So much to catch up on, but first...

So, wow, it has been a long time since I've posted. I honestly have spent the majority of my time since December writing, rewriting, editing, proofing, and then publishing Sairō's Claw. (Which you can now find from just about every major retailer. Although due to a... let's all it a technical issue... it won't be live as an ebook on Amazon until Tuesday May 11th.) Anyway, here is the cover, which I am disproportionately in love with. 

 

 

 

Very soon I plan to write a big ol' post about why I wrote this book, but for bits and pieces of why, you can check out this interview with Fantasy Book Critic. Also, I wrote a whole article about how moms wind up getting sidelined in SFF over on the BeforeWeGoBlog which is directly related to this new book as well. And, finally, if you're looking for more insight into the hows and whys of this book you can check out this twitter thread I wrote on the subject. Oh, also, one last thing before we move on to the main point of this post: I am hosting a launch event for Sairō's Claw on YouTube May 11th at 7pm CDT, and you are invited to join me! The event will include an interview and reading! The video will stay up indefinitely after it goes live, so if you can't make it on the 11th you can catch it later, but if you're there live you can ask questions, enter a giveaway, and get a signed bookplate!

Ok, that covers launch stuff. But the main point of this post is to talk about a wonderful bookish event going on all through May -  #WyrdAndWonder, which is run by a group of SFF bloggers over on twitter. 

I have been in panic book release mode for the past week, so I have yet to delve into my TBR properly, but here's a look at some of the books I hope to read this month (and next month too, tbh, I don't know that I'll get through all of these this month even if I could go into full on relax and read all day mode, which I can't). Last night I finished Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster, and I am diving into its sequel right away, but I have always been one to read more than one book at a time, so we shall see which book I finish next! 

So, I have a lot of reading to do! (But that's always true!) And I'm really looking forward to reading more of these books and then sharing my thoughts about them on the hashtag #WyrdAndWonder You can join in the fun too, just check out the hashtag. There's also an instagram challenge, but I'm so terrible at those that I never enter them anymore. 

I am very much looking forward to diving into a TON of reading for the second half of May. It's been a long winter and kicking back with some sunshine and reading sounds like just the thing. Hope to see you at the launch or around the web. 

What you shouldn't judge a book by...

We all know the answer to that one, or we at least know the words that finish a well known refrain. But let us examine that refrain and be honest with ourselves.

Which one do you want to buy?

Yeah... even if you don't want to buy either of them, one is eye catching, the other is not. One makes you wonder what kind of story could have inspired that cover, and the other makes you, at best, wonder where that lovely photo was taken. (The answer is the coast of Australia, if you're wondering.)

I made both covers so don't worry about offending me. I was proud of the lefthand cover when I first made it because a. it was only the second cover I had ever made and b. I was literally using google draw to design it. 

I had not yet discovered ubranfonts.com, or dollarphotoclub.com, and I had not yet learned how to use gimp. (Which, if you are an aspiring independent author, and you cannot afford to hire other people to make your covers, you should certainly become acquainted with.) The cover on the right is testament to the usefulness of all three of those resources. 

And yet, even though I didn't know how to make one back when I made the lefthand cover (and it's arguable I still don't), I knew that a good cover was key to selling books. It's the main reason I ran a Kickstarter in October of last year. The two most important things that I was raising funds for were cover art and editing. (I've already told you all how I feel about editing, so I won't repeat myself here.)

People judge books by their covers all the time. And the truth is, old sayings aside, you can't really blame them. Books aren't people (who truly should not be judged by their metaphorical covers) they're small portals into other worlds. And the portal should advertise what kind of world lies beneath as best it can. 

Are there excellent books that have horrible covers? Certainly! Here's one of my favorite books of all time, which is also an example of one of the worst covers of all time. 

It may not seem that terrible without context, but if you've ever read the book you know that it's laughably bad.

Luckily, I was inclined to pick up the book anyway thanks to a number of recommendations. And for anyone despairing for dear Mr. Slavatore, please note that his books have all been redone to look amazing. 

Maybe it's just me, and I'm certainly biased by having already read the book, but I find this one WAY more appealing. 

Good books are hidden behind mediocre to terrible covers all the time, and mediocre to terrible books have been known to hide behind great covers as well. I'm sure that's why the saying advising us not to judge them in such a superficial way came about.

And, to be honest, I only decide whether or not to buy a book based on the first ten pages of actual story. However, to even get to the point where I'm handing over enough of my time to read the first ten pages? You're damn right I judged it by its cover. Then I judged it by its back cover blurb (although I will often skip them because they tend to be either spoiler ridden or overly praise laden, neither of which I appreciate). And if the cover and short description draw me in, then I read the first ten pages and decide whether or not to buy the book.

Ultimately, writing is what sells me on a book (hence the importance of editing), but if a book I've never heard of doesn't catch my eye, what else is going to make me pick it up to begin with? 

I buy books that no one has recommended to me all the time. When I have enough money to spend on physical books I love wandering book stores and picking random books off of the shelf to read the first few pages and see what I like. When I don't have money I do the online equivalent with ebooks. 

The only downside to this method of acquisition is that it is largely cover dependent. Don't get me wrong, I also read lots of books that have been recommended to me whether I like the cover or not. But, without personal recommendations I am unlikely to pick up a book that has an unappealing cover. 

Of course, what makes a cover appealing is subjective. I imagine one or two people reading this are probably looking at the two covers for Rain on a Summer's Afternoon and wondering why I bothered to do anything more than improve the font on the first cover. And it's true you'll never manage to please everyone with a single cover. However, you really only need to attract the kind of people who would like your book anyway. So, think about who those people are, and do your best to create an image that you think will make them stop and wonder what lies beneath...

Hmm... I guess all of that was just a lengthy way of saying, "Hey guys, I redid the cover for Rain on a Summer's Afternoon: A Collection of Short Stories. I also redid the interior formatting for both the ebook and the paperback ( I learned a lot about that while making Blade's Edge and applied those tips and tricks accordingly)."

If the boring cover was keeping you from buying the book, let it hold you back no longer!

Buy on amazon.com

Indie vs. Trad -- Why the divide?

**Warning, the following is a fairly lengthy opinion essay. If the back end of the publishing world is not interesting to you, I don't recommend reading this post.**

I spend a fair bit of time in author forums on various writing sites, and over the past year I've noticed a common theme. *Beware* the following statements are gross generalizations (exceptions to follow): Authors who are publishing traditionally, or pursuing traditional publishing, have a tendency to snub independent authors - as a group. And independent authors, or those who are just starting the process of publishing independently, have a tendency to snub traditionally published authors - as a group. 

Note that I said tendency, and note that I warned you that those were generalizations. And we all know that generalizations aren't good for much in the long run. But, my point is, I'm seeing a disturbing divisive trend and I'd like to do whatever I can to push us all back together. 

Because being a writer is HARD no matter how you choose to publish your work.

(The familiar author facedesk)

First of all, you have to complete an entire novel. If you've ever written the first 10, 100, 1000, or 10,000 words of a novel and then stuck them in a drawer and forgotten about them (and anyone who's in this business has done that at some point) you know how hard it is to even finish a first draft.

We all have that in common, and crafting that first draft is, of course, crucial to everything that follows. Without the first draft nothing else can happen. It's not surprising then, that I enjoy bonding with other authors over the trials and tribulations of the first draft.

(The frustration of writing with a calligraphy pen is a metaphor for the struggle of the first draft -- just go with me on this one)

Second, we have revision. And all authors, whether submitting to traditional publishers, or deciding to forge ahead with self publishing, will revise. Granted, many authors (both those who are submitting to trad publishers and those who are publishing themselves) do not revise enough, but they do revise some. 

And it's here where the division often starts between indies and trads. There are self-published authors who really don't revise anywhere near enough, and they publish anyway. Typically, no one buys their books, but they're still there. Published. Whereas, if you're going the trad route and submitting drafts that are insufficiently revised you will simply receive rejection after rejection.

Still, I would argue that no one buying your book, and not getting past the front door in a publishing house or agency, amounts to the same thing. No one is reading your book either way. If you want people to read your book, you have to revise, revise, revise. (I'm lumping revising and rewriting together here for the sake of expediency, but the point is --- EDIT.) 

From here the paths diverge substantially but they are both damned hard work. If you're going the traditional route you must take your well revised manuscript, figure out a pitch for it (which is an entirely different talent than writing it in the first place), research submission guidelines for publishers and/or agents, and then submit, submit, submit. And receive a lot of rejections and hopefully, eventually, a few requests for the full manuscript, and then eventually offers to rep or publish your book. It is a long hard road requiring a ton of persistence, commitment, and work to get past the gate keepers of the publishing industry. And then, once you do, it's more work, but suddenly you're supported by a team of people who are all trying to help your book sell as well as possible (at least in theory).

If, on the other hand, you decide to go it alone, then you have to come up with the money to put your book on a level playing field with all of the traditionally published books out there (or try to, it's difficult to level the playing field entirely yet, but it's getting more and more plausible). You have to research editors, cover artists, cover designers, and formatters, and decide which parts you can afford to hire for and which you'll just have to do yourself. Then you have to get the money together for the parts you can't do yourself (which can be very intensive if you decide to crowdfund). Then you have to oversee all of those pieces (or do them yourself) and then you have to double, triple and quadruple check everything before you put your book into the world. And THEN you have to do all of the marketing and publicity yourself (unless you find someone to hire for that too). 

Whew. 

Both of those paths are a ton of work. The reasons for choosing one over the other are many and varied, and entirely personal. At this point, I don't think you can objectively say, "This is the best choice for every author," about either selection. The best we can do right now is, "this is the best choice for me, at this time."

So knowing that, why are authors on either side denouncing each other or each other's choices? I would imagine it's because it's a thing humans do all the time. We like to feel like we belong, and part of our feeling of belonging seems to be derived from excluding others. So, hey, I guess that's normal enough. But maybe we could cut it out? 

Being an author is hard no matter how you slice it, and so much of what we do is the same no matter how we reach publication. Why treat each other with anything but understanding and respect? 

Of course, I would argue that for all humans period, but that's a separate blog post. 

Getting back to authors in particular, I think it's important for us to support each other no matter which path to publication we're traveling. I know that a number of readers of this blog are here for the behind the scenes info about indie publishing, and since that's what I'm familiar with (and still in the process of learning about) that's what I've shared. And, because I've been very interested in the journeys of other indie authors, I have interviewed them and shared those interviews here as well.

But there are many other perspectives, and indeed, for years now I have followed the blog of Kristin Cashore (one of my favorite authors of all time, who is traditionally published), Neil Gaiman (also one of my favs and also traditionally published) and a number of authors still working their way towards publication. I don't often share those stories here because they aren't my stories to tell but I very much enjoy reading about them.

Next week, I will be sharing an interview with an author in the middle of her journey to traditional publication. Her name is Joanna Ruth Meyer, she is lovely, she is a frequent NaNoWriMo participant, and I have been following her blog for a number of years now. In addition, she has recently been signed by an agency, and she's going to tell us a bit about how that came to be. Her interview will appear here on the blog on Monday and, in the meantime, I recommend that you go check out her blog here. 

Authors of all kinds, unite! 

And, finally, can we take a moment to appreciate that I found freaking moose tracks in the park not fifty meters from my house?

They look like baby moose tracks, but still. MOOSE. IN THE CITY. WTF?

That is all. 

Happy Spring!