The Resurrection of the Novella

As promised, I come bearing the July's plans for writing. I know that there are plenty of avenues I could choose from, but I wanted to make sure I put my effort towards something that could get out relatively fast, draft to final version. That's why I'm turning my attention back to novellas. I have two distinct novella projects that are still in the first-draft-of-a-first-title-in-the-series stage. I want to push at least one forward, but hopefully I will have the determination to get both of them chugging along once again.

If you haven't been hanging out here for a awhile, I'll refresh your memory about the two series. The first series I started was a sweet romance novella series that has a mostly revolving cast of characters because the series is based around a specific place, rather than a bunch of the same characters.

The second novella series started as a single story, but since it takes place over the span of anywhere between 20-40 years, breaking it up into smaller bites seems to be the way to go. This series does revolve around a family (and close friends) following their trials and tribulations.

I'll have to be very strict with my schedule, but I'm sure I can bring something out of the first draft stage by the end of the month. Stay tuned!

News and Notes from the Writing Desk: June Edition

I'm trying to keep busy this summer (like that's hard to do). Here are some updates:

What I'm Working On:

By studying the entire independent publishing industry, much of which I probably still know little about, I've realized that while four pieces/projects/books/whatever-it-is is a good goal for writing, it's not a practical schedule for publishing. An indie writer has to be ready with the next-big-thing as soon as the buzz dies down from the most recently published once-big-thing.

My project for the month is not one, not two, but three romance novellas. These will be sweet romances where readers will be eager to find out whether the main characters thrown together as temporary roommates will eventually see that they were made for each other (spoiler alert: they are, and each book will rise to the height of the first kiss). The series is based around the specific place rather than the same cast of characters, so there will always be new people to meet.

The reason for waiting until three are complete? I want to have backups when the first book's sales drop off. Whenever these are ready, they'll be on KDP Select and probably only available as an ebook for a time so that it's easier to managing sales and freebies. That means I can't explore other retailers with this set of work, but having only one sale outside of Amazon in the past five years has taught me that other retailers don't hold the same weight as Amazon. I have to go where the most potential for sales would be, at least until I've established a bigger audience.

Once all three novellas have fallen from their brand spankin' new status? They'll get bundled into a box set, of course, which appears as something new, and gives new readers a chance to get a bargain on all three. It's a good plan, but whether I can execute it in the timeline that I give myself, I'm not sure.

What I'm Reading:

Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad books. So bad I won't even call them out by name. Not all of them, of course, but two of them are ready to get some harshly worded reviews next week. These books are not at all what they portray themselves as, either by synopsis or by average review, and that's getting on my nerves.

What I Wish I Was Doing:

Um, I don't know... writing more? Having more new patrons to get to know on Patreon? I would say traveling the world, but I would be lucky if I add half a mile to my weekend bike route.

Oooh! I know! Getting more reviews! I found a new site that does daily emails like BookBub and FreeBooksy that is way more within my budget for promotions. The problem is I still have to meet the minimum requirement of ten reviews (a four or five-star average) on a single title before I qualify. I wasn't going to use the promotion until I had something new to put out, but in order to get a new book in, one of my previous books has to meet the ten review requirement. I'm still very willing to give digital copies of my books for free, but I really need the review if anyone ever decides to request one. Or, you could just drop $1 a month on Patreon and get digital access to all of my books instantly. You know, whatever gets you in the mood for some book review love.

Taking Stock

It's wild to think about, but 2018 is nearing the halfway point. I had some writing goals to complete before the end of the year, so I'm spending a few moments to take stock to see where I am on that.

My main goal was to publish four works--it didn't matter what form it took, I just wanted to get four pieces out there. So far this year there has been a novella, a poetry collection, and a story on the Episode app. The first one is getting pulled soon, and those last two are not completed, but since the finished parts are live and available to the public, it still counts towards my goal. I just have to find one more piece to finish, submit, and find success with.

Speaking of submissions--all of those submissions I was waiting to hear back on in January all died in April. Every last one of them, including the rhyming poetry I submitted to a contest specifically for rhyming poetry in which all of the winners and finalists were not rhyming poems. That's what I get for not realizing they lumped rhyming in with "traditional" so top prizes went to those instead. My poor rhyming poem... it's been through it all, and still no one takes it seriously.

Anyway, the two submissions I was waiting to hear back from when I last wrote about it were also rejections, but specifically rejections because they had each received a record number of submissions for that submission period. Both publications pointed to being featured in Submittable's weekly emails--and of course that's where I was getting my submission leads, so apparently it's completely counterintuitive to use that weekly email. Who knew?

My next step will be getting back to finding a home for my poetry chapbook. I don't think I'll be aiming for contests anymore because they simply don't work out (and can get pricey with entry fees). I'll be targeting micro-presses instead, which may give me a better chance at getting that fourth publication before the end of the year.

The Death of Kindle Worlds

If you haven't heard the news yet, Amazon is shutting down Kindle Worlds over the next few weeks. This comes after Amazon shut down all of its other programs for writers such as Write On and Kindle Scout. This was the last entity that writers still had an option to work with, and now that its shutting down, what is left for writers over at Amazon?

Although I currently have three Kindle Worlds titles, this news isn't the end of the world, so to speak. When Kindle Scout shut down, I knew that Worlds wouldn't be far behind, but I thought I would have at least until 2019 before they decided to close. I'm going to miss my $20-$25 a year in royalties from these titles. Even though it wasn't much, I recently had been looking into revamping my backlist to boost sales with new covers, better formatting, and a nice clean edit for each title. Now I have less titles to do that for, so that will save me a little time and effort.

I don't think that there's ever a good time for a book or a series of books to become obsolete, but this wasn't a great time for me to hear this. I was finally trying to get real plans in place to relocate, not just wishful thinking. A big part of that was getting my passive income streams up to par. I needed these novellas not so much for the direct royalties, but for the higher tiers on my Patreon page. My highest tier ($15) now looks a little silly, because the bulk of what patrons were paying for was digital copies of my entire backlist, which is going from five titles down to just two. No one in their right minds would join at the $15 level (even with access to all of the additional amazing lower-level perks) knowing they could pick up digital copies of my backlist for about six bucks. I'm trying my best to get more work out, but insert your favorite tired Rome-related cliche here.

The Legal Bit...

All hope is not lost because some rights do revert back to me upon the closing of Kindle Worlds. The problem is the Worlds Licensor (the author of the original series) also holds onto some rights because those who submitted a story, novella, or novel to a world was required to use characters and locations from the existing series. What it boils down to is that if I wanted to revive these novellas, I would have to have explicit permission from the author of the original series in order to do so, which isn't likely to happen.

Under the bubble of the Kindle Worlds label, the Worlds authors were getting royalties from someone else's work and probably a bit of promotion for their own work in a roundabout way without doing anything other than offering authors like me the ability to play with their characters. Without that bubble, offshoot works have the potential to dilute the power of their series, especially if you run into readers who don't understand the difference between the original series and the fan fiction titles. If I were on the other end of this, I could see why I wouldn't want former Kindle Worlds titles competing with my series.

I signed up for Kindle Worlds knowing full well I was tying up my hard work with copyright restrictions, but right now I have the feeling that it was all a waste of time. I'm sure that feeling will pass, eventually.

Titles Are Still Available... For Now

Amazon isn't pulling all of its Kindle Worlds titles until "on or around July 16th" so if you still want to check out my Melody of Love novella series, you can still get them. Unfortunately for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, they have already been removed from the program as of yesterday--the day the email was sent, so thanks for that heads up, Amazon. It's probably because they were promising proactive payment for borrows, even if the book hadn't met the reading threshold. Smart business move for them, I guess.

Melody of Love (#1)
Haunting Melody (#2)
Melody's Valentine (#3)

I also want to quickly thank those who have downloaded any of these titles since they first went live on Amazon. I do appreciate the support and the book reviews. Now I have to get back to work. Gotta build up that backlist again...

A New Book, A New Direction

Good news! If you were dying to know what happens next to Mel and Austin, the third and final installment of my Kindle Worlds The Callaways: Melody of Love series, Melody's Valentine, is now available from Amazon. And don't forget to to add it to your Goodreads shelves.

Now I get to hang up my Kindle Worlds hat and put my focus on other projects. It was an interesting experience working with Kindle Worlds and I learned a lot--plus it's always fun to write sanctioned fan fiction, if we're just going to call it what it is (and that's exactly what it is). I can't say I will never return to write something else for Kindle Worlds, but they will have to acquire the rights to something else that piques my interest for me to return. They have television series as well as book series, so if they could pull off something like The X-Files, I would be first in line to pick up the pen again. Amazon, get on that.

I have quite a few projects ready to be resurrected now that Melody's Valentine is out in the world. I'm still in the first draft stage of my diamond thief novel (and still mulling over possible titles so I don't have to keep calling it that). I'm getting ready to get back into revisions on something else. I'm going to throw it out to my patrons on Patreon. Friday I'll be posting a poll and I'm going to let you choose what I work on next in the revision stage. I've got plenty of great options you can choose from if you become a patron before the poll ends. 

December Is Here!

The best part about it being December 1st? NaNoWriMo is officially over. At 24,755 words I didn't even hit half of the goal, but it's 24,755 words more than I had thirty days ago, so it's still a win in my little writer heart. The rest of 2017 will be dedicated to getting Melody's Valentine ready for publication in January, but you can be a part of what I'm going to work on in 2018. Become a Patron by December 15th and you can vote for what project I tackle next.

I also woke up to a rejection letter. Not fun, but not anything that's unusual. It will make me rethink about submitting to west coast-based publications for awhile, though. When I submit to Midwest or east coast publications, the rejection letters usually arrive between noon and 6pm. West coast publications like to give me something to wake up to. At least I'm at the point in my career where this little anomaly makes me chuckle. Five years ago I would have went all Betty-Draper-on-her-fainting-couch for a day.

And it did get me thinking about where to submit to next. 2018 is probably going to be the year of Go Big or Go Home, so I'm aiming high. The literary elite won't see me coming!

Last Chance for Early Access! #freebook

It's getting closer! Just a little less than two weeks until Haunting Melody will drop on Amazon. I've already sent out the first round of early access copies of the novella, but if you still want to get in on the action, I've got a couple more copies to give out. All you have to do is fill out this form and I'll have them sent out by Friday evening.

Now it's time for me to figure out what to do next. I've focused hard on this upcoming release, but it's time to find the next project to finish. There are three options in the running--and since I want this project to have a draft ready for revisions by NaNoWriMo time, it's got to be solid.

And I've already picked out this year's NaNoWriMo project. It's going to be the one that I intended to write for the last Camp NaNo, but switched at the last minute. I'm going to have to work hard to get my writing time in during the morning hours this November because it's a ghost story. And ghost stories freak me out a little. Okay, more than a little, but I think it's a good story, so I have to see it through.

Happy Writing!

Now Accepting Requests for Early Reviewers

Are you interested in getting your hands on Haunting Melody a couple weeks early? If you can't wait to get your copy, you can join my Review Crew. For those who have already read Melody of Love and left a review, you have a spot waiting for you once you fill out the form (see below).

For those who haven't read it yet, don't worry! Even if you haven't read the first book in the miniseries, there are still spots available for you. For everyone that's accepted, you'll be receiving a PDF copy of the book, and I would love it if you leave your honest review within two weeks of the book's release, which should be the first week in October.

How do you get in on this great deal? Just fill out this form. I can't wait to share Haunting Melody with everyone!

The Cover Reveals You've Been Waiting For

Everything has been worked out with the covers for both Melody of Love and Haunting Melody, so let me introduce you to the new covers.

The Callaways: Melody of Love (Melody of Love #1)

The Callaways: Haunting Melody (Melody of Love #2) - COMING OCTOBER 2016

Are you ready for Mel's next adventure? Wednesday I'll have all the information for you to join my Review Crew and get early access to this book.

The Countdown to Haunting Melody (and an Oops)

Today we're starting the countdown to the release of Haunting Melody. Get excited, people!

To kick things off, here's the synopsis for Haunting Melody:

Pop star Melody is getting ready to work on her next album with the help of musician Sean Callaway at Ashbury Studios. She feels like she has it all: a great career, a fabulous love life with dancer Austin Eckhart and friends she can rely on. But strange things are happening at the studio—equipment failures, accidents and strange voices. Rumors start spreading that Ashbury Studios could be haunted. Will Mel be able to help her friends figure out what's going on before something bad happens?

Today was also going to be the day of the new cover reveal for Melody of Love. But here's where the oops comes in. I ended up submitting to Kindle Worlds a draft version of the cover that I wanted, rather than the final version I had in mind... and once submitted, you cannot make changes until they've approved the ones you sent. I received the email this morning that my changes were approved, so it's time to go back and change them again. If I'm quick enough, the draft cover may not show up on the book's Amazon page. Then again, I'm second guessing everything, so who knows. When the final draft revamped cover is live, I'll let you know. Out of the hundreds of things that could go wrong in this process, I'd be a lucky lady if this is the worst that happens.

It's been a busy August, but I thought I would check in to make sure that you know the next six weeks are going to be pretty awesome. As I gear up for the release of Haunting Melody in October, there's going to be plenty of fun leading up to it. Each week in September, you're going to be treated with cover releases, the synopsis, and much more. You can also be a part of the fun. If you've already read Melody of Love, I'll have a chance for you to get access to a pre-release copy of Haunting Melody (more details to come!). I may also give you a sneak peek on my next project, which I think many of you will enjoy.

Now... back my writerly juggling act!!

On the Agenda

August is going to be a super busy month. Since everyone's going back to school, I thought I might as well assign myself a bunch of homework. That's how self-employed adulting works, right?

First up: more chapters of In Another Life have been uploaded to Write On. If you want to dive into the suspenseful world of Natalie LeBeau and her adventures at the lodge, go for it. And be sure to leave some comments and tell me what you think.

Haunting Melody (Melody of Love #2) is in the middle of revisions. I'm also working on the cover, with a bonus redesigned cover for Melody of Love (Melody of Love #1). If you want to make sure you're all caught up on the adventures of Mel and Austin, make sure to pick up your copy of book #1 before October.

Draft2Digital has partnered with Books2Read, so now I have a handy-dandy link to all the places where Unfolding Life is sold (excluding Amazon and Kobo). I also wanted to make sure all of my German fans know that I've distributed Unfolding Life with Tolino. Because Tolino distributes to multiple storefronts, I don't have just one direct link, but you can find my book at Hugendubel and Thalia. And to put my college minor to good use:

Deutsche Freunde! Unfolding Life ist für den kauf bei Hugendubel und Thalia verfügbar.

I think that's close!

Melody of Love: Year One (And What Comes Next)

It takes a great amount of courage to come up with a story, to play with fictional lives like they were plastic dolls. And it takes a mountain of confidence on top of that to think you can pick up someone else's pile of dolls and put them into your own little world.

This is the one-year anniversary of publishing my novella, The Callaways: Melody of Love. I took it upon myself to sneak into someone's toy chest and start playing with their fictional characters because this novella was based on The Callaways series by Baraba Freethy. I was able to do this through Kindle Worlds, a pretty fantastic place (though not really well known) where authors of popular series offer up their worlds and their characters for some of us to experiment with. I did this because I was in the middle of reading the series when I found out that it was available on Kindle Worlds. And when life smacks you in the face with a sign like that, you've got to take your chance.

Diving Right In

I think the reason I didn't find this project as daunting as I should have was because I wanted to be immersed in the world, not necessarily with the lives of the specific characters. One of my favorite novels in the series was the one about Sean Callaway--the black sheep of the family because he was into playing music and not being a firefighter, doctor or other public servant like the rest of the big Callaway brood. His novel led to finding his love, Jessica, and helped her reignite a desire to dance like she used to before she was widowed. The novel ends with Sean and Jessica opening a recording/dance studio in San Francisco. And that's where I found the perfect place to create a love story of my own.

I used original characters to create Melody of Love, but without Sean and Jessica in the picture, the story couldn't have taken place. This was my first attempt at romance, so I had to navigate the waters of what type of romance it would be. There's a huge sliding scale in this genre where from one end the goal is the story ending with the couple holding hands for the first time all the way to full-on smut that you only read on an e-reader so no one can see the cover. I decided to stick with a more middle-of-the-road approach because that's where this series falls, and it can be hard to please romance fans, especially when they are coming from an established romantic world.

Publishing Through Kindle Worlds

Once the story was written, the work had to go through more steps than I had before with previous independently published work. The formatting had to be correct, sticking to a few specific rules like not including a photo on the author bio page, which I happened to forget when I first submitted it. After all of the little things were taken care of, I submitted it and still got it rejected. I was totally and completely disheartened. What could I have done wrong when I spent weeks getting it just right? Turns out, it was something very simple and something I should have been aware of before submitting my work.

The problem was in my book's description. I can't believe I would overlook it, but I didn't mention a Callaway family member. Not once. And because the book is based on a specific series, something needed to be mentioned, not just the two original characters I created. After taking care of that problem, it was smooth sailing. This probably gave me a better idea of how traditional publishing could go--lots of back and forth, getting everything just right before it's finally published.

I must also address this point to any authors looking to publish something through Kindle Worlds: just like any other major publisher, there is a lot of fine print and not a lot you have control over once you submit your work (heads-up for authors: you don't get to set your own prices). Be sure to read all of the fine print before you publish so that you are aware of what rights you hold and what rights the original author or the publisher holds.

A Built-In Audience

Writing a book doesn't guarantee you'll find an audience. Writing a book based on someone else's popular romance series doesn't guarantee you'll find an audience either. This discovery surprised me. I thought that super fans of this series would be all over my novella, even if it did veer off to another, non-Callaway couple.

Guess again.

Like anything you create, you have to get the word out about it yourself. I know I have a few fans out there (okay, maybe just two), but nothing like the the fan base of the original series. I was banking on bringing a few of them over to read my work, but as of writing this post, none of the readers who read and reviewed Melody of Love were actually readers of The Callaways series. I can't tell you whether that's a good or a bad thing. Maybe it doesn't matter at all since I put a lot of effort into making it a standalone story while still honoring the atmosphere of The Callaways. 

My biggest setback in the marketing game is that I'm reluctant to use the original author's name in the way I advertise the book. For some reason, it feels wrong to bring up her name just to make a sale, even though she clearly gave permission for authors to come in and write. (Just to be clear, I also feel the same way about books advertised as Stephen King-meets-Judy Blume or whatever big-name authors they choose to compare themselves with.) I've also purposely not approached Facebook fans of hers or posting about my work on her fan group pages (of which I am, of course, a fellow fan) because it seems like it would be in bad taste. So I haven't yet found out what her fans think of my work--and readers coming in as non-fans all have the same issue: it's too short.

That is a problem I can remedy. I wouldn't mess with Melody of Love to make it longer, but I would provide more novellas featuring my original characters. In fact, the novella I was working on last fall was a continuation of this story. So this October I'm going to be releasing a second novella called Haunting Melody (you heard it here first, folks). There is also a third novella in the very early planning stages, which would take my Kindle Worlds experiment from a good little story to a mini-trilogy within the world of The Callaways.

It was a thrill to work with someone else's characters with permission, especially since I spent some of my high school years honing my writing skills on unpublished fan fiction. It was also a great learning experience to publish work through Kindle Worlds. Even though Amazon is a giant in the world of all things written and published, it's nice to see that they have programs to help provide the space for independent authors to grow.

The Mid-Month Roundup

It's the same old thing around theses parts--having a lot of stuff on the to-do list, and feeling like a snail trying to check it all off. And to have to do it all in unseasonably chilly weather? Please. I've had enough of you, May. You can go home now.

My plan for May was to finish the first revision of In Another Life and finally finish up that novella I put off from last fall. I still have a good chunk of the month to see these things through, but I'm no superwoman (too bad... I'd love to wear a cape like it was no big deal). There are also poetry revisions that I would like to get to, another first draft I would like to finish writing, and of course there's always submissions--I need to set aside more time for that, or I'll end up like Dickinson with ninety-nine percent of my work undiscovered until my ultimate demise.

So that's all I've been vacillating between and not getting completed. What have I actually done? Well, I've developed a huge book crush on Real Artists Have Day Jobs (And Other Awesome Things They Don't Teach You in School) by Sara Benincasa. It's filled with lots of good advice for the artists, writers, comedians and non-9-to-5-ers of my generation. But it's also funny and honest (oh, and here I go again... you can read my review to continue this love fest).

I've also been inundated with free stuff (not a bad gig, if you can get it) and I've been starting to catch up on reviews of all the neat things like mud masks, snacks, lotions and the occasional sleep aid. I've just reviewed the latest Pinch Me box I received and my Influenster Bloom Vox Box review should be up by the end of the week.

And to fill up what little time I had left, I started writing an essay on birthdays. After I start typing away, I realized I had much more material than a single essay could hold. It's turning into a series of essays. Eventually.

Death to (Most) Deadlines

Deadlines are a great tool for getting things done. But do they really help when they are picked at random? I've been talking for a few weeks about the writing calendar I put together for the end of the year. I had scheduled work for five different writing projects on it. I set firm deadlines for revising and even releasing some of the projects. But what did these deadlines mean when it came to the day it was to be something great and it just wasn't there yet?

Arbitrary deadlines don't help writing. I know that traditionally published authors probably have firm deadlines that can't be changed, but these people have a team backing them up. Indie authors don't always have that kind of support for each project (but kudos to the ones who do!). I know that my team of people I lean on is quite small, and they are not always available for every project. That just means I have to work harder to survive in the indie landscape. And that's why I'm declaring death to those deadlines I set. My five projects are not to the point where I would want them to be, and I'm not going to rush the process.

I did promise a novella written, revised and published by the end of October. That's not happening. I tried my best, but now I realized every project has it's own growth and development. Melody of Love was my success story--a novella written, revised and published within three weeks. Looking at that pace now, it seems crazy. For this followup novella, that pace just couldn't be kept. And since it is Halloween-themed, this novella won't see the light of day for another year. And that's totally okay.

I'm all for putting the pressure on to get a good product, but if a deadline doesn't feel right, don't force yourself to release something that just isn't ready. It won't help your writing career or the reputation of indie authors.

October's To-Dos and Shameless Promotions

The first full week in October and I started out kind of slow. I really needed a nap yesterday, but I persisted through sleepy eyelids to keep everything on track. My writing calendar is a more than a little full. This month I will:

• launch a book
• revise my project for Kindle Scout
• outline my 2015 NaNoWriMo project 
• write, revise and release a novella by the end of the month

I'm glad I didn't throw any short stories or poetry in there. Those projects are still waiting patiently for their turns.

I've also launched my Fiverr gig for anyone who wants a little help promoting their books. I'm running a book spotlight on Book Review Bin and I hope you find this affordable advertising within your marketing budget. I put up one of my books to provide a sample of what the spotlights will look like.

And since I'm in promo mode, don't forget that the ebook of Seeing What Develops is available for pre-order now until the 15th. The print version should be available from Amazon and Createspace by the 15th.

Win a Copy of Melody of Love #bookgiveaway

This week's blog post will be short and simple. I'm hard at work on the second round of revisions for the novel, which up until now has been known as my 2014 NaNoWriMo project. Today I can start calling it by its official title: Seeing What Develops. Lots of little details are being worked on too, such as the blurb, the cover and getting it all ready to be uploaded to WriteOn.

While all that is going on, I thought I would treat everyone to a chance at winning their very own ebook copy of Melody of Love. You can enter below. Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Secret Project Revealed: Are You Ready for a Little ❤ Romance ❤?

I can finally reveal the secret project I've been working on for the past month. I wrote a novella for Kindle Worlds. My contribution is Melody of Love and it belongs to The Callaways World based on the romance series by Barbara Freethy.



You don't have to have read The Callaways series to enjoy my novella--though if you like a little suspense with your romance, I definitely recommend reading them. All you have to know is this: Sean Callaway is a musician and owns Ashbury Studios. The ground floor is a music studio, and the top floor is a dance studio where the love of his life Jessica runs the dance studio. And that's where my novella takes place.

The process frayed a few of my nerves, but it's finally completed. I'm so excited that it was published tonight, because if it was kicked back to me again for some tiny little oversight I was about ready to give up. I actually had a pretty good rant about Kindle Worlds ready to go if I didn't end up publishing it... but it's best if we forget all that and just celebrate another completed project.

And a little heads up: I wasn't sure this would be published today, so I scheduled the ebook version of Unfolding Life to be available for free tomorrow. Sorry in advance for all of the promo social media posts for both books coming up. 😉