Visionary Novel Between Now and Forever is Published!

Finally, the day has arrived.

Between Now and Forever, the first novel in my Enter the Between series, is published.

If you'd like to purchase a copy for your Kindle, click here.

It's only $2.99, less than the cost of a cup of coffee. In fact, why not grab your drink of choice and settle down with Marjorie Veil, my protagonist, in her journey through The Between, which in this case happens to be in the direction of the North on the Native American Medicine Wheel, the place of knowledge and receiving.

Here's a brief synopsis:

Medicate or nurture; reform or set free? These are quandaries rookie teacher Marjorie Veil faces when she takes on an after-school class for thirteen-year-olds labeled as troublemakers, non-teachable, and hopeless. Faculty skeptics warn that all these kids need is prescribed medication for focus and impulse control. “Bring them into line,” they say. “Show them who’s boss.” But, as Marjorie quickly discovers, behind their anti-conformist exteriors are gifted teens, who are sensitive, empathetic, and wise beyond their youth. They also happen to have psychic abilities, which they have kept hidden until now. Can Marjorie help them do what she has been unable to do for herself: fight for their spiritual and emotional freedom?

Click here to read the entire first chapter.

My publisher is Philophrosyne Publishing, which specializes in Visionary Fiction.

The print version of Between Now and Forever will be available at Amazon soon.

Thanks so much, my friends, for your support. It feels so good to finally be an AUTHOR, as well as a writer.

Self-Publishing, A Reality Check

Joe Konrath made $100,00 in three weeks selling his self-published books on Kindle. 

He explains this phenomenal achievement in an article called "Reality Check," where one sentence stands out like the warning beacon on a highway patrol car. 

"In the long run, except in the case of bestsellers and huge advances, a writer WILL make more money self-publishing."

Reality check.  Could this really be true? 

More words from Joe.

"...it isn't my name or my past that is responsible for this success. Nor is it any marketing efforts I'm doing now, because I'm not doing any. I haven't visited my Facebook page in six months. I have a fan page but don't know how to use it. I've never bought an online ad. I've got Twitter followers, but they're writers, not fans.

Right now I'm making a lot of money because I'm paying close attention to what Amazon is doing, experimenting a lot, and getting lucky."

So what does a newbie writer seeking publication do?  Take the traditional route--which means weathering rejection after rejection, frustration and delays, and (according to Joe) a smaller cut in the financial pie--or go with self publishing?

Also, unpublished writers are likely working their posteriors off writing blog posts, commenting on other people's blogs, keeping up with Facebook and Twitter, and building websites in order to put themselves in the best possible position to market their upcoming books.  Is this the best way to go? 

Could a newbie actually avoid all these marketing efforts by "paying close attention to what Amazon is doing, experimenting a lot, and getting lucky?"

Consider the viewpoint of Lee Lopez , who has a self-published book called, "She Cried Wolf," coming out in February:

"The popularity of Kindle and Nook opened the door to self-publishing or independent publication. To date there are nearly 800,000 independently published books between Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The biggest attraction for an author to go indie is complete control of the books, publication, and career choices, while earning 70% of the profits. The downfall is that few will experience Konrath’s success.

"An indie author on average is lucky to make back the cost to publish, which runs around $300. Every day the field of indie grows, with writers hoping to have some of Konrath’s pixie dust sprinkled their way. There are a couple of reasons for Konrath's success. First, he was an established author who had a following when he decided to try indie. Second, he is an early pioneer in the indie publication. The combination of those two things spelled out big sales.

"The average indie author has never been published and, with every minute of every day, another book is uploading, creating greater competition for sales.

"Regardless, indie is an attractive way to publish--to see one's name on a book cover, to take the chance that the book will outshine 800,000 other hopefuls competing for attention, and to live out one's dream."   

Another thing to consider before making the decision to self-publish is what Sherry Jones, author of "The Jewel of Medina," calls "The Elephant in the Room." 

"Am I ever glad that self-publishing wasn't easy back in 2005" when I was writing my first novel," she says.  "Why?  Because of that elephant in the room: the aspect of self-publishing that no one talks about.

"A lot of self-published work is not very good."

That's when a literary agent comes in handy--to either reject your book and tell you to get back to work, or sign you on and tell you to get back to work.

The decision to self-publish or take the traditional route of agent-editor-publisher is a personal one, but as Randy Davila, CEO of Hampton Roads Publishing Company says in his "Get Published Workshop" teleclass, "At the very least, get a good editor.  Make sure your work is in the best possible shape.  Fiction, especially, stands on beautiful prose and an incredible story." 

So how does one find a good editor?  Word of mouth is a good place to start, beginning with the three below:
Turning Stone Press:  complete editorial and marketing services for writers of metaphysical, speculative, and spiritual fiction.  Plus all you need to professionally publish your own book: A New Way to Publish.

Andrea Hurst and Associates:  Consulting/Coaching,/Mentoring/Book Evaluation/Development Editing/Platform Building/Branding/Marketing/Perfect Pitch.

Margie Lawson: Triple Pass Edit Critiques and Power-ON Coaching.

Oh, and as far as marketing your book is concerned, don't count on Amazon or anyone else, including an agent or publisher, to do it for you. According to Randy Davila and most other experts in the publishing field, that's one aspect of publishing where the key word is:  "Self."

As always, thanks for stopping by.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

When I finished my first novel ten years ago, I was so proud of my accomplishment that I immediately entered the prestigious William Faulkner Novel Competition. It’s one of America’s leading literary writing contests and offers a hefty first prize of $7,500, plus assistance in finding a literary agent and publisher.

Oh the innocence of the budding writer! Between the entry fee (somewhere around $20, I believe) and the postage (no electronic transmissions back then), I was a bit poorer for the experience. But I learned an important lesson: There are plenty of writers out there who have not only written novels, but have put in many more hours than I have at perfecting and polishing their craft.

I heard recently that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deep practice to get really good at something, which translates into approximately ten years, where I stand today.

Wiser now, I realize I couldn’t have won the William Faulkner competition regardless of how brilliant my novel had been, because my work is not literary. And it will never be literary. I write commercial fiction.

Desperate for feedback, I began searching for other contests to enter. And then came another surprise: Many contests are genre specific. I tried on genres like outfits in a dressing room, looking for the perfect fit: suspense, visionary, magical realism, contemporary fantasy, mainstream/contemporary, psychic/supernatural. Finally, during a pitch session with agent, Elaine English, I narrowed it down to women’s fiction with paranormal elements. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a contest that targeted this category.

Until now.

Welcome to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, a contest with no genre restrictions other than a division into two categories: General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction. The grand prize for each category is a publishing contract with Penguin USA and a $15,000 advance on royalties. In addition, there are thousands of other prizes with a total value of over $100,000. And there is no entry fee!

What excites me even more than the grand prize (which will be difficult to win with 5,000 entries), is that this contest mimics the steps you take when submitting a manuscript to an agent. In other words, during the competition, depending on how many rounds you advance, you can test the strengths of weaknesses of your pitch/query, your excerpt/partial, and your complete manuscript.

First round: Amazon editors review your 300 word pitch. The top 1000 out of 5000 entries in each category will move on to the second round. This stage of the competition parallels sending a query letter to an agent. Maybe, on a good day, one out of five queries leads to a request for a partial.

Second round: The field is narrowed to 250 entries in each category by Amazon top customer reviewers from the ratings of a 3,000 to 5,000 word excerpt. This round parallels the agent’s review of your partial, followed by either a rejection or a request for the full manuscript.

Quarter finals: Publisher Weekly reviewers read the full manuscript of each quarter finalist, and the top 50 in each category will move on to the Semifinals. Compare this to an agent liking your work. You’re almost there.

Semifinals: Penguin USA editors will read the full manuscript and review all accompanying data for each semifinalist and will select three finalists in each category.

You have an agent!

Finals: Amazon customers will vote on the three finalists in each category resulting in two grand prize winners. PUBLICATION!

If you’re interested in more information about this contest, go to: http://www.amazon.com/abna. There you will find contest FAQ, Contest rules, How to enter facts, Key dates, Prizes, etc. There is also a great discussion board for announcements and fun and informative chats by the contest participants.

The submission period for this year was Jan. 25 to February 7, but there’s no time like now to get your pitch and manuscript polished for next year.

On February 25, I made it to round two with my novel, BETWEEN NOW AND FOREVER, and yesterday I made it to the quarterfinalists (250 out of 1,000 entries). I’ll have to wait until April 27 to see if I progress to the semifinalists. But as far as I’m concerned, I’ve already won. I know my pitch and first two chapters are ready for the submission process, and soon my entire manuscript will be reviewed and rated by professional reviewers from Publishers Weekly. How good is that?

What do you think of contests? Do they help you at all?