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Rejection!

Geri Clouston
Rejection is part of the literary experience- we've all been there. Whether it is rejection by publishers, agents, contests, or reviewers, it is never easy. I suppose that rejections by publishers and agents for self-publishers aren't even that hurtful today since it has become expected! We certainly can appreciate how difficult this is for everyone who has been "rejected" by indieBRAG. Although we do not ever mention books not honored, we do get some very wounded and angry authors who strike out at us. We just let this pass over us without response. Many times I believe these authors regret their angry words upon reflection - perhaps not. Although there is a lot to be learned from rejection – does anyone realy believe  that? - there are many reasons to just plow ahead and have faith in your work. That is not to say you do not accept and consider constructive review, but rejection is often from publishers and agents who have never read a single word of you writing and that is frustrating. I am sure we have all heard some great stories about literary rejection but, those of us who have experienced it first hand,  can never get…

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Words of Wisdom, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing , , , ,

A response to Sue Grafton’s angry words.

Geri Clouston
I guess you saw the comments by bestselling author Sue Grafton about self-published authors. If not, you should! During an interview with a local newspaper, she said- "that's as good as admitting you're too lazy to do the hard work". The self-published books she has read are "often amateurish", she said, comparing self-publishing "to a student managing to conquer Five Easy Pieces on the piano and then wondering if s/he's ready to be booked into Carnegie Hall". According to Grafton, Becoming an author is about hard work: "taking the rejection, learning the lessons, and mastering the craft over a period of time". Having had her first three novels rejected, she said she sees "way too many writers who complete one novel and start looking for the fame and fortune they're sure they're entitled to". She added "To me, it seems disrespectful ... that a 'wannabe' assumes it's all so easy s/he can put out a 'published novel' without bothering to read, study, or do the research," said Grafton. "Learning to construct a narrative and create a character, learning to balance pace, description, exposition, and dialogue takes a long time. This is not a quick do-it-yourself home project. Self-publishing is a…

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Learning From Our Mistakes . . . Or Not

Geri Clouston
Fact: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/ (Notice how the picture of the Triangle fire looks incredibly similar to those in the Times articles of the more recent fires: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/world/asia/pakistan-factory-fire-shows-flaws-in-monitoring.html?pagewanted=all) History Times Three For those of you following the New York Times stories of the fires at garment factories, first in Bangladesh, India, then in Karachi, Pakistan, you'll notice the lamentable similarities to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in this country in 1911. When I wrote The Triangle Murders, I researched the details of that fire and blogged about it in past posts. I fictionalized a murder set against the backdrop of the actual fire and detailed the forensic analysis of the fire after the fact. I also blogged about heroines like Clara Lemlich and Frances Perkins who helped raise awareness of the deplorable situation the garment workers found themselves in every day, as well as the changes Clara and Frances helped institute to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. Reading the stories about these recent fires in other parts of the world simply blew my mind. But first, back up to Saturday, March 25, 1911, and a few grim facts: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory occupied the top three floors of the 10-story…

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From Fact to Fiction!

Oh To Be A Fly On The Wall!

Geri Clouston
I'm sure many of you have seen the recent press releases announcing that yet another traditional publisher has acquired a self-publishing service, or is opening a new self-publishing division, or in what must be the most bizarre case of them all, has contracted with a competitor to utilize their SP service. It is rather amusing to see the spin that their PR agencies have put on these actions. Ever since the advent of print-on-demand technology opened up the world of publishing to hundreds of thousands (and soon to be millions) of author-wannabees, the traditional publishing houses have looked with disdain upon these unwashed masses. Until now that is. But can it be that the fat cats and effete intellectual editors who populate the giant publishing conglomerates have suddenly decided that "we the people" aren't such bad writers after all? Not! The truth of the matter is that there are three principal reasons behind this rush to get into the SP biz...they are money, money, and more money. Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in the boardroom when the CEO of one of the big publishing houses was first presented with this idea by his senior vice…

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The Self-publishing World, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing , ,

Recording your own Audio Books

Geri Clouston
Richard Denning's advice on recording your own audiobook - Two years ago I recorded The Amber Treasure and released it in episodes via Podiobooks.com. This is a US-based site that will publish audio books. It also feeds them to Itunes again as podcast episodes. Over a couple of years, the book had 300+ downloads and some good feedback. As a first experiment in recording audiobooks, it was not a bad way to go. Recently I decided to move forward and look to record some of my other books and I am using http://www.helpforwriters.me/ whom I met at the New Writers UK Fair. (This annual event at Nottingham in November is a gathering of self-published authors, associated folk such as editors and agents, etc). I don't find I sell many books there BUT as a place to network and make contacts it is useful. They are taking both The Amber Treasure and Child of Loki (which I am currently recording). My "home studio" is very basic. It consists of A)This PC B)A free to download copy of Audactity Which is a recording and editing programme. C)A Shure FM 58 XLR microphone . This was recommended to me by several pod-casters as…

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Coffee with Doug Carlyle

Geri Clouston
  One of the things I enjoy the most is getting to know the authors who have joined us at indieBRAG. Doug Carlyle, the author of In Search of the Fuller Brush Man, drove from Texas to Wisconsin to visit his daughter and was able to join me for coffee. It was a wonderful time getting to know Doug, his daughter and very cute- and VERY well behaved – grandson. Although I could not possibly read all the books that our reading teams read, I did have the chance to read Doug's book and I really enjoyed it. Doug is a member of both the Writers' League of Texas and the Houston Writers Guild. I would encourage all self-published writers to take advantage of such organizations. They provide a forum for support and help. And many are genre specific which may help you to refine your skill in telling the story you want. They are also a great source of information for marketing your book. Some of the larger groups provide workshops on writing and promoting along with information on book events and venues for selling your book. I urge you to go online and search out your area for…

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The Self-publishing World, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing ,

The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns on PBS

Geri Clouston
THE DUST BOWL Fiction: 2012 B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Dirt by S.L. Dwyer Dirt, by S.L. Dwyer, follows the life of thirteen-year-old Sammy Larkin and his sister who are made orphans during the worst time in American agricultural history. Rather than be separated, Sammy makes the decision to live as if his parents are still alive. THE DUST BOWL chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the "Great Plow-Up," followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews with twenty-six survivors of those hard times, combined with dramatic photographs and seldom seen movie footage, bring to life stories of incredible human suffering and equally incredible human perseverance. It is also a morality tale about our relationship to the land that sustains us—a lesson we ignore at our peril. Fact: The Dust Bowl on PBS “The Dust Bowl” was a PBS mini-series special by Ken Burns that chronicled that worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the “Great Plow-Up,” followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. It first aired in…

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award winning books, From Fact to Fiction!, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, The World of Reading

Audio book for no investment!

Geri Clouston
    Did you know that you can have a professionally developed audio book for no investment? Yes, it's true. One thing I sigh about continually is how many people try to sell to us authors. Classes, webinars, conferences, marketing, and on and on. Don't get me wrong; I participate in these activities as much as I can. Many are helpful and work to promote our books, but costly none the same. I have recently found a way to drive more revenue out of the book I already wrote by getting it produced as an audio book! It's true! Sandy Weaver Carman of Voicework on Demand, Inc. is in the business of helping authors grow their "revenue river". Here is how you get started. Amazon has a company called ACX. http://www.acx.com/ ACX walks you through registering and uploading your book for auditions. That was actually very fun and extremely rewarding to hear people read your book in character. Then you chose the narrator that you feel captured the essence of your story and you are on your way. You review each chapter and if there is anything you want reread, you let the narrator know and they will redo any…

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Ripple by Tui Allen honoured at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair

Geri Clouston
New Zealand was the guest of Honour at the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair Ripple by Tui Allen was chosen to represent New Zealand and we are proud to say is a 2012 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Thank you Tui for taking the time to share your thoughts- My book Ripple was selected by the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) as one of forty to represent NZ literature at Frankfurt. This happened because NZ was this year's Frankfurt "Country of Honour." It's a bit like being the host country at the Olympics, except that the fair is always in Frankfurt Germany. It is the biggest book fair in the world and is the size of a medium sized NZ town except taller. Being on many levels, it goes higher into the sky than towns do here. To get around its buildings you catch a bus! We NZSA authors became known in NZ as the "Frankfurt Forty" The list we were chosen from did not include authors who had already been chosen by the Publisher's Association of New Zealand (PANZ). The PANZ authors were all very well-known and had been thoroughly conventionally published and their Frankfurt costs were paid for them. Several…

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The Self-publishing World, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing , , ,

The SPBE October 27, 2012 NYC ~Get more sales!

Geri Clouston
Now we are going to get down to what you can and should be doing to get more sales! It is possible to do all of the following yourself; however, there are some things you probably should get skilled help with. Foreign Rights: This is where you license the right to translate and sell your book in a foreign market. Although you can do this on your own, it is exceedingly difficult. Without a foreign rights agent who knows that particular country there is no way of protecting your rights or guaranteeing that you will get paid. Amazon is considering offering this service to its authors at some point in the future but for now you had best seek an agent. And for those of you who can afford it, attending the Frankfurt International Book Fair in October, 2013 would be well worth your while. Literally hundreds of thousands of people from the global publishing industry attend this event and most are looking to buy (or sell) foreign rights. Global Distribution: Short of licensing the foreign rights of your book, this is something you can probably handle on your own. At most online booksellers (e.g., amazon, B&N, pubit, ibooks, kobo,…

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