The More Publishing Changes...

My first Romantic Times Convention was in 2001. Back then, RT was always in Oct. and so, this particular RT was memorably sombre because it was right after Sept. 11. There were almost no New York editors in attendance and many authors canceled too.

I went because I had a chance to room with Cherry Adair. I mean, me, a nobody aspiring-to-be pubbed writer, had the chance to pick the brains of a very wonderful writer...how could I refuse? So I went and in spite of the quieter-than-normal atmosphere (which I didn't know then, since I had no previous experience with which to compare), the RT party went on.

In 2001, there were very few e-published authors or publishers in attendance.  Ellora's Cave wasn't the power house we know today, and everyone was just getting excited about erotic romance and erotica. Also, at that time, small publishers were still viewed with caution because those of us who wanted to be published viewed them as a last option because of course, everyone wanted to have his or her first book picked up by a big publisher, one which offered an advance. 

There were a few writers who took the risk and contracted with these little known small publishers. There was barely any advance money and the books were trade-sized, which were more expensive and often not popular with readers because of size and price. Still, for some, it was a chance to get one's work in book form without going the vanity route.  At that particular RT, I remember talking to a few writers about this new "wave" and possibility of maybe one day electronic books being another way to read. We felt rather adventurous, wondering what the future would bring for us, and I was dreaming of being a successful author.

Ten years later.  Yes, this coming RT Con, now renamed RT Booklovers Convention, will be my tenth.  How things have changed, eh?

Today, I am published, with eight books under my belt. I've tasted the ups and downs of the publishing world and witnessed the rise and fall of genres, mass market books, trade-sized books, and new ways of being published.


Today, ebooks is not just a new wave of publishing, but a viable way to make a living. Recently, a very well-known author, a friend of mine, Barry Eisler, walked away from a $500,000 contract with St. Martin's Press to self-publish because he felt he could make more doing it himself. You can read about his decision at his blog.

This news caused a buzz through Twitter, FB, and all of Internetdom because it wasn't a big surprise to many that a national-selling author had decided to step out. Many of us had talked about it among ourselves and speculated on who the first Big One would be. Because, you see, doing-it-yourself and ebook publishing have lost their stigma since 2001.  Especially when the reading public is embracing it by buying these works. Just ask Amanda Hocking, self-published, and whose ebooks had made her seven figures without any major publisher involved. Today, she's the face of success to authors who want to get their works out. She's also added a wow factor because of her recent contract for seven figures with a publishing house.

You can bet the above two items will be two main topics of private conversations between writers at RT next week! It's amazing how the options have changed, yet not. Watching a best-selling traditional-published author changing places with a best-selling self-published author because of personal career-based decisions is not only interesting, but also very empowering, to us writers.

For the last few years, many authors have lost their contracts or big advances as traditional publishing houses lost money because of fewer sales due to the Big Depression (no, it's not a Recession, it's a Depression). Many have given up and gone back to their previous jobs before they wrote full-time. Many, like me, have lost much writing time as we work longer hours or took up other kinds of work to help pay our bills.

Ebooks sales have been going up since 2007 but I think the turning point was the introduction of the Kindle, and then came its competitors.  Also, Amazon has the $$$ to buy TV ads and thus get the attention of the layperson, those who aren't always keeping up with the latest e-gadget. Amazon's self-publishing business--print and ebook--became the new market place for many writers, both new and experienced, as readers started to try new books that are so easily accessible.

Now, a few days ago, Connie Brockway, another famous name among romance readers, has also announced her intention to self-published a few historical romances. Everyone is suddenly feeling very adventurous. And wondering what the future in publishing will bring.

And I'm still wondering whether I'd be successful in this crazy business.

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An End Of Year Conversation With RS Author Buddies

I've been talking to a few author buddies lately about the general state of publishing, especially in the romantic suspense genre.  The news is rather mixed but the consensus is that romantic suspense, as one of them put it, is "no longer the darling it once was."

A few of my friends who are quite big names don't even get distributed at most Walmarts any more.  Remember in 2007, that was the beginning of the Walmart Wave of cutting off midlist and only stocking NYT bestsellers. Well, it has come to the point that some very well-known names are being cut off.  Most of the NYT newer bestsellers are in the paranormal and urban fantasy genres, so a few of these good friends are considering changing their genre. Yes, some of you might call it "jumping on the bandwagon," but for them, it is their paycheck and some of them are the main breadwinner for their families.

I was quite surprised at a few of the series that aren't being renewed.  These are by authors who have been writing for ten, fifteen years, and so have readers who faithfully buy their books.  But it seems that this isn't enough any more.  I don't know, since I haven't been in the New York school of thought these last few years.

Changing names hasn't helped at least one of my buddies; her numbers tanked in spite of online buzz.  There are just fewer physical bookstores out there. So, for a couple of them, the solution is to work harder with online recognition.

My RS for Samhain sold reasonably well in the electronic market. One author friend, a higher midlister, confided that her e-book sales are "killing it," so that's good news. But another, who had a pretty big contract from her publishing house, said numbers were down and she wasn't looking forward to the next round of contract talks.  The one who had her series canceled is now back to writing categories (series romance/Harlequin) of a different genre.  The other one, a fellow Golden Heart winner, someone whose works I really enjoy, has turned to epublishing and is now getting ready a really kickass urban fantasy for submission.

There was certainly a glut of romantic suspense authors about five to seven years ago.  I remember feeling some frustration that some of the stories had very little romance in them and were being categorized as RS.  And many of the huge names were changing genres, from historical to RS, and going hardcover. Their transitions weren't universally smooth, but most of them generally did well, making the NYT and USAtoday lists.

If you looked at the last four years, there were a few big names that started writing paranormal romance and following the pattern, there are now tons of books out in the paranormal/urban fantasy genres.  I'm not sure whether readership for RS has been waning, but certainly the economic Depression of 2008 onwards also contributed to dismal sales of books for publishing.  Books, once affordable, are being sold at $8.99 (this from $4.99$5.99 during my year I got pubbed), and people, slashing their budgets, cut back on book-buying.

Of course, this is just information gleaned from a few conversations with a few friends.  There are no facts to support our thoughts and conclusions; we can only view our publishing world through our royalty statements and contract renewals.  But I do feel that romantic suspense, although not disappearing, has been definitely getting fewer slots and less attention since 2007. Even my bookseller friend, who is not an online person and rarely venture into ebook territory, complained that she couldn't think of any new authors to recommend to her customers; most of the books in catalogues are by the big names who have one hardcover out a year. The midlisters are disappearing, she told me.

I take her comments to heart.  You'll always get the main stars, like the fantastic Cherry Adair and Cindy Gerard, at the main booksellers.  There will be some great reads ahead, but I feel that, for my other friends, the ones I'm not naming, we're preparing to change and to expect changes.  Ebooks will play a big part because sales have been rising (the main positive thing about the publishing business nowadats) but with that, authors have to focus more on online promotion as well as small used-and-new bookstores.

Why the latter? Because those owners, like my bookseller friend, know their customers and they often recommend back lists and sell new books of midlisters.  I know many online are saying they don't even buy paperbacks any more and the future is in ebooks, but there are still at least two generation of readers out there who aren't brought up techy/gadget-happy.  They like reading the way they've been for decades and many are unaware of online groups or discussions because frankly, they aren't into that.

The online community is a powerful aspect of marketing books and authors, of course. My friends think that in many ways, it's both easier and more difficult for the writer.  On one hand, there are literally thousands of new writers (self-published, e-published, etc.) online, a multitude of voices trying to be heard, and many new authors have a hard time getting noticed. The authors I spoke to don't necessary have this problem.  They have readers who find them online and social media like Twitter and Facebook are very helpful (depending on who's talking, LOL, since a couple think they really cut into their writing time). However, it is still a problem to reach new readers; everywhere we turn, we're reading that readers are hesitant to try new works not recommended by other readers, mainly because of higher price and inability to browse.

My author buddies also note that many online reviewers are favoring historicals and paranormal/urban fantasies.  Additionally, there is a growing readership for Young Adult paranormals/UF and younger readers are avid online visitors.  They are the next generation of readers that my friends have to learn to tap into.  Thus, writing in another genre is another option but a few of them feel it's just not their style.  We tossed ideas around and wonder what's in store for us in 2011 and beyond.

In conclusion, my writing buddies, some of whom I've known for a decade or more, with quite a number of books published, are worried and getting ready for changes.  At least one of them is getting her nursing license reinstated.  Another is even thinking of retirement.  Yet another is having fun writing another genre.  As for me, I'm a little off-the-road at the moment, since I was the first one to feel the Walmart and numbers pain, but I've been talking about change for years now.  My friends are just realizing it.

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Mammoth Book of Spec. Ops Romance and Mother of all Mammoth News

For those who enjoy novellas, the Mammoth Book of Spec. Ops Romance is now available in print and Kindle format. You can purchase it at Amazon, the Book Depository, and other online book stores. The Book Depository, by the way, has free shipping INTERNATIONALLY.

My contribution to this anthology is titled The Game and I'm considering lengthening it into a book because as all novellas go, the ending is always just the beginning ;-). Maybe I'll post part of the first chapter tomorrow so you can have a preview. The story is just three chapters long, so yeah, novellas can be frustrating reading for some. And tough to write, by the way.

Other interesting publishing news, that is not mine, but has caught my interest nonetheless because of its possibilities:

J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels mystery series, has a press release. He just sold an exclusive print book to Amazon for release. Yeah, THAT Amazon.

AmazonEncore to Publish Bestselling Author J.A. Konrath’s Upcoming Book

Amazon’s publishing imprint to release the next book in J.A. Konrath’s Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels series, “Shaken.”

SEATTLE—May 17, 2010—Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that AmazonEncore, Amazon’s publishing imprint, will release the newest book in bestselling author J.A. Konrath’s Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels series, “Shaken.” The AmazonEncore Kindle edition of “Shaken” will be available in the Kindle Store www.amazon.com/kindlestorein October, and the print version of the book will be available in February 2011. For more information on AmazonEncore and upcoming titles, visit www.amazon.com/encore.

Konrath wrote an answer-and-question blog post today about this:

A Newbie's Guide To Publishing

This is BIG news, especially for midlist authors like me. Publishers have been dropping many in their midlist stable this past year and the half, leaving many of my friends with uncertain futures or, at least, a canceled series (like me) hanging midair. Many writers have to changed genre to start afresh.

This news give some of us hope that we could still write the series we want and make a living off our chosen career. Of course, I have no idea what the contract looks like so one has to research this carefully. But still, J. A. Konrath, dude. Who's next?

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Tweaking The Trope: Writing What Sells

What exactly does that mean?

I've been writing for a quite a while now and someone who heard it during an author's speech about bestselling books advised me to do this. My response? "I thought I was already tweaking the trope." And might I add, sometimes to the dislike of big chunks of the readership, who, despite what they might post online, really REALLYREALLYreally don't like any stories that aren't inside the box of romance or science fiction or whatever genre they're reading. Mostly, in my humble opinion, the romance readers are the toughest when it comes to tropes.

Take, for example, the romance heroine. In a historical, 90 percent of readers will say that they want her a virgin, or at least, a virginal woman if she'd lost her hymen at some point outside/before the story. Courtesans and mistresses are harshed at; if the heroine is a courtesan, she better be a fake one (not sleeping with dozens of men), with a heart of gold, who has fallen from grace, and her redemption theme better be there.

There are* exceptions, of course, but, like I said, twisting the trope can mean sales death for either that book or a future book. I'd think a smart author, unless she was known for it, wouldn't really twist any trope on the last book of her contract, just in case.

Even if the heroine was a widow, some authors even write in a "fake" widow trope, in the sense that she really never had sex because her dead husband had been "incapable" or even turned out to be gay! Now, I'm sure this was NOT the kind of tweaking the trope over which many are rah-rah-ing.

Then there is the romantic suspense heroine, the genre I represent. The "kick-ass" heroine didn't start till the late 90s and I'm not being bigheaded to say that I'm part of the original group of romance authors who ushered that term and that kind of character into romance readers' consciousness.

When I first started reading romantic suspense, the heroine in those stories tended to heroine-in-distress type. She was on the run and the hero had to protect her. She was always getting into fixes that needed hero/male intervention. Or, she was the pawn between hero and his enemy. She was usually the clueless one.

The other type of romance heroine is what made me stop reading and start writing. She is the "tough" heroine, maybe in law enforcement or even a spy, or she's the super-amazing savvy business woman, or she is an expert in some male-dominated field. During the late 80s and 90s, when the genre was blooming, I was screaming at these heroines because the authors usually made them do the stupidest things. The heroine would NEVER kill. She would never see what's at the end of her nose till her male counterpart points it out. She would risk everything for the wrong reasons and without logic. Also, she was a virgin, even if she was the deadliest spy who ever lived, who could entice men with some spy-glamor, and had been in the business of seducing/killing men for many years.

There were many a time I groaned that the set-up character in the previous book was a woman who talked back, was exceptionally smart, absolutely sexually open and frank, who showed her experience sexually without fear, and then I get to her story and what happened? She was really, secretly, a virgin. Or hadn't had sex but that one time and it was such a bad one she never did it again. Forever and ever, till, of course, the hero showed up. Seriously? I mean, SERIOUSLY?

Or, she was shown as a really intriguing assassin type through earlier books, and when HERS came out, she didn't even know how to handle her weapon. Or had never killed anyone. This book (and versions of it) had really existed and I'd had metaphorically stabbed my head and used a butter knife to saw at my wrists many a time. SERIOUSLY?

For myself, at that point, I wanted a REAL kick-ass heroine. Debra Dixon's Bad To The Bone was the first one who made me sit up. I wanted to write bad-to-the-bone heroines, the kind that really kill if that was their job. The kind that was not apologetic about their sexual experience without flaunting it like some third-rate starlet showing the public her pantylessness. The kind that just blows the hero's mind away outside the bedroom (but a plus, of course, if her talents also did that to him in bed!).

When I first starting pitching stories to editors, I used the term "bad-to-the-bone" but found that totally un-catchy. Besides, the editors always seemed to think the word "bad" in a phrase was bad, as if the heroine was a bad person. "Bad," in their eyes, by the way, was more often "immoral," as if I'd said "Slut-to-the-bone" instead. A pitch had to be short and pithy and I was mostly trying to sell Into Danger at conferences, so my selling hook was: Navy SEAL vs Kick-Ass Spy Heroine. That was short and pithy, and I got quite a number of interested queries for submission, which was the goal--get the manuscript in front of an editor.

Into Danger's Marlena Maxwell was very lonely out there in the pubbed world because she wasn't your usual heroiine. She was a tough sell because she was so different from the RS heroine trope. Her kick-assness was a liability for many acquiriing editors who wanted their romantic suspenses more like those offered during that era--the (early) Linda Howards, Ann Stuarts, Sandra Browns, Tami Hoags and many more who were drawing in millions of readers. I'm not saying those authors didn't write great heroines (I love my Howards and Stuarts like a kid loves candy) but I wanted a bit more.

My many rejection letters included:

"Heroine too tough. She sounded like a man!"
"Heroine not feminine enough."
"Too much plot."
"Heroine too strong, overshadowing the SEAL hero. And her sexuality might put off some readers. Can you make her a virgin?"

Today, the market is full of kick-ass heroines who aren't virgins and who could kill without freezing like a deer in front of headlights. But the box is still there. A big chunk of the romance readership HATES it. Take, for example, Linda Howard's Kiss Me While I Sleep, a true lady assassin, even if her lifestyle was more background info and she was never shown actually murdering anyone. But the voices on online forums:

"OMG! She kills. I hate my heroine who murders people for a living."
"I can't read that because I can't see myself killing anyone."
"There is no redemption! How can I like a character like that?"

The Kick-Ass Heroine Who Really Kills is a rare thing. They don't get a lot of love. Only big names like LH can pull this off in their books and still sell gazillions of copies.

So twisting the trope isn't very good for the majority of the authors, despite what editors or other writing advisors say. I think they really mean "tweak the trope but really, not too much, and only if you managed to hide the fact." Many editors will announce publicly that they wanted something different. Many readers too. But I've had too many rejection slips from the beginning and even now to believe this.

As you know, I've been trying to sell an Urban Fantasy/Alternative Fantasy Romance. No, this is not a real genre ;-) because I made it up. How did I twist the trope, so to speak? I wanted to use the usual UF heroine tropes on my HERO:

1) apocalyptic savior
2) growing powers
3) kick-assness while still running away
4) magical vaginapenis

I "twisted" the trope, besides the first-person male POV, by showing how self-absorbed and sort of clueless my hero was. Just like an UF heroine, he lives in a world with magic, can do magical stuff, and then these Big Things happen to him (and keep happening) and he becomes even more defensive. But I found out that I didn't want him dark, like an apocalyptic UF, so I gave him a sense of laid-back surferboy humor because I figure, you know, after 800 years of living with the ability to somewhat manipulate time (he could timetravel, limited range), he couldn't possibly stay bitter, angry, resentful, stupidly unable to move on with his life, or what-have-you when it came to UF heroines these days. Also, I'm giving him two or more female characters in his adventures vying (in their own ways) for his attention, just like the UF heroines have all their studs after them.

There are many more trope-twisting elements I used, but I brought this project up not to talk about my writing, but to highlight the rejection of those elements. The editors gave very similar sounding reasons to my agent:

1) the first person male POV is too different. Most UFs today, the ones that are popular, use first person female POV. They wouldn't know how to market this.

2) love the concept, but time travel is dead (even though really, my time travel has nothing to do with past time travel tropes, where the character is STUCK in the past. Mine is in the future, sort of stuck, but not really).

3) the sex that early and with a demonness? Not really kosher for UF. And for hero to have more than one love interest? Readers will revolt! Too much romance for a UF too.

4) too little romance (I know that #3 and #4 are contradictory, but that's how it is sometimes).

5) it's TOO DIFFERENT. Readers won't pick up this kind of book so outside their box.

Umm. #5. Yeah.

And that's why, as much as I hear about "you have to twist the trope," I know the buying editors and readers aren't really interested. I know there is a vocal minority who loves those kinds of stories, but in this economy, it's not going to persuade the PTB to shell out money unless you're really, really, really big already, like a La Linda. She can write first person male POV about a timetraveling Viking with a big sword and it would be the Next New Trope Twist. But don't forget you heard it here first ;-).

P/S Aren't you regretting that I've come out of my cocoon of silence yet? All these long, long boring posts!

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Amazon vs MacMillan pt 2, or, Authors: What About Us?

As of this writing, Amazon hasn't re-activated the BUY button to many of the MacMillan books, physical or ebook versions. I'm not a MacMillan author (which covers Tor, St. Martins, many others) but many of my friends are. John Scalzi says it best on his blog today, A Call For Author Support, that it isn't just about big corporations. There are authors whose livelihood have been affected by this tug-of-war.

Remember there’s more to bookselling than Amazon. Offline there are brick and mortar bookstores — go visit one. They like visitors. Tell them I sent you. Online there is Barnes and Noble. There’s Powell’s. IndieBound will hook you up. Specialty bookstores have their own web sites. You can often buy books online from the publishers themselves. Hell, even Walmart.com sells books.

Yes, yes. I know, you know Amazon isn’t the only place to buy books online. But that doesn’t mean you use those other places. I had a friend who used Barnes & Noble’s web site for the very first time in a decade today, because, as it happens, Amazon wouldn’t let him buy a book. He was pleased to discover B&N let him use PayPal. Good for him. The point is, he didn’t let a balky retailer keep him from getting a book he wanted. I suspect too many people do just that; they get used to going to that one place online and forgetting there are any other options.

I know most readers who want a book will know how to get that paticular book, on or offline, but there are so many people who are so focused on this Amazon-MacMillan thing right now, yelling at each other about prices and rights and ebooks and whatnot, that I feel the need to help my author-friends who are trying to reach readers LOOKING FOR THEIR BOOKS. Maybe even readers who are unaware about what's happening.

Man, it's like a war zone out there. I read posts telling authors they are stupid to side with MacMillan, while others want to boycott Amazon, and yet others threaten to forever buy MacMillan books second-hand or pirate its authors. No matter what, the losers are still the authors because readers looking for their books can't buy them, and you know how clicking off a page could be a lost sale.

There are so many conspiracies being bandied about, I think we need Jack Bauer to save the publishing world. ;-P

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Harlequin Horizon All Links All Weeklong!

For most readers, nothing's happening, so don't worry, carry on with the Thanksgiving menus and preparation.

For most romance writers, a big deal happened since mid-last week, when Harlequin Enterprises, the world's biggest publisher, announced that they were going to monitize their slush piles by sending the rejected writers to their new publishing line, Harlequin Horizons. Much explosions ensued.

If you want to catch up with the saga and have the time, here are the links to fill your writerly hours:

1) HQ happily announces HH, the new line. (Look! Shiny! For a price, you too can be a Harlequin author!)

2) Wherein PW, New Yorker, the Examiner, and even NYT weighed in.

-->In Which The Examiner Pronounced Harlequin "Regressing" Into Vanity Pub

--> New York Times Mocks Romance Writers

--> The New Yorker Makes Fun of Romance Writers as Harlequin Hacks and Writing Romance as "Masturbatory"

As you can see, this is NOT a good thing for a romance writer and a romance writing organization to read about to start their day. It's already a given that people make fun of romance writers and romance as a genre. But when your own #1 publisher is the cause of this new mockery? Very painful and disappointing.

Let me explain that writing organizations are non-profit and function to educate and protect writers who want to make a career out of writing. These organizations do it through by-laws and local chapters, teaching those who are interested the different ways they can market their manuscripts.

The first thing we learn as writers is that money FLOWS to the author, not the other way. That means, you don't pay anyone--not an agent, not a "publisher"--to publish your work; they pay you.

Any agent who rejects your manuscript and then charges money for a publishing service (meaning, you pay $$$ to get edited or $$$ to be published) is kicked out from the Agent's Association.

Any publisher that charges you to publish your work, with false promises of distribution (when there is none), keeps the copyright, splits your royalties and/or make you buy your own books for distribution is a vanity publisher. How does one distinguish a vanity publisher from a self-publishing/Print-on-demand (POD) service? Simple. A self-publishing service allows you to copyright your own work. A self-publishing service is basically a PRINTING service--you upload your own work; you design your own product; you control the quality of the book; you keep the copyright. The service charges you for each printed book and take this expense out of the price you set. There are no thousands of dollars involved.

*NOTE. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing. I've done it with Big Bad Wolf. At the same time, I know that this is not recognized by my organization because of its by-laws, the Romance Writers of America, so I don't promote the book there.

I understand the reasoning behind this rule. If RWA allowed one self-pub into its organization, then every self-pub and vanity-pub will be eligible. There won't be any gatekeeper against the scammers who charge an arm and a leg. A writing organization must have rules to keep publishing a professional process. Can you imagine your Uncle Tom wanting to sign his un-edited and un-vetted romance at RWA because he "published" it and bought 200 copies that are now sitting in his garage?

(ETA. This is not to say there aren't great self-published authors out there. So don't come here and start that old lecture about self-publishing is a matter of choice, etc., 'kay? I respect self-published authors who have done their homework and who understand the difference between vanity publishing and doing-it-oneself; they work very hard on making their books a professional product. I'm talking about those business fronts that slap a name and title on any unedited manuscript and charge the author big sums of money after making false promises that it'll be marketed like a traditionally pubbed book)

Thus RWA, MWA (Mystery Writers of America), and SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) acted swiftly. RWA and SFWA took Harlequin off their eligible publishers list, a move that was akin to the shot heard around the world. Because, you know, Harlequin aka Romance Publisher King. Harlequin also publishes many suspense and mystery lines. Here are the RWA, MWA and SFWA's strongly worded announcements:

Harlequin No Longer Eligible

Author and industry blogs exploded. Many examined the Harlequin Horizon (now being called by some, Har Ho or HQHo--oh Harlequin, how could you not have foreseen the snarkage of this name?) and broke down all the monetary details of this new vanity service. Even well-known agents weighed in.

-->The best line-by-line of Har Ho's charges of their services by by Falconesse, who calculated, using Har Ho's numbers, that it would cost a writer $7930 for them to edit his/her 90,000 word manuscript. That's not counting the promotional and distribution charges, folks. And oh, the $20,000 extra if you want a minute/two length Hollywood trailer (starring who, I say? Nekkid George Clooney?)

-->Excellent breakdown of why Har Ho is misleading by author Jackie Kessler

-->A humorous conversation between Har Ho and potential client by author Jackie Kessler

-->Agent Ashley Grayson compares Har Ho to Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. He didn't mince words.

All of this led to Harlequin making another public announcement to RWA, stating that

It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change. As a leading publisher of women’s fiction in a rapidly changing environment, Harlequin’s intention is to provide authors access to all publishing opportunities, traditional or otherwise.

which led to a great John Scalzi translation, calling Harlequin's defense as "putting lipstick on a con job."

There are people defending Harlequin's new venture, of course. Two notable ones are

1) HQ Editor Stacy Boyd who can't discuss about her employer, Harlequin, but will tell you that self-publishing is the newest, most interesting thing. I have to note here that her inability to talk about HQ really makes the title of her post, OMG RWA!, moot, since what's the point of berating a writing organization berating your own employer that you can't offend/defend/discuss about to your blog commenters?

But you must scroll down and read the many popular authors who came to publicly make their concerns known.

2) Kat Meyer at Net Galley who wonders what these writing organizations are "so afraid of?" She points out that writers should be given the chance to try a new publishing model since everyone agrees that the old one is broken.

This model is apparently opposite of Yog's Law, which is, "money flows from publisher to the author," because the moment someone pointed that out, publisher Michael Hyatt (from Thomas Nelson, publisher of Christian books, which also has a similar vanity-press deal with Author Solutions/also now taken off RWA eligible publishers list) chimed in the comments:

Where is this etched in stone? We have sellers and we have buyers. Sometimes the publisher buys; sometimes the publisher sells. The same is true of the author.

thus reinforcing the point that yeah, publishers are thinking about not paying authors any more (And yeah, that's why authors are worried about their future.)
The best comment on the thread belonged to the wonderful author, Laura Kinsale. Here's a teeny excerpt:

Ya know, I’m just tired of being lectured about all the “oh oh the future, yer doin it wrong now, oh look, shiny!”

The problem is, this vanity stuff ISN’T a shiny new business model. It’s older than the hills.Instead of making money off of readers buying books, it’s making money off of writers printing books.

Click on Kat Meyer's link, scroll down, and read the awesome rest.

Because of the general meshing of self-publishing and vanity publishing, this whole thing got a bit side-tracked here and there on the Intertubes with self-publishing authors coming in to defend their choices. Nora Roberts gave her opinion about Harlequin's venture:

...it’s a different matter, when a big brand publisher uses its name and its resources to sell this as dream fulfillment, advertises it as such while trying to claim it’s not really their brand being used to make money on mss they’ve rejected as not worthy of that brand in the first place."

and received a lecture from Zoe Winters about the state of publishing.

Roberts and Winters Gunfight

(cue The Good The Bad The Ugly theme song)

Zoe Winters: "I’m happy that traditional publishing has worked out for you like it has....But this isn’t the story of most people. You are like the hope that keeps everybody running on the same pointless (for most) treadmill."

Nora Roberts: ''I do wish when I participate in these discussions, I wouldn’t see a response along the lines of: Easy for you to say when you’re Nora. It does negate my opinion and my participation. And a word of advice? If you’re serious about ending ‘a pissing contest’ don’t continue to piss."

Kapow! Kapow! (my edited version)

And that's all the links to keep you busy for today. Till further development, I'll leave you with the inevitable Har Ho Spoof:

Small Beer Press/Horizon Imprint (YOU MUST VISIT!)

Next? Maybe I'll share with you my experience with Scam/Vanity Publishers when I was a newly beginning writer hoping to be published.

Happy reading!

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BBW Factoid

For those who are interested, Big Bad Wolf's sales reached 600 copies end of Aug. June and July were the slowest months but then it started to pick up in August. Hopefully, VHers will generate some more interest. My goal is to try to sell 800 copies by end of year. Highly unlikely, but hey, it'd be cool if it did happen.

Overall, I'm pleased with what I've accomplished. The royalties are paying some of my bills, so hey, not complaining here!

Can't wait for VHers to come out next month so I can see more royalties ;-).

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Virtually Hers Update/Your Opinion

Last week, out of the blue and because I wanted to be in the top ten of a March Madness version of Best Romance Books Tournament at Dear Author, I announced a contest that whoever who go to the site to vote for Patricia Briggs' Iron Kissed would be entered into a contest. The winner would get a copy of VIRTUALLY HERS, whom I've planned to come out via Amazon POD services in time for the Romantic Times Convention.

During the game, an editor from Samhain had seen my announcement on Twitter and had come to my site to check out news about VIRTUALLY HERS but of course, found nothing. I told her about my plans and added a quick query whether she might be interested to read the manuscript anyway. She was! She said that if accepted, VHERS could possibly be out in E-BOOK format in fall and in print format ten months after that.

So anyway, that was something new to mull about all week, whether I should just go ahead and put VHERS out on Amazon while waiting for Samhain's decision. If Samhain makes an offer, I could always just take it down from Amazon, right? Or. I could just do a limited printout so I can just take the books to the RT convention signing and also give one to the contest winner.

What do you think?

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Wait, Wait, There's More (Waiting)

Because readers are still looking for Virtually Hers and writing me emails inquiring about it, I have to explained the current situation over and over again. I'm very blessed by the fact that I have very persistent readers, who keep coming back and asking, but this also has made me sent out a mini-newsletter several times this week. I apologize if you see double emails from me, explaining about Virtually Hers and Big Bad Wolf.

The second round of questions from readers are coming too, mainly, WHEN THEN is Virtually Hers coming out? When will you decide? Because I really, really, really WANT IT NOW.

I wish I could give you all a definitive date when I would decide/what is going to happen/how it's going to happen, but you see, in the publishing world, especially if you're an author, there is a lot of waiting. And waiting.

Let me give you a sense of what I've been through for most of last year:

1) I waited up to October of last year for an answer from my publisher whether Virtually Hers would be published/pushed back/moved to another line/anything. It was the longest wait of my life because, unlike when I was unpubbed, I wasn't free to submit any other romantic suspense while under contract, so my career was suddenly floating in limbo.

2) I waited for one year for an answer from my publisher about a FREE E-BOOK to give away to my readers. It would be FREE from me. Surely that would be do-able. I was even willing to format it into PDF for them. No answer. Not even a maybe. Just silence, despite several calls.

3) Finally, in August, after one year, a definite No. But by then, of course, I also have gotten the bad news about Virtually Hers' Walmart (retail number) problem.

4) When I came home from conference, I gave away Big Bad Wolf as an e-book while waiting for a final decree from on high as to just what would happen to Virtually Hers and Virtually One. Waited. WAaiiiiiiiited. October came around. Feeling the career thing flatlining without any work being sent out, I finally asked to be released from my contract.

5) Once that was done, it was back to waiting, WAITING time for an official contract release letter. Waiiited. Waiiiittttttteddddddd. I signed three copies and sent off in Nov. sometime.

6) Meanwhile, agent and everyone in the business knew that Nov and Dec are too close to the end of the year to submit. Editors usually "clear" their desks and then take a Christmas vacation, so it was best to WAIT till beginning of the year to get back into submitting.

7) An editor privately talked to and assured me she would be interested in any NEW submissions from me but not the dropped Virtual series. This was expected because as I've explained, most publishers don't pick up another house's dropped series. So while I was WAITING for 2008 to be over, I was also thinking. If I were to go the self-pub route with the Virtually series, I should at least do some research, maybe get busy with a project that I wasn't submitting.

8) So, I decided to try Big Bad Wolf as my fun Christmas project while I work on my other writing--the proposals for the manuscripts to be sent out after New Year. Meanwhile, because of holidays, NY publishers usually shut down, so no sign of my copy of contract release yet.

9) Spent over a week for Big Bad Wolf to appear on Amazon. Finally, there it was on the 24 of Dec.

10) NEW YEAR. Flood of unhappy readers emailing me regarding the whereabouts of Virtually Hers. Waaaiiitttttttting for release contract.

11) Most people are off till Jan. 5 and it takes one week to "settle" back into the job, so as of right now, agent and I are waiiiiiitttttinnnnng for this week to be over so she could get on the phone and start calling.

12) When this happens, guess what's next? Yes, more waiting. Because editors, bless them, will need time to read and consider the proposal(s) as well as do a hundred other things for which they're responsible. I'm thinking, optimistically, that I'll hear answers by the end of January, especially on the Virtual series, since that's probably a straight yes/no answer. HOWEVER, based on my last experience, who knows? Maybe there will be long silences while I try not to slit my throat (yes, I'm being melodramatic).

That's why writers keep writing. If we just sit and wait for answers, we'd all go even nuttier than we are already. To keep myself occupied, I'm going on with the "Viking Dude" writing and learning more about the POD self-publishing business. For instance, the last couple of days, I've been looking into making it available through Kindle. Once that's done, I'm looking at I-Tunes because I heard you can download books from there.

Also, if I'm still Waaaaiiiiiting by the end of the month, I'm going to have to consider selling a double-novella of two SEALs through GLOW WORLD CREATIONS, you know, my very own e-store. Why? Because while I wait, I'm one very, very poor writer since there aren't any roofing work to supplement my dream life (I had to let my personal trainer and masseuse go, wah!) I have stories ready and I know many of you will like a good short story of either Cumber baby and yet another Steve McMillan //big evil grinning forming//. Heck, if I'm kept waiting, there's always a short story about exactly what happened to Cam and Patty off-stage ;-). Aha! I knew I could get your little ears all perky.

But what I'm trying to say is, there is a lot of waiting going on when you're a published writer. It's not a one-phone-call-settles-everything business. Editors have to wait for approval from higher-ups too. And I haven't even gotten to the part about those Invisible Bean Counters, the Secret Mages of Conglomerate Profits.

So, please be patient with me. I know most of you are (and you know I love you for being there with me), so this post is directed to the many new visitors googling Virtually Hers and also to those who can't understand why I can have BBW out so quickly but not Virtually Hers.

Next month--Sexy Vegetables POD! ;-) Wouldn't that be a bestseller.

(***whistling. Because I know the posts about Cucumber and new Steve are coming)

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Gennita Goes Wild West

That Comment Widget Update Update:

Blogger is looking into it, according to the Blogger forums. It's affecting many blogs, so there, it's NOT me and my "cowboy style" of coding, as one funny reader tells me ;-).

Speaking of that funny reader, she related an anecdote about Keanu Klaatu that had me choking on my pistachios:

The sad part isn't that his acting is so stiff and robotic. That's bad enough, but it's not acting. o_O I was on a flight with him several years ago. I spent the better part of seven hours watching him flirt with the flight attendants in that stiff inflection-less voice from the opposite side of the aisle. Swear by all that's holy, the man actually laughed in monotone. I still have nightmares about it. I wonder if his voice changes in pitch during sex... Probably not.

SEVEN hours watching Keanu Klaatu flirt in monotone. Man. That's worse than a noisy baby three aisle down.... I feel for you, my funny reader, so much so I won't let myself be insulted by being your source of amusement for my "slap-dash wild west coding approach for your blog." Ha, I say. It works, doesn't it? Eventually....

You know how I started "understanding" the coding? By looking at it like a foreign language. When I was eighteen and my then boyfriend and his nerd brother started yakking away about ancient and dead computer coding stuff (let's see, COBOL, Commodore, even Basic), my eyes would glaze over after about twenty minutes of listening to their secret language. I was forced to try to understand computers and how they worked after our breakup because I didn't know how to do much with the Apple IIe other than typing a paper into it and hit CONTROL P. So sad. The realization that I depended so much on that bast...I mean, boyfriend...disturbed me.

LOL. Okay, TMI territory. Where was I?

Conclusion: Being alone and working among people who wasn't computer savvy forced me to be smarter than I really am. Hahahahaha. But it's true. If not for people shrugging at me and my inability to understand any techie over the phone, I wouldn't have braved the world of secret computer coding on my own, to stare at HTML and say (with a deep breath and a prayer), "Okay, I can do this. Pretend it's French in hieroglyphics, only much much more difficult."

So voila! You see the results.

Hmm. Now that I think about it, I use this wild west approach in everything I do, including learning how to roof without first knowing stuff like...toolbelts, utility knives, or, umm...the different hammers. I was hungry, so I took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I can do this. Pretend it's like writing an essay, only with a lot more sweat than inspiration involved."

And voila! Here be your uber roofer author.

This is my roundabout way of saying that when Amazon.com puts Big Bad Wolf on their site (still waiting), it'll be official. I've also ventured into the Wild West of self-publishing. I've basically done it without much knowledge or talking to anyone. I do have the advantage of understanding enough about how the publishing business works, though, but that's also founded upon my past business experience of being an independent contractor. So yes, I'm a novice and yet, I'm not.

Many people will laugh, like they did when they saw my crazy coding or the sight of me on a roof (that's me, spreading amusement everywhere I go *grin*), but I'm hoping that, like my first tentative steps at understanding the computer and at trying to compete with men swinging and twirling hammers like drum sticks, I'll learn from it and be successful too.

In the end, it's just that part of me that refuses to let myself lie down because of excuses like

a) (computers are) too complicated
b) (roofing) is too hard
c) (computers, roofing, POD self-publishing) is too untraditional

because if I've done that, I wouldn't be where I am now. To me, it's always fun to know that I can do it, have done it, and even though my ways might be a bit "wild west," I'm still able to achieve what I set out to do, i.e., be able to talk computers and do something with them, be able to take care of myself with my brain or my muscles, and lastly, in this venture, be able to give my readers those stories that they want but my publisher has rejected.

CAN I SAY DIAMOND AND T's STORY? They've been rejected enough, dammit! :-)

Okay, I must be high on Christmas candy. Forgive me. Listen to Bing Crosby's White Christmas instead. There is no other voice on earth perfect for Christmas songs than Bing's.





I'm sure you're all busy with family and I appreciate your dropping by at this crazy woman's blog to read in between festive fun. Merry Christmas to you and yours and may you get everything you wish for, even if you've been a bad girl or boy all year ;-).

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From Your Side Looking In

Because my blog widget isn't updating recent comments, I wanted to point to a recent comment by Evangeline at my POLL ABOUT VHERS post. I think she brought up some interesting points that would make a good debate. I'll post a thought or two about that later (sorry, roof work calleth) but would love to hear your view on her thoughts about self-publication.

It'd be cool if the five people who took the poll and clicked "No, I can wait" could post their views too, even if anonymously ;-). I'm thinking your reasons for choosing to wait would add something extra to the debate.

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One Side Says, No! Other Side Says, Why Not?

This post is written for those looking for VIRTUALLY HERS in book stores.

The new poll above is done out of curiosity on my part because the first rejection for Virtually Hers has come in (given without having even read the ms). I was expecting it since it's very rare for a big publisher to pick up on a series' second book. No word on Grace Happens yet because it's December and near Christmas. Manuscripts, for some reason, don't get read around this time of year ;-P.

I just felt like doing a quick head count because I'm getting about ten emails a day asking for Virtually Hers from readers who don't come to this blog but are searching for this book. My Stat Counter is also noting that many visitors are coming here from Search Engines looking for Virtually Hers. VHers, as you know, was supposed to come out right now (December 2008) and that's why there are so many inquiries. So I thought I would get you and the new visitors (and add my emails) to do my poll to gauge interest.

To be honest, my expectations for Virtually Hers and Virtually One being picked up aren't very high right now. Many writer friends have advised me to just put those stories in the drawer and wait a few years. And even if I were fortunate enough to get a new New York contract for this series, it'd probably be another year (or more) before you see them in print, hence the "no, I can wait" choice in the poll.

I figure, while I'm trying to sell new stories (Grace's and the Viking urban fantasy) to New York, why let a crucial part of the GLOW world die in a drawer? If I do sell the other commando stories in the future, I'm sure people would come back and pick up Jed's and Hell's trilogy (or more) at Amazon, right? Especially if I get them out in a timely manner without years of waiting.... ;-)

This being the month VHers was supposed to be out, I just feel really guilty leaving so many readers hanging for the rest of the story, especially when I have Book 2 available and Book 3 waiting to be finished (couldn't before while waiting for editor approval). Their disappointed emails these past three weeks are weighing heavily on my puny writing shoulders.

Guilty, guilty, guilty. I just don't do it well.

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Post #2: Not Good

Borders is looking for a buyer. Barnes and Noble may be acquiring the second largest bookseller in the US. This is sad news. Another brick-and-mortar (and a great one) chain going down the drain means another less buyer for an author's books. Borders has always been very supportive of romance books; their romance-book division buyers are very knowledgeable and one of the most accessible in the industry.

Most of us here are online buyers but I do know many who like to browse a bookstore for new books. If they don't see one they like, they don't buy. I know because I used to be like that when I didn't allow myself to use a credit card. If I couldn't find a particular title out in the bookstore, I'd just buy another book that day. Today, wither high gasoline and food prices, books are a luxury item for some of us. With yet another shopping venue gone, readers have less places to go for a browse and impulse-buy.

There are also fewer and fewer independent bookstores out there, and most are struggling. I try to shop at the Book Rack by my house, but it's one of the few UBSes that have great variety. You might wonder fewer indes and brick-and-mortar should matter when anyone could just order online or go to a giant BN store. The smaller bookshops are usually owned and run by readers who love their genre and word of mouth is so very important to mid-list and newer authors. My bookseller friend actually read the arcs publishers send her so she can give recommendations to the older readers who come by the bookstore once every few weeks. She knows their tastes and they trust her. You can't buy that kind of publicity. If you go to a BN bookstore, it is unlikely that anyone at the customer service counter knows any names you come up with or have suggestions about books.

I hope Borders can make it through these bad times. I'm going to miss my friends there.

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Uber Blind Deaf And Dumb

Dear Lauren Dane, George Clooney IS MINE! So is Gerard Butler. You can keep your Clive Owen because I'm generous like that, but stay away from my two Gs! George, Gennita and Gerry--that's right! And if you threaten to cut me again, I'll take bad pictures of you at RT next year, photoshop them, and post them on this very blog!

Heh. I love me a crazy running feud.

And let's give a shoutout to the COLORADO ROCKIES, shall we? That's one of my favorite teams although I can never seem to get to see them live whenever I'm in Denver. World Series, woohooo! It'd be so much fun to be in Denver right now, enjoying playoff atmosphere among my baseball buddies.

****WARNING: LONG RANT BELOW****

So in case you think I've been doing nothing but watching TV, I want to assure you that that's not true. So much going on! There's the trainwreck I told you about from a few days back, the one about Lanaia Lee and her ghostwritten "book of her heart" (yes, that's me dripping with sarcasm) with the plagiarized Gemmell prologue. It is still up on her webpage! And she, along with her agent, are now threatening to sue Jane from Dear Author for slander (wrong kind of suit, but hey, you can't teach someone with earplugs stuck deep in their cranium) because apparently, it's wrong to point out the truth.

I keep shaking my head as this story progresses because these two women would NOT listen to anyone trying to give them good advice, including TAKING DOWN the plagiarized material. Instead, they are sending readers from Lanaia's Yahoogroup to "scold" the different sites' posters for being mean people. Yikes.

As a published author, I literally bump into one person almost everyday who has written a book and wants it published. I'm not even surprised any more by strangers approaching me while I eat or shop, or even while I'm on a roof. Not for an autograph ;-), but for one of three things:

1) "I have written a book. Can you read it?"

2) "I have written a book. Can you help me get it published?"

3) "I have a wonderful story. Can you write it for me? I'll share my profits with you."

This tells me that there are many people out there who don't understand how publishing as a business works. And even when they think they do, they don't. This leads to me remembering how I got started.

Have I ever approached anyone on the street asking them to read my manuscript? No. Have I ever asked anyone to write my story? No.

Sure, I've gone down a few wrong paths during those early days, including answering an advertisement by Edit Ink, a notorious agency that scammed eager writers by charging them hundreds (to thousands, from what I heard) of dollars to help them "edit" their manuscript and then find a publisher for them.

But you know what? Even in my naivete then, something didn't smell right to me. I have done a little research by then, and even when I barely knew anything, the first thing I learned was that one DOES NOT pay to have one's work published. Most publishing/editing that charge are little more than vanity presses and unless it's what you want, then avoid them like crazy. I did not take up Edit Ink's offer to take my money, but as the years went by, I've met many an author, some successfully published today, who had admitted to giving a few hundred to a thousand dollars to this company.

I understand. We writers, the ones who want to share our stories with the world anyway, can get rather desperate. The need to see our work printed in a visible and public format haunts us. Being published delights our souls, even validate our self-image in some ways. So when someone offers us a way to get our books out there, it sounds like heaven to us.

However, there is desperation and there is desperation. There seems to be a line between wanting to share with the world and wanting to be famous. Of course I want to be famous too but my first priority has always been to write the story and share it with my readers. The fame is just a by-product, something I have to work for to get more readers with whom to share my stories. Am I making sense?

In other words, I want to be famous so I can reach more readers.

On the other hand, there's people like Lanaia Lee. There are many versions of her, but her basic story is very similar to those who have spent their last dollar just to get published. This is not a putdown on those who go to lulu.com to publish their books and with a few hundred copies, sell them at their leisure. There is a use for vanity presses. Sometimes, it fulfills a private need to see the words in print, to say that you published a book. If that's what you want, and if that's what makes you happy, good for you. And bully for you too, if you manage to be a presence on the web and in newspapers.

However, aside from the above example, as a published author, it pains me to know that there are actually people out there who would not see past their "published" books to understand that they have been scammed.

Lanaia's case has got to be the craziest one I've come across so far, what with an unknown writer hiring a ghostwriter who then plagiarized a famous author, AND then hiring an agent who gets her book published through a vanity press. It's mindboggling, trying to wrap my head around the whole deal, especially when the "author" is reproducing emails between her and this ghostwriter/scammer (just google Lanaia Lee, lots of details everywhere) to prove that she did "nothing wrong," when it's quite apparent that she's oblivious to the fact that the rewritten parts' writing wasn't similar to her own and that her ghostwriter was steering her toward "his" own plot.

In their heart of hearts, these writers have to know that people promising fame and fortune if they'd send them money are artists of a different sort, the same kind that sends those "foreign" emails that claim that they are General Abdoolstupido who has $50,000,000,000 worth of gold coins in some vault and because of some political strife in the make-believe country of Stoopidestan, need people to send them real cash so they can transfer these coins into your hands for safekeeping. Yet, we find people doing exactly that. Contact the "general" to exchange real cash for fool's gold.

The general good advice to follow in every situation is, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Because, like Heinlein popularized, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. And the more splendid an offer, the more suspicious the whole thing should be.

But we're talking about desperate writers, the ones who aren't about the words but the book. "I have a story. Write it for me so I can see my story in a book" kind of writers. So desperate that they would hire a ghostwriter for $$$ a month, with the end promise that there will be a book at the end of the bridge, when in reality, there is nothing there but a sheer drop.

Sheesh. I didn't mean to make this post a rant. I guess I'm more perturbed by the idea of blind deaf and dumb to the obvious than I thought! For those too lazy to google or read through the humongous thread from the Absolute Writer and Making Light forums, here is a short version of the art of being blind deaf and dumb, ghostwritten by my dog, Jiggle Low:

Author: I've written a book! Here's the excerpt! Read it! It's the book of my heart! It's going to be the next Harry Potter! It's coming out this October! Buy it!

Reviewer: (after reading) Umm. This excerpt is plagiarized from David Gemmell's introduction of Dark Prince.

Author: What? Are you crazy? I own the copyright! Watch your mouth!

Reviewer: Look, you can read the same excerpt from Barnes and Noble, under David Gemmell's book. You can't sell copyrighted material.

Author: It's my book! I copyrighted it!

Reviewer: if you're going to sell this book, I'm going to have to post it on my site that your excerpt on your website is an exact reproduction of...

Author: Shut up! I'm telling you! Shut up! Don't do it! You will be sorry!

Reviewer posted about this excerpt, with links to the book and to author's website. Many readers and writers post on author's chatbox, telling her to take down excerpt.

Author: You are all mean people! I am an invalid! I have had strokes! My husband is also an invalid!

Reviewer and readers: We're so sorry to hear that but you need to take the excerpt down.

Author: Mean! Mean! I'm going to have a stroke. I have done nothing wrong!

Author's Agent: I hereby curse you mean people! Shut up! Or I curse you over and over!

Author: Why are they so mean to me? Okay, so I didn't write that first part. It was ghostwritten by a scammer, 'kay? See? I told you I did nothing wrong!

Reviewer and readers: But it's still plagiarized. Take down the excerpt before you get into trouble.

Author: Trouble? I'll give you trouble! I'm contacting my lawyer and will sue you for libel! I have done nothing wrong. I'm innocent! Sue you, sue you!

Author's agent: (and I'm quoting straight from her yahoogroup) Diddo.

Reviewer and readers: It's not libel. It's slander.

Author: I'm wheelchair bound! I'm sick. Stress will give me another stroke. Then you'll be sorry. See here--reproductions of emails to my scammer. See how much I paid him? He's the bad guy here!

Reviewer and readers: We know you've been scammed. But you can't leave that excerpt up at your site. Take it down. And also, you can't just rewrite that intro by rephrasing sentences. It's called infringement of...

Author: Shut up! I'm innocent!

Author's agent: My lawyer is calling you right now! Oh yes! And I still curse you!

*****

As you can see, it's amusing and fascinating, in a crane-your-neck-at-a-highway-accident sort of way. This woman is more handicapped than she realizes. I feel sorry for her, but not in the way she wants.

P/S Jiggle Low charged me ten doggie kisses for that little piece of work.

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Uber Strange Story

Took a few days off to find my center again. My house always seems to look messier than before my trip. Strange.

I spent all yesterday munching on mooncakes and Malaysian kueh-mueh (sweet desserts, usually starchy). Yum. I miss Chinatown. If I live in New York City, I'll probably just pig out in Chinatown everyday.

I relax by watching lots of baseball playoffs ;-). How about you?

Of course, some people spent the better part of this weekend watching this trainwreck. Strangest true story evah:

A writer, Lanaia Lee, sends out a manuscript—alternative history/paranormal, the kind I like—to various websites to be reviewed. The book is coming out at the end of October and she’s looking to promote it, since it’s a POD (Print on Demand) book. She quotes her agent as saying that her book, which is part of a five-book series, is going be as big as the Harry Potter series, and in her publicity email, she includes her website, her agent’s name and contact addy, the URL to read her first chapter, etc.

Here is the URL to her website, if it's still not taken down today:

http://www.alongstoryshort.net/OfAtlantis.html

A reviewer read the first chapter and compared it to this:

The above, if you're a fantasy/alternative history genre reader, is the prologue of David Gemmell's Dark Prince, a five-book arc on Alexander the Great. If you read the first link, the one of the author promoting her first book, her whole prologue is an exact reproduction, word for word of the Dark Prince prologue, with the protagonist's name changed to Archimedes. Her website is also touting that this is a five-book fantasy series.

Here's the REAL long story short:

The plagiarist was outed on various fan/reader forums. Said plagiarist denied, said she had copyright and that she would sue anyone for defamation. Said plagiarist's agent came on and warned the forums to cease talking about this matter or she would sue. She topped this by saying she was "Wicca" and would send a ten-fold curse to the reviewer who broke this story.

I'm serious. She posted that publicly.

Then, after many more posts, plagiarist came back on and defended that it WASN'T her fault because she had paid a GHOSTWRITER $400 every month through PAYPAL for TWO YEARS to help her write this story, that she was in a wheelchair, had suffered numerous strokes, and if she had another stroke, and if she died, her "blood will be on your hands."

Agent came on and announced that she and her client had been scammed by a very well known scam-ghostwriter. Never mind that this agent was, and is still, scamming this author herself. If you know the ins and outs of publishing, this author was obviously paying to get published through a vanity press, and that this "agent" was obviously scamming the author because she didn't have to do anything to get this book published. Vanity presses don't need agents to negotiate anything; they basically publish anything with your name on it if you pay them.

Gemmell passed away last year, so all this talk of a ghostwriter made the plot even more ironically surreal. Not to mention that Dark Prince was an alternative fantasy/history book whereas Of Atlantis, in a mind-boggling way, was really altering history while its author suffered from alternative fantasy herself.

Crazy story, yes?

Moral of story:

1) Do not pay $400 a week for two years to anyone to write your story.

2) Do not plagiarize a very famous author's bestselling work.

3) Do not hire a literary agent who threatens to rain boils and warts on your enemies.

4) When caught, do not keep posting excuses on public boards that will forever have your posts up for many people to reread at their leisure. Do not write half-ass apologies and still have the plagiarized excerpt up for the next few days.

5) Do not pay an agent who sends your manuscript to a vanity publisher. Also, do not choose an agent whose website boasts that she has published using a ghostwriter either.

6) Lastly, do not post your real name, real address and phone number on numerous websites as well as give interviews to local newspapers touting that it took you two years to write this book.

This was almost as eventful as watching a NASCAR pile-up. So, this was part of my weekend entertainment. What was yours?

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