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Published on 2 Comments on The Road to “Discoverability”

Those like me who struggle at the keyboard, turning out book after book, used to be travelers on the same highway - the Road to Publication.  In the digital age, writers are still travelers, but we're walking a different road. Today anyone and everyone can publish so it's not about publication any longer.  Now writers travel the road to discoverability.

It's a major change that took the explosion of an industry to craft.  But the change has been so sudden that writers recently attending The Writers League of Texas Agents' Conference were shocked when keynote speaker Jane Friedman began her speech on the state of the book by showing an image of a giant mushroom cloud. The title of Friedman's address was "Is The Book Dead? Who Cares?"

Friedman's speech tracked the revolutionary changes in the book industry. Borders is bankrupt. The biggest bookseller on the planet, Amazon, announced May 18th that it now sells more ebooks than paperbacks and hardcovers combined. Friedman says that the book as we have known it is dead. 

Who is Jane Friedman to make such an epic pronouncement?  She's the CEO and co-founder of Open Road Integrated Media.  And from 1997 to 2008 Ms. Friedman was the CEO and President of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide - one of the biggest publishers in the world.  She's credited with having invented the "author's tour" which "became a staple of the industry."  That background gives Friedman the platform to make any prognostication she wants to make about the book industry.

...continue reading "The Road to “Discoverability”"

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A new study conducted by Northwestern University's Kellog School of Management & the Univeristy of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign asked 307 adults between the ages of 19 and 103 to describe their regrets.  Specifically, participants were asked to describe in detail one decision that they came to regret.

Regrets about romance led the list and women were much more likely to have romantic regrets than men.  Around 44% of women described relationship regrets as compared to only 19% of the men. 

"It speaks to something psychologists have known for a long time. Women are typically charged with the role of maintaining and preserving relationships, so when things do go wrong, it's very spontaneous for women to think, 'I should have done it some other way,'" said senior study author Neal Roese, a psychologist and professor of marketing at Northwestern. "It's how men and women are raised in this culture."

Men were more likely to have regrets about work or education. The work regrets centered on failing to take a risk and accept a different job or working at an occupation that they didn't feel passionate about.

The most interesting part of the study is that the long-term regrets were much more often about what participants didn't do. Yes, Virginia, the long term regrets centered on the risks not taken.  And the study noted that the biggest basis for the regrets were that people didn't try - what people rember are the times they failed to go for their dreams.  

Yesterday is over and none of us can change the past.  However, we can and should think about our regrets and learn from them so that we can change our future.   

"Regret is an essential part of the human experience," Roese said. "You should listen to the lessons your regrets tell you, which is quite often how you could have done things differently or how you could change things."

This is something that we can all change - starting today.  If you're single or single again and regretting the one that got away - look him or her up. Facebook and Twitter have made the world a much smaller place.  Finding that someone and giving them a Holla' won't cost you a thing.  If you regret that you didn't go for your Masters or that you didn't study psychology instead of business - get online and enroll in a class now. Even if you can't afford a big education budget, you can probably afford to take that first step.

And if you're like me, and your regret is not working hard at your writing so that you could become a full-time author, then today is the day to dedicate yourself to that too. Work on your writing every day. Make progress - at least some progress- on your WIP every day.  Don't let a single day go by without being active on Twitter, Facebook, Your Blog. 

And if you have a book or two out now - market by doing all of that social networking, but don't forget the best way to market - track down blogs - lots of blogs- and comment.  When some of your thoughts hit home with another reader, they're likely to click your blog and check out your list of books. Before you know it, you may have made another sale.

Today is a good day to turn a past regret into a future success.  Let's all give it a shot and see how far we can go.  If we try, we may fail. But if we fail to try, we'll always regret it!

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Is this a list that no one wants to be on or what?

The first author to inspire me was one who surely inspired more future romance authors than any other.  The late, great, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss who unfortunately passed away in 2007 is considered by many to have created the historical romance genre.  Her book, "The Flame and The Flower" came out when I was only 10. Even I wasn't that precocious.  It was a few years later, when I was 16 or 17, that I first read TF&TF.  I found it in my library's paperback collection but soon bought my own copy. I went on to read all of the author's work, over and over.

TF&TF is a book that stays with me, even today.  Now the politically correct police try to denigrate it as a bodice ripper.  I always saw it as a tale of female power.  For most of the book Brand danced to Heather's tune and by the end his fire was tamed by her tenderness.  That's the lesson I took from Ms. Woodiwiss and recall in all of my books.

Another author who inspires me is fortunately still with us. Johanna Lindsey. I'm reading one of hers on my ereader right now.  She wrote her first book in 1977 and has published over 40 novels. I've read most of them.  I've enjoyed many of her works, but the ones that inspire me the most are 2 of the early books in her Mallory Series - "Gentle Rogue" and "The Magic of You." GR is James and Georgie's tale and TMOY is Warren and Amy's.   

...continue reading "A Quack Of Gratitude To Authors Who Inspire The Strange Duck Lady"

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Jessica Galbreath, fairy artist and founder of Fairy Day says:

"This holiday is for everyone who believes in the magic of fairytales. It is for those imaginative souls who dare to dream impossible dreams. It is for the children of the world, wide eyed and open to the magic that surrounds them. It is for adults too, who long to capture a bit of that magic they remember from thier own childhood."

If you want to capture some fairy magic, I suggest you pick up my novel - A Faerie Fated Forever or that you get the whole 3 book series - available in a bundle AT A BUY 2 GET 1 FREE PRICE - The Forever Series.

Everyone who reads romance must believe in fairytales so this is our day.  Today, we all get one of the magical sprites to ease our way and change our impossible dream into our inevitable reality.  Inhale the fairy dust and dance amidst the sparkles and watch your special fairy send you a wonderous wave of good fortune and magic joy.

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Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Michael Connelly and... John Locke? 

Absolutely - John Locke.

Locke is a 60-year-old man from Louisville, Kentucky with a background in business and private investments who has sold more than a million copies of his 9 western/crime novellas.  He only charges 99 cents but sells a copy about every 7 seconds.  And Locke performed his amazing feat of sales wizardry in only 5 months. 

Locke has now written a new book that will likely fly off the virtual shelves faster than any of his other titles - "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks In 5 Months."    Achieving such success is amazing.  Having a spirit generous enough to help others join you proves that Locke is in it for much more than the money.

Dig it?  I do.  Locke's success proves that even if you aren't a spring chicken, if you write what people want to read and sell it for a fair price you can achieve any dream.  Even - possibly - financial security for a family with a job that is more dream than work. 

A million cheers to John Locke for his membership in one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.  And a million thanks to him for proving that indies can run with the big boys and girls 

My sales have been going up each month as I work more on social networking and marketing. I've discovered that it's easier to sell books if people know you have books for sale.  But I'm still a mighty, mighty (did I say mighty?) long way from Mr. Locke's Million Club achievement.  I guess I'll have to pick up a copy of his book!

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Hi there lovelies, it's the daddy on Daddy's Day. Mary Anne spent too much money on me, as usual. But that's not what this update is about.

I felt motivated to get something done on The Duke of Eden paperback cover. My wife chided me for working on Father's Day, but apparently she doesn't know that artistic muses work a lot like writing ones - you've got to pound it out while the muse is screaming in your ear, or else you might not hear from her in awhile.

Anyways, it took a lot of hard, hard work looking through dozens and dozens of nude and semi-nude pictures of redheaded temptresses, but I finally found a very naked one, which Mary Anne then forced me to crop until no naughty bits were visible and put on the back cover. So now there's something for the dudes as well as the honeys to look at on the book.

Keep watching the Duke images page for the new cover, and while you're ogling the Duke's new Eve I'll be formatting the novel for printing as a true-to-life solid molecular flingable paper book.

AOFM out. And Happy Father's Day!

UPDATE: Wait for the cover no longer. It's at the bottom of this page!

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Hey guys, it's been awhile since you've heard from the Angry Old Fat Man Mid-Week Update (AOFM-MWU), so I decided to talk some nerd-talk for y'all. That doesn't mean you should expect more from me, though, got it? I'm not the big-shot writer here with all them thar fancy deegrees and money-makin' books and whatnot, aight?

So the big talk in nerd circles is THE CLOUD. Whoopty-damn-do, THE CLOUD. Microsoft started talking about it first, with their stupid advertisements making it look like THE CLOUD was some kinda Bat Cave that could turn you into a multitasking genius with godlike superpowers.

Yeah, right. This is the same Microsoft that decided the best way to get everybody to buy their crappy Vista operating system was to pay Jerry Seinfeld several dumptrucks full of money to goof around on camera with Bill Gates.

But now some real tech companies (read: Apple) are starting to talk about THE CLOUD, and people of course are taking notice and asking really tough questions, like...

WHAT THE %@$# IS THE CLOUD?

...continue reading "AOFM-MWU – The Cloud Is Nothing New Under The Sun"

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I don't want this to come off as a "woe is me" post. It's not about the 'woe.' It's about how you know...

I've been in the world a while and for most of that while I've been typing on a keyboard. One thing that's not good for is the wrists. Yep, carpal tunnel.

The funny thing is that it started with my left wrist. And I'm right handed. Go figure. But I went to CVS and picked up a brace for my left wrist. For a while I wore it all day. But it was tough to do things. So finally, I just wore it at night.

Guess what? Today, I finally had to break down and buy one for the right hand. Yep. My dominant hand is playing follow the leader. Seeing a doctor for tests and prescriptions or having surgery isn't an option currently.  Today's about "do it yourself" treatment.     

I tried wearing both of 'em for a while. But you know what? They get in the way. And they get in the way MORE with my right hand. So, I decided I'll put 'em on at night, sometime after my bath, when I'm starting to wind down on writing for the day. Because if it interferes with writing, then it's gotta go.

I joke all the time about how I'd love not to be doing my day job. And carpal tunnel is one of those things that could be disabling. So I could apply for disability. But you know what? That wouldn't be a dream at all. It'd be more of a nightmare. How could that possibly be, you ask?

Well, it's because hurting a little or a lot - I'd write. I'd write whether anyone bought my stuff or not. Because - I'm a writer. It's not what I do. It's who I am.

People in the e-age have some perception that writing is glamorous or that it'll make you rich. Truthfully, writing is not a'tall glamorous. It's something you're doing while the clothes are in the washer. And you're usually in sweats and a comfy shirt. And your world shrinks to the size of a computer. There are no photographers chasing you or fans begging for an autograph. And no Brinks truck is showing up to throw money at you. I'm still tickled every single time a number changes at Amazon or Smashwords. Every sale makes me say a silent "thank you" to the reader.

While I wouldn't mind making a lot of money, I'd sure hate to lose that sense of wonder every time some mysterious person somewhere in the world hit the buy button. And I could think about that reader just starting a journey over the top with a love story by the crazy Duck Lady.

If you're writing because you're chasing fame or fortune - then you're not going to be writing long. Because writing is not a means to an end - writing is the end itself. Writing is not the vehicle that will get you to riches and independence. Writing is riches and independence. It's more than the journey - writing itself is the reward.

Mostly, writing is just me, my imagination, my aching wrists and the machine. And that's better than okay. That's everything.

Although writing full time is my dream job, it's more than that. It's not just what I do - it's who I am. That's what I wish for my sons. Find what makes you who you are and then try to make money doing that. Because whether it's a hobby or a career, your life won't be the same without it. There might not even be life without it. You are who you are and I am who I am. Let's celebrate that. Let's pursue that.

But, if I get stuck in my day job for the rest of my working life, I'll still come home at night, sit down at my laptop and write stories where two people find out that each is the other's happily ever after.

Don't write because you can. Only write if you have to. There are many easier routes to fortune and fame.

Only write if you're a writer.

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A pair of women - a Mormon psychologist and a Wall Street Analyst turned author -  desperately wanted to sell their non-romance books in a romance novel world. Clearly, they'd do better if all those darned women would just stop buying romance. How to accomplish that?  Well, they came up with a bizarre theory - romance novels can be as addictive as pornography. 

Yes, all of us deviant romance readers have been silently suffering under the weight of a horrific and dangerous addiction - reading romance novels.  The diabolically deluded duo say that reading romance promotes dissatisfaction with your real life relationships and may even lead to an affair.  But fear not, say the diabolically deluded duo - they have a plan.   What is it, you ask?

To overcome addiction to romance, you should READ BOOKS OF A DIFFERENT GENRE.   And again, what do the ladies who came up with the theory do?  They write books.  And what kind of books?  Not romance novels.  Yes, Virginia, these authors really did think women were stupid enough to fall for that load of self-serving swill. 

Did anybody fall for it?  Not so much.  However, lots of folks had a really good time with the whole idea that romance is as addictive as porn. One of the best places to express pithy punditry these days is Twitter.  The fiasco spawned its own hashtag, #romancekills.  Below are some of my favorite tweets from that hashtag. I'm listing the author of the tweet as best I can tell - I've told y'all before (on the Marianne's Blog) that Twitter is the "Bing" commercial, on steroids.  It can be hard to follow. If I've misquoted or incorrectly attributed anything, it wasn't out of malice. It was Bing-Bong Syndrome. 

Check out these tweets and if you have a Twitter account (and you should) after you follow me, you should definitely follow every one of these folks!   Now, without further ado - because I've a-done enough already - here are my personal favorite tweets from #romancekills. Enjoy!!

@ChristinaDodd: Every time a woman reads a romance novel, her lover dies…slowly, and with great pleasure.

@JoJosBook Corner: Woot Our she-army of oversexed females shall conquer the Earth. Men shall fear (and desire) us.

@TessaDare: Every time a bodice rips, a kitten cries.

@LimeCello: Know why Thomas Hardy wrote the original cliff hanger? He was reading a romance novel & couldn't be bothered to finish writing

@CourtneyMilan: Romance novels killed the radio store, and blamed it on video.

@LimeCello: You want to know why Atlantis is no more? Romance novels. Sorry archaeologists & historians

@PamelaCayne: For $19.95 I will cast out the romance reading demons from your soul, banishing the bodice ripping monkey on your back forever

@TallStoriesBook: "The Titanic hit that iceberg because the lookouts were too busy reading romance novels," - Amy Boggs

@TallStoriesBook: Jason Pinter : "the destruction of Alderaan was due to Darth Vader reading too many romance novels"

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Hey guys, the Irascible Corpulent One here.

I was puttering around on the computer yesterday (as if that's any different than any other day) when the beloved eldest child o' mine - the 20-year-old - came in and started discussing a movie that's coming out soon: The Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

He was bemoaning the fact that originality in movies is practically non-existent, and that every movie in the past ten years or so (with few exceptions) is a remake, a reboot, a sequel, or a prequel. The eldest was flabbergasted that they were now getting ready to release a prequel to a reboot of a movie from the 1960s.

Oh boy, did I have bad news for him. Did I ever.

...continue reading "Movies – The Other Castle"