BlogHop4Writers 29th Sept '11

BlogHop4Writers
Question provided by author: Lark LaTroy

With the advancement of e-publishing and e-books, what new methods of marketing do you think authors should employ?

With both the market and the internet constantly upgrading themselves, for some it is hard to keep up, but, if you don't make the effor, your name, or 'brand' if you like, will fall below the reading publics' horizon.

When sites like Facebook make changes, the consequences rumble round the globe and some people search for alternatives, but can you completely desert something a big a as facebook?  However much you may wish to, starting to rebuild yourself on a new site is hard.

Joining every social network on the planet may not be the answer either, as many specialise and your genre of book simply may not appeal.  So, the question becomes, do i try to crack that nut, or continue building my base at networking sites that do cover my genre.  And I don't mean readers, other writers and publishers.  They are the subjects you touch on in your book, look for their facebook and twitter tags and so much more.

Is any of this new?  No, not really, it is how you keep adapting to reinvent yourself as the net and e-publishing marches on.

What is new is the pace of change.  The net, by its very nature is a fast moving chamealon, as authors we have to learn to keep up.  If anything is new, it is the mind blowing pace writers have to maintain to keep themselves in the main frame.

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A glimpse behind the scenes - for readers

“What do you think you know?”

Why does that inner voice nag when an author sits down to work?
Aspiring authors and readers often assume the more experienced the writer, the more assured they become. And of course in many ways this is true.
Authors who write for more than one publisher meet and work with different editors. Each editor has their own preferences and angles, as does the publisher the editors and author are working for.

And within that publisher’s remit the author may cover several different sub-genres that all have their own perspective on how the they must approach their subject. So over time authors learn to adjust their writing style to suit both the publisher they are targeting and the requests of their editors.

From a reader’s perspective this may sound simple, but believe me, even for the most experienced and adaptable writer it can present problems.

Authors set out to write a book that will catch their readers’ interest and bring them back again and again. Author’s aim to write, to maintain and improve the quality of writing, the story content, to create more rounded and believable characters. Their books are not just stories, they are also an advertising campaign. The quality of the first chapter will entice the new reader to keep turning the pages, while final chapter of the current book must entice those same readers to buy the author’s next book, and the one after that, and… Well you get my drift.

The publisher sets out to contract authors who will provide a quality product. – I use the word product advisedly here. – It may still be ‘a story/book/novel’ but to the publisher it is also a product, one among many, all competing for acceptance, all competing for a growing reader following. To do this the publisher, at some point, will take risks on new authors. They are looking for writers who not only offer a quality product/book, but ones they think will offer quality manuscripts on a regular basis. After all a publishers target, like the authors’, is to sell books and gather a robust reader following.

To do this they, like the author, need to provide a quality product their readers will buy and keep coming back to them for more. Unlike the author, the publisher must do this over various genres and various ‘products’/book/authors. They have several ‘balls’ in the air at the same time, and if they drop one they must have an immediate replacement handy to keep the steady flow of production going without interruption.

And what of the editor? ‘The jam between the slices of bread’ you could say.

Like most artists, writers become so involved with their work it doesn’t matter how carefully they revise, self-edit and check yet again, errors slip through. It doesn’t matter how long the author leaves their work alone to give them space and a new perspective on their writing, their characters, their plot and their story, their brain and their eyes will still ‘float’ over some errors. They will ‘see’ what they intended to write, not what is on the page. It may be a comma in the wrong place, a spelling error their spell-checker missed and they overlooked. But those errors will be there. And it is the editor’s job not only to spot and highlight these, but to point out the areas where writer-style and ‘in-house’ publishing style may not coincide. Writer and editor have to work to readjust the writing without compromising the story to accommodate their publisher’s house-style.

Add a deadline to the mix and suddenly there is a high-level stress factor involved, and up pops that nasty little voice saying, “What do you know?” Or worse, “Do you really think you can do all this in time?”
Having done it once, readers may be forgiven for assuming next time will be easier for the author, and in some ways it is. The author knows, to a degree, what they may expect. But the industry is constantly changing, advancing, shifting.
For the modern-day author simply writing is no longer enough. They have to cope with their own promotion, which includes all things online from web and blog site creation to visiting hundreds of new sites tot tote their book. Virtual and ‘real’ book signings, most of those can be great fun.

But seriously, there is so much that every author must address that once came under the publishers’ jurisdiction, is it any wonder that every so often that pesky little gremlin gets the chance to pipe up and ask, “What do you think you know?”

Enjoy the blurbs and excerpts of Sherry Gloag's books at: www.sherrygloag.com 
Buy her books at:-
Duty Calls
The Brat 
The Wrong Target

What makes a book a 'keeper' for you,

and

what would prevent you from finishing a book?



Please give a warm welcome to today's guest, Brigit Aine.

Please give a warm welcome to today's guest, Brigit Aine.

Did you always want to write and if not what triggered your passion for writing?I have always wanted to do some sort of creative writing. I started with poetry in high school and then majored in English in college.

Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I’m a pantser. If I plot the story comes out all stilted and short. Like I couldn’t get enough out of it. If I just sit down and the computer and start typing is flows.

What kind of goals do you set?
I try not to :-) If I have a deadline I’ll meet it, otherwise, as a fulltime administrator at a high school and a mom of 2 boys (15 and 9) I really don’t have time for goals. If I sit down for a couple hours I can expect to write between 3,000 and 5,000 words.

What/who has been your greatest inspiration?
I don’t really have any one person or thing. I admire all small press writers and devour most large press writers, at least in the paranormal romance area…so I think just writers in general.

Whose POV do you prefer…hero/heroine/villain?
Oh…I do a combined hero/heroine POV. Not ever the villain.

What is your favoured writing routine? Do you have a set routine and place to write?
I just like to get started. I get my laptop, settle in somewhere the boys and hubby aren’t and start typing away. A good cup of coffee or tea, depending on the time of day is helpful.


What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
Keep writing and trying. Find someone you trust and whose writing you like to read over your writing and take their suggestions. Writing is really a collaborative tool in some ways. Don’t let all that knowledge that is out there go to waste. When you see authors thanking their readers it really is necessary.
I love this - you may know it at some level but 'hearing' someone else prompt you, brings it to the forefront of your mind. :-)  Thank you.

What has been your greatest fear you’ve had to overcome as a writer?
Oh that someone besides me will actually like my stories :D. It took me a bit to realize that my facebook page actually had comments from people who read the story.

What do you do to relax?
I read or exercise with my exotic dance tape.

Which do you prefer, background music or silence when you write?
SILENCE!!!! Shhhh….writer in process of writing.

What book are you reading at the moment?
Oh my goodness. I just finished LKH’s Flirt, and Rosemary and Rue (for the 2nd time). I also am reading As Fate Decrees (again) by Denyse Bridger. I always pick up four or five books when I go to Border’s (about twice a week).

Do you have a favourite writer?
Oh goodness…what a question…I don’t think I can answer it. I have had many favorites through time. I started reading at a very young age and even then was a great fantasy lover with Madeline L’Engle, Lewis Carroll, Norton Juster, and so many others.

Some writers stop reading while writing because they feel it influences their writing. Do you read while working on a current writing project?
I read all the time. I can’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t have a book to read.

How do you deal with criticism?

Oh wow. Criticism is to be dealt with by venting to friends (but never in a public forum) and then taking a second look to see where maybe you could improve.

What do you do when your mind blanks?
When my mind blanks I put it down for a while and come back. This really doesn’t happen all that often.

What books and wip are in the pipeline for this year?
I have some great stuff. I have a book on March 7th with Eternal Press (see below for excerpt). I have a book submitted right now called Justice for Leanne that has a unique twist to it. You can read a synopsis and brief excerpt at http://www.brigitsworld.com/  And I am working on the second book in that story. I have a third and fourth book to the Torrent’s Talents series that I am working on. The first book in that series is now a free read at http://sensualtreats.webs.com/freetreats.htm. I also have a story that I am submitting for an anthology that is a Pixie Halloween story. So hopefully a lot will be coming out.

Any tips on promotion?
Keep in front of the public. Don’t expect the publisher to promote for you. They may give you opportunities but you have to seize them. Don’t pay a ton for promotion. There are lots of inexpensive and even free ways to promote so there isn’t a need to spend a lot of money.

Please will you include an excerpt from your book?
Cassie’s Awakening coming March 7th with Eternal Press (http://www.eternalpress.ca/)

“I repeat. What did you think you were doing?” Cassie asked, with more bravado than she was feeling. She had never felt anything like the pulsating emotions emanating from Jared. It seemed to overwhelm all her senses and she was struggling with just getting breath in and out of her lungs. She looked up at him and found herself face to face with eyes that were so intense she could see nothing but them. There was a slight glow that fascinated her; she had never seen eyes like this before, incredibly deep with a special inner light.
“Don’t ever touch Kraig again or let him touch you,” Jared growled from deep in his chest. He was having trouble keeping his wolf in check. When Kraig had kissed Cassie it was all he could do to not rip the pup’s head off. She didn’t know anything about being his mate, or even what it entailed, but Jared did and he was having trouble controlling the wolf because of it. He had barely managed to control changing, and he certainly wasn’t going to stop the rush of jealousy and anger at his mate being touched by another man. Not just a man, but another werewolf. And with that acceptance, he quit thinking and did what his wolf wanted. He kissed her.

Thank you, Brigit, for joining us here today and for sharing your experiences with us. Best wishes for your new book.