Finding Voice and Courage - Kristina Emmons

I guess in a way writing can feel for me like a non-activity, as if it’s not actual work since so much of it is mental, unlike other art forms, where you get to see tangible progress on a canvas or with a piece of clay or wood. Writing is “only” words on a page! But getting them down in a coherent, relatable way is a lot of work, and it is art that can be magical for the reader when done well. Just like with any art form there are those who appreciate what you put out and those who might oppose it, so it can be a fearful experience to subject yourself to public opinion.

Writing novels is for me the art that completes me. I didn’t recognize that for a long time. I knew I had writing ability and a strong command of language in general, but storytelling was never something I thought I could do. My grandmother was the story teller, I was the wallflower in the corner who rarely opened her mouth, so when I first began to look at writing as a career I assumed journalism was the best fit for me. It was like book reports but for life, right? I could do that. It certainly seemed the most respectable way to go, but after an unfortunate interview at the offices of the local paper I was turned off to journalism itself. My next choice was writing articles for magazines. Articles about what, though? I was young and had little life experience. And submitting to so many different publications sounded as tedious as sanding wood for me.

This writing thing began eating at me. I was pregnant with my first child and I needed a creative outlet, something for myself. My husband suggested I write a book, and I laughed. That was for the big dawgs, for people who like, went to college for that! Thoughtfully, he enrolled me in a correspondence writing course. For various reasons I couldn’t complete it fully, but the instructor feedback I got in those few lessons gave me a great boost of confidence. I could do this, I could tell stories! Maybe I couldn’t verbalize them well, but writing was a perfect medium for me. Soon the seed of a story lodged into my mind, and with unsteady fingers I began to type.

The blank page can be daunting. After several false starts, years of research into Victoriana and writing, and doubts and revisions too numerous to count, it was nine years until I published Roeing Oaks, my first novel. To my delight, response was wonderful, with demand for a sequel! I’m nearly finished with it and can’t wait to get started on another book. I suppose my best day as a writer was deciding not to quit. The worst? About halfway through the first draft of Roeing Oaks, when I realized what a long, arduous road lay ahead.

Matter of fact, they were the same day.

Kristina's Website

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Roeing Oaks

An Eventful Year - Peter Johnson

It’s been a year since my last post here, and much has (and hasn’t) happened.

My first novel, Grant’s Indian, published October 2009, continues to sell steadily. After about 30 agents passed on the book, I decided to publish using my own devices, which meant (1) creating an audiobook and getting a publisher for that (Audible www.audible.com agreed to do that), (2) arranging for print and Kindle editions (Amazon www.amazon.com, which owns Audible, did that), (3) getting a print distributor (IndieReader www.indiereaderselects.com is handling that) and (4) publicity.

I spent most of 2010 publicizing the book. One thing about Grant’s Indian that makes it appropriate for indie publishing is that it is based on an actual, if little-known, historical character – Ely Parker, a Seneca Indian on General Grant’s staff who was present (and wrote out the terms of surrender) at Appomattox in 1865.

The book was appropriate for indie publishing because it has a built-in audience of Civil War buffs, for whom it fills a gap in the historical record. One thing that keeps me bemused when I talk about the book is that, while I want to talk about historical fiction, the audience always asks about historical fact – Who was Parker? How did he get to Appomattox? What were his feelings about Indian affairs? Did he suffer prejudice? I also found out that Parker has descendants. One of his great-great-nephews, Alvin Parker, shared the podium with me at the New York Civil War Forum last September, which led to a neat article in the New York Times. (“A Seneca Indian Connects with his New York Roots,” September 19, 2010. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/wilson-indian-post-for-sunday/

My next novel, also set partly during the Civil War, is encountering a different set of challenges. The good news is that I got an actual, and very reputable, agent for the book – one of the last to pass on Grant’s Indian. The bad news is that, unlike Grant’s Indian, which I submitted to 30 agents with no takers, my agent has now submitted the new novel to 30 publishers . . . with no takers.

So I have to decide what to do next. I’m reluctant to publish independently, because the book doesn’t really have a built-in audience. Unlike Grant’s Indian, the new book’s central characters are entirely fictional – two young actors in 19^th-century America who pretty much grow up onstage together, get caught up in the 1849 Astor Place riot in New York, the Gold Rush, John Brown’s hanging, the Civil War, and who end up onstage at Ford’s Theater the night their friend and colleague John Booth assassinates President Lincoln.

So it’s a historical novel, a coming-of-age novel, a young love novel . . . all sorts of things, but it lacks a central historical truth. My inclination at this point is to wait a bit. The 150^th anniversary of the Civil War started this spring, and new interest is stirring in the War. In a couple of years the Lincoln assassination will again be in the air, and maybe the novel will find a publisher at that point. Meanwhile, I mull alternatives.

Peter's Website

Peter on Facebook

Grant's Indian

True to who I am - Michelle Gregory

The early Hassidic sage Rabbi Zusya once said, "When I reach the next world, God will not ask me, 'Why were you not Moses?' Instead, he will ask me, 'Why were you not Zusya?'"

I don't know about you, but I have to make a conscious effort to be myself and stay true to what I know I'm supposed to do. I'm the kind of person who looks around at what everyone else is doing, and though I know better, I start to think, "Maybe I should be doing it like so and so."

I get this way with homeschooling. I'm part of an online homeschooling group and even though we're all very gracious with each other and we're not even giving into the pressure to make homeschool look like public school with mounds of homework, etc., it's easy to compare myself to them and say, "wow, I should be doing more projects, going more places, doing more things, blah, blah, blah."

Then I remember that my kids are learning what they need to learn and the way we're doing school fits our lifestyle. My kids are happy and not so overly busy that we're stressed and going crazy. I like a simple lifestyle.

Lately I've found myself doing the comparison thing with blogging and writing and promoting. "I should have more posts about writing, more contests, more blog hops, and more interviews. I should be helping more writing friends promote their books with blog tours and side buttons and links. My blog should look more professional; have more about my book and links to all the places people can buy it. I should work on my story more often and not play with other stories so much. I should have more description, less tea, etc. I should have my book on Kindle and Smashwords and kobo and wherever. Maybe I should look for an agent. I should say more and do more..."

Makes me tired just writing it.

I've learned from counseling (and my husband reminds me every once in a while) that if you substitute the word (excuse me) sh** for should, when you say you should do something, it's like piling sh** on yourself. And isn't that exactly how we feel when we start saying "I should, I should"?

So it's time to be kind to myself, stop piling crap on myself, and let myself be who I am. I will put whatever I want on my blog. I will help other writers when I can. I will promote myself as much or as little as I'm comfortable with. I will let my mind play when it needs a break. I will continue to self-publish, and not pressure myself into doing it the way my indie author friends are doing it. I will write the story I want to write and not worry about the tea.

Maybe that's my cue to go have some tea, or a cup of hot cocoa.

Now, go have a beautiful day, free of "shoulds." have some tea. Be yourself.

Michelle's Website
Michelle Blog
Michelle on Facebook

Eldala

One year of self-publishing - N. Gemini Sasson

What a wild year this has been – full of ups and downs, tough challenges and unexpected rewards. When I leapt into indie publishing last year at about this time, it was after years of pursuing the traditional route with a reputable agent. I’d become jaded by the process and was more than ready to move on. My goals were simply to put my work in physical form, make it as professional-looking as I possibly could on a limited budget and maybe, maybe sell a few hundred. A thousand or two sales was a distant dream.

After releasing The Crown in the Heather in paperback, I quickly became aware that my best chance of reaching an audience was through e-books. So I loaded it onto Kindle, announced it on the Amazon forums and at Kindleboards and waited for people to snatch it off the virtual shelf.  Mostly, it collected dust.

Eventually, I released a second and then a third book onto Kindle (Isabeau and Worth Dying For). Sometimes I went days in between sales. The first day I reached double digits, I was ecstatic. Still, after several months I was barely averaging half a dozen a day. Resigned to the fact that I had given it a go, I went back to college to renew my teaching certificate. But a funny thing happened while I was scribbling notes in Anatomy class. Sales began to snowball: 10, then 20, then 50, and eventually 100 a day. 

Just eleven months after launching my first e-book, the tally ticked over to 10,000 Kindle books sold. In May of 2011, Isabeau, A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer, was awarded the IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Award) Silver Medal in the Historical Fiction category. Two of my three books have also regularly been in the Top 100 Kindle Bestsellers for Historical Fiction.

Someone asked me this past year how it felt to hold my book in my hands. Truth be told, to me it was just a manuscript in a fancy wrapper – the same thing I’d been seeing on my computer screen for years. But I really knew I was a writer when I got my first fan mail, asking when the next book would be out. That is the most awesome feeling in the world. It also terrifies me, because I know I have to put my best effort into each successive book and that continued success is never a given.

Ten years ago, these opportunities wouldn’t have existed. The biases against self-publishing are eroding as readers discover fresh, new voices and the lines between traditional and indie publishing blur. With an engaging story and solid writing, you can climb the rankings, but it also takes patience, luck and hard work.

I’ve since put plans of returning to work on hold while I work on finishing two more books. It’s a great time to be a writer!

Gemi's Website
Gemi's Blog
Gemi on Facebook
Gemi on Twitter

The Crown In The Heather (The Bruce Trilogy)
Isabeau, A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer
Worth Dying For (The Bruce Trilogy)

Happy Fourth & Happy Independents Week

Yes, I made that whole thing about Happy Indpendents Week up, but the Fourth of July is certainly true. Wishing a happy and safe holiday to everyone who's enjoying it so far.

Another great reason to celebrate this week will be another series of guest posts from some of the authors I interviewed at this time last year. Starting tomorrow, N. Gemini Sasson, Michelle Gregory, Peter Johnson and Kristina Emmons are back at the blog, talking about their experiences as writers. The posts they shared last year still generate a lot of hits on the blog. I'm excited to feature each of them on the blog again and share what they've been up to. I'll also be sharing a year of my publication efforts and the goals that lie ahead. The schedule is as follows:

N. Gemini Sasson (historical fiction) - Tuesday, July 5
Michelle Gregory (fantasy) - Wednesday, July 6
Peter Johnson (historical fiction) - Thursday, July 7
Kristina Emmons (historical fiction) - Friday, July 8
Me (historical fiction & contemporary novellas) - Saturday, Friday 9

I hope you'll join us.