INKSPOT NEWS - July 6, 2013

Here are the new releases from Midnight Ink for July, 2013. They're both wonderful reads!


Out of the Frying Pan by Robin Allen

 “A must-read for cozy lovers.”—Publishers Weekly

“Allen delivers a breezy and likeable menu.”—Kirkus Reviews

Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler

“In Chandler's thrilling third Shay O'Hanlon caper … Chandler keeps the suspense high as flustered Shay and spunky Eddy Quartermaine, Shay's mom stand-in, seek to prove JT's innocence -- and learn a few surprises about her past along the way. ”—Publishers Weekly

This IS My Happy Face

by Shannon Baker

I recently saw a funny ditty on You Tube about Bitchy Resting Face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v98CPXNiSk

At first I laughed, then realized, that’s what’s happening to me. My dear companion often asks me, “What’s the matter?” Or, “You’re scowling out the window again.” Or, “What did I do to piss you off?”

I’m not angry. I’m not sad. I might be puzzled and a bit frustrated, but all in all, life is pretty fine. The cause for the Bitchy Resting Face is that I’m trying to work out something. Several somethings, in fact.

First, there is the disturbing fact that I was laid off my day job two months ago. So now I’m wondering if I ought to do contracting, thus setting my own hours and making time for my dear companion’s strange schedule and my writing. That would lead to less income, more stress as I start up my own business and lots of stuff I keep putting on the list. Meanwhile, I’m sending out resumes and wondering if any of those jobs would be fun and exciting. If I actually land a new position, I’ll be starting a new job at a new company with new people and new routines. Thinking about it makes my face scrunch all up.

Then, I finished a draft of my next book and sent it out to critique partners. Will they like it? Will I end up dismantling it and doing major rewrites? When will they get back to me and how much time will it take to fix what they find wrong?

I had a book released in March. How are sales of that going? What promotion do I need to do to increase them? Maybe I ought to add a few signings. I could write a few more blogs.

Book two is somewhere in the publishing pipeline. I think I’m pretty much finished with it until copy edits or galley proofs or whatever the next step really is. I’ve seen a simple mockup of the cover and I’m happy with it. But I need to write the acknowledgments and dedication. I think. Maybe I already did that. I need to check.

I’m plotting a new series and book one of that series. It’s more ambitious than anything I’ve done before. Am I up to it? From the brick wall my brain turned into, I’m doubting it. I spend a great deal of my time holed up inside my head wondering what clues Kate can find that will lead her to the solution and just how soon they should be revealed.

In the meantime, since I’m not chained to a 9 to 5, I’ve been tearing up the trails and paths, getting out on my bike or with my backpack as often as possible before I go back to gainful employment.

I’d tell you that as soon as I get this job issue straightened out and the new series plotted and book 3 is turned in, I’ll be a glowing portrait radiating inner beauty. I know better, though. By that time, there will be another book, another life crisis, and I’ll be working out something complicated in my head.

So while I’m at the pool or wandering by a mountain stream swollen with summer melt-off, or even just sitting on the patio enjoying the soft breeze, my eyebrows are drawn together, my mouth is puckered and I seem to be scowling. Understand, I’m not unhappy. Sadly, I suffer from Bitchy Resting Face, exacerbated by deep schizophrenia and aggravated distraction.

This is me, displaying my natural Bitchy Resting Face. I'm actually having a really good time.

Are Your Books in Libraries?

By Beth Groundwater

This is a question I often get asked by readers, and I'm happy to answer, "Yes!" However, I usually go on to explain how readers can get their hands on a copy of one of my books at their local library system. Libraries are increasingly strapped for funds, and as a result, are reducing inventory on their shelves.

Instead, libraries are participating more in interlibrary loan systems where they share materials with other libraries. So, if a reader can't find a copy of one of my books on their local library's shelves, I tell them not to give up, but to search for the book in the electronic catalog. If the local library has a copy and it's checked out, the reader can request a hold. Otherwise or instead, the reader can see if a copy is available via interlibrary loan and request a copy that way.

For instance, my small local library in Breckenridge, Colorado, is one branch of three in the Summit County Library system. And the Summit County Library (SCL) belongs to the Marmot Library Network that has municipal and educational library members throughout western Colorado. After I find and reserve a book from the SCL on-line catalog, when I actually receive the book, it could be stamped as belonging to the Eagle Valley Library District, Colorado Mesa University, or one of the other member libraries. Then when I return the book, it gets sent back to the owner library.

I looked up my own name in the SCL catalog, I find that collectively there are a mix of trade paperback, large-print, and ebook copies of all five of my published mystery novels in the Marmot system that are available for checkout. If I was just browsing the shelves of the library branch in Breckenridge, though, I might not find any.

The most extensive interlibrary loan system is WorldCat, the world's largest network of library content and services, which, as of November, 2011, included 72,000 member library systems from 170 countries and territories. SCL is a member of WorldCat, so even if the Marmot system does not have a copy of a book I am looking for, a librarian could find a copy for me and borrow it through the WorldCat system. So readers should never despair if they don't find a book they're looking for in their home library--even if you're a bookworm and check out the maximum allowed number every week as I did as a child!

The WorldCat system has another use for authors. It's a great way for gauging the extent of your library sales. For instance, when I searched for Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series, I found copies in 419 different library systems (some of which can contain tens of branches), including in countries as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Having either a large-print edition or an ebook edition, I've found, results in even wider library distribution. One thing to remember is that the number (419) is the number of library SYSTEMS that have copies of the book, not just the number of libraries or the number of copies.

I even used WorldCat to research publishers when my agent and I were looking for a new publisher for my mysteries that would produce trade paperback and ebook editions. At that time, I was with a publisher that produced hardcover and large-print editions, and the two books they had published for me had wide distribution in WorldCat. When Midnight Ink offered a contract, I looked up some Midnight Ink titles in WorldCat, and found that they, too, had wide distribution. So, I wouldn't be giving up library sales by going with them, and I'd be gaining retail bookstore sales.

I encourage both authors and readers to use the on-line catalog resources available to you to search for books and see where you can find copies in libraries. So, Inkspot readers, I have a question for you. What's the rarest book you were able to find and read from a library? Let us know!

INKSPOT NEWS - June 29, 2013

Tomorrow, Sunday, June 30, 2013, from 10 AM - noon, Beth Groundwater will sign copies of her June release, Fatal Descent, and the other two books in her RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series at the Murder By the Book booth at the Pearl Street Farmers Market, 1500 block of South Pearl Street, Denver, CO 80209.

Midnight Ink author Beth Groundwater will sign copies of her June release, Fatal Descent, and her other two books in her RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series on Thursday, July 4th, from 11 AM to 1 PM, after the parade, at The French Kiss, 226 South Main Street, Breckenridge, CO 80424.

A Fool Like Me

Keith Raffel here.

There’s an old Japanese saying that I’m very fond of. It goes something like this: “Every person should walk to the top of Mount Fuji, but only a fool would do it a second time.”

Color me foolish.

I spent three years working as a full-time novelist. I had just finished my fourth book, A Fine and Dangerous Season, when I went to a New Year’s Party. The host asked me what I was going to do next. I told her I didn’t have an idea for a new book. She asked if I would consider going back into the Silicon Valley fray and taking on a day job. I told her maybe, it depended on the job, and poof! – a few months later I was working at a DNA sequencing company. Fascinating work but that company was just purchased and so now I’m ready to give full-time writing another whirl no matter how ga-ga a Japanese sage might consider me.

I’ve tried publishing the traditional way and I’ve tried publishing e-books myself. Both ways worked fine, but I want to expand my readership. To quote another sage, Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

So I am moving to full-time novel-writing for a second time, but am trying something different.

When Rob Thomas wanted to make a Veronica Mars movie, he raised $5 million from fans to get the project kick-started. Now I am not looking for that kind of money, but I do want to kick-start publication of my fifth novel, a thriller set in Jerusalem titled Temple Mount. I am terrifically excited at the prospect of building a groundswell of support for Temple Mount among readers of my novels, both past and future. I’m even ready to rely on supporters to crowd-source the editing of the manuscript.

I just hope others will join this possibly foolish, but probably sane author in getting Temple Mount published using a new crowd-publishing model. You can check out what I have in mind here. Don’t know if it’s going to work, but I’m going to give it a try. Please don’t be shy in offering advice and wish me luck!

Just the facts, ma’am!

by Lois Winston

Years ago I made a huge geographical error in Talk Gertie to Me, my first published novel. Even though the manuscript had been read by members of my critique group, my agent, my acquiring editor, and the line and copy editors at the publishing house, no one caught the fact that I’d set the Mississippi River on the wrong side of Iowa. It took a reader to point the error out to me within weeks of the book’s release.

His comment came as a shock because I really do remember pulling the Atlas off my bookshelf and checking the location of the river. This was before Google Maps, and unfortunately, the Atlas was small, and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, thanks to so many hours each day staring at a computer screen. The font was way too small to read. I saw a line bisecting the map of the United States and running down into the Gulf of Mexico. I assumed it was the Mississippi. It wasn’t. I should have noticed that what I thought was the river didn’t come anywhere near the state of Mississippi. I was mortified that I’d made such a dumb mistake and upset that no one had caught it before the book went to press.

Ever since then, I’ve checked and double-checked all the facts and every piece of research I do for my books, especially when it comes to geography. Since that first published book (which has since been corrected for the e-book release,) I’ve also had the good fortune to work with editors who took their responsibilities more seriously and always double-check my research. Readers notice when you make mistakes, and they let you know about them. Few things are more disheartening than receiving an email from a reader who points out you need a remedial course in geography!

However, I’ve come to realize that novel authors are held to a much higher standard than scriptwriters, who apparently have even less of a grasp on geography than I do. Over the past few years I’ve come across countless geographical errors in television shows.

The first time I became aware of this was watching House. That show was set in the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Medical Center in New Jersey. I live in New Jersey. I know the Princeton and Plainsboro areas. And I know that no one would ever hop a plane to get from there to Baltimore for a conference, as House and Stacy did in one episode. It’s only a 2-1/2 hour drive. When you consider the distance to either the Philadelphia or Newark airport and the time needed to get through security, you could be in Baltimore before the plane took off. Why didn’t the writers know this? Unlike me, they certainly had Google Maps available to them at the time.

If you’re going to set a story in a location you don’t know well or even at all, you need to learn about the area. Yet time and again I see television shows where the writers don’t even bother to check out the basics. I recently watched an episode of a show set in Philadelphia. The series, now cancelled, was actually filmed in Rhode Island, and maybe that’s the problem because except for some of the establishing shots in the opening credits and some scenes that take place in the suburbs, there’s nothing remotely similar to Philadelphia in the show’s exterior scenes.

In the last episode of the show, they gave a location where a witness could be found. The two streets they mentioned don’t intersect; they’re actually the same street, the name changing after the street crosses over into another county. On top of that, the area is quite urban, and the show portrayed the home as a quaint cape cod on a bucolic street. I went to college a block from that supposed location. Trust me, there’s nothing bucolic about it!

In that same episode, the camera zooms in on a piece of paper with the protagonist’s address. The writers have her living on 14th Street. The problem, though, is that there is no 14th Street in Philadelphia. What should be 14th Street is called Broad Street. It’s the main intersection that runs the length of the city. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the City of Brotherly Love would be aware of this. Apparently, the show’s writers never took a field trip to the city where they were setting their show.

Someone pointed out to me that perhaps the writers did this deliberately so as not to show an actual address. If that were the case, they could have simply given the building a number that didn’t exist. Few people would be aware of that, but many people know there’s no 14th Street in Philadelphia.

Little things like this bother me. They pull me from the story. So I completely understand why that reader years ago was annoyed that I’d placed the Mississippi on the wrong end of his state. I learned my lesson and work hard not to make mistakes in my books. Maybe scriptwriters don’t have the luxury of time to research carefully, or maybe they figure viewers won’t notice or care. Probably most TV viewers don’t unless they happen to live in the city or state where the story takes place.

Do errors like this in books, movies, and television shows bother you, or am I being too picky? Do they pull you from the story? Do you continue to read authors or watch shows that make mistakes because the story or characters are so intriguing, or do you give up and move on to other authors and shows?

***

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

This Idiot's Guide to Ebooks

by Jennifer Harlow

I'm lucky in that I have one foot in both publishing worlds. I was blessed with what many dream of, a book deal with an actual publisher. If you go into the mystery section of Barnes & Noble chances are you'll find a Jennifer Harlow there. Eventually six of them, at the very least. The first time I saw one, I almost burst into tears and had to flee. It was one of the best moments of my life. But with the slow seemingly “death” of brick and mortar bookstores (still miss you Borders), mergers of the big publishing houses, and boom of ebooks most authors may never get that experience. As of right now the ratio of physical vs. ebooks sold is 60/40 but just three years ago it was 90/10. We all knew what happened to the music industry when iTunes came around. (I can't remember the last time I bought an actual CD.) So times, they are a'changin. If that’s a good or bad thing is up for debate, but my gypsy soul wanted to give this new time a try.

At the bare minimum you need a manuscript, a cover, and a blurb, all of which you can slap together yourself. Might cost you nothing. Put it up on Amazon and congrats, you're an author. This is wonderful if you just want friends and family to read it or just for bragging rights. From my research, this seems to be the standard. 90% of ebooks only sell about 50 copies. This is the equivalent in the traditional publishing world of making a living as a writer, of which only about 5% of authors can. But since I want to reach more than my immediate circle, and I'll bet you would too, you have to be willing to spend some money and time on this. I spent a full week researching the ebook racket, comparing companies and prices, hitting blogs for the best formatters and cover designers, learning if I need an ISBN and LCCN, deciding if I want print copies too, if Kindle Select was worth it, how to promote, etc. My mind was awash with information. But it was fun. I hate studying but love to learn. And here is what I learned, with the help of my friends Alan Orloff and Emily Kimmelman:

1) Before you do anything, work on your manuscript. I've had A LOT of feedback from Beta readers, my agent, even publishers on how to fix my book. It's been edited about twelve times, so I decided with this one to skip a professional editor. But I DO NOT recommend this. For the next Galilee book I plan to hire one. Things like missing commas, slow pacing, clunky dialogue all separate you from the 90%. You want to be a professional, you need a professional presentation. That includes making sure you have a Title Page, Copyright page that includes the ISBN and LCCN (more on those later) among others, dedication, acknowledgements, and author biography. 

2) Manuscript in ship shape and professional looking? Good. Next comes possibly the most important part: the cover. Once again, this is what separates the wheat from the chaff. Think about the last ebook you took a chance on? What initially drew you to it? Yep, the cover. Covers make or break a book. It's the most important marketing tool in your arsenal. Besides the editing, this is where the majority of your money should go. I did the most research on this. I looked at contests, inside ebooks (the artist is usually listed) I liked, and went to their websites to view their samples. I had no idea what I wanted my cover to look like except it needed bold colors, was moody,  and had something superhero on it. Damonza won by a landslide. His prices range from $195-$395 for ebook only. He is the premier for a reason as witnessed by my cover which is a freaking work of art. Don't skimp on this one.

3) Now comes the business side of publishing. One of my big questions was, do I need an ISBN? An ISBN is how your book is cataloged and identified. This is kind of a gray area if you really need one for ebooks or even print self-published ones. Some sites said yes, others no. If you go through companies, or even Createspace as I did for my physical copies (see item 7 ) they'll give you one, but then they control the ISBN. But since I'm a professional who has a toddler's grasp of copyright law, I decided to err on the side of caution and get some. To do this, you go to Bowker and create an account. When you do this, congrats! You have your very own publishing imprint! I named mine Devil on the Left. When you've created this, then it's time to buy your imprint's ISBNs. One costs $100 but ten cost $250, and you need a separate ISBN for every version (ebook/print/audio etc.) so buy the ten. This way you 100% own the copyright of your books and you're technically a publisher. More bragging rights!

4) Okay you have your cover and manuscript including copyright page with your ISBN on it. Now to get the manuscript into digital form. Once again, I recommend going professional. I am not at all tech literate and there are a million rules for formatting. Seen ebooks with no indentations or entire blank pages? Want to read something else by them? Nope. Hire a formatter. Once again I went with Damonza and got a deal for doing both formatting and cover with him. I got both ePub and MOBI (you can do PDF yourself from the Word document). When it came time to put it on Kindle I just had to upload the MOBI file. Easy peasy.

5) Now the blurb. This is the product description for the book. The cover gets them to read this, which really sells the book. Spend time on it. My agent and I wrote this one to send around to publishers so I was covered, plus I've been writing blurbs for ten years, but if you haven't maybe contract this one out too. If not then just make sure you use concrete imagery, don't give too much away, and really focus on the first sentence. 

6) Okay, I got everything. Time to publish the sucker. This is the easy part. Just set up an account at KDP and follow the instructions. But there is a caveat. They'll ask you if you want to enroll in Kindle Select. Once again I've heard arguments for and against. If you chose it you cannot publish on Nook or anywhere else for at least three months. The truth is, if you can't make it on Amazon you ain't making it anywhere. Enroll. That way you can do the five day giveaway thing and potentially get ten thousand people to download it. Sure you don't make any money but they may buy the second or third in the series. Another important thing is keywords for searching. I used "superhero, epic sci fi, hard boiled, etc" so whenever someone searches those words mine will come up. Don't get too general or specific though.

7) You got your ebook up! Huzzah! Now ask yourself if you want to do print too. You should. If not to sell them then at least to have physical copies for reviewers. Some will only take physical copies like when you do a Goodreads giveaway or at libraries. I used Createspace. Make sure you have changed the ISBNs but you can use the same Word document you sent to the formatter. You upload it and their program formats it for you. Then you create a cover using their templates, send it for review and you have a book. You can sell it on Createspace, Amazon, and if you spend $25 you can even get it to book distributors who buy for real bookshops. And if you go a step further perhaps even libraries. To get into the Library of Congress you need an LCCN. They only accept print books where you have your own imprint and ISBN. You fill out their form and they'll review you stuff. It'll take from a day to a week. At least this way you have a chance to get your baby into libraries, but don't hold your breath.

So, in total I spent about $825 on Justice so far (not counting the blog tour and other publicity stuff yet to come.) The usual average is about $1250 with an editor. I need to sell about 420 books just to break even. (Slowly getting there.)

One of the big questions floating around is which is better, traditional or self publishing? I've done both and honestly I don't have a verdict yet as I've only been at the latter a short time. Both have strengths and weaknesses, but so does everything in life. I'm a total control freak, and love my freedom, so the fact I got to have complete control over the back cover copy, cover, the title, all of it was nice. And the fact I get 70% of every book sold (a little over $2) instead of 10% is great. The downside is I front all the money, take all the risk, and unlike an advance from a publisher, I'm guaranteed no money. Plus with traditional you reach a wider audience (not everyone has joined the revolution) and get to see your book in stores. I'm doing about the same amount of publicity work on the ebook as I did for the others. But from a logic perspective, if you can go traditional, do. I wouldn't be a member of Mystery Writers of America or Horror Writers Association without going traditional. Gain experience with the publishing world, a fan base and connections then maybe branch out on your own if your gypsy soul commands it. Remember, everyone and their mother can and is publishing on Amazon. You're one voice among two million, it's damn hard to be heard. Hope this post makes it that much easier. 

Do you have any tips for ebooks, either the product or the marketing? I still read more physical books than ebooks, do you? Why is there so much us vs. them mentality when it comes to this topic?