Tag Archives: book

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The Frugal Self-Publisher continues!

First off, a reminder you still have time to read the interviews and comment to win a copy of my novel The Brevity of Roses. –>

I added a paragraph to my opening statement on the Frugal Self-Publisher page, to explain why I had to be frugal. I also added a disclaimer to make it clear I’m not being compensated for recommendations of software, books, or businesses I used in publishing my novel.

The second installment describes more of my effort to ready The Brevity of Roses for print. In it, I tell you why I chose Createspace as my printer/distributor and talk about cleaning up your manuscript file.

Here you go … and it’s free!

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Have I lost you?

Hello, blog friends. I apologize if it seems I can’t quit talking about The Brevity of Roses. It’s my first published novel, you see, and I’m excited. You get that, right? And did you notice I said first? Yes, I’m writing the next one right this minute. If you haven’t read Brevity yet, and wish you had a free copy, let me remind you of the two giveaway contests running now. Look over there –>.

Tomorrow, I will post the first in a series of articles about my self-publishing journey. I’ll begin the series with the decisions I made on how to put my book out there because I’ve written previously about my reasons for deciding to take publishing matters into my own hands:

You’ll notice a new tab at the top of this blog: The Frugal Self-Publisher. This is where you can follow my journey from novel writer to published novelist on a very limited budget. It can be done.

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Another interview means another free book!

Cathryn Grant, author of the psychological thriller The Demise of the Soccer Moms lured me to her blog for more questioning. She’s extremely intimidating, as you can tell by her photo, and she soon had me confessing to writing poetry and other strange habits. Please visit Cathryn’s blog to read the interview. And if you do what she says, you could win a digital copy of my novel The Brevity of Roses.

Did you know? You don’t have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books? You can download the free Kindle app to your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, or Windows phone and read all the ebooks you want.

So, now you have no excuse not to enter Cathryn’s giveaway. Go. Go now.

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What was I waiting for?

First, a contest Reminder: Check my sidebar –> for links to two bloggers giving away copies of my novel!

I’m not a NaNoWriMo sort of writer. And yet, I am a “pantser.” I don’t write true first drafts. I need a certain level of reassurance I’m on the right track before I can head out of the station. And yet, I love uncovering the story as if it were an ancient artifact at an archaeological dig.

For months now, I’ve been taking down notes, sometimes nearly full scenes, in preparation to write my next novel. I know how it begins, how it ends, and some bits in-between, but I’ve been waiting for something more.

I thought I was waiting for my main character’s voice to grow stronger. Maybe I needed to know her better before I could write her. But I already know her, I created her three years ago. She’s been talking to me for a while now.

I considered doing a real outline, the kind I’ve heard other writers talk about. Some novelists, maybe you, plan in such detail before they start writing that they know every scene and exactly which chapter it will happen in. My oddly disorganized organized brain rebels against all that, but I thought maybe this time I needed to do it differently.

Then I remembered that I set off writing The Brevity of Roses with only a need to explore the story idea. I had a general idea how it would end—I was wrong. I thought I knew who the main character was—wrong again. I loved the adventure of discovery, and it turned out all right.

So, I kept taking notes and writing out bits of dialogue that came to me. I opened the file and stared at the opening paragraphs for a while before closing the file unchanged. Finally, it hit me; the problem was structure. I ran it by my critique partners and we decided my original plan was needlessly complicated. After I made a new decision on how to narrate the story, everything clicked into place. I’m writing again, and it feels wonderful.

Your turn: What do you need to know before you can start writing?

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The sticky business of rating books

I blogged about rating books last month, but I’d like to revisit that topic today. In the last week, I’ve read at least three blog posts about rating books, which have caused me to wonder if my criteria is too strict. Since I started an account at Goodreads, I’ve been giving most books a 3-stars rating, but now I know many people see that as a thumbs down.

Currently, this is what my ratings mean:
•    5 stars = I loved the book and will read it again … possibly more than once.

•    4 stars = I really liked the book and most likely will read it again.

•    3 stars = I liked the book and enjoyed the read, but might not read it again. You never know. Sometimes a 3 star turns into a 4 star for me.

•    2 stars = Reading it wasn’t a waste of time, but I had problems with it. I doubt I’d read it again.

•    1 star = For me, reading it was a waste of time, and I might not have finished it.

Often, I just rate the book, not write a review, so it’s likely my 3-stars has been seen as a negative. I’m probably bringing down the average rating, when that was not my intent. I’m wondering if I should spend time re-evaluating my posted ratings.

Your turn, a lot of questions today: What does a 3-stars rating mean to you? Do you have a personal rating system? In a five-star system, what percentage of books do you rate 5-stars? Do you consider the average rating on a book before you rate it, or stick to your standards no matter what?


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The problem with writing …

Are you a writer? Are you a reader? Do you divide your time equally between the two? When I started writing with the goal of publication, my reading time declined—particularly my fiction reading. And my non-fiction reading changed to consist almost exclusively of how-to write books.

During my years of devouring novels, I often thought how wonderful it would be to write my own. It never occurred to me that the authors of those books might not have much time to read. Although, apparently some writers manage to write and read at a pace I envy. Stephen King says, “I’m a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, mostly fiction.”

The year I was ten, I read 72 books for the Summer Reading Program. As an adult, that would have been my usual yearly average—before I began writing every day. In 2009, I  started keeping track of books read. That year, I read 24 books, 17 of which were fiction. I read 18 books in 2010, and 14 of them were fiction. I may have forgotten to include a few, but still those are pathetic totals. My to-be-read stack keeps growing (some added are yours), but it doesn’t appear I’ll do any better this year. Unless I change something.

You tell me: How many books do you average reading a year? Do you schedule your reading time?

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Are you a Goodreader?

I suppose I heard about Goodreads for a year before I ever viewed it. And when I did, I only used it to see what other readers said about particular books. Not until several months later did I decide to use it to keep track of the books I had read, was reading, or wanted to read.

It astounds me that I can look up a book I rate at 5 stars and find at least a few have given it 1 star! It works the other way around too. Nothing else has better drilled into my mind that reading tastes are subjective. No matter how well I wrote a novel, someone somewhere would review it saying they wish they could give it 0 stars.

Despite those variances, I find Goodreads an excellent place to find suggestions of books to read. Unlike the Amazon or Barnes & Noble sites, Goodreads is oriented to the reader not the consumer. Because of that, I think the reviews and ratings may be more honest.

I haven’t written many reviews; I’m still working through my real bookshelves, listing the books I’ve read and rating them. If you’ve never visited the Goodreads site, I suggest you do. If you are, or become, a Goodreader, feel free to add me as a friend.