Martha Stewart and Jeff Bezos on the Kindle

Up To My Neck In It, As Usual

I don’t do it consciously, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do it on purpose.

I always overbook myself with work.

When I have too little to do,  actually do even less than little. When I have too much, even though I might come up short, at least I finish a few things. It’s frustrating, but maybe it’s meant to be. Without that slight buzz of worry at the back of your mind that you should be doing something, nothing would get done. In the long run, that wouldn’t be very satisfactory.

Of course, I know people can overdo this. Type A personalities who are innately worried and obsessed to begin with need to learn to relax.

I am by nature pretty relaxed. So I need to push myself if I am to do more with my life than sitting on a beach looking pretty. (Did I ever mention I worked as a mermaid once? That’s what it involved. Sitting on a beach looking pretty. Letting folks take their pictures with me and give me tips, which I spent at the used bookstore across the way. Oh, and flirting with hot guys. Good grief, why did I give up that job?!)

Anyhoo… I’m working on cover art today.

I also put The Unfinished Song: Initiate up for sale at $0.99! I don’t know how long I’ll leave it at that price, so if you’ve been meaning to buy it but haven’t gotten around to it, now would be a good time.  🙂

Oh, under the “dumb mistakes I made” category, I discovered that I entered the title on my kindle edition and print version of the book, so it’s not clear from a search that they are the same book. It’s obvious to a human, but not to Amazon’s computers, I mean. Grrrrrr. Frustrating. I haven’t figured out how to change it yet.

By the way, I’m going to start cutting back on the posts on this blog. I will only blog Mondays, and if I have a chance, maybe Fridays, just to share informal notes like this.

Also, when I get the chance, I’m going to prettify and update this blog and my cover-art blog. I really like how 500 Words looks and I may try to coordinate the three blogs better.

Accents, Dialects, Languages and Characters

http://accent.gmu.edu/

3 Things I’m Excited About In the New Year

It’s a new year, and I’ve got so much planned!

First off…

My new blog is up, please check it out and consider Tweeting, Liking or Following it. If you’re already a published author, send me an 500 word excerpt and I’ll post it! If you a writer but not not published yet, send me a 500 word flash story and I’ll post it. If you’re an artist, send me some art, and I’ll post that. If you’re a musician… you guessed it, send me your song (preferred format is as part of a video) and I’ll post it. I want to support all my creative friends, because you guys rock, and you are what makes the internet worth netting into.

I’m so pleased without how many artists and writers have already responded. This blog is going to be fun!

I’ve also been invited to blog for the new Fantasy Fiction Forum, which will be aimed more at readers than writers. I encourage all of you fantasy and horror fans to join us over there. These are a smart group of writers. They must be, right, because they asked me to blog with them!

Secondly…

Book 2 of The Unfinished Song is due in February. Meanwhile, I’m working hard to see that Initiate, Book One of The Unfinished Song, is available in more formats. I’m especially eager to launch it on the Nook. My husband has a color Nook and he is convinced it will be the salvation of Barnes and Noble.

Another thing I need to do, although I’m kinda chicken, is send my book out to Blurbers and Reviewers. I’m not sure what the difference is, except that Blurbers are already famous and they only need to say one or two lines about the book, not write a whole review. (Though it’s not like I would object or anything.) They are the ones who provide quotes like,  “This is the most fantastic book I’ve read while sitting on the porcelain throne!” — Author Famous that you later put on the front and back and inside cover of your book.

It’s even more intimidating to ask for than an ordinary Review (which, frankly, I find intimidating enough) because there’s such a big gulf in Importance between you, lowly newbie author, and Famous Author. Famous Author has lowly, noobs asking for blurbs all of the time, and it’s really a drag.  Noob probably worships Famous Author, which potentially adds FFF (Freaky Fan Factor) to the mix. Multiple this by Fifty Fs if noob author is also self-published, and not quite sure how to explain/apologize/deny this to Famous Author.

That’s a lot of ways to F up.

So that’s on my list, but I haven’t yet worked up the nerves to steel myself against the rejection and humiliation sure to ensue. However, if I can overcome my own shyness, and find the proper etiquette, it would be great to have some blurbs from authors I love.

Finally…

In addition to my writing, I have four book covers lined up to do. I’m excited about these, and have already started the initial stage, looking for images and thinking about design set-ups. I’ll knock the best of these up into mock covers and send them to my clients soon. One of these covers, of course is for Notes from Underground. Yay! I will tell you about the others when I am further along, and can post them to my Cover Art blog.

New Blog for the New Year!

I’m going to add a new blog to my repertoire. I will still keep this blog to discuss writerly things. The new blog will be aimed at sharing content. I’m going to offer the first book in my new series for free… 500 words a day, from now until June. (It’s 98 chapterlets and I will only post Mon-Fri.) I will also offer a pdf file of the whole book for free, if people prefer.

I have no idea if anyone will be intersted in reading the book that way, but I thought it would be a fun thing to try. We’ll see how it goes!

To add a little more spice, I’m also going to invite other novelists to advertise their books by posting 500 word long excerpts. And I’ve also opened it up to posting 500 word flash fiction from time to time.

Sensing the common theme here…? The blog will be called “500 Words.”

In other news, the trade paperback versions of both Conmergence and now The Unfinished Song: Initiate, are available!

New Year, New Policy from All Romance eBooks for Self-Published Authors and Small Presses

Reposted with permission:

The start of a new year brings the beginning of a new policy at All Romance eBooks as they lift the requirement that sellers maintain a minimum number of titles in their online storefront.

All Romance eBooks announced today that beginning January 1, 2011 they will waive their required ten book minimum for publishers or individuals wishing to sell on the OmniLit™/All Romance™ sites. The revision in policy is designed to accommodate the ever increasing number of publishers with just a few eBooks in their catalog and authors choosing to self-publish their own work.

The move reflects ARe’s long standing policy to provide their customers with the most diverse selection of romance and mainstream titles possible, with catalogs from the major publishers (including Harlequin and Random House) as well as selections from small press and individual authors.

“Some of our hottest selling books are coming from indies,” said Lori James. “More importantly, the change in policy is in response to author and reader requests.”

The rising trend in self-publishing could be attributed to today’s digital technology which makes it possible for authors to self-publish high quality digital eBooks, whether it be a single title or their entire out-of-print backlist, in addition to readers demanding an ever broadening selection of genres, authors and titles.

ABOUT ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS

All Romance eBooks, LLC was founded in 2006, is privately held in partnership, and headquartered in Palm Harbor, Florida. The company owns AllRomance.com, which specializes in the sale of romance eBooks and OmniLit.com, which sells both fiction and non-fiction eBooks.