Independent Publishing

Independent Publishing

There are pros and cons to publishing one’s books independently.  The pros are that you don’t have to submit your book and wait for someone to read the slush pile at a publisher and get back to you.  You no longer have to go through a vanity press and pay thousands of dollars to publish your own book.  Companies like Smashwords and CreateSpace will help you format your manuscript and allow you to upload it for little or no cash up front, and will even help you design your own cover art.  If you can afford it, many of these companies (including CreateSpaced) even offer editing services.

The cons are that many authors cannot afford editing services.  And not everyone who thinks they can write better than the author whose book they just read can write professionally.  Some of these novices have talent that, with the help of a good editor could be honed and polished.  Others, well… Others I wouldn’t even agree to review next door on Rochelle’s Reviews.

This is not to say that there aren’t some really good independently published books out there.  I have colleagues who have published some of their books independently for various reasons, and I published my first book, Rock Bound through CreateSpace after it went through two e-book publishers.  Inara Press was a start-up company that just didn’t make it.  I parted amiably with the publisher and went to another company, Red Rose Publishing.  Stay away from them.  That’s a whole other blog.

The point is, a professional writer will work with a critique group, a beta reader, even his/her spouse to be sure the book s/he’s putting out is as polished as possible.  The way to tell what you’re getting is to read the blurb and excerpt.  If they’re messy and difficult to understand, the rest of the book will be, too.  In the indie publishing world, the motto truly is “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) when reading an independently published author with whom you are not familiar.  And, okay, shameless plug:  check out the critics like me.

http://rochellesreview.blogspot.com

People CAN Make a Difference!

March 13, 2012

Smashwords author/publisher update: PayPal Reverses Proposed Censorship

Great news. Yesterday afternoon I met with PayPal at their office in San Jose, where they informed me of their decision to modify their policies to allow legal fiction.

Effective last night, we rolled back the Smashwords Terms of Service to its pre-February 24 state.

It's been a tumultuous, nerve-wracking few weeks as we worked to protect the right of writers to write and publish legal fiction.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Smashwords authors, publishers and customers. You stood up and made your voice known. Thank you to every Smashwords author and publisher who wrote me to express opinions, even if we disagreed, and even if you were angry with me. You inspired me to carry your cause forward.  

Smashwords authors, publishers and customers mobilized. You made telephone calls, wrote emails and letters, started and signed petitions, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked and drove the conversation. You made the difference. Without you, no one would have paid attention. I would also like to thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). These three advocacy groups were the first to stand up for our authors, publishers and customers. Their contribution cannot be overstated. We collaborated with them to build a coalition of like-minded organizations to support our mutual cause. Special kudos to Rainey Reitman of EFF for her energy, enthusiasm and leadership…

I would like to thank our friends at PayPal. They worked with us in good faith as they promised, engaged us in dialogue, made the effort to understand Smashwords and our mission, went to bat for our authors with the credit card companies and banks, and showed the courage to revise their policies.

This is a big, bold move by PayPal. It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction. It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.

Following implementation of their new policies, PayPal will have the most liberal, pro-First-Amendment policies of the major payment processors. Will Google Checkout and Checkout by Amazon be next now that the credit card companies have clarified their positions, and have essentially given payment providers the permission to adopt more enlightened policies?  Finally, thanks to Selena Kitt of Excessica and Remittance Girl for helping me to understand and respect all fiction more than I ever have before.

This is a bright day for indie publishing. In the old world, traditional publishers were the arbiters of literary merit. Today, thanks to the rise of indie e-books, the world is moving toward a broader, more inclusive definition of literary merit. Smashwords gives writers the power and freedom to publish. Merit is decided by your readers. Just as it should be.

Thanks,

Mark Coker

Founder

Smashwords

The above announcement came from the Smashwords Press Room.  I published Rock Bound through Smashwords, and I’m proud to have been one of those bloggers.  We made a difference!

At the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition (EPIC) awards, Mark Coker beat my other publisher, Lea Shizas of MuseItUp Publishing, Inc., winning a special award for which they were both nominated.  I forgive you, Mark, as even The Muse wouldn’t be able to sell anything if PayPal had continued its censorship policy.

But, about The Muse:  Lea has long been a mentor and teacher of new writers with her MuseItUp free annual on-line writers conference.  And in less than a year and a half since The Muse released its first book, our books and cover art have won awards from Preditors and Editors as well as EPIC and others.

One of our Muse authors won an EPIC in the suspense thriller category.  Cyrus Keith won for his incredible book, Becoming NADIA.  Cyrus is easily as good an author as Tom Clancy in his early days and Becoming NADIA is a real page-burner.  Congratulations, Cyrus!  Here’s the buy link to Becoming NADIA.

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=66&category_id=7&manufacturer_id=40&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Meet Katie McGowan of Rock Crazy

This is the first official stop on my blog-tour.  Follow me through the tour and you could win a prize.  One lucky commenter can choose a signed copy of Rock Bound, or a Rock Crazy tee shirt or mug.  The full schedule is on the left-hand column and the next links are at the bottom of this post.

 

What’s Rock Crazy about?  Here’s the short version—abandoned, pregnant and bi-polar, Katie McGowan’s going crazy on that God-forsaken rock the Moon!

And now, I’d like to introduce Katie McGowan, the heroine of Rock Crazy.

RIW:         I’m asking these questions in the Rockton Community Hospital, inside Mt. Aragaeus on the Moon, where Katie McGowan has been hospitalized for the remainder of her pregnancy.  She’s lucid and is sitting up in bed as she speaks to me.

What's your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about YOU?

Katie:       I have no clue.  I’m bi-polar, but so are a lot of people.  And it’s not like I came up to the Moon to have that chip implanted in my brain.  I don’t wanna become a robot, or a vegetable.  They say the surgery’s not experimental anymore, but there was a lady in the hospital when I was in for one of my manic tantrums and she had the surgery when it was still an experiment and she was a vegetable.  I don’t wanna be like her.

RIW:         Can you tell us about your hero/ine?

Katie:       I don’t really have one.  [Katie’s eyes well with tears.]  My ex-husband, Scott, brought me up here to this God-forsaken rock, the Moon, and then he dumped me the first time I decked him!  He said he couldn’t deal with my tantrums anymore.  He knew I was bi-polar when he married me the first time and when we renewed our contract after the first five years.  But I knew it wouldn’t do any good to fight him when I looked in his eyes.  Well, when I looked in the one that wasn’t bandaged.  There was no twinkle.  It was just flat and dead looking.  And I didn’t have the strength to fight because I was sick!  I couldn’t keep anything down, including my meds!  How could he yell at me for not taking my meds when I’d try but I’d just vomit them right back up?  I thought I was space sick and Scott—I don’t know what he thought.  But it was morning sickness, all day.

RIW:         What problems do you have to face and overcome in your life?

Katie:       Well, I guess I really do need to get the chip implanted in my head.  I’m not space sick; I’m pregnant.  And my boss’ wife says if I want to keep my baby, I have to have the surgery.  But the doc says it’s too dangerous now and my meds’ll hurt the baby so I had to go off them and I can’t stop crying and I know I’m gonna get violent again and prob’ly suicidal and…  Oh, me-ann… I’m in trouble!

RIW:         Do you expect your hero/ine to help or is s/he the problem?

Katie:       Scott says he wants me back.  Like I can ever trust him again.  He says he didn’t really want a divorce.  He was just trying to force me to get the surgery.  He claims he thought if I had to support myself and live on my own I’d “hit bottom” and realize I needed the chip.  He even says he’ll take me home now, but the doc says it isn’t safe to travel.  Scott looked kinda puzzled when the doc said that, but I’m listening to the doc—not Scott.  If he ever wants me back, he’s gotta show me that he wants me and not just our baby.

RIW:         That’s all the questions we have for you. Thank you for speaking to us.

Katie:       Yeah, thanks for interviewing me.  I still don’t see why anyone would want to write a book about me.  I’m not all that special.  Maybe the baby’ll do something important and someone’ll write something cool about me in the history books as the mother of…

[Katie pats her abdomen.]  You’re gonna grow up and do something really important, aren’t you, Baby?

Her eyes go out of focus and after a pause, she replies, “Because you’re special and I’m gonna be a much better Mommy to you than mine was to me.”

Her demeanor changes completely and she snarls almost like an animal, arms wrapping protectively around her swollen abdomen.  It looks as though she’s trying to kick but her legs are restrained by an invisible force.  “Leave me alone you nasty bitch!  I don’t want you anywhere near my baby, Mama!”

“I won’t let her hurt you, Baby.  I promise.  She won’t ‘raise you right’.  Scott, help us!”

A nurse comes into the room and holds a syringe up to Katie’s IV tube.  There’s a faint hiss, and Katie slumps back in the bed, unconcious.  “I’m afraid that’s all you’ll get from her today, Ms. Weber.”

Price:  $5.50

Buy Link:  http://tinyurl.com/museituprockcrazy

Or:

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=223&category_id=43&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Right now you can go over to Rochelle’s Reviews and see what I had to say about May I Have This Dance by Roseanne Dowell.  Don’t forget to leave a comment on both blogs.  I’ll see you on Thursday, October 20, 2011 over at Decadent Decisions, Lynn Chantale’s blog.

I’ll draw a name from among those who comment on all of the stops between now and The Long & the Short of It Reviews on November 14, 2011 and I’ll announce it here on November 15 2011.

E-Books Have Arrived

Forget the NY Times Best Seller List or industry predictions. E-Books have made it! Ever since I first started writing, my sister and brother-in-law have been asking when my first book, Rock Bound, would come out in print. When I signed my contract with MuseItUp Publishing, Inc. for Rock Crazy, they asked whether it would be out in print. This evening, I visited them. Earlier this month they turned 75 and 78 respectively, but we got snowed in so I finally got around to taking their birthday cake over to them.

I took along the galley proof of the paperback version of Rock Bound and the Kindle my younger daughter gave me as a belated b-day gift when her taxes came in. A friend of my brother-in-law recently got one, so he was familiar with the fact that it holds thousands of books at once, and how easy it is to order them. I told them you could also load MP3s on it and listen to music or books on tape and showed them how you can change the font if you need to make it bigger, and how it keeps your page when you turn it off. I couldn’t believe my ears when he mentioned it saves trees.

My sister had a stroke about six years ago that affected her right hand and arm, and she loves to read, but library books are heavy and a Kindle is not only lighter, you don’t have to hold it open and changing pages is much easier for a stroke victim. I should have taken along the plate holder I use to prop mine up when I’m eating out. You know—the kind you can buy at Wal-Mart or a craft store to display collector plates. It works great.

So, they nodded politely when I showed them the paperback galley of Rock Bound, and now they’re asking if my books will be on Kindle. E-books have truly arrived!