Knee Deep in a Snow Drift

We're halfway through summer now, and I must say, it's been one of the most weird seasons yet. 

I should be busy promoting my beachey book, Blame It On The Brontes,

which is one of my all-time faves, but instead, I'm trying to write two novellas about Christmas. 

Quite frankly, I'd rather be at the beach instead of knee deep in a snow drift. 

But speaking of drifting, my eyes keep wandering to the porch swing and away from my computer screen. I even volunteered to help a friend clean out her shed to avoid working on my story. I'm finding momentum hard to come by. 

What I need are some Christmasy ideas. Toss me a lifeline, will you? Any and all ideas will be gratefully accepted. 

Playing Catch-Up

I took a huge step in my career this past week by releasing an indie-pubbed book. (Excuse me while I pat myself on the back.) To say I learned a lot from the experience would be an understatement. But now it's catch-up time, and I'm working in reverse of my usual routine.

My reasons for going indie with this book are many.

First, the original version got rejected by the small press I'd been with for years, but gave me some good advice on how to revise it. Unfortunately, their window for accepting holiday stories closed before I could incorporate the changes. So it was either publish it myself or have it sit around for a year.

Second, it was a novella, and editors charge by the word, so this was a good fit for me.

Third, I already knew a ton of editors who I've worked with over the years, and knew which ones accepted freelance work. The same held true for cover artists and formatters. I didn't need to beat the bushes. My past experience put me in a good position to be able to make the switch.

Fourth, since 90% of all e-book sales are with Amazon, I decided to make mine exclusive to them, and not get involved in a print book. I don't think novellas work that well in print, and if I went exclusively with Amazon, I'd save myself a lot of hassle.

As I began the journey, I decided not to publicize it until I actually had the book up on Amazon as a viable product. But I did it–got it up on Amazon all by myself. The first reviews are in and guess what? I can write a believable Regency book! Now, I have to find some well-known review sites to look at it, and this is where it gets tricky, since most want to have an ARC and six weeks' notice. Even though I am telling everyone it doesn't matter when the review goes up as long as it does, I'm facing a new challenge. And then there's publicity and marketing. Playing catch-up.

Will I go the indie route in the future? Hard to say. I still enjoy working with a publisher, some more than others. I want to catapult into the big leagues, so maybe writing a Regency series is the way to go, and writing this little novella has launched my career down a different path. But at least now I know indie publishing is not the huge behemoth I once thought it was, and I can do it, if I so choose.

Here's an excerpt from my latest, A Regency Yuletide

 “Whatever shall we do with the rest of the day?” Jeremy quirked his brow in her direction.

“I’m going to talk Emma into coming with me to the Female Visiting Society meeting this afternoon. If I can pry her away from Thomas, that is.” Sophie chuckled. “They do appear to be joined at the hip, don’t they?”

“Are there ever any men at these meetings? Or are they all women?” Jeremy shifted his load of greenery.

Sophie glanced over. “Would you care to come with me? I’ll admit, I did extend an invitation to you yesterday, but I didn’t expect to be taken seriously.”

He shrugged. “I have no wish to be the only male in the room, but I am interested in what you do.”

“You are?” Sophie’s voice rose an octave. “Why?”

He shook his head. “You really have no idea how interesting I find all this, how interesting I find you?”

“Now you’re making fun of me, sir.” Sophie removed her hand from his arm and hurried ahead of him.

“Sophie.” Jeremy’s voice softened and she stopped.

Although tears threatened, she faced him, straightening her spine. “I am not some country bumpkin here for your enjoyment, Mr. Wyatt. If I learned nothing else from my season in London, I learned I am not considered acceptable to the Ton. My body is too plump for modern tastes, my hair has a mind of its own, and my feet refuse to shuffle in time to the music. I’ll not have you make a laughingstock of me.”

“Sophie,” he whispered again and dropped the pile of greenery he’d been carrying. He took a step closer and wrapped his hands around her elbows. “You are not too plump, you’re just right.” He placed one hand on her waist and wrapped a tendril of hair around the other hand. “Your hair is the deepest black I’ve ever seen and was the first of your features that drew me in. And, as for dancing, no one starts out dancing well. I’d wager all you need are a few lessons. As for your charity work, I find it a much more appealing topic than the latest dress or bonnet fashion. I’m not making fun of you. You’re very special.” She blinked and stared up at him.

He leaned closer and their bodies bumped together. She stood, transfixed, the heat from his touch branding her skin. “Very special, indeed. I can’t seem to control myself around you, but I will endeavor to do so.” He backed off, picked up the bundle again, extended his arm, and smiled at her. “Shall we continue?”

Her stomach fluttered, and she placed a hand to her waist. She placed her other hand on his arm and swayed into his body, their shoulders touching. They were scandalously close to one another, but she didn’t step back. She appreciated his hard body against hers. Mother would truly be beside herself if she witnessed Sophie’s behavior, but they had a few hundred yards yet to go before they reached the cottage. A few hundred yards where they could be alone. She closed her eyes to better capture the memory and let him lead her home.

https://www.amazon.com/Regency-Yuletide-Becky-Lower-ebook/dp/B01LY2MN0S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476114680&sr=8-1&keywords=becky+lower

Taking The Plunge

I've been so caught up in my new venture that I totally forgot what day it was. If you came here early expecting a new post, I apologize.

I'm sure you're now wondering what could occupy my time so much that I'd forget my blog post for the very first time. Well, wonder no more. I'm about to self-publish a Christmas novella, and have a steep learning curve in front of me. I'm trying to make it as simple as possible by putting it up only as an e-book, and only on Amazon, but still, there's a huge mound of information to get through. I've lined up an editor and a cover artist and think I've got most of my bases covered, but I'm sure I'm forgetting things that will come to light in the next few weeks.

But let me tell you about the book. It's my first Regency-inspired work. I had someone whose job it is to know this stuff read it through to see if I could effectively write Regency, since my historicals up to this point had all been American historicals. When I got a passing grade from her, I was left with the decision to try to find a publisher for it or do it myself. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at self-publishing and to become a true hybrid author.

It's exciting and frightening at the same time. The story line is sweet and I love the hero and heroine. Can't wait to introduce you to Jeremy and Sophie. The book will hopefully be up by November for your viewing pleasure. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas In July

On this last day of July, I'm squeaking in with a Christmas note. As most of you who follow this blog are aware, I'm deep in the editing mode for a Christmas novella set in the fictional Maine coastal town of Lobster Cove. The story is called Love's In The Cards, and is about two sisters who own a greeting card store in town, and the old flame of one of the sisters who makes a reappearance at Christmas time. This story draws on two prongs of my background: One–I did actually go to school with a boy named Delbert, and he used to color on the soles of my shoes every day at nap time. He went on to become a high school art teacher. And second–I worked in a greeting card store similar to the one in the story when I lived in Virginia and I also worked as a merchandiser for another greeting card firm once I moved to Ohio. To this day, when I walk past a card display anywhere, I have to straighten the cards. I hope the story will put you in the holiday spirit.

So, in the nature of the season, I'm giving you each a gift today. This is a sneak peek at the cover for Love's In The Cards. Tell me what you think? Does it convey the abstract, avant-garde style of cards that fictional Delbert created?

In other news, I'm furiously working on a new type of historical–a Regency novella, also with a Christmas theme. I hope to finish it up in the next week or so and send it off to the publisher who gave me the challenge. And I'm still waiting for an agent to see how wonderful my eleven-year-old Kathleen is at the start of the Revolutionary War so I can venture into MG and YA books. Since I believe history is best learned if you can actually picture yourself in the moment, I think this book would be a wonderful teaching tool.

And I thought this year would be easier. But the publishing world isn't slowing down, nor should I. Full speed ahead! And Merry Christmas!

Editing, Round 2

I got my second round of edits this week for the Christmas novella. Which immediately made me reach for my chain saw.

This unusual gut reaction to editing really does make sense. Let me explain. Editing an entire manuscript can be overwhelming, but if you approach it a chapter at a time, it's doable. Same thing with a tree branch. It can be bulky and heavy to start with, but when it gets cut into sizable chunks, it's easy to maneuver.

I cut some words from a chapter, and then cut some logs. I'm making my manuscript tidy at the same time I'm cleaning up my woodpile. I once dated a man from Vermont, where wood fires are common. He told me you should never put a Vermonter in front of an unstacked pile of wood, because they wouldn't come inside until it was arranged in a logical, neat order. It's the same with editing. You're not done until you can read through your entire document with your fingers off the keyboard.

Since this is a novella, there aren't that many chapters to get through, so it should take no longer than a couple days to do the work. Which is good, since I only have three more branches to chop up.

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

As most of you are aware, I'm branching out and beginning to work with different publishers. Each publisher I've worked with has a different way of doing things, including editing, which is where I'm at now in the process.

Over the years, I've developed my own list of words to not use ever, along with words to not overuse. I carefully go through my checklist of things to watch for as I finish up each manuscript. It's tedious work to do a "Find and Replace" for each of the "no-no" words, but no one said this was easy. I thought I had a pretty good system going, but as I was going through the editing guidelines for this new publisher, I came across more words to add to the list. This is why I prefer to work with multiple publishers. Not only do you widen your circle of author friends, you also pick up new ideas and tricks, all of which help make a difference in your work. 

The difference can be subtle. A word placed at a different point in a sentence, a weak word replaced with a stronger one, an extra word eliminated altogether to tighten the story line. Little things that make our work stronger. That's what we authors have to strive for in every sentence we write. Strong images, strong characters, strong writing.  You can teach an old dog a new trick.

And, as with everything, there are exceptions. There are some times when the "no-no" word has to stay in the finished version. But each time you make an exception, you'd better have a really good reason for it. 

I hope to finish up this round of edits later today and ship them off to the publisher. Then, I will turn my attention back to my YA historical, adding new "no-no" words to the list. 

Bones & Joints

Most of you who follow along with this blog are aware I've had some health issues of late. Mostly dealing with my joints. I seem to have great bones, but lousy joints. It's always been an issue, but as I get older, it seems to come into play more and more. So far, the count is 2 elbows, 3 hips and a shoulder.

A writing buddy of mine commented recently that she had to go back and redo the opening scene of her WIP, since it was disjointed. Which led me to an analogy. Your work can have great bones, but without being able to join all those scenes together into a cohesive unit, you just have a pile of bones. And a lot of pain.

I've been working lately on a little Christmas novella. One would think it'd be easy to write, since it's only going to be about 20,000 words and it is about Christmas. Easy-peasy, right? Never have I been so wrong.

I started out writing this two years ago. I had the bones of a good story, since it was about an actual event from my childhood and I folded in my time working retail in a Hallmark store, following the advice given to all authors–write what you know. But for some reason, I couldn't connect the scenes into something that made sense. I had way too many holes in my plot. I put it on the back burner, thought about how to fix the holes, and have recently devoted time to it again. I was able to take about 8,000 words from my first attempt and transfer them into the new, improved story. Those are the bones. But what I have this time are the joints, making it a story that can stand on its own with nary a crutch in sight.

I'm at the point where it's ready to send off into the big world of publishing, and hope to find a home with a traditional publisher. But, if not, I may bite the bullet and enter the unknown world of self-publishing later on this year. Either way, it's an exciting time in my professional life. Can't wait to see what happens next.