We're All Getting Shorter

I know it's been quiet around here. I've been trying hard to put all my time into writing, even with the crappy economy taking all my time looking for roofing jobs. One of my friends asked me why don't I just "not look for jobs, but instead sit down and write and write instead? Because self-publishing is exploding and she's just read about an author who sold 50,000 copies of her ebook to Kindle and Nook buyers."

It's a very convincing argument, and tempting indeed, to someone like me, who really loves to sit at home and write. But alas, my own RL situation doesn't make it feasible for me to give up the roofing job yet. To be able to do that, I'll have to pay off a big chunk of loans first, and it's not that easy to ignore monthly bills. The thing is, the more in debt you are, the harder it is to take time off to do the thing one loves, and in my case, it's writing consistently.

Writing consistently doesn't actually mean having a lot of free time available. For myself, I need a slot every day that is about the same time, with no outside things requiring my attention, be it calling roofing inspectors, talking to homeowners, or driving county to county looking at and bidding on jobs. The last part is mind-numbing and all that talking and answering the same roofing questions steals more creative energy than I care to admit. It even sucks the fun out of blogging, as you can see here, so much so that I end up having lots of quick thoughts for Facebook but no real in-depth thoughts for here.

I know my readers would prefer to read stories from me rather than my silly chitchat, anyway ;-). So I'm really trying to get myself in gear again. It's all about taking those first few steps in self-publishing to get the income going; the more that income grows, the more it sustains me, and the less I need to go looking for roofing jobs because, hey, look, loans and expenses are being paid off. But it needs work and time, with lots of emphasis on writing work, to get to that point and I'm hoping that two short stories coming out soon will be a start. One will be, FINALLY, the novella that was in the Mammoth Book of Spec Ops Romance, which I've re-edited and re-formatted from PDF for publication through Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, and the other is a secret short project that I've been nursing during my dry runs wrestling with the big projects I've been trying to finish, sort of a writing-something-not-of-my-genre-to-get-out-of-my-rut exercise. They'll both be priced $1.99, I think, since they're both short stories.

Okay, off I go to write a bit! :) Do catch me on Facebook if you have an account because I seem to be all one-liners lately.

How about you, in your personal life? Have you noticed that you are only good for one or two one-liners, that you're short on words?

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What I Did This Past Week

Remember my blog post about how my study looks like a paper product bomb exploded in it?  And that I have two ancient computers from the last century sitting there gathering dust?  I have boxes of books and business files all over the floor.  Manuscripts lying on chairs and tables.  Lost boyfriends buried under some covers and bookmarks.

Well, I called the following my Wood Project Part I.  As you know, I dreamed about a wall-to-wall shelving system where I could just put all my books away--shelves that are only six or seven inches wide so the paperbacks won't look sunken in--but it's always been more a fantasy than a dream, really.  Writing, work, bills, rescuing animals all got in the way.

The past few weeks, roofing has been slow because of Christmas and post-Christmas season (most people have used up their money buying presents and who wants to think about new roofs at the beginning of the year?), so after trying my best to push through my writing problems, I decided to work out my frustration by going shopping.  For wood.  And wood stain.  And little brackets.

Then I spent time staining the shelves and backing.  It took me some time because I always sucked at staining or painting.  Then I had to clean out one part of the wall that this new shelf was going into.  THAT took a long while!

The part was trying to stand the skeleton (outer) up without it falling on my head, then screwing it into the wall to make it more stable.  Keeping it straight was a problem because it was hard to judge close-up whether I have the screw holes align.  I had to wait till the next day to get some help so that I don't screw it up, heh.

Now, you see the finished product:

This is only one part of the wall.  I plan/hope to get the rest done in between roofing jobs and perhaps, one day, to no longer wade into my study, but instead, be able to stroll in and sit down in front of the window to write again.  Below is the shelf all stocked up from books on the floor and the small wall shelves you saw in Pic 1, not in any order other than authors.  I'll post the rest of the mess that is my study in contrast with each new shelf I put up ;-). 

What do you guys think?  Not bad for someone who couldn't put together any of those factory-laminated things, eh?  And yes, I do have more books to fit into that much shelf space; heck, my study could be a bookstore.

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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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What The Card Sez

I'm working on a seKret project tonight (will tell you more about it soon) while watching my Celtics kick some Lakers bootie. Hoo-Yah! I'm excited about my seKret project!

Meanwhile, here's a fun personality test. Let's see what Tarot Card you are. I was cracking up at the part where it tells me about being careful with my medication, heh heh heh. Ooops. And the no-logic part. Sigh. Story of my life.

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

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Pimping Is All About The Nekkid Truth

Today, Debra Dixon and the Gang of Nine have invited me (and all of you) to invade their space at

http://www.ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com/.

They gave me free reign. So, of course my topic was seriously intellectual. It covered everything, from my writing process, to never trusting any foreigner who hands you a toothbrush, to the importance of seaweed. I hope you'll comment there as well. And I hope I did you proud as a self-pimp.

Do you think I have a future as a writing instructor? ;-)

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What Are You Uber-Hungry For?

First, my reaction to Idol last night: Dammit. I knew it would happen. Split votes for the girls and the boy slips through. But I did like Blake over Jordan. Why? Well, even though Jordan can sing better, I never did enjoy her song choices. Nice old songs, but on a CD? Yawn. When she tried to rock out, she sounded very forced. Blake can have a CD out, just like that, no prob. Melinda is the ultimate performer and can sing almost anything, so she should have been in the final.

Ah well. My favorite never makes it. So prediction: Jordan will be American Idol.

;-P

*******************

Whew. I've caught up with most e-mails and have replied to the comments on this blog from the last few days. Yikes. I can't believe how exhausted I am! And I still have tons of chores to do, among which is finishing a book, ahem***. Real life, eh?

Someone emailed me asking me to post my speech here, but it's awfully long--half an hour's worth--and too personal, really, like tooting my own horn. Also, I might be able to reuse sections of it in my future career as closing speaker! LOL. Actually, I was advised that speakers do this all the time, so when I get invited for another speech, I'd be so ready this time.

Wow. Me, motivating people to write. How ironic...when, as you know, I'm the world's best (or worst?) procrastinator. But I do think writing that speech did help put things in perspective for me. What makes me write? Why do I enjoy it? And when I pinpointed that everything comes from a certain desperation in my life, I had to sit back and explain to myself and everyone what I meant. So I brought back a few memories about my childhood and my earlier years learning about writing and hanging on to a dream. About real desperation and real hunger. A surprise to me, everything tied together.

Which brought me to my second point: timing and serendipity. When event A was happening, it was years afterwards that I connected it to event B. And then event C. I mean, what has a childhood civil war memory has to do with being lost in the writing world, or being desperate and ending up as a roofer? But somehow, my writing the speech led to some sort of self-discovery, that yes, indeedy, my life has a roadmap to it! I even tied it up nicely with my name, Gennita. As some of you know, from earlier posts on this blog, the buying editor of Into Danger, my first book, turned out to have the SAME name as mine! We both didn't know this initially because I was Jenn and she was Gena to everyone. But it blew both our minds when we discovered this while we were discussing about using another name/pseudonym for my writing career. Timing and serendipity right there, huh?

So those were the themes in my speech in a nutshell. And I ended it by challenging the writers in the audience to pinpoint their "hungry friend."

OMG. ***smackingforehead*** I just realized where my use of "hungry ghosts" and "feeding them" in FACING FEAR came from!

You see? Writing is a constant state of self-discovery. What are you "hungry" for? And how do you "feed" it?

Too damn deep a topic? Oh, all right. I can be shallow too:



Trying out new background colors to get a darker font to PLEASE JORDAN SUMMERS. Kidding.... I don't think I like this blue either.

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