Hump Day Thoughts About Publishing

Happy Wednesday, or, if you preffer, Happy Hump Day!

Since I tend to pontificate on Wednesdays about whatever I'm thinking about, here goes today's subject. I'm thinking about the changes in books from traditional publishing to today's indie self-publishing.

Since the advent of ebooks, most authors I know now publish their books themselves rather than trying to place them with traditional publishers. There are many reasons for this, but I'm going to discuss one aspect of indie self-publishing: story concept.

STORY CONCEPT CHANGES

 Back when I published my first novel with a New York publisher, romance novels were peopled by the young and beautiful. Many of them still are, but back in those days, the heroine was requried to be young. The hero could be older and more mature—you know, the cliche of the seasoned lover.

At one writer's conference I attended many years ago, the editor gave a speech and said, "Make your heroine twenty-three years old and the CEO of a company.” According to the publishing house guidelines for category romance, that was what readers wanted.

Is there anything farther from reality than a 23-year-old female CEO? I didn't know any back then, and I don't know any in today's world.

No one author ever got a book with a 40-year-old heroine or a heroine who'd survived cancer or any of the other life challenges so many women face. Heaven forbid if an author tried to show senior citizens with active sex lives.

Writers were constrained by ridiculous guidelines. Is it any wonder so many authors happily deserted traditional publishers and embraced indie authorship?

Even today, some young readers turn their nose up at middle-aged characters having a rich and fulfilling sex life. I rememeber when I published Old Enough to Know Better, an age-gap romance, one of the reviews was from a young woman who thought it was gross that a 40-year-old man would want to have sex with a 50-year-old woman.

Love, Sex, and Romance are something everyone wants from the time those emotions and needs hits the conscious mind, and that doesn't end at some magic age number. 

Mary Roberts Rinehart famously wrote in The Man in Lower Ten, that “Love is like the measles. The older you get, the worse the attack.” 

Even authors who are old enough to be grandparents still write about Love, Sex, and Romance. I think it's because everyone—readers and writers—have a self-image embedded in the brain that doesn’t age. We are all forever locked into that age.

I mean, when you dream, are you ever a child again or are you a white-haired senior citizen. Chances are neither of those pictures are true. 

Maybe that’s why you are startled when you walk down the street and catch your reflection in a store window. Ever done that? Ever thought, “My God, I look just like my mother!”

TODAY'S STORY CONCEPT—REALITY BASED

Self-published authors can write about any kind of character they want because there are readers out there who want that. Authors are not limited by age, ethnicity, gender, or anything else. 

We can write about young or old main characters, about people who survived devastating situations and found love, about fantasy and reality, about introverts, extroverts, normal people, weirdos, and everyone in between.

Characters and plot elements today are based on reality and reflect Life. If you are older than 30—40, 50, 60, or beyond—don’t despair. The road of life is long and offers love and romance—and, yes, sex too—every step of the way. You can fall in love, and you can read about women and men your age falling in love. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

In this new age of publishing, authors aren’t restricted by arbitrary guidelines so there are books out there that you will love. 

When you find one you like, be sure and leave a review. That's the best way to thank an author.

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Review - Neagley on Prime

Much has been publicized about NEAGLEY, the much anticipated spinoff of Reacher which last month premiered its fourth season.

Unlike Reacher, based on a series of books by Lee Child, Neagley is based upon Frances Neagley, a character in the Reacher books who was a member of the Special Investigations Unit headed by Reacher.

The Neagley character, portrayed by Maria Sten in the first season of Reacher, proved so popular that she popped up in the other seasons as well. 

By Reacher Season 2, the powers that be new magic when they saw it and decided to create a series built around the Neagley character, and Season 1 of this new action series debuted September 16.

If you've seen this new Prime series already, you know it's a sure-fire hit. If you haven't watched it yet, you're in for a binge-worthy series that will make you click Next Episode until the entire series is over.

ABOUT NEAGLEY

Frances Neagley is a private investigator based in Chicago, Illinois. When her childhood best friend dies in a suspicious accident, she vows to discover the truth behind what seems to her like murder. 

Her investigation leads her to Echo Canyon Farm, a supposedly peaceful cult-like commune. Beneath that facade is a horrifying black-market operation run by Lawrence Cole, the leader, and Invection Pharmaceuticals CEO Pierce Woodrow.

Alan Ritchson, of course, bookends his cameo appearance.

Created by Nick Santora and Nicholas Wootton for Amazon Prime Video, the spin-off series also stars  Greyston Holt as Chicago PD Detective Hudson Riley, Adeline Rudolph as Renee Birdwhistle, an administrative assistant who works at Neagley's agency; Jasper Jones as Keno, a low-level criminal and recovering drug addict; Matthew Del Negro as Pierce Woodrow, CEO of Invection Pharmaceuticals; and Damon Herriman as Lawrence Cole, the leader of the Echo Canyon Farm family.

MY 2¢

The writing is intelligent with just a few minor scene points that could have been done better. The plot is solid, and the characterization is excellent. 

The main cast members are so good that you can't imagine anyone else being in that role. They bond together and create a whole that is more than the sum of their parts.

Darling Hubby and I enjoyed the series immensely. In fact, we both liked Season 1 of Neagley much more than the most recent Reacher season which we found too grim and without Reacher's likable personality as seen in previous seasons.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Definitely put Neagley on your Watchlist. You'll be glad you did.

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Monday Magic - Free Screenshot Tool You'll Love

I've been away from the office for about a week. That was totally unplanned so I have a lot of catching up to do.

Let's start with a Screenshot Utility that you're going to love because it's so much better than the one that comes with Windows which most of you use.

GREENSHOT

This lightweight screenshot software is free and offers a bunch of advantages over the basic  version in Windows.

• Quickly create screenshots of a selected area of the screen, a window, or the fullscreen.
• Capture complete (scrolling) web pages from Internet Explorer.
• Annotate, highlight, or obscure parts of the screenshot.
• Export the screenshot in various ways: save to file, send to printer, copy to clipboard, attach to e-mail, send ti Office programs or upload to photo sites like Flickr or Picasa, and others.
• Greenshot is easy to understand and configure. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

To learn more and see this app in action click Greenshot to visit the website which is also the download page if you want to get the latest release. 

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Saturday Share Recipe - Savory Brunch Muffins

Today, I'm offering you an easy muffin that can be as simple or as deliciously complex as you want to make it given your time and the ingredients on hand.

What kind of ingredients? Something saved from a previous meal like ham which is a main ingredient and corn which may be leftover from a previous meal or straight out of a corn or a bag of frozen corn.

You can also add diced tomato, finely minced parsley, etc. Whatever you have on hand works great.

You can also use something previously prepped and stored like diced bell pepper and onion. When I need peppers and onion for a recipe, I always diced up more than needed and store the rest in a glass jar with a rubber seal in the fridge.

The veggies are optional so don't add them if you just want the ham and cheese flavor. Here is the recipe that you can alter given your time and ingredients. Makes 12 hearty muffins.

SAVORY BRUNCH MUFFINS

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons corn
• 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
• 2 tablespoons finely diced bell pepper, any color
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. If not using cupcake papers, prepare a muffin tin using baking spray.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. ( 220°C.) 

3. In a large bowl, combine the milk and mayo and blend well.

4. Blend in the flour and baking soda. 

5. Add the ham and cheese and any veggies you're using.

6. Spoon into the muffin pan or papers and bake 16 to 18 minutes until the muffins are done when tested with a toothpick.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

These are great for brunch or for a breakfast on the run.

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September - Be Courteous

Do you often find yourself exclaiming over the rudeness of others? I'll confess that I do. In a typical day when I find myself  out and about, too often I run into someone who is so rude that it makes my jaw drop.

Since September is National Courtesy Month, let's talk about rudeness which seems to be a national problem.

MODERN TIMES—PRIMITIVE REACTIONS

How many times have you been in a public place and people are dropping F-bombs all over the place regardless of the presence of children?

Then there are those people in a restaurant with their cell phones in their hands or even worse, yakking away into their phones. 

Why can't they put their phones away and pay attention to the person with whom they're dining?

What about the people in cars who blow their horns and tailgate you or whip around in front of you and try to brake check you because they think you're driving too slow or because you did something in traffic they didn't like?

Whatever happened to patience and courtesy?

Since courtesy begins in the home, it makes me wonder what people are learning at home to help them deal with the world. Was it how to be reasonable and polite or how to show your Mr. Digit Hand Puppet when irritated?

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Instead of acting like the worst people on a TV reality show, learn how to be a reasonable polite member of society.

If you've got a short fuse, work on yourself and your emotions. Figure out why you seemingly have so much repressed anger. That will definitely improve your health and probably the relationships in your life.

Learn patience. Being impatient when driving can kill you and other people too. Put some calming music on when you drive. Ask yourself if the 10 seconds you might save by driving like a maniac is worth the danger you expose yourself and others to.

Find a way to defuse the stress you feel in dealing with others. Count to ten. Smile—that may make the person dishing out rudeness to stop and think. Learn to practice restraint.

Since children learn courtesy from their parents, become the parent who says "please" and "thank you" and who learns to manage your own emotions so you can teach your children how to do it too.

The world has a problem with people who can't behave on airplanes, in public places, or with those in authority.

What happens to those people? They may end up ostracized or, even worse, under arrest. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Try something different this month. Avoid reacting in negative ways. Be polite. You may find that politness defuses situations and can be met with politness from others.

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DIGITAL PUBLISHING AND ME - REWARDS PART 3 OF 3

Welcome back to DIGITAL PUBLISHING AND ME, my 3-part series about how I jumped into digital publishing and ebooks in 2011—what I did wrong, what I learned, and what I've received as a result of writing and publishing ebooks.

Today, I offer Part 3 of 3, in which I regale you with more tales of my self-publishing adventure.

If you missed Part 1 of 3, Mistakes and Advice, click here to read it.

To read Part 2 of 3, Advice and Insights, just click here. 

Today, I complete the series with Part 3 of 3, REWARDS—For Me and Maybe For You.

WHAT DIGITAL PUBLISHING DID FOR ME

Becoming a self-publishing indie author offered tremendous benefits. Before self-publishing, I was a category author which meant I had no power at all. A cut above me were midlist authors. They too had no power. Self-publishing meant I could chart my own course, and here's what happened.

1. I rediscovered the fun of writing because I could write anything I wanted. I was no longe writing according to what publishing houses said they wanted. 

I was no longer waiting and waiting and waiting for an agent or editor/editorial committee to rule on a submission. I could plan, write, and publish a book, and I was limited only by my own effort.

Writing what I wanted to write without regard to genre, plot, theme, or anything was freeing because I no longer had to wait and wonder if what I submitted was still wanted. Publishers could change guidelines while an author was busy writing the requested manuscript.

2. I found an audience that loved my books. I believed in my writing and knew there had to be readers who would like what I wrote. I was right. Self-publishing allowed me to reach readers.

3. I had editors contacting me instead of the other way around. I had a very lucrative foreign rights sale because the editor read my first ebook and wanted it and others to publish abroad. Within minutes of making a call to a literary agency, I had a top agent to negotiate the contract.

4. I became a New York Times bestseller because I was part of a self-published anthology that hit their  bestseller list in 2 places. (That was before they stopped allowing ebooks on the list.) I also hit the USA Today bestseller list 3 different times. 

5. I sold video game rights to 3 of my ebooks.

6. I had audio book editions of some of my ebooks published.

WHAT DIGITAL PUBLISHING CAN DO FOR YOU

1. Give you another avenue other than traditional publishing to find an audience. With a traditional publisher, you must have the right product to attract an editor and an agent. You don't have to limit yourself to one of the other.

2. Shortcut the time required to get your books before readers by becoming a self-publisher. In fact, if you become a big success as a self-publisher, you may find it easier to get with a trad publisher if that's what you want and the deal is good.

3. Become financially stable by being a self-publisher. There are many self-publishers making a very comfortable living from their ebooks. Some self-publishers have their books being turned into Netflix series and movies.

4. Give you a platform where you make all the decisions. You get to choose the cover art, the blurb, the price, etc. As someon

5. Give you a real-world experience in writing and publishing—a superb training ground in what it takes to write, publish, and deal with every aspect with which authors must handle.

You'll learn all about the writing, the technical aspects of publishing, marketing, promoting, living with good and bad reviews, dealing with the reading public, and so many other things authors must do. It can prepare you for the long assault on traditional New York publishing if you decide to do that.

Everything I've said is from real world experience. I hope it helps and inspires you if you have the writing itch. 

Becoming a selling author may be difficult, but it's easier than when I started many years ago. If it's what you want, go for it. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I wish you the same joy and rewards digital publishing has given me. Like I always say, "Nothing ventured; nothing gained."

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In Remembrance 9/11

Today I'm praying for the families of those who were killed, for those who were not yet born to learn the significance of that day, and praying for my country.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

History must be learned so that mistakes of the past are never repeated.