Monday, April 21, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher (Part 5)
I'm BAAACK - my hand is much better and I'm out of the really annoying splint that made me type so slowly I frustrated myself continually.
Back to my series on e-publishing and, more specifically, how to figure out whick e-publishers you want to target for your submission.....
Read part one here.
Read part two here.
Read part three here.
Read part four here.
E-Publisher Product Quality
More information can be surmised by looking at the e-publisher’s current offerings and seeing just what they have out right now. Some of these are a little more fuzzy than others and a lot hinges on your own comfort level with the way the e-publisher handles them.
Covers
I mentioned this in passing before but covers can vary widely by publisher and they are important for several reasons:
• Cover appearance has an effect on readers and, thus, on sales.
• Cover appearance has an effect on the author and the author’s desire to promote that book.
• Cover appearance has an effect on some reviewers.
Do be aware that you should look at the average cover art. Better selling authors or bigger name authors tend to get better covers and more consideration. Don’t hang any hopes that your first book with any house will have that house’s gold standard of cover art.
Preferred Subjects
What types of books does the e-publisher specialize in? The submissions may say one thing but what do you see in the books being sold, especially those in the last couple of months? Is there a heavy weighting toward a particular subject or type of book?
Be sure to also pay attention to the length of the stories. It’s not unusual for an e-publisher to say they accept long stories but have a definite preference for shorter ones.
Story Quality
What do you think of the story you bought a story? Was it something you liked? Do you think the e-publisher looks for new and interesting takes on things or do all the blurbs sound familiar?
Editing
What do you think of the quality of the editing in the story you bought? Do you consider it to be a well-edited story? Did you find issues that continually drew you out of the story? Did the story line work well or did it lag and sag in places? The most important thing is whether you feel you would be happy if your story went out in the same shape as the one you are reading.
Pricing
What is the e-publisher’s pricing structure? Pricing is always a tricky subject because authors and houses need to make money but readers also need to both be able to afford the stories and they need to perceive it as a good value. Do you feel the price charged is a fair price for the book you received.
Part Six on Thursday!
Back to my series on e-publishing and, more specifically, how to figure out whick e-publishers you want to target for your submission.....
Read part one here.
Read part two here.
Read part three here.
Read part four here.
E-Publisher Product Quality
More information can be surmised by looking at the e-publisher’s current offerings and seeing just what they have out right now. Some of these are a little more fuzzy than others and a lot hinges on your own comfort level with the way the e-publisher handles them.
Covers
I mentioned this in passing before but covers can vary widely by publisher and they are important for several reasons:
• Cover appearance has an effect on readers and, thus, on sales.
• Cover appearance has an effect on the author and the author’s desire to promote that book.
• Cover appearance has an effect on some reviewers.
Do be aware that you should look at the average cover art. Better selling authors or bigger name authors tend to get better covers and more consideration. Don’t hang any hopes that your first book with any house will have that house’s gold standard of cover art.
Preferred Subjects
What types of books does the e-publisher specialize in? The submissions may say one thing but what do you see in the books being sold, especially those in the last couple of months? Is there a heavy weighting toward a particular subject or type of book?
Be sure to also pay attention to the length of the stories. It’s not unusual for an e-publisher to say they accept long stories but have a definite preference for shorter ones.
Story Quality
What do you think of the story you bought a story? Was it something you liked? Do you think the e-publisher looks for new and interesting takes on things or do all the blurbs sound familiar?
Editing
What do you think of the quality of the editing in the story you bought? Do you consider it to be a well-edited story? Did you find issues that continually drew you out of the story? Did the story line work well or did it lag and sag in places? The most important thing is whether you feel you would be happy if your story went out in the same shape as the one you are reading.
Pricing
What is the e-publisher’s pricing structure? Pricing is always a tricky subject because authors and houses need to make money but readers also need to both be able to afford the stories and they need to perceive it as a good value. Do you feel the price charged is a fair price for the book you received.
Part Six on Thursday!
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 8:49 PM by Maura Anderson 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher - Next Party Delayed --Anderso
I had hand surgery yesterday so I'll get the next installment of Targeting an E-Publisher up tomorrow.
Sorry for the delay.
Sorry for the delay.
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 11:17 AM by Maura Anderson 1 Comments
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher (Part 4)
Continuing on with examining e-publishers to narrow down those you want to target for submissions.
Read part one here.
Read part two here.
Read part three here.
E-Publisher Website Usability
TeddyPig did a feature on his blog talking about publisher website designs and how easy or hard they are to use for readers. I highly recommoend reading his thoughts in addition to my own.
The reason you look at this is that it has a direct impact on your sales. Websites that are difficult to use or problematic can frustrate readers and make it difficult to find or buy your stories.
Can you find new releases?
Are new releases displayed prominently so readers always know what’s new? Many readers look at the front page of the publisher’s website to find brand new releases. New releases should be listed in date order because it’s frustrating to have to check every book released in “this month” to see which ones are new this week.
Can you find other books in a series?
If a book is part of a series (single author or multi-author), can you find the other books in the series easily and can you tell the order of the books in the series? This can make it far easier for readers to buy an entire series if they like one book in it or to keep track of a series at any time.
Can you find other books by a particular author?
Can you easily find other books by any particular author? If you open any book’s page, can you click on the author name to go to a bio or a page that contains links to other books by that author? This makes it easier for readers to discover your backlist and buy it when they like the book they’ve purchased.
Can you find a list of coming releases?
Is there a Coming Soon page that shows you the cover, blurb and author information for books that are coming soon? You want to be able to start promoting a book heavily once it shows up on the Coming Soon page and readers go through that page a lot more than some authors think, often announcing they’ve found new books by their favorite authors on it and asking for details.
Can you understand the Categories?
Are the e-publisher’s categories fairly standard or are they being customized to the point they are no longer recognizable. If your readers can’t understand the categories because they’re specific only to that author, they may not bother to browse them and you may lose a reader that may have otherwise stumbled across your book.
Can you easily purchase a book and download it?
How difficult is it to purchase a book and get it downloaded to your system? Do you have to go back and forth to a 3rd party fulfillment site? Do you get a download link immediately or do you have to wait to get an email? What formats are offered?
If you buy a book, do you pay per format or can you download any format at the end?
This can be a bit of a minefield and not many, if any, e-publishers do everything in the way I’d prefer but mainly you’re judging the pain factor of trying to be one of your potential readers by buying one or two books that interest you. If it’s too difficult, readers won’t bother to keep coming back and may not even complete their first transaction. That’s a sale lost.
Part Five tomorrow.
Read part one here.
Read part two here.
Read part three here.
E-Publisher Website Usability
TeddyPig did a feature on his blog talking about publisher website designs and how easy or hard they are to use for readers. I highly recommoend reading his thoughts in addition to my own.
The reason you look at this is that it has a direct impact on your sales. Websites that are difficult to use or problematic can frustrate readers and make it difficult to find or buy your stories.
Can you find new releases?
Are new releases displayed prominently so readers always know what’s new? Many readers look at the front page of the publisher’s website to find brand new releases. New releases should be listed in date order because it’s frustrating to have to check every book released in “this month” to see which ones are new this week.
Can you find other books in a series?
If a book is part of a series (single author or multi-author), can you find the other books in the series easily and can you tell the order of the books in the series? This can make it far easier for readers to buy an entire series if they like one book in it or to keep track of a series at any time.
Can you find other books by a particular author?
Can you easily find other books by any particular author? If you open any book’s page, can you click on the author name to go to a bio or a page that contains links to other books by that author? This makes it easier for readers to discover your backlist and buy it when they like the book they’ve purchased.
Can you find a list of coming releases?
Is there a Coming Soon page that shows you the cover, blurb and author information for books that are coming soon? You want to be able to start promoting a book heavily once it shows up on the Coming Soon page and readers go through that page a lot more than some authors think, often announcing they’ve found new books by their favorite authors on it and asking for details.
Can you understand the Categories?
Are the e-publisher’s categories fairly standard or are they being customized to the point they are no longer recognizable. If your readers can’t understand the categories because they’re specific only to that author, they may not bother to browse them and you may lose a reader that may have otherwise stumbled across your book.
Can you easily purchase a book and download it?
How difficult is it to purchase a book and get it downloaded to your system? Do you have to go back and forth to a 3rd party fulfillment site? Do you get a download link immediately or do you have to wait to get an email? What formats are offered?
If you buy a book, do you pay per format or can you download any format at the end?
This can be a bit of a minefield and not many, if any, e-publishers do everything in the way I’d prefer but mainly you’re judging the pain factor of trying to be one of your potential readers by buying one or two books that interest you. If it’s too difficult, readers won’t bother to keep coming back and may not even complete their first transaction. That’s a sale lost.
Part Five tomorrow.
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 4:06 PM by Maura Anderson 0 Comments
Friday, April 04, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher (Part 3)
Read Part 1 of the series here.
Read Part 2 of the series here.
E-Publisher Website Data
You can learn a surprising amount by looking around each e-publisher’s website. This is what customers will see and use and you should put yourself in the mindset of a customer when you explore it. If you find something confusing, so will other people. If you find something a pleasure to use, so will others. Customers are very easy to influence with website usability and design, so it pays to take it into account.
Things you see on the website can also be extrapolated to give you clues to certain behaviors or data that can make a difference on how you rank that e-publisher on your list.
How Long Has This E-Publisher Been In Business
Length of time in business is not the whole story. E-publishers have failed after months in business and years in business. What this information does do is give you a data point to look at when you also look at the number of releases or authors.
But a new e-publisher will most likely not have the customer base of an e-publisher that has been in business longer. New stories may not have the sales figures with a smaller or newer e-publisher that they would have with an older or larger one.
What Do Current Covers Look Like?
Covers can take many forms and many “looks.” Not everyone’s taste in covers is the same and it can make a significant difference for some readers and authors. You should wander through each e-publisher’s catalog of books and get a feel for what that e-publisher’s normal cover look is. Then decide whether you are comfortable having that cover on your book or not. You really are the only one who can make that call. If you don’t like or at least accept your cover, you’re less likely to be happy and less likely to promote your work.
How Many Releases Per Week?
The number of releases per week will give you a rough look at the volume of the e-publisher. Because e-publishers do not generally provide sales numbers, you have to make some rough guesses of what that might be. Typically, the number of releases per week corresponds to the e-publisher’s sales volumes. An e-publisher that has one release a week almost certainly has lower overall sales than an e-publisher that has four new releases per week.
How Many Authors in the Stable?
Take a look at the stable of authors the e-publisher has. If most of the stories published are from a small subset of the stable or the stable is very small in relation to the number of stories released per week, that may be a sign of either a publisher that is mostly focused on its owners.
Don’t mistake this for a publisher who is merely new and has a small stable because of that. In that case the e-publisher may only release one book a week and have a small stable of core authors.
What File Formats are Offered?
This is another factor that can have an impact on the customer base. People quickly develop favored formats based on how they read ebooks and are less likely to buy a format they cannot easily use unless they are already hooked on the author’s work.
Part 4 will be posted Sunday :)
Read Part 2 of the series here.
E-Publisher Website Data
You can learn a surprising amount by looking around each e-publisher’s website. This is what customers will see and use and you should put yourself in the mindset of a customer when you explore it. If you find something confusing, so will other people. If you find something a pleasure to use, so will others. Customers are very easy to influence with website usability and design, so it pays to take it into account.
Things you see on the website can also be extrapolated to give you clues to certain behaviors or data that can make a difference on how you rank that e-publisher on your list.
How Long Has This E-Publisher Been In Business
Length of time in business is not the whole story. E-publishers have failed after months in business and years in business. What this information does do is give you a data point to look at when you also look at the number of releases or authors.
But a new e-publisher will most likely not have the customer base of an e-publisher that has been in business longer. New stories may not have the sales figures with a smaller or newer e-publisher that they would have with an older or larger one.
What Do Current Covers Look Like?
Covers can take many forms and many “looks.” Not everyone’s taste in covers is the same and it can make a significant difference for some readers and authors. You should wander through each e-publisher’s catalog of books and get a feel for what that e-publisher’s normal cover look is. Then decide whether you are comfortable having that cover on your book or not. You really are the only one who can make that call. If you don’t like or at least accept your cover, you’re less likely to be happy and less likely to promote your work.
How Many Releases Per Week?
The number of releases per week will give you a rough look at the volume of the e-publisher. Because e-publishers do not generally provide sales numbers, you have to make some rough guesses of what that might be. Typically, the number of releases per week corresponds to the e-publisher’s sales volumes. An e-publisher that has one release a week almost certainly has lower overall sales than an e-publisher that has four new releases per week.
How Many Authors in the Stable?
Take a look at the stable of authors the e-publisher has. If most of the stories published are from a small subset of the stable or the stable is very small in relation to the number of stories released per week, that may be a sign of either a publisher that is mostly focused on its owners.
Don’t mistake this for a publisher who is merely new and has a small stable because of that. In that case the e-publisher may only release one book a week and have a small stable of core authors.
What File Formats are Offered?
This is another factor that can have an impact on the customer base. People quickly develop favored formats based on how they read ebooks and are less likely to buy a format they cannot easily use unless they are already hooked on the author’s work.
Part 4 will be posted Sunday :)
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 11:59 PM by Maura Anderson 6 Comments
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher (Part 2)
I'm posting this early because I actually have to get to bed before midnight.
You can read part 1 of this series here.
Narrowing the Field
There are a lot of factors to take into account when you look at e-publishers. As is the case with a lot of things, there’s no absolutely perfect solution for everyone. You will need to make choices and consider tradeoffs. Only you can tell what is truly important to you for any particular story and any time in your writing career.
When you look at the list below, I encourage you to make a list of pros and cons for each e-publisher you’re considering. If you are not eligible for that e-publisher for some reason, just remove them from the list. This will leave you with a much clearer idea of what places may suit your work and you can then rank the remaining e-publishers in order of how desirable you find them.
E-Publisher Submissions Page Information
One of the best places to start is the e-publisher’s own submissions page. A lot of the most basic information you need should be located there. If the e-publisher you are considering does not have a submissions page, that may be a red flag right there.
Are Submissions Open or Closed?
Closed submissions means, if you are determined to write for this e-publisher, you’ll have to wait to submit until the submissions open again (or a contest is being held). If submissions are closed, make a note of the date they will reopen to submissions, if it’s mentioned.
Does Your Story Fit the Guidelines?
If your story doesn’t match the list of what that e-publisher is buying or, worse yet, violates one of their explicit rules, don’t bother to submit it.
What Needs to be Submitted and How?
Some e-publishers want information in addition to the more standard query letter and partial. If you do not already have this information available, it may cost you some time to produce it.
The type of material requested may also give you clues to the e-publisher’s concerns – for example, a request for a marketing plan may give you an indication that the e-publisher may be concerned that their authors make a significant contribution and investment in self-marketing and promo. These may also be positives or negatives, depending on your own comfort levels or resources.
What is the Stated Response Time?
This can be significantly different between different e-publishers. Most e-publishers request that you at least indicate if you are doing simultaneous submissions (submitting to more than a single publisher and/or e-publisher at any one time) and some request that you do not do it. What that means is that your submission may be tied up waiting for a response for an e-publisher for up to a year or maybe even more and you need to factor this into your submission decision and order.
What are the Standard Contract Terms?
Many e-publishers list at least their author royalty percentage and a few post sample contracts on their websites. You should try to get an idea of both royalty percentage and just what rights are requested and note those details down.
Is Print Possible? On What Terms?
This is only listed on e-publisher submissions pages occasionally but if going into print at some point is important to you, be sure to look around and see what you can discover about the chances of going into print and what is required. Sometimes it’s a certain minimum of sales, sometimes the author has to pay into production or buy a certain number of books to qualify.
I'll post more on Saturday, as long as Emily doesn't kill me first because I'm rather long-winded.
You can read part 1 of this series here.
Narrowing the Field
There are a lot of factors to take into account when you look at e-publishers. As is the case with a lot of things, there’s no absolutely perfect solution for everyone. You will need to make choices and consider tradeoffs. Only you can tell what is truly important to you for any particular story and any time in your writing career.
When you look at the list below, I encourage you to make a list of pros and cons for each e-publisher you’re considering. If you are not eligible for that e-publisher for some reason, just remove them from the list. This will leave you with a much clearer idea of what places may suit your work and you can then rank the remaining e-publishers in order of how desirable you find them.
E-Publisher Submissions Page Information
One of the best places to start is the e-publisher’s own submissions page. A lot of the most basic information you need should be located there. If the e-publisher you are considering does not have a submissions page, that may be a red flag right there.
Are Submissions Open or Closed?
Closed submissions means, if you are determined to write for this e-publisher, you’ll have to wait to submit until the submissions open again (or a contest is being held). If submissions are closed, make a note of the date they will reopen to submissions, if it’s mentioned.
Does Your Story Fit the Guidelines?
If your story doesn’t match the list of what that e-publisher is buying or, worse yet, violates one of their explicit rules, don’t bother to submit it.
What Needs to be Submitted and How?
Some e-publishers want information in addition to the more standard query letter and partial. If you do not already have this information available, it may cost you some time to produce it.
The type of material requested may also give you clues to the e-publisher’s concerns – for example, a request for a marketing plan may give you an indication that the e-publisher may be concerned that their authors make a significant contribution and investment in self-marketing and promo. These may also be positives or negatives, depending on your own comfort levels or resources.
What is the Stated Response Time?
This can be significantly different between different e-publishers. Most e-publishers request that you at least indicate if you are doing simultaneous submissions (submitting to more than a single publisher and/or e-publisher at any one time) and some request that you do not do it. What that means is that your submission may be tied up waiting for a response for an e-publisher for up to a year or maybe even more and you need to factor this into your submission decision and order.
What are the Standard Contract Terms?
Many e-publishers list at least their author royalty percentage and a few post sample contracts on their websites. You should try to get an idea of both royalty percentage and just what rights are requested and note those details down.
Is Print Possible? On What Terms?
This is only listed on e-publisher submissions pages occasionally but if going into print at some point is important to you, be sure to look around and see what you can discover about the chances of going into print and what is required. Sometimes it’s a certain minimum of sales, sometimes the author has to pay into production or buy a certain number of books to qualify.
I'll post more on Saturday, as long as Emily doesn't kill me first because I'm rather long-winded.
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 8:41 PM by Maura Anderson 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Targeting an E-Publisher (Part 1)
(This is another post that has to be split up over multiple days because it's so long.)
Note: If you want a PDF version of my first post in this series, Formatting a Manuscript for E-Publishing, you can download the PDF from my Scribd folder.
Introduction
Once you have a manuscript written and it’s been proofed and test read and is ready to go, you have to try to sell it. For many people, this is the most harrowing part of the entire process and, unfortunately, this often leads to even more frustration because they will end up submitting manuscripts and collecting rejections from houses they shouldn’t have targeted at all. This is needless work and needless pain.
I really advocate being smart and educated when deciding which e-publishers to submit your hard work to. This includes doing some research and due diligence on the various e-publishers and making sure any compromises or tradeoffs are made knowingly. Educated decisions and even compromises are a key part of success in this industry.
I’m not attempting to tell you which e-publisher to choose. Instead I’m just trying to give you ideas of what to consider when selecting which e-publishers you want to submit your hard work to.
Know Exactly What You’re Selling
The first part of the formula is to know exactly what you are selling. This sounds like a really obvious and redundant thing to point out but I’ll do it anyway. I have actually met people who do not know what genre their story is and some aren’t sure how long it is!
If you followed the instructions in the first article in this series (Formatting for E-Publishing), you will already have a cover page that tells you exactly what genre you believe your story to be and how long it is. If you didn’t follow those instructions, write those two key pieces of information down and keep it handy.
Finding E-Publishers
There are a number of places to look for simple lists of e-publishers that publish the type of work you want to sell.
Some suggestions are:
• EREC (Erotic Romance E-Publisher Comparison Site): http://www.erecsite.com/index.html
• Preditors & Editors: http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/
• EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection): http://www.epicauthors.com/
• Piers Anthony: http://www.hipiers.com/
• Publishers you own books from.
• Recommendations from friends, loops, etc.
Note that some of these sites give information and offer recommendations. I always think these should be noted but no one recommendation or warning should constitute your entire decision on an e-publisher.
Part 2 will be put up tomorrow and will start talking about the various pieces of information you can use to narrow down and rank your list of e-publishers with.
Note: If you want a PDF version of my first post in this series, Formatting a Manuscript for E-Publishing, you can download the PDF from my Scribd folder.
Introduction
Once you have a manuscript written and it’s been proofed and test read and is ready to go, you have to try to sell it. For many people, this is the most harrowing part of the entire process and, unfortunately, this often leads to even more frustration because they will end up submitting manuscripts and collecting rejections from houses they shouldn’t have targeted at all. This is needless work and needless pain.
I really advocate being smart and educated when deciding which e-publishers to submit your hard work to. This includes doing some research and due diligence on the various e-publishers and making sure any compromises or tradeoffs are made knowingly. Educated decisions and even compromises are a key part of success in this industry.
I’m not attempting to tell you which e-publisher to choose. Instead I’m just trying to give you ideas of what to consider when selecting which e-publishers you want to submit your hard work to.
Know Exactly What You’re Selling
The first part of the formula is to know exactly what you are selling. This sounds like a really obvious and redundant thing to point out but I’ll do it anyway. I have actually met people who do not know what genre their story is and some aren’t sure how long it is!
If you followed the instructions in the first article in this series (Formatting for E-Publishing), you will already have a cover page that tells you exactly what genre you believe your story to be and how long it is. If you didn’t follow those instructions, write those two key pieces of information down and keep it handy.
Finding E-Publishers
There are a number of places to look for simple lists of e-publishers that publish the type of work you want to sell.
Some suggestions are:
• EREC (Erotic Romance E-Publisher Comparison Site): http://www.erecsite.com/index.html
• Preditors & Editors: http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/
• EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection): http://www.epicauthors.com/
• Piers Anthony: http://www.hipiers.com/
• Publishers you own books from.
• Recommendations from friends, loops, etc.
Note that some of these sites give information and offer recommendations. I always think these should be noted but no one recommendation or warning should constitute your entire decision on an e-publisher.
Part 2 will be put up tomorrow and will start talking about the various pieces of information you can use to narrow down and rank your list of e-publishers with.
Labels: e-publishing, Maura Anderson, Writing
¶ posted at 11:42 PM by Maura Anderson 2 Comments
Friday, March 21, 2008
Formatting Manuscripts for E-Publishing (Part 2)
Here is the second half of my first e-publishing topic. Yesterday's post left off with general manuscript formatting, now here are some other guidelines that have to do with your manuscript. There is some overlap with topics that will be posted later, like Submitting to a Publisher, etc.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments and check my blog next Wednesday if you want a link to a downloadable PDF of this topic.
=========================================
Title and Author Name
The title of this manuscript and your name should always appear in the header. My preference is to have them in the upper left. I also recommend using a format like:
Title of Book / Maura Anderson
This serves the purpose of the reader being able to instantly associate what they are reading with the manuscript and author it comes from. No having to scroll to a cover page or rely on the filename for that information.
It also means that if it someone happens to print it out, that important information remains with every page of the printout.
Page Number
The page numbers should also appear in the header. My preference is the upper right. This is more useful for those recipients that want to print the manuscript but it doesn’t hurt.
--Cover Page
I always recommend that the first page in your document be a cover page. This page will give anyone you submit the manuscript to an instant way to have your contact information, an idea of what the story is and how long and even a short blurb at their disposal at all times. Because it’s part of the document, it travels with it so there is no need to hunt through emails to find the submission mail if they want to contact you.
Contact Information
Put all your contact information in the upper left corner of the cover page. I include different phone numbers, email, snail mail and my real name as well as my pseudonym. I recommend something like this:
Maura RealName
w/a Maura Anderson
1234 Main Street
SmallTown, USA 98765
realmsoftheraven @ gmail.com
(123) 456-7890 – home
(123) 456-7890 – work
(123) 456-7890 - cell
Title
About 1/3 of the way down the cover page, center the title of your manuscript and state your pseudonym again. I recommend:
Tort & Retort
By
Maura Anderson
Blurb
I started including this on the advice of another author and I’ve actually found it to be quite useful. Because e-publishers often send submissions to remote editors to review, the cover email doesn’t always follow them. Plus, if your story is contracted, you have a small blurb ready for the editor to look at and it may be the one they use on the house’s website.
Try to keep the blurb about 250 words which is a fairly typical short blurb length in e-publishing. Align it flush left and place it about 2/3 of the way down the page. I recommend something similar to:
Blurb:
Ambitious and driven patent law attorney, Gayle Osborne, has a secret. Her power suits and take-no-prisoners attitude hide a passionate nature whose only outlet is reading and reviewing erotic romance. If anyone finds out that she is “Miss Retort,” the snarky and opinionated blogger from the Hits & Misses review blog, she’ll lose everything—her reputation, her clients, her job and, worst of all, her gorgeous mentor and boss, Tyler Monroe.
Genre
Almost at the bottom of the page and flush left, clearly state the genre of your manuscript. Do not use one of the comparisons that are so popular (aka “Harry Potter meets Sex and the City”). Instead state the genre you would expect it to appear under for sale. I recommend something like:
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Word Count
Right below the genre, list the actual word count for your story. This should be excluding the cover page and should be the real word count as shown by your word processing software. I recommend something like:
Words: 18,236 (actual)
The notation of “(actual)” tells the recipients that you are using that and not one of the formula derived counts of print publishing.
--File
When you send your manuscript as an electronic file, it’s important that the recipients can tell what it is and what it pertains to at all times. In part, this is because of the number of viruses spread via attachments but it is also more professional.
File Name
Give your manuscript’s file a descriptive, meaningful name. Avoid spaces in the filename because some systems still do not handle that well. Include both the name of the manuscript and your pseudonym. I recommend something similar to:
TortAndRetort_MauraAnderson
If your manuscript is contracted, your e-publishing house may have a naming standard they will want to use. This is only so it can be found and identified through the submissions process.
File Format
Because of differences in software as well as the ability for viruses or malware to be spread (even unintentionally) through more sophisticated file types, I recommend all files be saved and submitted as Rich Text Files (.RTF). Be sure you double-check this on the e-publisher’s website, however, because incorrect filetypes being submitted will usually result in them simply being deleted with no warning and no notice.
Send Via
This is a place where you have to check the e-publisher’s website. Some e-publishers want you to send submissions as mail attachments. Some want you to send them via a web form.
What to Send
This varies widely by the e-publisher and you really have to check. Some want only partials of your manuscript. Some want a synopsis as well. Some want the full. Follow their instructions for the best chance of a favorable outcome.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments and check my blog next Wednesday if you want a link to a downloadable PDF of this topic.
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--Headers
You should create a header at the top of your manuscript to make sure the person reading your manuscript has some important information about it right at hand. These may be stripped by an e-publisher during the final formatting but serve an important purpose in the meantime.
You should create a header at the top of your manuscript to make sure the person reading your manuscript has some important information about it right at hand. These may be stripped by an e-publisher during the final formatting but serve an important purpose in the meantime.
Title and Author Name
The title of this manuscript and your name should always appear in the header. My preference is to have them in the upper left. I also recommend using a format like:
Title of Book / Maura Anderson
This serves the purpose of the reader being able to instantly associate what they are reading with the manuscript and author it comes from. No having to scroll to a cover page or rely on the filename for that information.
It also means that if it someone happens to print it out, that important information remains with every page of the printout.
Page Number
The page numbers should also appear in the header. My preference is the upper right. This is more useful for those recipients that want to print the manuscript but it doesn’t hurt.
--Cover Page
I always recommend that the first page in your document be a cover page. This page will give anyone you submit the manuscript to an instant way to have your contact information, an idea of what the story is and how long and even a short blurb at their disposal at all times. Because it’s part of the document, it travels with it so there is no need to hunt through emails to find the submission mail if they want to contact you.
Contact Information
Put all your contact information in the upper left corner of the cover page. I include different phone numbers, email, snail mail and my real name as well as my pseudonym. I recommend something like this:
Maura RealName
w/a Maura Anderson
1234 Main Street
SmallTown, USA 98765
realmsoftheraven @ gmail.com
(123) 456-7890 – home
(123) 456-7890 – work
(123) 456-7890 - cell
Title
About 1/3 of the way down the cover page, center the title of your manuscript and state your pseudonym again. I recommend:
Tort & Retort
By
Maura Anderson
Blurb
I started including this on the advice of another author and I’ve actually found it to be quite useful. Because e-publishers often send submissions to remote editors to review, the cover email doesn’t always follow them. Plus, if your story is contracted, you have a small blurb ready for the editor to look at and it may be the one they use on the house’s website.
Try to keep the blurb about 250 words which is a fairly typical short blurb length in e-publishing. Align it flush left and place it about 2/3 of the way down the page. I recommend something similar to:
Blurb:
Ambitious and driven patent law attorney, Gayle Osborne, has a secret. Her power suits and take-no-prisoners attitude hide a passionate nature whose only outlet is reading and reviewing erotic romance. If anyone finds out that she is “Miss Retort,” the snarky and opinionated blogger from the Hits & Misses review blog, she’ll lose everything—her reputation, her clients, her job and, worst of all, her gorgeous mentor and boss, Tyler Monroe.
Genre
Almost at the bottom of the page and flush left, clearly state the genre of your manuscript. Do not use one of the comparisons that are so popular (aka “Harry Potter meets Sex and the City”). Instead state the genre you would expect it to appear under for sale. I recommend something like:
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Word Count
Right below the genre, list the actual word count for your story. This should be excluding the cover page and should be the real word count as shown by your word processing software. I recommend something like:
Words: 18,236 (actual)
The notation of “(actual)” tells the recipients that you are using that and not one of the formula derived counts of print publishing.
--File
When you send your manuscript as an electronic file, it’s important that the recipients can tell what it is and what it pertains to at all times. In part, this is because of the number of viruses spread via attachments but it is also more professional.
File Name
Give your manuscript’s file a descriptive, meaningful name. Avoid spaces in the filename because some systems still do not handle that well. Include both the name of the manuscript and your pseudonym. I recommend something similar to:
TortAndRetort_MauraAnderson
If your manuscript is contracted, your e-publishing house may have a naming standard they will want to use. This is only so it can be found and identified through the submissions process.
File Format
Because of differences in software as well as the ability for viruses or malware to be spread (even unintentionally) through more sophisticated file types, I recommend all files be saved and submitted as Rich Text Files (.RTF). Be sure you double-check this on the e-publisher’s website, however, because incorrect filetypes being submitted will usually result in them simply being deleted with no warning and no notice.
Send Via
This is a place where you have to check the e-publisher’s website. Some e-publishers want you to send submissions as mail attachments. Some want you to send them via a web form.
What to Send
This varies widely by the e-publisher and you really have to check. Some want only partials of your manuscript. Some want a synopsis as well. Some want the full. Follow their instructions for the best chance of a favorable outcome.
Labels: e-publishing, Writing
¶ posted at 12:05 AM by Maura Anderson 2 Comments
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Conversation with the genre -- plagiarism, allusion, and intertextuality -- Jules
My thoughts on plagiarism and allusion, and how to tell the difference, are now up on my LiveJournal. a) it's 1400 words, b) I want to keep any comments in one place, so I'm giving the first couple of paragraphs and a link rather than mirroring the whole thing here as I usually do. If you'd like to comment, my LiveJournal is set to allow anonymous commenting, so you don't need an LJ account to do so.
An extensive discussion about plagiarism has been going on in some of the romance blogs over the last few weeks. One thread in the discussion has been about the difference between allusion and plagiarism. Why is one acceptable and the other not, and what is the difference between them? After all, both involve the use of someone else's work, even to the extent of word-for-word copying.
For me, the difference between the two is very simple in theory, even if in practice it's not always possible for a reader to be certain what an author had in mind. If your intent as an author is that your audience should recognise the work you're quoting, or at the very least realise that it's intended as a reference to someone else's work, you're making an allusion. If you are hoping that they won't notice that it's not your own words, that's plagiarism. For this is the key part of what plagiarism is -- that you are taking the credit for work that was in fact done by someone else.
Continued at http://julesjones.livejournal.com/211838.html
An extensive discussion about plagiarism has been going on in some of the romance blogs over the last few weeks. One thread in the discussion has been about the difference between allusion and plagiarism. Why is one acceptable and the other not, and what is the difference between them? After all, both involve the use of someone else's work, even to the extent of word-for-word copying.
For me, the difference between the two is very simple in theory, even if in practice it's not always possible for a reader to be certain what an author had in mind. If your intent as an author is that your audience should recognise the work you're quoting, or at the very least realise that it's intended as a reference to someone else's work, you're making an allusion. If you are hoping that they won't notice that it's not your own words, that's plagiarism. For this is the key part of what plagiarism is -- that you are taking the credit for work that was in fact done by someone else.
Continued at http://julesjones.livejournal.com/211838.html
Labels: intertextuality, plagiarism, Writing
¶ posted at 2:01 AM by Jules Jones 0 Comments
Monday, May 21, 2007
The ‘What If…’ Game
A lot of great ideas come from playing ‘what if’ with yourself. Many a book was started this way. I thought, since I’m steadily running out of things to blog about, that we could start playing a game on Mondays. I’ll throw out a ‘what if’ question and you guys can chime in with your answers. You never know where you might get the inspiration for your next project.
This weeks question:
What if the man/woman you loved was a dud in the sack?
Now, if these were my characters, I would have one partner leave in a huff. Then the other could swoop in years (or maybe months) later and sweep their loved one off their feet with all the fancy new skills they'd learned in an effort to win their partner back.
How about you?
This weeks question:
What if the man/woman you loved was a dud in the sack?
Now, if these were my characters, I would have one partner leave in a huff. Then the other could swoop in years (or maybe months) later and sweep their loved one off their feet with all the fancy new skills they'd learned in an effort to win their partner back.
How about you?
Labels: Mandi Monday, Writing
¶ posted at 5:00 AM by Amanda Young 4 Comments
Monday, May 14, 2007
Sexual Conundrum
I have a bit of a problem on my hands. One of my sex scenes has run away from me and is steadily approaching 6k. I'm considering cutting it down some, but I'm not sure if I should.
How much of a good thing is too much, do you think?
How much of a good thing is too much, do you think?
Labels: Mandi Monday, Writing
¶ posted at 8:32 AM by Amanda Young 9 Comments
Monday, May 07, 2007
Things That Make You Go Hmm....
After reading yet another book with a fisting scene, I can't help but wonder why the only thing I ever read with this type of kink in it is gay romance. Why aren't there any M/F fisting scenes?
So, how come no one's doing it...er...writing about it. lol. Is there no female demographic that would enjoy reading about something like that (which I doubt) or some unknown taboo in romance community that I'm not aware of (possible, I suppose).
What do you think?
So, how come no one's doing it...er...writing about it. lol. Is there no female demographic that would enjoy reading about something like that (which I doubt) or some unknown taboo in romance community that I'm not aware of (possible, I suppose).
What do you think?
Labels: Mandi Monday, Reading, Writing
¶ posted at 7:48 AM by Amanda Young 6 Comments
Monday, April 23, 2007
Helpful Links
I stumbled upon some helpful sites recently and thought I'd share.
~Shanna Germain has an excellent series of short columns about writing up at Erotica Readers & Writers Association. This month she's talking about The Rest of the Sex Story: Writing Description, Action and Dialogue, which includes examples from her own writing, clear explanations, and a few supporting links. Highly recommended.
~I recently had to write a synopsis and my pantser self was cringing big time. Luckily I'd been digging into the editing posts at Samhain Publishing's blog and found a link to Lisa Gardner's lecture series, Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis. She also addresses the equally dreaded query letter in this lecture, and I used some of the tips for an epub query. I did, however, ignore pointer #7, which went something like, "Don't mention controversial topics such as homosexuality, etc." For the pub I was targeting, this was front and center ;)
~And finally, I saw a link to a short essay on style by Kurt Vonnegut, posted at The Fish Tank. Nothing like a little reminder on how to keep our voices fresh. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, and may you rest in peace. ¶ posted at 7:06 PM by Laura Bacchi 3 Comments
~Shanna Germain has an excellent series of short columns about writing up at Erotica Readers & Writers Association. This month she's talking about The Rest of the Sex Story: Writing Description, Action and Dialogue, which includes examples from her own writing, clear explanations, and a few supporting links. Highly recommended.
~I recently had to write a synopsis and my pantser self was cringing big time. Luckily I'd been digging into the editing posts at Samhain Publishing's blog and found a link to Lisa Gardner's lecture series, Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis. She also addresses the equally dreaded query letter in this lecture, and I used some of the tips for an epub query. I did, however, ignore pointer #7, which went something like, "Don't mention controversial topics such as homosexuality, etc." For the pub I was targeting, this was front and center ;)
~And finally, I saw a link to a short essay on style by Kurt Vonnegut, posted at The Fish Tank. Nothing like a little reminder on how to keep our voices fresh. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, and may you rest in peace. ¶ posted at 7:06 PM by Laura Bacchi 3 Comments
Monday, April 16, 2007
WIP Wars
Have you ever been not sure what you want to work on next? I have two works in progress right now. Okay, so it’s more like five, but two in particular are running neck and neck for all my attention right now. I’m having a heck of a time trying to decide which one to focus on. I keep waffling back and forth, doing a little to one and then a little to the other. In the mix, I’m not accomplishing much.
So, I thought I would put it up for a vote. See what you all think sounds the most interesting and run with that one. I suck at synopses but here goes…
The first is a vampire story I’m calling Secrets & Lies. Some of you may have read the first chapter of this one on the Slash & Burn blog a few weeks ago. It’s basically about a natural born vampire who struggles against diversity. He just so happens to falls in love with the very human he shouldn’t, and ends up with more on his plate then he can sink his teeth into.
The second is a paranormal tentatively titled Pyromancer. It’s about a man with the ability to control fire who’s scared of making connection with anyone because his emotions rule his ability. Desperate for human contact, he strikes up a bargain with a rent boy who has more to hide than he does and things quickly slide downhill from there.
So what do you think? Vampires and werewolves, oh my? Or a man who can ignite your fire, quite literally?
So, I thought I would put it up for a vote. See what you all think sounds the most interesting and run with that one. I suck at synopses but here goes…
The first is a vampire story I’m calling Secrets & Lies. Some of you may have read the first chapter of this one on the Slash & Burn blog a few weeks ago. It’s basically about a natural born vampire who struggles against diversity. He just so happens to falls in love with the very human he shouldn’t, and ends up with more on his plate then he can sink his teeth into.
The second is a paranormal tentatively titled Pyromancer. It’s about a man with the ability to control fire who’s scared of making connection with anyone because his emotions rule his ability. Desperate for human contact, he strikes up a bargain with a rent boy who has more to hide than he does and things quickly slide downhill from there.
So what do you think? Vampires and werewolves, oh my? Or a man who can ignite your fire, quite literally?
Labels: Mandi Monday, Writing
¶ posted at 6:51 AM by Amanda Young 7 Comments
Monday, April 02, 2007
The Humps & Hurdles Of Writing Romance
In my writing experience, I’ve found that it’s easiest for me to keep things straight by breaking a book down into segments. Something about seperating it into chunks makes the process seem a little less daunting than looking at it as a whole.
The first chapter is usually the main characters introduction chapter. It’s the easiest, because I’m still exploring who and what I generally want to happen throughout the rest of the novel. I can write whatever I want in that chapter without a lot of backlash later on from my pesky, opinionated characters.
After the first chapter, I break things down into scenes. One scene per chapter for each character. The scenes are broken down into subcategories like action, intimate, or character building scenes. All I have to figure out is who sees what, if you will. Which character’s point of view observation is more important for me to share than the other.
At this point, each character is forming in my mind. What their personalities are like, who they are and want they want to happen by the end of the book. The bumpy road that takes then there remains a mystery even to me as a write it. I like to fly by the seat of my pants and see where they’ll take me, and not the other way around. It’s more fun for me that way. *g*
The easiest to write, for me, are the action and intimate scenes. Those flow really well. Probably because I have a naturally dirty mind that wants to make it’s permanent home in the gutter. The hardest are the slow scenes, the ones I refer to as character building. It’s very easy for me to get lost in the action, the conquest of romance, and forget that each person needs to be shown in their own element for the reader to get a feel for who that person is outside of their quest to win love. Pacing in romance is important and I have to walk a tight rope to make sure the whole manuscript isn’t just action, sex, and inner monologues.
Does anyone else use a ‘formula’ to write their novels? Either way, what do you find to be the most difficult scenes to write or read?
The first chapter is usually the main characters introduction chapter. It’s the easiest, because I’m still exploring who and what I generally want to happen throughout the rest of the novel. I can write whatever I want in that chapter without a lot of backlash later on from my pesky, opinionated characters.
After the first chapter, I break things down into scenes. One scene per chapter for each character. The scenes are broken down into subcategories like action, intimate, or character building scenes. All I have to figure out is who sees what, if you will. Which character’s point of view observation is more important for me to share than the other.
At this point, each character is forming in my mind. What their personalities are like, who they are and want they want to happen by the end of the book. The bumpy road that takes then there remains a mystery even to me as a write it. I like to fly by the seat of my pants and see where they’ll take me, and not the other way around. It’s more fun for me that way. *g*
The easiest to write, for me, are the action and intimate scenes. Those flow really well. Probably because I have a naturally dirty mind that wants to make it’s permanent home in the gutter. The hardest are the slow scenes, the ones I refer to as character building. It’s very easy for me to get lost in the action, the conquest of romance, and forget that each person needs to be shown in their own element for the reader to get a feel for who that person is outside of their quest to win love. Pacing in romance is important and I have to walk a tight rope to make sure the whole manuscript isn’t just action, sex, and inner monologues.
Does anyone else use a ‘formula’ to write their novels? Either way, what do you find to be the most difficult scenes to write or read?
Labels: Mandi Monday, Writing
¶ posted at 9:45 AM by Amanda Young 6 Comments
