The Business of Writing: Finding the Perfect Publisher

So now that we’ve talked about formatting for a publisher let’s talk a little about how to find one. The first thing you need to look at is what you are writing. Not every publisher takes all styles. If you are writing YA you sure don’t want to send your ms into an Erotic publisher.

Talk to other authors. Find out who they publish with, especially if they write the same genre as you. If you can, go to conferences or join a local group and meet other authors as well as publishers. Join loops like MFRW. Network with the people who have done the self-publishing, published with electronic houses and the brick and mortar. Find the one that works best for you.

Writing Tip:

Do your research. All publishers have their guidelines on their websites. Some will want your full ms, some will only want a partial and some might only want a cover letter. Make sure all three of these things plus your synopsis is as polished as possible.

Bio:

Barbara Donlon Bradley wears many hats. She’s a mother, wife, care-giver, author, and editor. She’s a senior editor for Melange Books, and writes for Phaze and Melange books/Satin Romances with over twenty titles under her belt.

Barb's Links: 

Website: http://www.barbaradonlonbradley.com/

Publisher: http://www.phaze.com/author.php?author=21

Blog: http://barbaradonlonbradley.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Donlon-Bradley/118673448173249

Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbbradley

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/barbaradbradley/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7773192-barbara-bradley

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0072OTZJE

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Barbara-donlon-bradley

ARe:http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Barbara+Donlon+Bradley

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Search?Query=Barbara%20Donlon%20Bradley

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/search/books?Keywords=barbara%20donlon%20bradley

#MFRWauthor @VictoriaPinder owes thanks to #NaNoWriMo

MFRW Author Victoria Pinder talks about her NaNo Experience.

It probably kickstarted my change of career to take the craft more seriously. I owe my thanks to Nanowrimo in helping me take the control back. I finished the first three book series, and I couldn’t sell them. I had more than three hundred rejections. I had no idea what to do. No one wanted what I thought was my masterpiece. I was disheartened.

Then someone told me November is Nanowrimo. It perked me up. I had already written a few books, so I had confidence in my ability to write a book. Nanowrimo is like writing on crack though. It’s fast paced. Intense. And I have done it every year, except last. The now husband asked me to marry him in October and wedding thoughts took over my life. The wedding is over now. He’s been warned already. This month, Nanowrimo, is the goal again.

Since completing Nanowrimo, I self published one book, Mything You. Empowered I charged ahead with my writing and I sold five more novels to publishers since. Now I have an agent. She wants changes in the book and sequel. I’m currently writing this.

None of this would be possible.

To me, the best part of Nanowrimo is that I’ve sold a book I wrote during the pressure to a publishing house. Chaperoning Paris was the story that I had to dig deep with. The characters had flaws and issues I’ve never experienced, but my heart could empathize. It was my first Nanowrimo book. I wrote the first draft in the month. I was so happy. I also had no idea how awful of a writer that made me.

I fixed it numerous times. I sold it to my publisher and they had a major storyline change for me as well. It was a lot of work, but it was a work of love.

A lot of the editing for the publishing house was done as I was planning that wedding last year. My mind was on a million things, but despite the pressures, I realized I can succeed. It’s what I love about the insanity of writing that much in a month. Victory tastes sweet at the end of the road. It’s a controllable goal that can be met. I’ve done it. Anyone with desire and commitment can too.

So if someone is out to conquer Nanowrimo, you can. I have. And if you live in Miami, perhaps I’ll see you at one of the events.

About The Author

Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston then moved to Miami. Eventually, found that writing is her passion.

She always wrote stories to entertain herself. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, but when she sat down to see what she enjoyed doing, writing became obvious.

The Zoastra Affair, Chaperoning Paris, Borrowing the Doctor, and Electing Love, Mything the Throne and Favorite Coffee, Favorite Crush will be published in 2014.

Now she is represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Also she’s the Vice President for the Florida Romance Writers. Her website is www.victoriapinder.com.

MFRW Monthly Quote - November 2014 #MFRWAuthor #Quotes

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in service to my vision, it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
-Audré Lord









Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured or are forthcoming in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, Logical-Lust, and Sweetmeats Press. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Her first solo books, If... Then: a collection of erotic romance stories and Safe: a collection of erotic stories, are out now from 1001 Nights Press. Find her online at her website, The Green Light District.

Hey #MFRWauthor! ADD an Author App to your #facebook Page @AuthorTinaGayle

Get Your FACEBOOK AUTHOR APP.
If you have a Fan Page on Facebook, you might want to look into adding an Author App to it that will allow people to purchase your books from Amazon.


All you have to do is enter your ASIN or ISBN number and the app will set up the link.

The link is display on the left hand side in Red (Read my Book). It will also allow you to put in a URL to a free sample of your book.

Here is mine!

If you have already set up your fan page, go to http://apps.facebook.com/authorapp/

A page will come up that says 'The Author Marketing App.' Just click on the  'Let's get started' button.

From there it will direct you as to what you need to do to set up the page.

Remember to choose your fan page, not your personal page. You will then see the ""Read My Book"" button on your fan page.

Now just click on the app and you just enter the information about your books.

You can do this one of two ways
1. just put in the isbn or asin number and hit enter.
2. Or fill in the information yourself.

If after you hit enter, you don't see everything you want it to display, just hit edit book and put in the additional information.

Hope this helps, 

Tina Gayle

ABOUT Tina Gayle

Tina grew up a dreamer and loves escaping into a good romantic book. She is currently working on two different series the Executive Wives’ Club and the Family Tree series both combine elements of women fiction with the passion of romance. Read the 1st chapter of any of her books on her website.

Website  |  Blog  |  Twitter

Tina Gayle recently released Stormy, an Erotic Contemporary Romance.

Can friends become lovers? Even after the age of forty?

For two years, Daniel and Karen have consoled each other during the trails of losing their spouses. Now, they are ready to turn their friendship into a loving relationship. After sharing a night of passion, all appears golden for a bright future for Karen and Daniel until she receives a call from her children saying her ex has had a heart attack.

Torn between, her need to support her children and her desire to be with Daniel, Karen leaves him and flees to the hospital. Coming face to face with  her ex-husband’s new trophy wife, Karen begins to question exactly why her marriage fell apart. Was she to blame, and if so, should she try again?
On the outside looking in, Daniel must now convince Karen to let go of her past mistake and share a future with him?

Smashwords BUY LINK   |   Amazon BUY LINK

Newsletters: Creating a First Page Header by Rochelle Weber, Newsletter Editor #MFRWorg

In September, we talked about adding guest interviews, character interviews, and book blurbs and/or excerpts to newsletters. Today, we’re going to talk about creating a header for your front page.

I suppose it’s not very professional of me, but for some reason I’ve never quite been able to wrap my head around Adobe Photoshop. I can’t quite get the layers to work. I use Microsoft Publisher and Irfanview (which is free) to create the MFRW Newsletter. I start with blank pages in letter size, 8-1/2 X 11, Portrait. The first thing you need to do is create headings for your pages. Well, okay, I suppose you need to figure out how many pages you’re going to use and what kind. Then you can determine what sort of headings you’ll need. On the first page, I suggest using your banner if you have one. Open it in Irfanview or whatever program you use that allows you to resize photos. Resize it so the width is 8.5 inches with the aspect ratio kept intact. I find 150 dots-per-inch (dpi) is about perfect. It creates a nice, sharp image without taking up too much bandwidth. Save as in your newsletter artwork folder. I have a subfolder for permanent artwork and one for each issue.

If you do not have a banner, now is a good time to create one, and you can do so in Publisher. Besides, you’ll want to add a few things to your banner to create your header.

The MFRW first-page header consists of our banner—roses and pearls with our name across the top. Directly beneath and abutting our banner is a solid pink bar that states our purpose: NEW RELEASES IN GENRES OF ROMANCE. I used Gill Sans MT 14 Point Bold for the font in that bar. Then we have another inch or so of white space with our newsletter logo. The M is in Vivaldi 72 Point Bold in its own text box, and the FRW is Gill Sans MT 22 Bold. The word Newsletter is Gill Sans MT 14 Bold. Since we won the Preditors & Editors award, I’ve added that to our header, as well. I saved it both as a pub file and a jpg file. Then, I opened the jpg file and cropped it just below the bottom of the lowest bit of text in the newsletter logo. Even though the sizing says it’s 8.5 inches wide, I usually have to stretch it across the page to make it fit.

Next, I open another blank page. I click on Insert Photo and insert my new header. In the white space of the header, I draw a small text box, about two inches wide. I decide what color and type fonts I plan to use. In there, I put the month and year of the current issue, as well as the Volume and Issue numbers (if you care to keep track of those). Actually, for the template, I put in three asterisks where the month should be, then a comma, and then the year. I add the Volume number and put another asterisk where the Issue number should go. Next, I delete the jpg of the header so all I have on the page is the date-box template and I save that.

Each month I insert the header jpg, open my pub file, copy and paste the date box, and it should go right in where it belongs. All I have to do replace the asterisks with the month and Issue number, and my first page header is complete.

Rochelle Weber is a Navy veteran and holds a BA in Communications from Columbia College in Chicago with an emphasis on Creative Writing. “Would you like fries with that?” Her novels Rock Bound and Rock Crazy are available in both e-book and print. She edits for Jupiter Gardens Press, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, winner of the 2013 Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll for Best Writers’ Resource.

Rochelle battles bi-polar disorder, quipping, “You haven’t lived until you’ve been the only woman on the locked ward at the VA.” Her song, “It’s Not My Fault,” won a gold medal in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. She lives in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. She has two married daughters, four grandchildren, three step-grandkids, and one step-great-grandkid. Two cats allow her to live with them and cater to their every whim.

You can access the MFRW Newsletters at:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MarketingForRomanceWriters/files/MFRW-Newsletter/

Or:

http://issuu.com/mfrw/docs

#MFRWauthor Richard Brawer Shares His Experience As A Writer #amwriting

My experience might help you.
You can read books about writing, but I think the best thing you can do is read books by major authors. Once you have decided you want to write, while you read you will analyze how the authors create characters, scenes and conflicts.

Don't give up. Writing requires perseverance and practice, practice, practice. My first couple of books were not widely received. But I kept on and now I have an historical fiction novel praised by experts and recommended for students of the era. i also have a suspense novel with 71 reviews on amazon.Writing like everything else comes from doing. If you are thinking of

Find a critique group that will give you honest feedback on character development, dialogue, voice, plot, conflict and setting.  But don’t automatically take anyone’s critique as gospel.  Remember, it’s your story.  Analyze the critiques to see if they have merit.  Say you have a six person group.  If one person criticizes something then it may or may not be valid.  But if three or four in the group say the same thing about a segment then you should take it under serious consideration.

Have a lawyer go over your contract. If you or he finds something you don’t like try to get it changed. If the publisher or agent will not change that section, then you have two choices, sign or pass.

Hire an editor, or the very least, a proof reader. It is difficult for the author to proof read his own book. He knows it too well and will begin skimming.

Post written by MFRW Author Richard Brawer
Richard Brawer writes mystery, suspense and historical fiction novels. When not writing, he spends his time exploring local history.  He has two married daughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife. You can connect with him at his author website here: www.silklegacy.com.

Richard's latest release is Love's Sweet Sorrow, a Mainstream Romantic Suspense with Vinspire Publishing.
It is said opposites attract. There can’t be two people more opposite than Ariel and Jason. Ariel is a traditional Quaker with an absolute aversion to war. Jason is the lead council for America's largest weapons manufacturer.

Their budding romance is thrown into turmoil when Jason uncovers evidence linking his employer to international arms deals that could devastate America. His determination to stop the treason puts Ariel in the middle of dangerous territory.

The kidnappings, killings and harrowing escapes from those trying to retrieve the evidence force Jason and Ariel to delve deeply into their often opposing long-held convictions, and question if they are truly meant to be together.

AMAZON  |  BARNES & NOBLE

An #MFRWauthor's #NaNoWriMo Experience: Flossie Benton Rogers @FrostFrye

Flossie Benton Rogers talks about her NaNo Experience.

NaNoWriMo 2010 resulted in my first published novel, Wytchfae Runes, and jump started my post-retirement career. By that time I had personally participated in NaNo for five years. I wrote like a demon each November and put the manuscripts away and never looked at them again. Library work kept me busy.

During this time I also handled local NaNo events. As director of a county library system, in 2005 we organized an annual NaNo program for budding writers. Local authors offered presentations before, during, and after November. Loretta C. Rogers was one of those who gave unselfishly to help others put pen to paper. She inspired me with her knowledge and experience, and I began to believe that I, too, could be an author.

Like many people, becoming a published author had been my lifelong dream. I wrote my first fairy tale at age eight. With a passion for fairy stories and later, mythology, I wrote all my life but with the misconception that published authors were from some higher plane I could never reach.

Thank heaven my husband never let me forget my dream and periodically reminded me of it. When I retired from the library in 2011, he urged me to spend my time writing. Instead of putting away my 2010 NaNo manuscript, I set about the Herculean task of turning it into a publishable novel. With my husband’s support and Loretta’s critique help and encouragement, I made a commitment to become a published author. A pitch at a writer’s conference and a series contract from Secret Cravings Publishing were the other alchemical ingredients. Being a published author was a whole new world, and I loved every minute of it. Now on book number seven, I still do.

Lord of Fire – Wytchfae 5

Paranormal Romance

When demon hunter Garnet McAnnaencounters a mysterious warrior known as The Hawk, can she cope with the soul scorching flame he ignites within her?

Connect with Flossie

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  LinkedIn  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

#MFRWorg ASKS: Are You a #NaNoWriMo Newbie? @MaeClair1 #MFRWauthor

Are you a NaNo Newbie?

I was last year. A close friend of mine faithfully tackled NaNo every year but I resisted tossing my pen into the ring. The timing was always wrong, I was too busy working on a WIP, or had some other excuse in the pipeline. Then last year I decided NaNoWriMo was something I should experience at least once in my lifetime. A rite of passage.

So in September, I started thinking about my project and pre-planning. My normal style is to wing scenes as I go, something that I knew wouldn’t fly if I wanted to churn out 50,000 words in November. I also have a regimental habit of editing as I write, making sure everything is polished before moving ahead. NaNo is the exact opposite of that—plan before you start, then write like a warp-drive engine.

Could I do it?

As an A-type personality , I hate to fail. I planned my story, devised intricate character worksheets, sketched out my town, and outlined the first four chapters of my novel scene-by-scene. I didn’t have the whole book plotted, but had a good hand on the story and was pleased with my pre-prep. I even took the time to write and schedule all of my regular weekly blog posts for November so I wouldn’t be distracted.

November 1st rolled around and I burst out of the starting gate with a rush of exhilaration. The excitement was overwhelming, everyone racing along with me. Mid-month rolled around and I settled into a steadier gait, my eye on endurance and hanging in there for the long haul. By the closing week, I was exhausted, wondering if I would last, certain I would never attempt such creative madness again.

The result?

I walked away with a 50,500 word rough draft of a novel that was far was from finished, but taught me the value of plotting and put me further ahead as a writer than I’ve ever been in 30 days. I’ve since added an additional 8,000 words on my goal toward 20,000 more. The book is shaping up to be the best I’ve ever written and will likely be ready for submission early 2015 if not before.

So am I doing NaNo again this year? You betcha.

Like last year, I’ve already picked my project, lined up my characters and plotted as much as I can, including the first four chapters, scene-by-scene. It worked for me last year, so I’m hoping the formula proves true again this year. Most importantly, I know that when November 1st rolls around, I need to write like a steam locomotive, focused on accomplishing the goal of 50K. Turn off the editor, turn off the polisher, and know that a host of other writers are sloughing through those same trenches with me.

I’m no longer a newbie, but feel every bit as giddy as I did when attempting NaNo for the first time. I hope you’ll join me and experience the madness!

About The Author

Mae Clair opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a child and never looked back. Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars.

Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her stories with mystery and romance. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about cryptozoology, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.

Discover more about Mae on her website and blog at MaeClair.net

You can find Mae Clair at the following haunts:
Twitter  |  Google+  |  Facebook Author Page  |  Amazon Author Page  |  Goodreads