Author Interview: Matthew D. Ryan

Tags

authors, books, dark fantasy, novels, self-published authors, self-published books, self-publishing, trilogies, vampires, writers, writing

When I first started this blog over four years ago, one of the first people to comment on it was a self-published author named Matthew D. Ryan. He had just written a vampire story that was not in the same class as Twilight, so he showed me some support as I aimed to self-publish a vampire story that was also not like many of the other vampire stories out there.

That book Ryan self-published was called Drasmyr, and it is the prologue to a dark fantasy trilogy called From The Ashes of Ruin, involving a vampire, wizards, sorcerers and so much more. His latest book just came out, so I decided to feature Matthew D. Ryan on my blog.

Here he is!

MC: What inspired you to be a writer?
MDR: I kind of ran out of other options and just fell into it. I studied philosophy and mathematics—not English—in college, earning a B.A. in both. Yet, even then, I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher (which is about the only thing you can use a
philosophy degree for). Immediately afterward, I moved to Boston to work at my brother’s cellular phone business. After a year, I decided that I didn’t want to remain in a company where I was “the boss’ brother” and I was only lukewarm toward the job, anyway. So, a friend and I did a little bit of traveling around the country. When I got back, I wrote a short story about a vampire who seeks revenge on a wizard who has betrayed him. That short story eventually became the prologue to “Drasmyr.” I shopped “Drasmyr” around a little bit, but failed to get it published at a traditional publisher. So, I put it on the back-burner and went on with my life.

I struggled for a while, looking for meaningful work. All I could really find were temp jobs and other low-level positions. Eventually, I went back to school to get a computer science degree. Almost completed it, too. But at the end, I decided my heart wasn’t in it, so I bailed. I also tried martial arts for a while (I have a black belt), but that, too, only held my interest for a short time. So, I went back to writing. So far, my interest has held up, but it certainly hasn’t proven very lucrative. I’ve always enjoyed reading, so writing came naturally to me. I’ve also always been a big fan of the fantasy genre—I played AD&D for thirty-some years. So, you know what genre I prefer to write in. Still, I’m not making much money at it, and that can be very dispiriting at times. I know you shouldn’t write just for money, but I’d like to make enough to at least earn a

Anyway, that’s about the way I wound up doing what I do.

MC: Why did you choose the self-published route?
MDR: I tried the traditional route first a number of different times. Unfortunately, the competition is extremely fierce, particularly for vampire novels. I polished and polished and polished only to receive rejection after rejection for a variety of different reasons … or no reason at all (which is the most frustrating). Then my brother self-published his first novel. I was … envious. And it stirred my spirit up. So, I figured I’d give it a go. I even selected the same two publishing venues as my brother: Smashwords and Lulu.

Oh, I almost forgot. In between the first draft of “Drasmyr” and its final publication on-line, I also wrote and self-published a short book on mental illness (I’m diagnosed as having schizoaffective disorder—which is lots of fun … Not!). But that has little to do with my fantasy career (or does it? :)).

MC: Your vampire, Drasmyr, is the Bram Stoker-kind. What made you go with the traditional vampire rather than be innovative as other writers are with their vampires?
MDR: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. No, seriously, I have has always liked the traditional conception of the vampire. Perhaps it is my fascination with evil, but I really like the conception of the vampire as an almost demonic entity. It comes with a host of powers that can be augmented or tweaked without losing its diabolical flavoring. The traditional vampire can shapeshift, pass through the narrowest of cracks, control weather, control animals, mesmerize mortals, and more. They also have an array of specific weaknesses that enrich the creature and round out its uniqueness.

Although other writers feel inclined to innovate on the nature of the vampire, I feel the traditional vampire is rich enough in complexity and diversity as is. I particularly enjoy the way it threatens one’s characters with eternal damnation—something which seems to have gotten lost in many modern tales. Indeed, nowadays it seems people want to become vampires, or at least date them. And that, I find particularly strange. No, I far prefer vampires as embodiments of evil. And the Bram Stoker conception of such is just hard to improve upon without radically changing the creature in unnecessary ways. So, why not keep it as is, tweak it occasionally, but only if necessary. That’s the vampire I like.

MC: What is it about dark fantasy do you think is appealing to readers?
MDR: It’s a mix of horror and fantasy, two genres dealing with impossible, or at the very least, improbable situations and creatures. It can be used to blend magic and evil in fascinating ways. Courtesy of fantasy, both the foes and the heroes can be augmented in spectacular, intriguing ways. Yet, even so, the darker element allows for the sense of the macabre and horrific. Because it is dark fantasy, it is a way to reign in the power of fantasy’s super-humans. They become, in spite of their augmented abilities—like spells and magic weapons—as imperiled and vulnerable as we sometimes find ourselves in modern life. In that way, it becomes something of a cathartic experience, yet it still satisfies a yearning for the fantastic.

MC:Is there anything that you did while self-publishing that you wouldn’t do again? If so, why?
MDR: That’s easy, although my answer would apply the same if I had gone the traditional route. I would not have started my writing career with a series. I would have written a number of stand-alone novels first. Although I really enjoyed writing my novels, they, with the exception of “Drasmyr,” all tell a single contiguous story. Only “Drasmyr” could be regarded as anything approaching a stand-alone: It ends leaving the reader with something of a sense of closure, yet a suspicion that there may more to come. The others, though, are written as cliff-hangers. I only intend to write four of them, so they won’t inconvenience readers’ sense of closure too much. I’m on the third (or the fourth, if you include “Drasmyr”) such novel, so I’m getting near the end. Anyway, in terms of brand exposure and sympathetic tendencies toward the reading public, I think advertising efforts might be more lucrative if I had limited myself to one-shot stories. In other words, the fact that it’s a contiguous series makes it more difficult to schedule blog tours—since some touring companies might not schedule book 3 in a four book series because it’s not a complete story—and to take advantage of other similar advertising venues. If I had to do it over, I would have done my next series—which I intend to consist of five stand-alone stories– first. Looking back, it seems to be almost a kind of hubris to start writing with a contiguous series spanning several novels. It’s a lot of extra work developing a series instead of single tale. But it’s fun, and I enjoy it, and I intend to keep at it.

MC: What is next for your series?
MDR: The next instalment in my series is entitled “The Citadel.” It picks up where the prior novel left off. I don’t want to reveal too much—that might ruin the
surprise. But I’ll give you this much: Gaelan’s internal struggle continues as he grapples with his burdens and prepares to undertake his self-appointed task, a task that may yet destroy him completely. Coragan and his group continue with their struggles as they undertake a dark quest in a forbidding realm: Morgelliard, the planeshard holding Morgulan’s ancient, impregnable fortress known as simply The Citadel. Korina continues her own machinations as she closes in on the Sceptre of Morgulan. Meanwhile, back in Drisdak, Ambrisia, Regecon, and Galladrin prepare to engage the dark cult known as The Children of Lubrochius while at the same time, playing a dangerous game with the other powers of the city: the nobility who rule during the day, and the Shadowhand that comes out and rules the night. All these threads intertwine and play off of each other like a castle’s ancient tapestry: the whole, far, far more than the sum of its many parts.

Interested in his books? Matthew D. Ryan is offering coupons on two of his books until Friday, June 10th, on Smashwords:
The Children of Lubrochius: SA88Z
The Sceptre of Morgulan: VW73X.

To learn more about Matthew D. Ryan and his books, check out these links:

Drasmyr:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131156
The Children of Lubrochius: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/415779

And The Sceptre of Morgulan: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574196

Check Out His Blog: https://matthewdryan.com

Introducing…Video Services for Indie Authors!

Tags

affordable, author interview, author interviews, book trailers, books, indie authors, indie writers, interview, self-published, self-published authors, trailers, video, videos

Hello everyone!

You’ve probably been wondering what I’ve been up to in recent weeks, since announcing I will be getting back to writing the sequel to The Dark Proposal. Well, I have been scribbling notes here and there, plus writing background stories on each character in order to flesh them out more. I am totally loving this process! Why didn’t I think of it before?

But I have also been developing something else to help the indie author scene. Some of you may be aware of my Author Interviews, where I conduct and post interviews of self-published authors. It’s been a thrill to do this, especially since the authors and the readers of this blog seem to enjoy them.

But lately, I’ve been working bringing my author interviews to the next step, and I know I am ready to unveil it.

I will be offering video services for self-published and small press authors. The services will be:

Post-production book trailers

Video interviews of authors.

You see, I have a background as a video journalist, and I would like to use the equipment that I still have to help authors reach their audiences. Book trailers seem to be the obvious route, especially since I have a video editing software. I would love to create book trailers that will include actors and cool effects, but alas, I could only work with the usual stock images and stock music. But maybe someday…

As for video interviews of authors, this is where I will take my author interviews to the next level. I will do short videos where the author simply talks about their books, the inspiration behind it, its writing process and what they hope readers will get out of it. It will be a promo video where the author voices their book’s journey to their audience. I don’t think many authors get the chance to vocally speak to their audience, so this would be a great chance for them.

However, there’s one small problem: I could only do this for authors in the New York City area. I don’t have the funds or team to do this outside of the Big Apple, so unfortunately, my target area is limited. Granted, there are many writers in New York, but it would be great for me to get those in, say, Michigan, Florida, Oregon, Canada, Europe, etc. Well, maybe next time…

Anyway, so here are my services and my rates. If my rates seem low, well, its because I understand that many self-published and small press writers have very tight budgets. I’m trying to be fair here.

POST PRODUCTION BOOK TRAILER:
– 1 minute trailer          $150
– 3 minute trailer          $200
– 4 or more minutes     $250

In addition, if the author wishes for me to purchase the music or stock images, that would be added to the tab. I am willing to discuss who should be responsible for purchasing such items for the book trailer. But if it is me who does it, I will have the author reimburse me when I forward an invoice.

VIDEO AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
– 3 to 6 minutes             $250

BOOK TRAILER WITH SNIPPETS OF AUTHOR INTERVIEW INCLUDED:
– An extra $100 included to whichever aforementioned service you choose.

I will be including each video – of either service – on not only this blog, but a YouTube channel I will set up. I will also promote it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I will also allow the author to use the video of his or her website and author platform. There will be an agreement between the two of us over this so nothing gets confused.

Sounds interesting to you? Let me know by shooting me an email at megancashmanbooks [at] gmail [dot] com

Author Interview: Tiffany Apan

Tags

author, author interview, author interviews, books, indie authors, interviews, novellas, novels, paranormal, self-published authors

For some writers, writing is not the only art form where they express their creativity. Some are musicians, painters or actors. One author, Tiffany Apan, is one of those kinds. She is also a musician, singer and actress. However, writing is her main love, as she explains in her interview below:

MC: Tiffany, not only are you an author, but you are also a musician, singer, actress and producer! You’re a true artist! What drives your need to create?

TA: Well thanks! I’d say a very active imagination that began as far back as I can recall and never truly went away. My brain always seems to be active, which I do consider to be a good thing (better to have an overactive mind then one that gets absolutely no use, right?). But I’m also a great learner. I love learning, especially of history and other places. And when I learn something new, I automatically want to integrate it into an art form of some kind, be it writing, music, filming, or all of the above. 🙂

MC: Out of all of your artistic talents, which one do you enjoy the most?

TA: I would say writing. To me, writing can easily encompass music and film. Writing and plotting a story – be it for a novel, a song, or a screenplay – is at the root of a lot of creations and bringing a story to life.

MC: Your “The Birthrite Series” is filled with history, dark fantasy and romance. Where did the inspiration from this come from?

TA: Oh many, many, many things. Back in late 2011/early 2012, I had a rather vivid dream that pretty much stayed with me. The dream entailed me in deep conversation with a person that would go on to become a key character in The Birthrite Series. And it’s interesting, because what was originally supposed to be a more fun and adventerous time travel romance under the working title Through Time, eventually morphed into something completely different. In fact, none of the main characters from the first book in the series even appeared in the original draft and concept. But as I wrote Through Time, it just didn’t feel right. I mean, the general idea was there but something was missing. At the time, I was also reading through Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. In one passage, he compares writing a story to discovering a small fossil, and then continuing to dig until you uncover the entire dinosaur. And sometimes it will seem as though you are shoveling nothing but crap. But eventually you will make the great discovery. That is exactly how writing The Birthrite was, so I can totally relate!

As time went on, more characters seemed to literally just “walk on,” and characters I thought were just going to be minor ended up being major key characters. The story seemed to build upon itself as I did research and created the world in which the people of the story inhabit. And the story went from a fun adventurous romance one to one that was still fun, adventurous and romantic, but darker and having a lot more mystery. Add to that my passion for history and research of it.

The working title then had to change due to the story’s new direction. Bloodlines was the new working title (which I knew would eventually be changed since there already are so many projects out there with that title).

In early 2013 as I was fleshing out what would be the official first draft, I started posting chapters and excerpts of my unedited work onto what is now my official blog in order to gain a perspective of how much interest there might be in the story. Well, the interest definitely seemed to be there, so in the midst of that little experiment, I started revising and copyrighting it for print.

Finally in I believe that in early 2014 (or late 2013), I settled on the official series title, The Birthrite and decided to call book one Descent. Then I decided to release a spin off novelette with Descent titled Sacred Atonement: A Novelette (The Birthrite Series, #1.5). As of December 2014, the beginning of the series has been officially available both digitally and in paperback form. The next installments are set for release later this summer.

Recently, I started work for the Depreciation Lands Museum, a historical museum dedicated to bringing the 18th century to life. With all the intense research I did for Descent and Sacred Atonement, working for this museum has given me even more access to sources that allow for deeper research. Those running the museum also take care to immerse the workers in all things 18th century, including offering training in period tasks such as cooking over a campfire and hearth oven to drop spindle classes (I will be taking the latter this month). Since The Birthrite Series delves deeper into history as the series continues (half of the first book, Descent, takes place in the mid 1800s and the latter half in the year 1931), I feel this will add new layers to the story and my writing in general.

As I research more and more, I am fascinated with how distorted many events and eras have become over time. Combine that with my love for Tolkien, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, the Brontes, and romantic stories, and you pretty much have my inspiration for the series.

MC: What are your plans for “The Birthrite Series”?

TA: Well as of now, the first installments, Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) and Sacred Atonement: A Novelette (The Birthrite Series, #1.5) and Made In Heaven: A Birthrite Series Short are available both digitally and in print. As for the next ones, Kindred (The Birthrite Series, #2) and Saturn Sun: A Novella (The Birthrite Series, #2.5) in late July and mid August. The 29th of this month (June) will bring the cover and synopsis reveal for Kindred and Saturn Sun. A few great blogs are involved, including Screamzine and the official blog of urban fantasy author, Susan Reid. Then in late August, I plan to send the series on a blog tour. So stay tuned for that. 🙂

Regarding writing the series as a whole, the plan is to have five novels with a couple novellas and shorts in between. However, I don’t believe in confining a story (and usually stories do not want to be). So if it has to go beyond the five novels, than so be it. There is also a lot of history and back story within the series. Meaning that even after the final book is written, there may be room for a prequel or a Birthrite-verse spinoff. So we shall see. 🙂

MC: Describe your writing process. For example, do you write with a laptop or by hand? Do you use a specific kind of pen, etc?

TA: When I am first getting a concept down, I do use the old fashioned method of writing by hand. For some reason, that actually allows me to more freely develop back story and make research notes. But when I sit down to do an actual draft, I’m all about the laptop.

I usually write at my desk in my office/creative space, either early in the morning or late at night when all is still and quiet. Though sometimes having on a piece music that reflects the mood of a particular character and/or scene definitely helps.

MC: What advice would you give to someone who dreams about writing and completing a novel?

TA: Be prepared to do a lot of leg work if you want to do it well. You might find yourself having to do much research and fleshing out of character backgrounds long before you can even begin to write the actual story. While there are some authors that can “get it right the first time”, those are usually the experienced writers who have been writing a really long time. And even they need at least one revision for typos and clunky sentences. Don’t be afraid of the revision and editing process, and get it out of your head that everything you write will be absolutely lovely and flawless. Because it won’t be. In other words, don’t be that guy who uploads his or her first draft loaded with errors to Amazon.

Also, the nice thing about publishing independently is that it does give you plenty of opportunity to periodically look through your manuscript and make corrections, even after it is published (because there will also be something you missed).

But all in all, when you see your story and characters come to life and the book is the best it can be, the feeling of accomplishment is tremendous. Especially when you know you are doing yourself and characters justice by putting all of you out in the best light possible.

To learn more about Tiffany, check out her many presences online:

Official Website: http://tiffanyapan.com

Official Blog: http://tiffanyapanwritingproject.blogspot.com

New online magazine: http://partingofveilswebzine.blogspot.com

Facebook Artist Page: http://facebook.com/tiffanyapanfanpage

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TIFFANYAPAN

YouTube: http://youtube.com/TiffanyApan

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tiffanyapan

Authorgraph (for digital autographs!): http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/TIFFANYAPAN

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/tiffanyapan

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tiffanyapan

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/tiffanyapan

Well….Hey There!

Tags

authors, books, eBooks, how to write a novel, Indie books, novelists, novels, paranormal, self-published authors, the writing process, urban fantasy, vampires, writers, writing

Hi everyone!

Gosh, its been such a long time. Maybe too long 🙂

It’s been a long while since I took a look at this blog, and its also been some time since I’ve been checking out my author platform elsewhere online.

Yikes, it feels so strange to see all of this now.

It used to feel like I was looking at a blog, or Twitter account or Facebook page that belonged to someone else. And to see my book on Goodreads was like seeing something from a past life.

But lately, seeing all this is like seeing an old friend. And maybe even like rediscovering an old part of myself that I’m excited to be in touch with again.

It’s been over a year since I announced that I was going to take a break from writing fiction. I had been having doubts about whether I wanted to continue with creative fiction, and I was feeling lost writing the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. So I took a break, but I still flirted with the idea of writing fiction.

Starting last summer, the idea of writing “The Dark Proposal’s” sequel arose now and then. I was inspired by a couple of things, such as a song by Evanescence and a few personal experiences. In January this year, I realized what the sequel could really be about, and what kind of person Claire would be in her second story. At that point, the character of Claire McCormick began to finally slowly take shape, as well as the other characters.

I felt as if I could finally see Claire and get to know her as a person. I began taking notes on her upbringing and her family life to better explain the person she was during “The Dark Proposal”. I had felt I could’ve done better in her character development, but I feel those notes greatly helped me form and shape her.

The same goes for Hilde, The Black Roses, Casames and even Daniel to some degree. I became to know them more through my note taking, and they appeared to be flesh-out human beings (despite being vampires 😉 ) who were as complex and flawed like anyone else. It was a joy to see them as this.

Finally, this past March, I checked out my book’s page on Goodreads, and saw – to my surprise – there was a new review! It had been a long dry spell of any ebook purchases, let alone reviews. So I was thrilled to see my book was still being read, 18 months after I had published.

Seeing that review, which was positive and displayed excitement for the sequel, gave me the final boost to get started on the second book of my long dormant trilogy.

Yes, I am going to work on the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. And I am as happy as many are 🙂

However, it won’t be an overnight thing. I can estimate it will take me 2 or 3 years to get the sequel published for the world to read. That is because I already have a busy life (you may recall that I wrote my first book while unemployed with plenty of time to write), and also, there may be a chance that I’ll self-publish this book. I don’t know. I have to wait and see. Maybe I can get a small publishing house to do so.

But even more so, I am going to take my time writing this book. Before, I was kind of rushing to write, while probably triggered my writers’ block. But I want to do this slowly so I can produce a novel that I will be pleased with.

I also will writing this book much differently as compared to its predecessor. I see this book as being darker in tone and in emotion. I also see it getting more into Claire’s mind and heart, and also capturing the essence of the vampire world and what is at stake.

I’m starting to read short stories that have a goth tone to them. I’ve read “The Raven” a few times to absorb its goth prose, and now I’m scouring for other goth literary pieces to get an idea on the tone I will be needing for this sequel.

I may even tweak a few things or mention somethings that should’ve been mentioned in the first book.

Basically, a lot in the sequel will reflect “The Dark Proposal”, but there will also be quite a few changes because of my new approach as a writer, writing this trilogy.

So, slowly but surely, I will be writing the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. When I complete and what I’ll do with the final product is so far off that I am not really thinking about it. Just learning and growing as I write this. I have great ideas for this story, and some things to say about the human experience. I won’t say what they are now – that will come later.

So, good to see you all again! I will probably blog twice a month, just to keep everyone updated and to talk about my developments as a writer.

But until then, it is good to be back, and I look forward to taking you all on this journey with me, and I can’t wait to speak to everyone all over again!

Cheers! ~ Megan Cashman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Interview: Merry Farmer

Tags

authors, interviews, romance, romance novels, self-published authors

I love hearing the success stories of self-published authors. Here’s one from award-winning (yes, award-winning!) romance author Merry Farmer:

MC: You say you’ve been writing stories as a kid. At what age did you decide to get serious about your
writing and why?

MF: I feel like I decided to get serious about writing several times before it actually happened. In college I started entering writing contests and working on my craft, but after graduating I let myself be convinced that writing wasn’t a “real” career and I would never make any money from my writing. Fast forward about 10 years and a lifetime of experiences later. I had just had a horrible break-up with a man I was sure I would marry. In order to get over the depression, I started writing The Loyal Heart, which ended up being the first novel I published. I started out shopping it around to a few agents traditionally, but very quickly the whole traditional publishing world left a bad taste in my mouth. Then, in 2011, I heard about self-publishing for the first time. I knew instantly that it was for me. I knuckled down right then and worked on polishing up The Loyal Heart and sent it to a freelance editor. She wrote back saying she loved it and thought I was writing on the same level as the authors the publishing company she worked for part-time were signing. The rest, as they say, is history!

MC: You write historical romance novels. Why do you chose historical rather than contemporary settings?

MF: I’ve always loved history. In fact, I have not one, but two bachelor’s degrees in history. There is just something about the richness of all those lives that have been lived for thousands of years before us that speaks to me. The world has changed so much over time, and yet emotions, love, heartache, ambition, conflict, all those things have stayed the same. To me, looking at the lives of all of the people who have come before us reminds me that I’m not alone. Whatever troubles I may be facing, people have been through them before and come out on top. I love translating that feeling into my books. And let’s face it, the clothes were awesome!

MC: Why do you think romance novels have been and likely will always be popular?

MF: Romance novels will always be popular because love will always be at the forefront of the human experience. That’s the simple answer, but I think the truest answer goes even deeper than that. Romance novels primarily appeal to women and are about women’s sensuality, and in the case of the more explicit novels, sexuality. For some reason, society has tended to belittle so much of our feminine experience over the years. Or at least they’ve tried to. The enormous popularity of romance novels proves that women find strength in their sexuality and solidarity in sharing that with each other. We love reading about bold heroines who have the same emotions and urges that we have, but who are unafraid to embrace that and go after what they want. I think it reflects our own desire to take charge of our own lives in a world that too often isn’t perfect.

MC: You chose to self-publish your books. Would you say self-publishing is a good route for any author to go on?

MF: You know, I actually think that self-publishing is something that authors should enter into with extreme caution. I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart. The reality is that it takes a mind-boggling amount of discipline. I spend hours and hours every day writing, networking, promoting, and thinking ahead to the next thing. I like that sort of thing though. I like the challenge. I try to mimic the process that a traditionally published author would go through (deadlines, revisions, line edits, beta-reading) as much as possible, but even I am tempted to click “publish” before a book is truly ready. That’s the biggest mistake I see my fellow selfies making. It also takes a large amount of money to self-publish. Editing, covers, and especially marketing all cost money, and the more you put in, the more you get out. And that’s not even getting into taxes! If I told you how much I owe Uncle Sam for the 2013 tax year, you might pass out. I know I almost did!

Now, all that being said, I wouldn’t do it any other way! I love the control I have over my stories, the way the books look, when they are released, and especially what I’m writing in the first place. I have always liked unusual sub-genres and characters that don’t fit the alpha hero duke billionaire model. I’ve written historical romance so far, but I’ll be publishing what I like to call “Sci-fi for Women” this summer and for the rest of 2014. I also have a bizarre dystopian story waiting to be written, as well as a time travel adventure series and a Regency high seas series. My plans aside, I have become increasingly alarmed by the trends some publishers have of writing clauses into author contracts by which they own the meta-data of a story (character names, titles, place names, etc.) and the harsh terms for getting rights to backlist back. That’s not even getting into the debate about how much royalty authors are paid and when they receive those payments! I’m so much happier publishing myself.

MC: You’ve won awards for your books. But which is better: having loyal fans or recognition by writers’ organizations?

MF: That’s kind of a chicken or the egg question in my mind. My gut instinct is to say having loyal fans all the way. I love my fans to bits! But winning awards gives you that boost of legitimacy that might just help someone who has never heard of you to take a chance on your book and then become a fan.

MC: What’s next for Merry Farmer?

MF: You know how I just said I love self-publishing because it allows me to do things with genre that I would never be able to do as a traditionally published author? Well, one of those things is publishing an m/m romance in the middle of a conventional historical romance series. The last book (of the first cycle) of my Montana Romance series, Somebody to Love, is a love story between Phineas Bell, the town banker who has been in all of the previous Montana books, and Elliott Tucker, the new sheriff in town. That will be released at the very end of April. After that, I’ll be leaving Earth for a while to publish the aforementioned Women’s Sci-Fi series, Grace’s Moon, which begins with a pair of novels, Saving Grace and Fallen From Grace. These books follow the struggle of a group of lost colonists from Earth whose transport ship explodes in deep space as they attempt to form a new civilization on a habitable moon while racing to solve the mystery of what happened to their ship before anyone else dies. It’s pretty exciting stuff!

 

Merry is offering a giveaway for one of her books! Check it out here!

Learn more about Merry here:

Personal website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

 

My Reaction to Chuck Wendig’s Recent Blog Posts

Tags

Chuck Wendig, self-published authors, self-publishing

Some of you in the self-publishing or even just the writing world may have heard of novelist Chuck Wendig’s two recent blog posts about self-publishing. They’re being discussed on author blogs, writing forums and social media sites, stirring up emotion for better or worse.

Basically, what Wendig is calling for is that self-published authors need to step it up.

That’s what I got out of his posts, and its been something I’ve been realizing more and more in recent months. Since self-publishing is here to stay, and many are choosing this option, it is best to take it to the next level.

In his first blog post, Self-Publishing is Not the Minor Leagues, Wendig says this:

See, here’s the thing. Though acting as author-publisher is a viable choice, it’s one that retains a stigma — lessened, these days, but still a stigma carried by other writers, by those in publishing, by bloggers, and in some cases by readers. The air, suffused with an eggy stink.

You want to get rid of the stigma once and for all? Clear the room of any bad smell?

Good.

Then it’s time to take a long look at the culture surrounding self-publishing. We’ve moved past the time where we need to champion the cause, okay? We’ve seen enough success in that space and have plenty of positive examples it’s time to stop acting as cheerleaders.

The sad truth about self-published books is that many are not produced well. Many of them are loaded with poor editing, and some even have poor cover designs. Some would say the stories are terrible, but that’s a matter of opinion and a whole different debate.

But yes, many self-published books are released with many typos and grammar issues. It has gotten to the point where many readers are refusing to read self-published books unless word of mouth assures them that a particular book has no editing issues.

Is this something we really want for ourselves? Do we really want that dark cloud hanging over our work like that? I don’t. My book had editing problems when I initially released it. Even though I fortunately got that fixed and re-released my book, the complaints are written in stone on Amazon, Goodreads and book review blogs. So, my book and my reputation as an author is another statistic. I don’t want that for myself in the future, and I don’t want that anymore for my fellow self-published writers.

We no longer have any excuses. There’s just no reason to shrug such flaws like that. We shouldn’t even shrug off lousy book covers or unprofessional behavior. If we want to be taken seriously and respected by writers and readers alike, then we have to take our work and ourselves as writers seriously. A few years ago, writers like ourselves raved that self-publishing was the future of books. We’ve helped revolutionize how books are produced. But with our unprofessional work and behavior, we’ve made ourselves look bad among readers, publishers and traditionally published writers. If we truly believe in what we are doing and creating, then we can’t live in denial about the reputation we have now.

I like it when Wendig says this:

Self-publishing isn’t a lifestyle choice.

It isn’t a hobby.

It’s not a panacea. It’s not pox on your home.

It is neither revolution nor religion.

Yes. It’s a business. Period.

(Oh, and it damn sure isn’t a place to improve your craft. That’s called “writing.” Writing is how you improve your craft — by doing a whole lot of it, by reading, by having your work read by friends and family and by other writers and by editors. Publishing is not where you improve your craft. You don’t learn to pilot an airplane by taking a job with U.S. Airways. A job as an executive chef is not analogous to a cooking class. You wouldn’t expect that of other careers, so why are we okay with it when it comes to author-publishers?)

Yep, once you click on “upload”, you are in real time and not practicing. By then, you are asking for total strangers’ time and money, even if its only a few cents or dollars. They are like any other reader, and having your book not be traditionally published doesn’t mean they will see your work differently. Unless of course, its badly edited like too many are.

I’ve said before and I’ll say again: it’s time to put down the Pom-Poms and time to pick up a magnifying glass — or, for some, a mirror. Don’t celebrate mediocrity. Don’t encourage half-assing this thing for a couple of bucks. This is scrutiny time. This is time to not to say, “Here, you’re doing this wrong,” but “Here, let me help you do this better.” This is time for conversation and constructive critique, not empty applause and pedestal-building.

The culture will need to start asking tougher questions. If we’re going to admit that self-publishing is an equal choice, then it’s time to step up and act like it. It’s time to stop acting like the little brother trailing behind big sister. Time to be practical. And professional.

Since self-publishing my book in September 2012, I’ve changed my whole attitude toward self-publishing, writing and being an author in general. Doing this has made me question why I write in the first place, why I am aiming to publish my work when I write, what it means to be an author, and how I see my audience. I’ve radically changed my attitude since September 2012. I’ve grown so much and learned much more. I have also been honest with myself about why I write at all, and why I want to share my work with total strangers worldwide.

Maybe its because it’s innate, like the “I can’t not write” mindset some writers have is also mine. Or maybe once I start writing scenes, creating characters and worlds, I cannot wait to share them with others. As I write the sequel to The Dark Proposal, I get giddy when I write a good scene or a character shows a deeper side of themselves or a twist comes along. I then get excited by others reading that, and hope they get as excited as I do. It’s give and take when it comes the author and the reader. I offer to share my stories with them, and hopefully they will accept and appreciate that I entertained them or made them think.

Which leads to Chuck Wendig’s second post about self-publishing: Self-Publishing Readers are Not Good Gatekeepers. Here, he discusses the attitude some self-published writers have toward their audiences, and it is not very good. He says:

Because the moment you go somewhere — Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, wherever — and you start charging money, that changes the equation. By a strict reading, that’s no longer Hobbytown, Jake. You’ve entered pro grade territory. You’re asking readers to take a chance on your work for one buck, three bucks, five bucks, etc. You’re not hosting a party. You’re running a lemonade stand.

So stop pissing in the lemonade and asking people to give you cash to drink it.

Once a book is uploaded somewhere, it becomes a product and the buyer is a customer. Would anyone give something mediocre to an interested buyer? And would that person honestly expect them to shrug off any mistakes and ignore unprofessionalism?

If anyone wants to be a respected businessperson and really cares about what they are producing and selling, the answer is no. If they really care about their audience, they also would not see them as guinea pigs or people who exist to boost their egos. It’s all give and take between authors and readers. You want to share your story with someone, that someone wants to be entertained. You give them respect, they give you respect. You give them crap, they throw it right back at you. If you really give them crap, you have a very deep hole to climb out of with not too many willing to help. Wendig says it better:

[I]t’s putting out. It feels exploitative. It feels careless.

And it’s is not an uncommon attitude amongst author-publishers, and what it tells me is, you care about yourself as a writer but not your readers.

He goes on to say this:

Asking readers to be your gatekeepers is putting a lot of responsibility on the people who are paying you. Stop saying you’re going to let the readers figure it out when it comes to sorting through what’s crap and what’s not. You need to figure that out. That’s on you.

Eventually, readers will grow tired of having to be your gatekeepers.

And they’ll ask someone else to do it for them.

Do we as self-published writers really want that? To ruin what we hyped up so much? To ruin our personal hard work and money? I don’t. I realized about a year ago that I did not want to be another statistic, even if I already was. I didn’t want my failures to ruin my goals and dreams, and have me stomp away from the literary world like a little brat. I wanted to learn and improve myself as self-publisher, and take responsibility for everything I worked on.

So, I am ready to move on. I’m ready to get going and be a businesswoman. I have a product here, and I need to represent it well. I have potential readers who may be curious about it, and they deserve respect. I’ve read a lot about the negative attitudes some have toward self-publishing, and I’ve seen many writers make similar mistakes to mine. All have made me rethink my perspective on self-publishing.

I think enough is enough, and we need to move on. We need to improve. We need to prove to the literary world that we truly are a force to be reckoned with, and not a fad. But that will only come if more self-published authors step it up.

Chuck Wendig has rung the alarm, and he says it best here: Writing is a craft, storytelling is an art, publishing is a business.

I’m ready to step it up, and I hope I succeed. I hope many want to do the same.

Self-Publishing – You, Yourself and No One Else

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authors, self-published authors, self-publishing, writers

I’ve talked extensively about self-publishing in this blog. Naturally, since I am one myself. But I feel that it is important that I discuss the reality of self-publishing, because I think there is a lot of misinformation out there, plus some authors choose this route not fully aware of what they are getting themselves into. Granted, neither did I when I went into this, so I want to share what I’ve learned in hopes that someone looking to self-publishing would really take in account what it is all about.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

To put it simply: self-publishing is about you, yourself and no one else.

By that I do not mean it is a chance to be a millionaire, an overnight success with tons of fans worshiping you. Self-publishing means you alone are in charge of your enterprise. That means you alone are the author, editor, employer, businessperson, PR and advertising specialist, and most of all, your own cheerleader. Please note that the key word in self-publishing is the word “self”, and not just “publishing”.

Based on my experience, and watching other self-published authors all over the Internet, I say self-publishing is for the strong. Since you alone have to oversee the production of your product, the selling of it and how you handle yourself during these trying times, you have to be strong enough. Authors who use major or small publishing presses have an agent or an editor to turn to sell their book, and to guide them when it comes to PR tactics. They also have an agent or publisher to rely on when it becomes overwhelming to see negative reviews. In other words, they have a team to help them. For self-published authors, the only member of their team is no one but them.

It is an accomplishment when someone produces and sells their product alone successfully. It is fantastic when they successfully handle the trials and tribulations of going solo while being an author. They alone are doing this. Friends and family may be supportive, but if they are not in the book publishing industry themselves, their support is limited, at least to me. They don’t know what it means to write, publish and sell a book, so they can only help so much.

That is why I really believe self-publishers have to be their own cheerleaders. We have to support ourselves through and through, from beginning to end – whatever that end may be. We are the sole proprietors of our business, so we need to be our biggest supporters. No one else can do that for us, and no one has any obligation to support us. Writing and selling books is a business, and that is something we all have to remember each day of our authorships. If we fail to market our books well, its our fault. If we fail to properly handle negative reviews, its our fault. If we fail to grow as an author, its our fault. There is no one to guide a self-published author. Even blog posts like this one isn’t enough to do what only a self-published author must do.

Let’s be our own cheerleaders, fellow and future self-published authors. If this is the route we chose or may choose, we need to go in ready and willing to go it alone. There is no one to guide us, so we must fill that void ourselves.

Hey You! Get Off My Platform!

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authors, book promotion, Facebook, Facebook spam, promotions, self-published, self-published authors, self-publishing, spam, writers

The other day, I noticed an alert on my Facebook author page app, which indicated someone had either liked my page or left a post on my wall. Excited, I checked it out, hoping I had a new fan.

My hopes were dashed when I saw a post that kind of went like this:

“Hi Megan! I’m [so-so]! I’ve just published my book! Here’s the link to it on Amazon, please tell everyone you know about it! Thanks!”

I blinked, took a deep breath and deleted the post from my wall altogether.

I do not know who that person was. I never heard of that author, and that author had never before contacted me. S/he had not liked my Facebook page at all, never followed me on Twitter or Google+, or anything. I had never interacted with that person before, and yet here s/he was crashing on my Facebook page – which is part of my platform used to promote my books.

This wasn’t the first time this happened, and sadly it won’t be. There are some authors out there who simply don’t seem to understand how to properly promote their books. They may have heard social media is the way to spread the word, and that authors are supposed to help other authors. But the way they go about it is kind of rude and unprofessional.

If that person wanted me to help them get exposure, I would have been happy to do so. All they had to do was check out this blog and see that I offer author interviews. If they were polite when they contacted me, and not pushy and arrogant like a few have, I would have gladly featured them on my site. Crashing in on my Facebook page as they did was not appropriate. In fact, it was more like spam than promotion.

The same has happened here on this website. I’ve gotten comments left by authors responding to one of my posts. Only they are not really commenting on my posts. They’re leaving comments like this: “Buy my book! Here’s my Twitter handle! Like me on Facebook!” Again, authors resorting to spam promotion. Even worse, they are spamming on another author’s space.

Some self-published authors seem to really misunderstand how to promote their work. It could be ignorance or desperation. But either way, I can’t fathom why anyone would think hijacking another person’s platform is a good way to increase book sales.  It doesn’t at all, and they only make themselves look bad.  All they have to do is ask to do a guest blog post, offer their book for a review, and all the other networking strategies. Basically, asking for permission works, not stealing!

Learning to promote your book is simple. There are many websites and blogs that give great suggestions. Even I’ve given tips. If you’re going to self-publish your book, educate yourself. Don’t make a fool out of yourself or become disrespectful. Self-publishing isn’t easy and they are many who fail terribly because they made poor decisions. Don’t make yourself a statistic.

Lessons One Year Later: Being Ready

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how to write, life is a journey, self-published authors, the writing process, writing

Here is part two on my look back on what I’ve learned since self-publishing my book one year ago this. The first installment can be found here.

Even though I am proud and happy that I wrote, completed and self-published a book, I tend to wish I had done things a bit differently. No, I have no regrets self-publishing because it was something I wanted to try. I also have no regrets about the story that I wrote because it was something I felt was worth telling.

But I really wonder if I didn’t approach everything correctly. When I began working on “The Dark Proposal”, a temp job had ended and I was one of the millions who was unemployed. It’s devastating to be in that position, because it is as if your life is at a total stand still and the future is unknown. You may a get a job tomorrow, you may get one in one year. The uncertainty can weigh heavily on a lot of people.

At this time, I decided to be serious about writing and publishing a book. I had dreamed of doing so since I was a young kid, but I put it off to concentrate on school and my first real world job. Now my life was in limbo, and I wanted something to happen in my life. The uncertainty of my future was terrible. Besides, I had the time and energy to devote myself to this project, so why not?

It took me about six months to write “The Dark Proposal”. I began during NaNoWriMo in November 2011, dabbled in it during December, but really got into the story by mid-January. I was done by mid-April. It was exciting to write a novel for real. Before I used to write stories for fun. I would say those writings would become actual books, but this time, I truly committed to completing and publishing a book.

I was delighted with what I created, and I still am. However, there are times when I look over my work, and say to myself, “Hmm, maybe I could’ve written this differently”. I mean, I probably should’ve thought through a few scenes and a few characters better. But since I am working on the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”, I should be able to fix what I can and explain things better.

I think the questions on my mind for my anniversary is that, did I allow my need to be productive in my life prevent me from doing a better job? Was I really ready to write a book? Was my book really ready to be released to the world? I am a perfectionist to the point of insanity, so maybe I am looking from the wrong angle.

Hey, granted, I did had a good journey. I did learn a lot about writing as I wrote my first book. Some I wished I had learned sooner, but others I am glad I took note of. It was an experience that I’m glad I went through and it made me a better writer, which I hope I can show in future works. Fortunately, I will know then that it is better to slow down and not be so worried on an uncertain future, and then you can produce better work.

But please take it from me: have no regrets about your learning process. It’s worth it 🙂

Lessons One Year Later: Marketing & Promotions

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authors, books, eBooks, marketing, New Adult, novels, paranormal, promotions, self-published authors, self-published books, self-publishing, urban fantasy, vampires

As summer came to a close earlier this week and the first fall chills came over the area where I live, I realized something: this month will be one year since I self-published my first book.

Wow! A whole year has gone by since I officially became an author! It was my life-long dream to publish a book and I finally did it last year. I was thrilled and excited when I got the email on the morning of September 14th from Amazon Kindle, telling me “The Dark Proposal” was live. A new era in my life had begun.

But I had much to learn about being an author, publishing books and getting the attention of readers worldwide. And I think I still do. Although I researched like crazy on how to promote my book, I was not sure if I was doing it right. There seemed to be a million different ways to do promotions and marketing, and some I wasn’t so sure would work but tried anyway.

Here’s what I’ve learned about marketing and promotions, one year later:

Blurbs are so important: Duh, right? Blurbs give readers a summary of what the book is about, while using the correct words to lure the readers into at least reading the preview. I thought I had a good idea on what was a good blurb, but boy was I wrong! I actually rewrote my blurb a few times after my book’s release once I realized that a few words made “The Dark Proposal” sound like a paranormal romance, something is definitely is not (one reader has called it the “anti-Twilight’). I was embarrassed that I probably misled my audience and I totally regret not having my blurb checked with my editor. Lesson learned, painfully learned.

Choose the right sample to display: When I did my blog tour upon my book’s release, I chose the first chapter to be used as a sample. I wanted to show potential readers what kind of person Claire was, what motivated her to first speak to Daniel, and what kind of person he was when he first appears. I figured this way people would have a good understanding on what was going on, and understand Claire before all hell broke loose, plus not give away any spoilers. But I think I should’ve gone with a different scene then. I realize now that any sample I use needs to give the reader a good idea of what the whole book entails, not a more innocent time. The sample I use now is enough to show who Claire is, as well as what goes on in the story.

Social media is not the only way to promote: So many self-published authors say promoting your book on social media is the best way to spread the word about it. That maybe true for some, but I didn’t sell numerous copies on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. I got some buzz on my blog tour, which was only for five days. But nothing stellar happened. So when some author swears social media is the best way to sell books, be skeptical. Especially when they say to flood Twitter with the same tweets every 15 minutes saying “buy my book! buy my book!” I never did that, thankfully, because I saw a few authors do that before I released my book and saw how tasteless it was. Oh yeah, no DMs on Twitter when you get new followers.

Be careful who you ask to help promote your book: Because I so dearly wanted word to spread about my book, I searched for various avenues to do that. I found some indie book promo company – if that’s the right word – that promised to tweet indie books for a whole month and feature it on its website for a fair price of $20. So I signed up and paid, but nothing came of it. Even worse, the tweets they did were embarrassing. The tweets included the line, “not your grandmother’s vampire story!” Oh boy. I asked for them to change it, since after all I was paying them. They were a little reluctant but they finally did. So that was $20 wasted. Learn from me: research like crazy to make sure anyone who can help promote your book will actually do a good job and be worth every penny.

Be flexible when it comes to giveaways and free days: Even though I signed up for the Amazon KDP Select, which allows five free days, I was reluctant to give my book away for free. I had worked hard on it and I wanted some compensation for all the money I spent editing, getting a book cover, copyrighting, etc. But when I read about how free days and giveaways can help spread the word about your book, I gave in. For the sake of Halloween, I made “The Dark Proposal” free on Amazon on October 30th and 31st. Whoa, did I get a response! This is when I got the vast majority of my downloads. I was amazed and excited to see my book do so well. I saw a boost in sales this past June when I re-released “The Dark Proposal” – sans typos – and had it on sale for 99 cents. These days my book is back at $2.99 on both Amazon and Smashwords, and I’ll put it on sale again soon. Hey, this is the sacrifice self-published authors have to make. We all want to see our work and investments pay off, but that’s a tough road. You have to gain an audience, and sometimes in order to do that, you need to be flexible on how readers can get your book. If selling it for 99 cents or for free does the trick, then so be it. If all goes well, you wouldn’t need to do that for long.

So that is what I’ve learned from marketing and promoting “The Dark Proposal” one year later. I had read a lot of author blogs on how to do this, mainly from author Catherine Ryan Howard on her superb blog, Catherine Caffeinated (please check it out, she’s great!). But a lot of it I had to learn on my own. Granted, I’m the type of person who dives into a new task without reading the directions properly, which is a bit of a personal flaw of mine. But I’ve learned a lot. Some of the things I did right I’ll apply again the next time. As for the others, hell no!