Trends in Publishing?

What I'm reading: Alibi in High Heels, by Gemma Halliday (Nook); Killing Kate, by Julie Kramer

First - for those with Kindles, SAVING SCOTT is now available at the Kindle Store, and at Smashwords. Other e-tailers coming soon. 

I'm headed out to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this afternoon. I'll admit that I'm looking forward to a fan-girl moment at dinner tonight, where I'll be seated at a table with author Robert Crais. I shall try not to blather. Or drool. I love his Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books, and years ago, when he spoke at SleuthFest, he was very nice about answering this not-yet-published author's questions, and offered encouragement.

I'll try to take notes during the workshops and have recaps next week.

I've been judging a contest for published romantic suspense books. I was given four books to judge, and I noticed something different about this years' entries. All four of mine were from small presses, most of which I'd never heard of. Yet they're all legitimate, royalty-paying publishing houses.

Nook First - Week 1

I thought I'd report on my first week's experiences with the Nook First program. Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled that I was able to participate.

A brief recap:

The Nook First program includes a variety of marketing promotions on the part of Barnes & Noble. (Note: this is the current program; things might change down the line.) Your book is on the home page, on a special "Nook First" page, and there are email blasts to Nook owners and to everyone who's bought one of your books through Barnes & Noble. Needless to say, you can't get this kind of attention on your own. Not without major effort and expense.

Your book is not free. The minimum price is $2.99. Your book appears with 3 others on the Nook First home page for two weeks, and shows up in "new releases" in whatever genre(s) you've selected when you uploaded the book. So, there's good visibility all over the Barnes & Noble website. And, if your book climbs in the rankings, it'll be in even more places.

The conditions: the book must be a first time digital release, and you have to keep it exclusive to the Nook store for 30 days. After that, you're free to publish it elsewhere. My reasoning in applying for this program was that my Pine Hills Police series wasn't selling particularly well anywhere, so publishing SAVING SCOTT, the new book in the series as a Nook First, might draw attention to the rest of the series. Also, my other promo and marketing efforts seem to target the same general audience.

Did it work?

What's Cooking Wednesday - Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Ashely Eagan, the heroine of SAVING SCOTT is trying to open her new bakery. One of the major plot threads is a brownie bakeoff. Since Ashley spends a lot of time cooking in the book, I included a number of recipes of things she baked. And I recruited a lot of help with these recipes. The recipe for the grand prize winner of Ashley's bakeoff was provided by fellow author, blogger, and chocolate diva, Janet Rudolph, who gave me permission to share it here.

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Janet Rudolph www.dyingforchocolate.com

Brownies
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
4 ounces high quality dark chocolate (60-75% cacao, fair-trade), coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup dark high quality dark chocolate (65-75% cacao, fair-trade), chopped into smallish chunks (or chocolate chips)

Cream Cheese Layer
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
1 large egg

Conference Tips

What I'm reading: Trophy Hunt, by C.J. Box; Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts; Victims, by Jonathan Kellerman.

First -- I'm overwhelmed at the success of SAVING SCOTT at the Nook Store. I never dreamed of making the top 100 bestsellers, much less hitting #15. Hard to believe Scott was only a few books behind the Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Grey series. I'm humbled. The Nook First program and Barnes & Noble has been excellent, and I'll be reporting on my experiences.

Next: my Spring Newsletter is about ready to go. Make sure you're signed up at my website so you don't miss a chance for special offers.

I'm also busy ... last week was the trip to LA, and on Thursday, I'm leaving for Sacramento and the Left Coast Crime Conference. I'm rerunning the post I did last year about going to conferences. I think it's still timely.

Conferences are great ways to refuel. Writing is a solitary occupation, and sometimes we need to get out and among people who understand what it's like to have voices in your head. It's also a great opportunity to see how other people handle all the aspects of the craft. No two people do things the same way, and what works for one doesn't work for all. However, there's always a tidbit to be gleaned, and usually a way to adapt it for one's own writing process. Kind of like 3 days of blog-crawling, but with live people.

On that note, I'll share a few things I've learned from attending conferences, in no particular order of importance.

Stop Dancing and Write the Next Book

What I'm reading: Spying in High Heels, by Gemma Halliday

Don't forget, you can still enter the drawing for Donnell Bell's book. Scroll down to Tuesday's post and leave a comment.

First, some odds and ends. I'm going to be sending out my newsletter in the very near future. In addition to updates and other writing news, I hold contests that can only be accessed through the newsletter. If you're not already a subscriber, why don't you take a moment to sign up at my website.

Speaking of my website, it's moving forward … slowly, because I've got a lot of travel this month. But it's getting there.

Sometimes, everything seems to hit at once. And even when it's good, it can be overwhelming. Where do you focus? How do you prioritize? If you add coming back from being virtually off the grid for five days, it can make your head spin.

What I came back to:

Saving Scott's Official Debut

As I write this, I'm getting ready to leave town for the LA Marathon. However, due to the miracles of the Internet, the race will be over and I'll be heading home when you're reading this.

Today (Monday, that is—not Thursday when I'm writing it!) marks the official debut of Saving Scott as a Nook First special. This link is to the Nook First page, and I can only hope that Scott will be there for all to see.

I put the book up for sale last week—it went live late Wednesday. As I mentioned, it's exclusive to Barnes & Noble for 30 days. After that time, I'll be offering at the other e-book stores. But for now, you can get it here. And if you don't have a Nook, you can download the Nook apps here.

And, if you'd like to read an excerpt, you can find one here.

In an earlier post, I mentioned formatting, and gave some tips. However, there's a caveat. The software that the various sites use can still create glitches. So when you read an e-book, remember that the author might not have been "lazy" or "sloppy" in the formatting. Sometimes it's out of our hands. The folks at Barnes & Noble were very helpful when I reported things that didn't look right, despite my having everything formatted per their instructions. It was a special perk of the Nook First program, since they want the book to look its best, too.

What's in a Website?

What I'm reading: Winterkill, by C.J. Box

Don't forget: leave a comment on Tuesday's post for a chance to win a copy of NO MORE BULL.

First - the big news. SAVING SCOTT is now live at Barnes & Noble!

I'm on my way to Los Angeles for a family visit and to cheer my daughter on in the LA Marathon. I've been busy trying to migrate my website, although it's still very much a work in progress and following links will take you to my old site for some things, my new site for some others.

What's important to me in a web site?

First, it needs to be a place where people go for information, not entertainment. So, no animated graphics, no bouncing text, and no music. (I'll say that again. NO Music.) People browsing the web might be doing so late at night with others asleep, or they might be listening to their own music. If, for some reason, you do want music on a website, at least have it default to off and let the reader decide to turn it on.

Readability. For me, that means a dark text on a light background, and uncluttered pages. I simply can't read those white-on-black sites, and unless it's of vital importance that I do so, I simply navigate away.

Ease of navigation. If someone is looking for something, it should be clear where they have to look.

Nook First or Amazon Select

On March 19th, SAVING SCOTT officially joins the Nook First program. Why did I decide to pursue this route, especially for those of you who read my post about why I didn't join the Amazon Select Ranks. Why the change of heart?

First, it's not really a change of heart. The two programs aren't the same. Amazon Select is open to anyone who signs up. The perks? You can list a book for free for up to 5 days in a given time period. People who belong to the "Prime" program (it's fee-based) can borrow your books, and when they do, you get paid. On the flip side, you can't sell your book anywhere but Amazon—not even through your website—for 90 days. If your books are for sale elsewhere, you have to remove them.

The Nook First program also requires exclusivity, but for 30 days, not 90. It's not open to anyone. You have to ask to be a part of the program, and participation is limited, so you're not in "competition" with countless other books. You get an assigned 30 day period. Also, it's for books that have never been published elsewhere. (Hence the name "Nook First")

Since SAVING SCOTT is a new book, I asked about Nook First. What I discovered, and the tipping point for me, was that Barnes & Noble actively promotes your book during that 30 day period. Among other things, their current agreement says they will place your book on their storefront, and include your book in email campaigns. Their website has a special "Nook First" page where your work will be on display, and not with dozens and dozens of others.

And, a well-known successful author's experiences with both Kindle Select and Nook First helped me make my decision. This is what she had to say:

I've done both the Nook First and Kindle Select programs. My take…Nook First was fabulous! BN really delivered as far as pushing my title and giving it great visibility. I more than doubled my BN income that month. I did get a few grumbles from the Kindle and iTunes folks who had to wait, but most were fairly okay with waiting 30 days. And they did have the option of downloading the free Nook app and reading the book on another device - which I know several people did. This is a program I would definitely do again in the future.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Lemony Sugar Cookies

Thanks so much to Abigail for showing us how important it is to get out of our personal comfort zones and do what we love.

The heroine of my new Pine Hills Police book, SAVING SCOTT, is trying very hard to open her bakery, "Confections by Ashley." As part of the book, I'm including recipes for some of her creations. Here's a sneak preview of the scene where today's recipe is mentioned. (The recipe follows)

"We're not here to speak ill of the dead," Maggie said. "We should be celebrating her life."

Jennifer reached for another cookie and held it aloft. "She did make excellent lemon sugar cookies."

"That she did," Maggie said.

"Would she have killed herself over a man?" Ashley asked.

Jennifer shook her head. "Not her style. She'd find another one. Or two."

The door chimes tinkled. Jennifer devoured another cookie. "I'd better get out front."

After Jennifer left, Maggie tutted. "That girl. She's excellent in the shop, but she does have an overdeveloped penchant for the dramatic."

Ashley refrained from saying anything about Maggie's own penchant for knowing what was going on. After all, that's why Ashley was here. "I agree about focusing on the good at a time like this, but don't you think we should share what we know about Felicity with the police? It might help them figure out why she died sooner."

Formatting eBooks 101

What I'm reading: Nowhere to Run, by CJ Box

It's Read an e-Book Week. For my part, I'm offering 50% off Finding Sarah, and the companion short story collection, Finding Fire, is free. It's one week only. Pass the word. It's a perfect opportunity to read the first of the Pine Hills Police series and be ready for Saving Scott's release. And, of course, there are books by countless other authors as well. Coupon Codes are on the books' pages.

Last week I was immersed in edits for SAVING SCOTT. Working with my editor is a give-and-take process, and after a week of working together, the book is "done." The first challenge is to avoid going back and tweaking. Next, comes the formatting.

Since I'm publishing this book myself, I'm responsible for the formatting. While there are those who opt to hire this step out, I prefer to save the money (having already paid the cover artist and editor) and do it myself. Since I didn't start writing until the digital age, I feel fairly comfortable with the mechanics of putting a document together.

I don't know a lot, which I think keeps me out of trouble. Also, with the widespread popularity of e-books and indie publishing, the publishers are making it easier for the novice to provide a document that will be converted.

Not long ago, an author had to provide an html file for Amazon, but no longer. Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and Amazon all accept Word .doc files. Since most of us use Word to produce our manuscripts, the learning curve isn't particularly steep. Your best friend is "Find/Replace" and a rudimentary knowledge of the "Format" menu.

(Note: I'm still using Word 2003, but I don't think it's too different in 2007)

Revisions Revisted

Time out for a commercial message: Finding Sarah is featured over at Nook Lovers today. 

We return you to your regularly scheduled Blog Post

I hope everyone enjoyed having that extra day in February yesterday. But now it's March, and we're back in normal calendar territory.

Since I've been eyeball deep in edits for SAVING SCOTT this week, I thought I'd "borrow" some bits and pieces from older posts I've done on edits and revisions.

The writing process goes through countless phases. There's the initial writing—whether you're plotting things out in advance, flying by the seat of your pants into the mist, or a combination. Eventually, you'll get to "The End."

You've edited, polished, rewritten, repolished. You've checked for all those pesky weak verbs, overused words. You've passed it by your critique groups, your first reader, and asked your dog what he thinks.

At some point, your words are going to need professional eyes. Whether it's an agent trying to get your work sold, the editor your publisher assigns, or a freelance editor you hire yourself, you need someone who's not blinded by being too close to the work.

So, you ship it off, and it comes back dripping red ink. What next?

If Only I Had More Time

What I'm reading: Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism, by Temple Grandin (book club)

A common enough lament: If only I had more time. What if someone gave you an entire extra day?

On Wednesday, we're all getting that gift. Is it going to be just another day for you, or are you going to embrace the extra time?

I know my editor promised to have my manuscript back to me today. I'm obligated to have it published no later than March 14th. In effect, I've been given an extra day to work on editing, formatting, and making sure it's perfect before I hit that "upload" button at Barnes & Noble.

Creating A Cover

A short time ago, I put forth a plea for input on titles and covers for my upcoming Pine Hills Police novel. A quick recap: It's Book 3 in a series, so both title and cover had to fit with the others (there's also a short story anthology, so that makes 4 covers/titles that have to coordinate.)

After taking the input provided by you, I finally had to make the commitment. A lot of factors played into the decision.

Finding Daylight, my #1 choice for a title didn't work out for several reasons. That would have put 3 of 4 books with "Finding" in the title, making poor "Hidden Fire" the odd man out. Also, when I did a quick search on Finding Daylight at Amazon, I found self help and religious books, which are a far cry from my book.

Then, we looked at how the title would lay out on the cover. The one that fit both the theme of the book and the requisite cover art ended up being "Saving Scott."

During this process I worked closely with my cover artist, Dave Fymbo. I asked Dave to share his process, and this is what he said: