was a real, old fashioned letter. With a stamp. It came in the mail. It was beautifully handwritten on pretty writing paper. It was written to me, just me, by a dear friend in another state, just to say hello, to share her life, and to ask about mine.

I write a lot of words in the course of a day. I write on my current book manuscript, write articles, short stories, plays, and occasional blogs. I communicate with a lot of people. But I have to admit it’s been a long time since I wrote a personal letter like that, although I did way back when, in the past. Why did I stop?

“Why spend 42 cents on a letter when email is free?”
“Email is so much faster..texting is like the speed of light.” “Hi 2 u!”
“Loop mail goes to dozens. It is much more productive.”
“I can send messages on Facebook, I can Tweet..”

I’m not exactly sure why getting this good old fashioned letter felt so nice. Was it that I was worth the extra minutes? Worth 42 cents?

All I know is, I cherish this letter! I like the feeling of pleasure it gave me, so I’m passing the thought on. I designed my own writing paper today (and printed it myself, as I’m still too cheap to buy the expensive kind, I admit).

I’m going to handwrite some notes, and let a few people know how much I care about them. In this busy, productive, high tech world, sometimes I can forget about that special, personal touch. I’ll spend the time and the 42 cents, because friendship is worth the extra effort.

Are there any thoughts on letter writing out there?

Other

Intro to 1st Turning Point by Jacquie Rogers

On May 1st, an exciting new website launched called 1st Turning Point. It’s a place where authors, artists, musicians, crafters–people who create, can teach learn and share All About Promotion. Ann Charles and I came up with this idea a few months ago, and here we are now!

1st Turning Point -- All About Promotion

Any sane, reasonable person would wonder why two authors who should be writing set up a site to share promotional and marketing tips and strategies. Ann Charles has her story, and here’s mine:

A Pitiful Year for Me

2004 wasn’t my best year. I started it with pneumonia, then had an accident and spent the rest of the year recovering (translation: wearing a neck brace and sitting in a recliner, all while under the influence of some really good pain killers). The best part about that year was my daughter stayed with us for a while, and in November, my husband and I moved to a new (to us) house.

A Glorious but Busy Year for Judith

But Judith Laik had a completely different 2004–she sold two books to Kensington! And that’s quite a tale in itself. She has agreed to tell her story on 1st Turning Point in June, so you’ll have to wait for that. Here’s where her experience affected me–she worked long hours every day, seven days a week, right down to the wire to get her books written, and did meet her deadline. Only then did she have the time to plunge into research for setting up a website and the uncharted waters of book promotion. Trouble is, even with working all those hours and through the night for weeks on end, her website wasn’t live until a month after her first book was released.

An Awakening

That’s when I realized that Gerri Russell, who had been proactive in building name recognition for ten years before her “overnight” success, was on the right track (even though she hadn’t sold her first book yet). We’ll hear from Gerri in a few weeks, too, at 1st Turning Point.

But Gerri and I are very different people. She’s much better in groups and establishes rapport with nearly everyone in a heartbeat. As for me, I’m a whole lot more comfortable on the internet, and I have never been all that comfortable at parties or social gatherings. And, like me, many writers have this affliction.

Step One

So I decided to get a website. I had no idea how to go about this–yes, I’d been a software consultant in my past life, but I didn’t deal with websites. The person who designed Judith’s website charged reasonable rates and I liked her results, so I asked her to get me going. It’s the second best money I ever spent (first best was a professional head shot–more about that in another post).

But I had no content! What’s a lowly unpublished writer to do? So there’s where I strayed from Ann Charles’ course. We were both targeting NY publishers, but a great opportunity landed in my lap–I could get a story published in a trade paperback book, and it would benefit breast cancer research besides. Heckuva deal! The drawback was that the publisher was small press, but the benefits were just what I needed to get me going. I had something on Amazon and BN.com to purchase, I had a cause to promote, and it turns out I contributed two stories, not one.

This anthology, No Law Against Love, and my two short stories, Faery Good Advice and Single Girls Can’t Jump, gave me a platform–something to hang my hat on. Deborah Macgillivray encouraged (translation: relentlessly prodding, explaining and re-explaining how to do it all) the anthology authors to get our websites in shape and to get our author pages set up on Amazon. I’m hoping she’ll do a guest spot for us in the near future.

But then I got involved in social networking sites. With small press, I won’t ever sell a single book on impulse buy–every book sold will be because a reader sees my name, sees the book blurb or excerpt, and wants it badly enough to hunt it down. In baseball terms, I get no in-field hits or even base hits, only home runs. It’s hard to play the game that way, but at least I get to play.

I’ll be writing more about my experiences as the weeks go by–things that worked, things that didn’t work, and a few what-was-I-thinking? moments.

My partner in 1st Turning Point, Ann Charles, has a completely different path to the website, including the decision to do this gig and dragging me into it. You can read her post here. Her original idea was to have a blog, but frankly, if I want to know something in particular, I go to a website where I can find the expertise I need.

Ann’s idea was broad enough and important enough that, in my opinion, we could create an entire website, gather some experts, and share information in a way that hasn’t been done up until now. Then, of course, she came up with even more bright ideas, and together, we raised it up a notch–or ten. Ann and I are very grateful for the columnists, reviewers, instructors, and PR consultants who have agreed to be part of 1st Turning Point.

We hope you’ll come for a visit and are pleased with what you see. We’re very serious about the pay-it-forward concept. We learn, and we share.

Oh, and did I mention, there are prizes???

Jacquie

Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues (See the Book Video featuring Justin Saragueta)
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Faery Special Romances * Book Video * Royalties go to Children’s Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

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