The Book Bin

How to Get Published by 'Glazier' Bri Clark

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an  agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

  Today’s guest is Bri Clark, author of the romantic fantasy novel, Glazier (Astraea Press).

I did the whole query letter; find an agent, got 150 rejection letters thing. Two times, I had a partial ms request both times they said it was a great premise but needed more work. And guess what they were spot on. I did that for about a year. Worked on my magna opus Glazier a total of three years before it was contracted with Astraea Press and released July of 2011.

However, Glazier was not my first published work, Familial Witch was and Caffe’ Seduzione shortly after. These are two novellas that I have contracted novel length sequels for now. Eternal Witch and Mafia Seduzione.

The thing about my road to publication was I did what everyone else was doing. I followed the blogs, wrote, rewrote query letters, had a very neat excel spreadsheet of the agents I sent to. Oh yeah I’m anal organized. I even  had columns for the dates when they received the query and how long it took them to respond. Then thought when I wanted to scream and yell Nay!! after yet another form rejection I could post that it took them 6 weeks and one day not the 4 they claimed. No exactly professional…and it wasn’t working for me at all either.

Why… you ask cause it wasn’t my way…the Bri way…the Belle way. I’ve lived my whole life making my own path then sashaying down it in a pair of wedge heels.

I’m known as the Belle of Boise because I’m a sassy southern belle living in Boise ID. My whole life I’ve always achieved what I sought. So I took all the knowledge I gained over three years and on a spur of the moment whim went to the Idaho Book Extravaganza, took some workshops, met and made good friends/ mentors in Aaron Patterson, Vincent Zandri and Maryanna Young.

I told them that in the next year I’d attend IBE as a published author. Guess what--I am. By then I should have 4-5 books released. The Indie publisher route with Stone House Ink and Astraea Press is where I have found my path now. Working with these houses has been some of the best experiences in my life. Stone House Ink suits me well in that they do it their own way…forging their own path in publishing. Astraea Press provides the support system and guidance I need in the form of a large group of other female authors…and Phil. Sorry Phil you know I love you.

Would I work with an agent? Totally. Would I go the traditional route? Absolutely. Would I leave my publishers in the dust my wedges drum up? Heck no!

If there is one thing I am it’s I’m loyal to a fault, like a tick on a coon dogs back my Paw Paw always says.

Bri Clark is a real example of redemption and renewal.  Growing penniless in the South, Bri learned street smarts while caring for her brother in a broken home.  She watched her mother work several jobs to care for their small family.  Once her brother could fend for himself, Bri moved on to a series of bad choices including leaving school and living on her own.   Rebelliousness was a strong understatement to describe those formative years.  As a teenager, her wakeup call came from a fight with brass knuckles and a judge that gave her a choice of shaping up or spending time in jail.  She took that opportunity and found a way to moved up from the streets.  She ended up co-owning an extremely successful construction business.  She lived the high life until the real estate crash when she lost everything.  She moved west and found herself living with her husband and 4 kids in a 900 square foot apartment.  She now fills her time, writing, blogging, leading a group of frugal shoppers and sharing her southern culture.  Her unique background gives her writing a raw sensibility.  She understands what it takes to overcome life’s obstacles.   She often tells friends, “I can do poor.  I’m good at poor. It’s prosperity that I’m not used to.”  Bri and her husband Chris live in Boise.  Bri is known as the Belle of Boise for her true southern accent, bold demeanor and hospitable nature.

Bri boasts several positions in the publishing industry. An author, professional reviewer, blogger, and author platform consultant she enjoys all aspects of her career from the creation of story to the branding and marketing needed to make her books successful.

Her latest book is Glazier, a romantic fantasy adventure novel with espionage, genetic powers, underground bases and a ginger beauty with memory issues that take you on a ride that begins in Vermont and comes to a head in Egypt.

You can find out more about Bri at http://briclarkthebelleofboise.blogspot.com/.

Visit her at Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/Bri_Clark or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/TBriClark.

How to Get Published by 'Glorify Each Day' John Banks

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an  agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

 Today’s guest is John Banks, author of the literary fiction novel, Glorify Each Day (819 Publishing).

Publishing my first novel has definitely been an eye-opening, and somewhat humbling, experience.  I have confidence in my writing ability and I knew that the book I was writing was well written and would be entertaining to anyone who enjoyed a good story.  As I sent out queries to agents and publishers I knew, because of everything I had read about the book publishing business, that it was quite a crapshoot finding an agent and getting a publisher.  But I think there is a little voice inside every writer’s head that says, “Yeah, but my book’s different.”  Even though I tried to remain clear-eyed and cautiously pessimistic about my chances of immediate best-selling success, in my heart-of-hearts I believed that any book of high quality and value would catch the eye of some discerning agent or publisher who knew top-quality when they saw it. 

After I sent out my first batch of query emails to about ten agents, I remember being excited about the possibility (or was it probability?) that at least one of those agents would respond positively.  When none of them did I was a little perplexed.  Weren’t they at least a little interested in reading a sample?  The most discouraging part about my failure to hire an agent was that no one I queried even asked to see a partial manuscript.  If you’re a first-time author of a literary-minded novel with no niche audience to sell to, I have no idea how you’re supposed to get anyone in New York interested in your work.

So I decided to self-publish.  I formed my own publishing company and signed a contract with Lightning Source. 

I think things turned out really well.  The book looks great and it’s gotten some really positive reviews.  I’m still hopeful that Glorify Each Day will find a larger audience.  There’s still a part of me that refuses to accept the possibility that good work will be unfairly neglected.

John Banks was born in Asheville, NC.  His storytelling is very much in the Southern tradition, with a special affinity for humorists such as Mark Twain and the Old Southwest school of writers.  Though entirely imaginary, much of the material in Glorify Each Day must have come from his many years as a teacher in the public schools and community colleges of his native state and from the three years he spent as an a community college administrator.

Visit his website at www.819publishing.com or his Facebook Fan Page here.

How to Get Published by 'Nine Insights for a Happy and Successful Life' by Dr. Mitchell Gibson

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an  agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

 Today’s guest is Dr. Mitchell Gibson, author of the self-help book Nine Insights For a Happy and Successful Life.

Publishing my first book was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.  I had written a number of pieces for local and regional newspapers and magazines, and during that time, I developed an idea for a new book.  Writing did not pay the bills at that time and I worked full time as a medical doctor.  I graduated from my residency in psychiatry in 1989 and I set up a clinic in Phoenix Arizona where I saw patients four days a week.  During this time, I wrote nights and weekends.  I had developed a passion for spiritual growth during my residency and I decided that I would write a book that incorporated astrological tools in the diagnosis of mental illness.  I pitched the idea to several large publishers and most turned me down flat.  After 40 or so rejection letters, I got the idea to approach a New Age publishing house.  Llewellyn Publications is one of the largest New Age publisher in the world.  I sent the Editor a couple of sample chapters and a copy of my resume.

He loved the idea!  However, he had one stipulation.  One of the world's most prolific astrological writers lived just a few miles from me, and as luck would have it, he needed a foreword for his new book.  He had been looking for a medical doctor with an interest in astrology.  If I agreed to do the foreword, then the company would look at my book. 

 

I read his book and wrote the foreword. The astrologer loved my foreword and offered to return the favor and publish a foreword for my new book after it was published.  After the book was completed, I sent him a copy and he refused to honor his word.  He never said why.  After a great number of phone calls, emails, and next day letters send via FEDEX, I managed to convince the company to publish my book without his foreword.  Astrology books are considered to be bestsellers in their genre if they sell more than 1000 books.  It is a very tight niche market.  Signs of Mental Illness has sold more than 10,000 copies and has been published in Spanish.  I learned a lot about my self and the publishing world from the experience of getting that book on the shelf.  Primarily, the experience made me embrace the philosophy that Churchill espoused in his now famous commencement speech, Never Give Up!

 

Dr. Mitchell Gibson is one of the world’s leading authorities on the interface of science and the frontiers of human consciousness.  He is the best-selling author of Your Immortal Body of Light, Signs of Mental Illness, Signs of Psychic and Spiritual Ability, The Living Soul, Nine Insights For A Happy and Successful Life, and Ancient Teaching Stories. Dr. Gibson has been a consultant for Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, A&E Network, NBC, ABC, and CBS regional affiliate television stations, newspapers, radio stations.  www.tybro.com

How to Get Published by 'Wedlocked' Bonnie Trachtenberg

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an  agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

 Today’s guest is Bonnie Trachtenberg, author of the literary fiction novel, Wedlocked (iUniverse) .

Anyone who has actually gone through the painstaking and awesome process of writing, publishing and marketing a book knows how irritating it can be when your accountant, your hairdresser or your doctor tells you, “Yeah, I have a good story. One day I’m going to write a book, too.” It’s as if they think anyone who’s had some mildly interesting experiences in life should have no problem penning a book people besides their mother would actually want to read. Sure, I think to myself. I’ve had a few bad headaches. One day I think I’ll perform brain surgery.

 

What they don’t know is that it took ten years of arduous thinking, writing, editing and more editing to bring my debut novel to fruition. Wedlocked, is a romantic comedy based on my first brief, disastrous marriage that occurred back in 1999. After a couple of years furiously scrawling in my journal while recuperating from the unfortunate event, I began the actual writing of the book. This took place during the scant free time I had while working a full time job as Copy Chief and Senior Writer for Book-of-the-Month Club. Needless to say, after reading hundreds of books and writing as many reviews, it wasn’t often I had the energy to work on my own book evenings and weekends, but I managed to make some headway for a few years. Then, when I lost my job in a corporate takeover, I devoted myself full time to finishing Wedlocked. Within a year it was done, and a few months after that, much to my glee, an agent decided to represent it. This was despite her caveat that, “First fiction is practically impossible to sell these days.”

 

Unfortunately she was right. Despite wonderful feedback, the big publishers she dealt with did not bite and a year later I was still banging my head against the wall in frustration. It was then that I finally started listening to my husband, a very bright entrepreneur known for thinking outside the box. He had been egging me into self-publishing despite my reluctance. Cavorting with the literati at Book-of-the-Month had not exactly left me thinking good things about self-published books. The stigma had been ingrained in me and it took a lot of open-minded thinking and internet research to finally change my mind. The publishing industry is not what it used to be ever since the advent of the internet—and neither is self-publishing. The ebook generation had arrived and took root right under my nose and a revolution in publishing was beginning to ensue. My husband explained to me that I would be getting in on the ground floor of this new model. Although it was daunting prospect, the opportunities it afforded me, including business and creative control of my book, dangled like a juicy carrot before my eyes. It was time to change the way I thought about publishing.

 

I hired iUniverse because they were one of the biggest and most reputable self-publishing companies. They also have a program where they reward special benefits to books they deem to be superior. My book became an editor’s pick and was chosen for their Rising Star Program which was very exciting. But I learned that no one, not even the publisher who’s getting a percentage, was going to make my book a big seller. That was up to me.

 

I hired a social marketing expert to train me, as well as a virtual book tour company. Both helped explode my name and my book onto the literary internet scene. Through the tour, I garnered many wonderful book reviews for Wedlocked. I also had the opportunity to write several guest blogs and do interviews for sites geared to my target audience. And best of all, I learned how I can do this for myself with help from Facebook and Twitter.

 

Marketing yourself as an author is a slow and steady process. It takes years of hard work and effort. I look at it as a new business. I don’t expect to strike it rich right away. In a new business, you make investments and hope that within a year or two they will pay off. It’s the same thing with self-publishing. And the more books you put out, the more they will build on themselves and hopefully create a mushroom effect. And that’s where this blog finds me, working long hours marketing, continuing to write as much as I can, and doing everything to make Wedlocked a success!

Bonnie Trachtenberg worked as Senior Writer and Copy Chief at Book-of-the-Month Club and has written seven children’s book adaptations. She’s also written for three newspapers, and has penned countless magazine articles. Wedlocked is her first novel. She lives on Long Island with her husband, stepchildren, and cats.

Please visit her blogs at:

http://www.BonnieTrachtenberg.com

http://www.Wedlockedthenovel.com

and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WritebrainedNY

How to Get Published by 'Voice' Joseph Garraty

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an  agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

 Today’s guest is Joseph Garraty, author of the horror novel, Voice (Ragman Press LLC).

Feedback is great. As an author, I love it. Even if it’s bad, as long as it’s constructive, I can almost always learn something from it and make the current book or the next one that much better. So, when I set out to get published, not only was I all starry-eyed and excited about the prospect, but I was totally undaunted by the idea of rejection. As long as I got feedback telling me what needed fixin’, I figured it was all good.

So, I went out and got me an agent. Well, no. I went out and tried to get me an agent. What actually happened was, I sent a manuscript to an agent, she read it and rejected the heck out of it (“Good Lord, son, you’ve got your plot on backwards!”). But she told me why my plot was on backwards and said she’d like to see some revisions.

The book was unsalvageable, though, so I nuked it and wrote another one. No sense getting too attached to these things. I did keep the agent’s criticism in mind, though, and when I sent her the next manuscript, I made sure I hadn’t made any of the same mistakes. To my amazement, she signed me on.

Woohoo! I had an agent! Never another poor day! Except...the book didn’t sell. That was when the feedback I had wanted so badly started getting weird. Acquiring editors were reading the book and sending back some of the most excited rejections I’d ever heard. “This is great! Very original premise, love the writing! Please go sell it somewheres else, ’cuz I can’t sell it here!”

“Well, nuts,” I thought. “That’s not helpful—I can’t even tell what I’m supposed to fix. Oh, well. Keep plugging away, and the book will find a home.” The nonspecific rejection coupled with all the enthusiasm puzzled me, but I didn’t worry too much about it. After all, it’s not really an acquiring editor’s job to break down why they don’t want a given book. So my agent kept flogging my book around, and meanwhile I wrote another one.

I finished that book, and my agent went around with that one—same result. “Great book! Get it out of my sight!”

Eventually my agent and I parted company. I wrote another book, went looking for another agent.

 

And, wouldn’t you know it, the whole problem had moved down the food chain one step! Now agents were reading pages, asking for the full manuscript—and sending back glowing rejections. One actually sent back some revision requests, which I promptly made. More glowing praise. “This is great! Vivid writing, great characters, and a really enjoyable read!” Pause. “Also, I can’t sell this right now.”

This left me in an odd spot. Yes, there was a recession on. Yes, traditional publishing was getting hammered by declining sales and the advent of ebooks and, frankly, poor management in many cases. Editors and agents now wanted a sure thing more than ever, and a debut horror author has something of a cloud of stink around him or her, depending on whether the notoriously variable horror market is up or down. But come on, I thought. Give me something. It’s not like I was getting form rejections here. People were taking time out of their busy schedules to read the book, make rather extensive comments, and offer a lot of positive feedback—but with no negative feedback I could use (“If you’d take the meth-addicted turtle subplot out, we might have something here”), I had a tough time figuring out what I needed to change.

I finally decided that maybe I didn’t need to change anything. Maybe the industry really was so beat down it was placing fewer and fewer bets. Maybe it was time to start looking elsewhere.

That’s when I started exploring indie publishing. Since then, I’ve gotten my book published, gotten some great reviews, met some great people, and, best of all, I’ve had almost complete control over every step of the process. It’s been great!

And, most importantly, I’ve learned that when nobody will tell you there’s something wrong with your work—well, maybe that’s because there’s actually nothing wrong with it.

Joseph Garraty is an author of dark fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He has worked as a construction worker, rocket test engineer, environmental consultant, technical writer, and deadbeat musician. He lives in Dallas, Texas. His latest book is the horror novel, Voice. You can visit his website at www.josephgarraty.com. Connect with Joseph at Twitter at www.twitter.com/JosephGarraty.

How to Get Published by 'Dancing Her Dreams Away' by Alretha Thomas

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

 Today’s guest is Alretha Thomas, author of the Women’s Fiction Dancing Her Dreams Away (Diverse Arts Collective, Inc.).

Thirty years ago I was working part-time as a clerk at the U.S. Federal Building in Los Angeles, California. I had just arrived at work after spending the morning in a lecture hall with over a hundred other U.S.C. Trojans. As I approached my office, a group of people were surrounding a small television set. There were shrieks and gasps as Dan Rather reported the happenings. I stretched my neck to get a glimpse at what had them all in an uproar. The date was March 30, 1981 and President Ronald Reagan had just been shot by John W. Hinckley Jr. I, like everyone else, was aghast. How could something like that happen? Little did I know, while standing there at the age of twenty that thirty years from that exact day, my second book, Dancing Her Dreams Away would be published. At that time, I had no idea I was going to be an author. I was a sophomore majoring in journalism and my dream was to do what Dan Rather was doing at that very moment -- report the news live! 

 

Luckily President Reagan survived the assassin’s bullet and I went onto graduate from U.S.C. with the hopes of becoming a television news reporter. However, in 1982, there was a major recession and television news jobs were scarce. I ended up landing a job in an office and continued to do office work while I sorted out what I wanted to be when I grew up. It seems like the universe and life’s circumstances decided for me, because today I am a published author. I didn’t get there the traditional route. I would have loved to, and trust me I tried. After I finished writing and having Dancing Her Dreams Away edited, I prepared a query letter and solicited agents who represent women’s fiction. Dancing Her Dreams Away is about twenty-two year old Shelia King, a young, aspiring actress who meets a rich, handsome, powerful director who promises to make her dream of stardom come true. What Shelia’s doesn’t know is that the producer has a dream of his own, a dream that could end up being her worst nightmare. Sounds interesting? I thought so, but apparently the first batch of agents I queried didn’t. So I tried and tried again. I even revised my query letter more than a dozen times. Still no bites.  

 

I decided to broaden my search to include agents that represent mystery and suspense novels. After all, there is a great deal of mystery and suspense in Dancing Her Dreams Away. Albeit, not enough to be a mystery or suspense novel, but enough to possibly garner the interest of an agent who represents one of those genres. Now I’m up to about two-hundred agents, and still no takers. By the time I added agents that represent romance novels; my agent count was over three-hundred. I began to get some requests for partials and fulls. I waited on baited breath for responses, but I closed no deals. Then on Valentine’s Day of all days, I got a 212 call on my cell phone. I broke out in a cold sweat. It’s New York! It has to be an agent. I quickly answered the call, and sure enough, it was an agent, and he said he liked my story idea. He had my query letter and he wanted me to send him the first seventy-five pages of my novel. I couldn’t believe my ears. I was in shock. I told him I would send it right away. He gave me an email address, and I made haste and forwarded the first seventy-five pages. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help but fantasize about the outcome. He’ll read it, love it, fly me to New York, and I’ll sign a contract. Better yet, he’s already been on the phone with three of the major publishing houses in New York and has given them a heads-up about my novel. Stop the presses. Slow your row, girl. Okay, I eventually calmed down and stepped back into reality.

 

Later that evening, my husband surprised me and announced he had prepared a special Valentine’s dinner. This will be a Valentine’s Day I’ll never forget – dinner and an agent. Well, I didn’t actually get an agent, but one is interested and my husband had cooked dinner for the first time. While I was getting dressed for my special dinner, my cell phone rang and it was a restricted call. Could this be the agent? No way. I answered and it was the agent calling me from home and he said, “I’ve read the first twenty-five pages of your manuscript and I’m enjoying it immensely.” I stood there with my mouth agape. Did I just hear the words I’ve longed to hear all my life? Well the second group of words I’ve longed to hear all my life. “Will you marry me?” has always been at the top of the list.  Anyway, I screamed and he told me to calm down. Needless to say, I was embarrassed, but please, you’re talking to a writer who has had over three-hundred rejections! He asked me to email him the entire manuscript. He wanted the whole thing. You didn’t hear me, the whole manuscript. I could barely catch my breath. My husband in the next room apparently heard the commotion because he approached me with a perplexed look plastered on his face. I told him the latest and he grimaced and said, “You’re not going to send it to him now, are you? Dinner is ready.”  I suppressed the crazy look I wanted to give him, cleared my throat, and replied, “Of course not. I’ll send it after dinner.” In my head I’m said, Are you crazy. Valentine’s Day comes every year, but an interested agent comes only once in a lifetime. I wolfed down dinner and dessert, and rushed to the computer. “Finally!” I said after I clicked on send. I whispered a prayer, powered down the computer, and went to bed.

 

Fast forward two weeks later and I have yet to hear from the man I thought would be my agent. After three weeks, I got the courage to call him. Surprisingly he took my call and informed me he had let an associate read the manuscript and then he commenced to give me her opinion. It took everything in me not to slam the phone down in his face. I had to remind myself that it was just an opinion, and everyone has one, like something else we all have, and they all stink too! I accepted the verdict and decided at that point I would self-publish. I used Createspace a subsidiary of Amazon.com and my book officially hit the market on March 30, 2011. No, my book doesn’t have a big publishing machine behind it, but it’s being read and it’s getting good reviews. When you really get down to it, a good book is a good book, no matter how it’s published. Yes, it’s more of a challenge marketing my book, and no, I don’t have national distribution, but word is getting out about Dancing Her Dreams Away and sales are rising. Who knows maybe that big time New York agent did me a favor. I must admit, self-publishing has been an empowering experience, from choosing my cover to throwing a launch party. Shoot, I’m just getting started. Watch out world!

 

* * *

An author, playwright, producer and director, Alretha Thomas is making her name through her pen. Award winning plays and wanting to help her community, Alretha’s background is as diverse as her personality. She started at the age of ten, when her 5th grade teacher picked and read her short story assignment in front of the class – that simple, loving act empowered a new writer. Continuing in high school, her numerous original oratorical conquests on the Speech Team led her to a journalism concentration at the University of Southern California. Upon graduating, Alretha soon realized that her interest in journalism was not heartfelt. While at the taping of a live sitcom, the producer noticed her and encouraged her hand at modeling. Modeling didn’t mean much to her, but it did lead her to acting and a NAACP Theatre Award Nomination (1993) for BEST ACTRESS. She feels that this acting stint gave her more fuel to write, and particularly, a better understanding of character development.

Alretha left acting and began to write full time. Her church gave her an outlet to fulfill her writing desires through their Liturgical Fine Arts Department wherein Alretha penned twelve theatre pieces – the community response was overwhelming. This led to full length plays outside of the church including Alretha’s play, Sacrificing Simone (2007) which had a successful run at Stage 52 in Los Angeles and was called “an inspirational crowd pleaser” by the Los Angeles Times and her most recent work, the ground breaking OneWoman, Two Lives, starring Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), directed by Denise Dowse, which garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences. In between plays, Alretha’s first novel Daughter Denied was launched in 2008.

You can find out more about her and her book at http://www.Dancingherdreamsaway.com.

 

 

How to Get Published by 'Fresh Heir' Michael Reilly

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

Today’s guest is Michael Reilly, author of the literary fiction novel,, Fresh Heir.

Publishing my new novel Fresh Heir this past spring was actually a very smooth process. If you don’t count the blood, sweat, and tears in the seven years that preceded it. That’s about the time that elapsed between my first efforts to write a full-length book, and the actual realization of seeing one in print. Since I love to garden, I can easily equate the process of publishing my book to gardening. Getting Fresh Heir into print was like picking the vegetables...cucumbers are my favorite. It’s so much fun and rewarding. Until you recall that there was a long, arduous process to actually make the garden, get it planted, and then nurture it, battling along the way with too much rain, too little rain, hungry deer, pesky moles, lots of bugs...oh, and then one of kid’s tossing the basketball accidentally right into the middle of my tender developing plants!

I have been writing most of my life...since I cranked out my first book in grade school. Most of my early adult years were spent on poetry, short stories and travel journals. I attended graduate school for journalism and thereafter transitioned into newspaper and TV writing. Yes, I said TV writing...and that’s not a joke! 

 

For many years my efforts to publish a novel were sidetracked by a busy corporate job and the birth of four children. It was right after my third child was born that I could no longer make excuses. Heck, I wasn’t getting much sleep anyway, I might as well make the most of it. I wrote a young adult novel and was turned down by at least thirty agents and publishers. 

 

So I tried again. Being a lover of history and historical novels, I tried my hand at one. That effort too resulted in well over forty rejections from literary agents. Daunted but not defeated, I took a short break and then began conceptualizing Fresh Heir.

 

Before even writing one word, I promised myself two things: 1) I would have fun writing the book, as opposed to my earlier efforts where I felt some sort of heavy burden on my shoulders; and 2) I would get it published some how, some way.

 

It was about this time someone recommended CreateSpace to me, the self-publishing unit run by Amazon.com. I researched it and compared it to similar services, then decided that CreateSpace would be the way I’d go. I didn’t even bother to query literary agents about Fresh Heir. Remember, I said I wanted to have fun with the process. Anyone who has received one of those harsh, impersonal, form-letter responses from a literary agent knows it’s no more fun than having a cucumber stuck up your...aw forget it. 

 

This is about where my writing career went smoothly. I finished Fresh Heir and shared it with several family members and friends. When I felt it was ready, I embarked on the publishing journey with CreateSpace. It was very simple and straightforward.

 

Clearly there is a trend, even among more established authors, to bypass the traditional publishing path. I can understand why, and certainly for any new authors, I would recommend not even considering it. Unless you can catch lightening in a bottle, you’ll encounter and endure frustration after frustration. It’s no fun. And ultimately we all should be writing partly, if not entirely, to have fun. That’s it from me. Anyone have a good cucumber recipe? 

 

 

Michael Reilly is a writer and entrepreneur. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. His first published novel, Fresh Heir, was released in May 2011. He is also founder and chief executive officer of FitDivs Inc, a company that promotes and rewards healthy living. Michael resides with his wife and four children in Charlottesville, VA.

You can visit his website at www.freshheirnovel.com or connect with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Heir/168240473246308.

 

How to Get Published by 'The Lonely Mile' Allan Leverone

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

Today’s guest is Allan Leverone, author of the fast paced thriller novel, The Lonely Mile (Stone House Ink).

“How to get published” is a question that might soon find itself fading into obscurity. After all, with all the changes in the publishing business over the last few years, we now live in a world where anyone with even the most basic technical ability can upload their book to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and other sites, instantly becoming a published author and offering their work for sale virtually overnight.

 

I should know, I did exactly that with my short story collection, POSTCARDS FROM THE APOCALYPSE, electing to self-publish that book rather than seek out a publisher, as opposed to my first two novels, FINAL VECTOR (Medallion Press) and THE LONELY MILE (StoneHouse Ink), as well as my novella, DARKNESS FALLS (Delirium Books).

 

In place of “How to get published,” a more timely question might become, “How do I know when my book is ready to be published?”

 

I can tell you from experience that the assistance of a professional editor is invaluable. You might be the best writer in the world, but you can always benefit from a second set of impartial eyes, especially eyes attuned to working within your genre of preference. I submitted FINAL VECTOR to Medallion Press thinking it was as tight and suspenseful as it could be, and yet, after working with editor Lorie Popp, my book emerged from the editing process much better overall than it had been beforehand.

 

Same thing with my new thriller, THE LONELY MILE. I worked very diligently with freelance editor Jodie Renner before even considering submitting it to the folks at StoneHouse, and I’m glad I did. Jodie helped identify and fix issues that were preventing THE LONELY MILE from reaching its full potential, and when I finally did submit the book, I did so with a confidence that came from having already put the novel through the editorial ringer.

The book then went through another round of editing at StoneHouse, and its final form is something I’m extremely proud of. The prose is tight and suspenseful, the copy is error-free, and the book is fraught with tension. And that’s not just my opinion, that is the consensus of the more than one dozen reviews THE LONELY MILE has received at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads, among other review sites.

 

What’s the moral of the story? It’s important to realize that if you intend to ask people to part with their hard-earned cash, you need to make damned sure they get the cleanest, best product you can offer for the money. Taking short cuts and cutting corners is the quickest and surest way I can imagine to guaranteeing you will never escape literary obscurity.

Take your time, be professional enough to recognize your shortcomings as a writer and enlist the aid of a professional who can help you overcome those shortcomings, and be honest with yourself about your abilities, as well as your goals as a writer. If you do those things, you will find the question of “How do I know when my book is ready to be published?” will become as obsolete as the question, “How do I get published?”

Allan Leverone is a three-time Derringer Award finalist as well as a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee for his short fiction. The Lonely Mile, released by StoneHouse Ink in July, is Allan’s second thriller, following Final Vector from Medallion Books in February. He has been hailed as “the successor to Michael Crichton” by bestselling author Vincent Zandri, and bestselling author Scott Nicholson calls The Lonely Mile “a taut crime drama full of twists and conspiracy.”

Learn more about Allan at his website at  www.allanleverone.com.

Visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/allan.leverone.

 

How to Get Published by 'Black & Orange' Benjamin Kane Ethridge

How to Get Published is a continuing feature at The Book Bin where we ask authors to tell us their publishing stories.  Was it a rocky road or did it come easy for them?  Did they start with an agent and get a NY publisher interested in their book or did they self-publish?  What words of wisdom do they have for all of us who would like to be published one day? 

Today’s guest is Benjamin Kane Ethridge, author of the dark fantasy horror novel, Black & Orange.

Somebody out there has written ten novels, diligently submitted each to publishers and agents, waited, longed, hoped and got systematically rejected. The cycle probably occurred going on a decade. This person took creative writing classes. This person joined a writers’ group. This person did their homework on the markets. This person did everything in the correct fashion.

And nothing ever came of it.

This person shouldn’t be depressed. Publishing can still happen despite everything that falls through. In my case, I made a friend who already had a novel out in the small press and had gotten some major buzz in the horror community. At the time, my body of work extended to a handful of short stories, but I was ready to start shopping my novel. My friend wanted to read it.

Blam! That was it.

See, that’s all you really need to do, it turns out. Just find the right person willing to read your work. By and by, many good things can grow out of that, including but not limited to publication.

Fortunately for me, publication is exactly what happened. My friend mentioned my novel to his publisher and they, in turn, asked me for a submission. Now, this could have still gone wrong. Taste varies and this publisher could have held its nose and passed, and subsequently never listen to my friend’s recommendations ever again. But that wasn’t how it went down. Bad Moon Books bought my novel, BLACK & ORANGE, which was very smart of them because the book went on to win the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.

So this should demonstrate how very important it is to network. Sometimes you can’t break through that wall, no matter how much energy you put into a project. Certainly you hear some advice along the lines of “just write a great novel” and you’ll get published. Well, that may be true for some, but most people struggle to get noticed—to even get read with serious consideration, and it isn’t always because their novel deserves to go unpublished. In the end, it’s just that one special person out there hasn’t read it.

Yet.

Benjamin Kane Ethridge’s fiction has appeared in Doorways Magazine, Dark Recesses, FearZone, and others. His dark fantasy novel BLACK & ORANGE (Bad Moon Books 2010) has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel. Beyond that he’s written several collaborations with Michael Louis Calvillo, one of which is a novella called UGLY SPIRIT, available in 2011. He also wrote a master’s thesis entitled, “CAUSES OF UNEASE: The Rhetoric of Horror Fiction and Film.” Available in an ivory tower near you. Benjamin lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter, both lovely and both worthy of better. When he isn’t writing, reading, videogaming, he’s defending California’s waterways and sewers from pollution.

You can visit his website at BKEthridge.com

Say hi and drop a line at ben@bkethridge.com