KEEPING UP TO DATE

Happy Wednesday. Personally, I’m still recovering from the knee-replacement surgery. In between trips to the physical therapist and the three-times-a-day “ice machine” on the leg treatment, I try to add pages to my WIP.

Last week, however, was mostly spent proofreading my latest romance novel, a romantic-suspense I call FINDING AMY. I’m publishing it through Criterion House, the small publisher who handled my backlist titles, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING and STRANGER IN PARADISE (both originally published by Kensington) and a couple of first-list books, NORTH BY NORTHEAST, which, IMHO, trad publishers weren’t savvy enough to acquire (but went on to win the San Diego Book Award) and FREE FALL.

The blogs I follow, The Passive Voice, Joe Konrath’s A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, Anne R. Allen, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, have all convinced me to go Indie from now on. I spent years trying to get (and sometimes getting) a traditional publishing contract and was often disappointed with the results.

I’ve also used small publishers, but they offer no advances, and, judging by my royalty statements (although they paid 40% of net instead of 25%) didn’t do much promotion, if any. One small house charged $6.50 for my e-book, which I think is too much for a 200-page romance novel (I prefer $2.99, although FINDING AMY will be $3.99 because it’s a much longer book). And the covers, with one exception, were (if not as bad as those on LOUSY BOOK COVERS) at least amateurish.

I don’t know the publishing date yet. In fact, we still have to design a cover. I hired an artist for the cover of FREE FALL, but my husband is not only a whiz at formatting for both print and e-books, but is a graphic artist and has done dozens of posters, flyers and covers for local organizations. As for editing, I was a proofreader for a national magazine in Chicago and have critiqued and edited many books in more recent years.

Last Sunday I wrote a Guest Post for Bob Richards’ blog: http://romancetheguyspov.blogspot.com. Check it out for, among other things, two hilarious scenes from the film, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. Husband, father, grandfather and chess champion, Bob writes romance novels and is a member of RWA and its San Diego chapter. He’s already had one book published, and I predict good sales as more readers find him.

Tags:
The Passive Voice
Anne R. Allen
Joe Konrath
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Dean Wesley Smith