Stacia Kane

So I need a Stacia Kane website. Gotta have one, gotta get it all set up, laws yes. M-O-O-N, that spells I’m screwed!

(BTW, I’ll have some news about Personal Demons next week–and I’m going to post excerpts Monday and Wednesday! So make sure you come back and get your sneak peek!)

See, when I set up the DQ site, I was just playing. trying to do something dramatic and maybe a little sexy, something fun. Great.

But, much as I like the site, I need a different look for the SK site. And I’ve been hearing a few things about author sites lately that hae made the process even more confusing.

For instance, I hear the black-and-red theme, especially for urban fantasy writers, is getting a bit dull. And the white writing on a black background isn’t easy on the eyes.

So I need a light-colored background. But I’m not, as you all know, a fan of pastels. And gray, which I really like, seems a bit monochrome, maybe? I don’t know, I might try it.

I want to create a cool logo, but I’m absolute crap at that stuff. Seriously. My artistic design skills are about on a par with my six-year-old’s. I can decorate a house nicely, but placing photo elements and making it look all sexy and cool is so not my forte.

So I’m all in a dither, and I’m spending more time thinking about the damn website than actually writing, and…ugh! But web designers are expensive, and I have all the tools and everything. I just need a little inspiration.

I am excited about the site, though–it’s going to be big, and chock-full of stuff. Character bios, deleted scenes, free short stories, more info about the supernatural world of the books, sneak previews, bookstore listings…all kinds of things, and hopefully it will be a lot of fun.

Any suggestions for me? Any sites you know of that you think are especially nice? Any suggestions of stuff to avoid (aside from the obvious–I will NEVER put background music on my site!)

1. Do you have any comment on RWA’s recent re-redefinition of “Vanity/Subsidy publisher”?

Now that they have corrected the wording so that it doesn’t include e-publishers, I don’t have any major problems with it. I do think they now need to quickly determine the details of “eligible publisher”. If we have to pay a fee to participate in the National conference, what is the fee and what is included? And are they going to fairly apply the standard, which may mean that publishers like St. Martin’s Press and Red Sage are not “eligible”.

I think it is good that RWA dropped the “RWA-recognized publisher” designation. The qualification for that was so pointless – a publisher could put a lot of money behind just one book to get its sales over the limit needed, but neglect all their other titles. That criterion had no real value in judging the publisher. Plus the whole problem that authors assumed being recognized meant a publisher had RWA’s approval and was automatically a good and “safe” publisher. Authors need to do their research on publishers.

2. What do you think a writer should look for from an epublisher, and how should they expect to be treated?

They should expect the same things from a epublisher as a print publisher. The format of “publication” shouldn’t change how a publisher deals with authors. The difference really is in size and experience of publisher – small versus large, new versus well-established. You might expect different contract terms from a small, new publishing house, and it has nothing to do with whether it’s an e-publisher or print publisher or both.

3. What are the most common mistakes made by authors submitting works for consideration?

They fail to read and follow the submission guidelines. These vary for every publisher. And don’t send inappropriate material to the “wrong” publisher – know which houses are looking for what, and target whom you approach. Stop sending me poetry!

4. Although conservative non-fiction has a large following, lately I have picked up on a resistance to conservative leaning fiction. Two well known agents even stated such on their Blogs. This is informative, and it means if you write from a conservative perspective, it would be best to seek representation elsewhere. My question is how pervasive is this attitude among publishers and agents? Do the political views or leanings, in either direction, of the author or characters in a book influence your decision? Would you ask an author to tone such views down to make the book more palatable to a larger readership?

Well, it’s not something we run into a lot in the submissions we see. But we do have a policy about staying away from controversial political or religious topics in our fiction. On a few occasions I’ve asked authors to “tone it down” when something had potential to be offensive to readers. We’re not trying to be “PC” or bland, but we are publishing romances and other genre fiction – the story needs to focus on that, not become a platform for the author’s personal political views or religious beliefs.

(Yes, I get the occasional hate mail telling me I’m going to burn in hell for putting out books that contain sex, that portray sex as pleasurable or for something besides procreation – and that even have sex between unmarried persons, gasp!)

5. With a primarily digital mode of publication, how do you decide how much to publish? Are all high quality manuscripts that meet the perceived needs of your customers published, or is there a goal for monthly or annual publications?

We have a set number of releases per week. At Ellora’s Cave, we recently increased that from six to eight a week, and at Cerridwen Press went from two to three (and will likely go to four in January). We balance the number of books we have contracted and in process and the perceived market size. Obviously we wouldn’t schedule more release slots than we can fill. And we don’t want to flood the market with more books than our readers will buy.

6. When would you advise an author to seek publication with a traditional print publisher and when is it in their best interests to publish in digital format? The pros and cons are often debated among authors, and I was wondering how the actual publishers saw these issues.

Hmm, I don’t know that I as an e-publisher have ever said to an author “No, I don’t think you should consider digital books, you should go to print.” Except in cases where the audience was not appropriate for e-books – like children’s picture books, art books (filled with illustrations or photos), and books (mainly nonfiction) that are very visual in nature. In that case, you have to consider whether they can be truly appreciated on a small e-book reading device.

At our new TLC (The Lotus Circle) imprint of metaphysical and psychic fiction and non-fiction, we have some non-fiction books that are print only, not digital. In studying the reader market for these books, we determined that they did not present well online, or just would not sell in that format.

7. Can you share any sorts of revenue targets you have in mind when purchasing a manuscript? I assume that you need to sell a certain number of copies before the time spent acquiring, editing, and publishing is worth it financially. What is that approximate point? What percentage of manuscripts make this cut-off?

We don’t accept manuscripts that we don’t think will sell enough to make a profit. Unfortunately, we don’t have an infallible crystal ball and some books don’t do as well as anticipated. We accept about 4% to 5% of unsolicited manuscripts. We accept a much higher percentage from authors already published with us – but just having books published with us doesn’t mean that we’ll accept anything you submit in future! We reject a lot from our existing authors, or send it back for major revisions.

Yes, there is a break-even point, enough sales to cover the cost of editing, cover art, formatting, etc, etc. But that’s not a number we give out.

8. By far the most famous epublishers currently are focused on erotic romance. I would guess that far more erotic romance is bought in ebook format than in print. First, is this guess accurate? Secondly, what prospects do you see in the short to mid term for other genres in eBook format? Will we soon see non-romance mysteries or fantasy or manga taking off? Will we see it with your company?

E-books have always been most popular for the “fringe” genres, things people couldn’t find in their bookstore – or were embarrassed to buy in person. So erotic romance was a perfect fit for e-publishing. Up until a year or so ago, I would agree that more erotic romance was sold as e-books than print books. But now that most of the big NY publishers have entered the erotic romance market, and in print format, I don’t know if that is true any longer.

Through our Cerridwen Press imprint, we publish all types of genre fiction: non-erotic romance, mystery/suspense, scifi/fantasy, historical fiction, etc. Growth has been slow, and as yet is nowhere near as high as erotic romances. Readers were originally driven to e-books for erotic romance because they couldn’t find them in print; that doesn’t apply with mainstream fiction. Regular fiction e-books are competing with every print book out there. The success of e-books in most genres is going to be dependent on our cultural shift toward online everything – our kids, who expect to be able to do almost anything on their computer or cell phone. So I think we’ve got years to go before e-books are a major part of the general book sales, but we are getting there.

9. Is there such a thing as a best seller list for e-books?

I track sales figures carefully, and I know which books and authors are top sellers. That information does get conveyed to our editors in general terms, so that they know what genres and themes are currently most popular, to help them in making acquisition decisions.

We don’t publish on our site a list of the top-selling books, although I know some sites do. It’s something we may consider in future. I’d like some proof that there is a point to doing that – that listing a book as a “best seller” actually encourages more people to buy it. So far, that’s not proven.

10. Since marketing and promotion are a shared venture with publishers and authors, what do you see as some of the best venues and tools to establish the name and work of a new writer?

Every author should have a website, and update it frequently! It should list all their releases, with blurbs and excerpts and Buy links. Don’t forget the Buy link! That, after all, is the point – to sell your books. The site should also have information about future books, and items that interest readers and entice them to come back.

Online chats seem to have died down in popularity and effectiveness. Blogs are the big thing now to reach readers, but I’m beginning to think they’ve been overdone, readers are overwhelmed with too many and especially too many bad ones.

Ads in print magazines are, in my opinion, only effective for print books, not for e-books. If you have e-books, consider online ads on some of the biggest review or e-magazine sites.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Raelene!

(Before I start my official post, I have to tell this story. The other day the hubs and I were in the kitchen, sharing a little kiss, like you do. The Faery and the Princess came in the room, because that’s what they do. Faery wanted to play, but Princess turned to her and said, “I think they’re having sex right now, Faery.” Ah, children. What fun.)

So Camille’s comment on my last post reminded me of a particular oddity of mine–I can only listen to books on tape if it’s a book I’ve read before. Otherwise my mind wanders. I have a hard time focusing on things people tell me. I guess it’s that whole aural/visual learner thing. I’m definitely visual.

My Mom is really into books on tape, and I decided to try one some years ago for a small road trip. I made the mistake of choosing a mystery. Looked great. To this day I know nothing about it. All I remember was something about a mistaken identity and a missing baby. Or something. The thing ended before I even realized it; I’d just tuned out a huge chunk of it.

It’s a little easier if it’s the hubs doing the reading; we’ve read a few books together (and one day we’ll finished “Kidnapped”, honestly.) But even then I prefer books I’m familiar with. That way if I miss something it’s no big deal; I don’t get lost or find myself wondering who the hell Richard is when he has a line of dialogue.

I do like them when I’m doing things, though. I once spent a long and very enjoyable day painting my bathroom and listening to Maeve Binchy’s “Tara Road”; lovely. Or sewing and listening to Josephine Tey’s “The Daughter of Time”.

Anyone else have a hard time with books on tape? Or being read to in general?

So the other day I was being ultra-cool and listening to Fleetwood Mac as I drove to the grocery store. I know, I know, such hipness as I cannot be looked upon by mere mortals.

Seriously, though, I do like FM. I like all kinds of music. The hubs and I have recently been yeing, of all things, a set of Time-Life CDs, a country music collection with lots of 70s/80s stuff like Crystal Gayle (my parents loved her), Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbit of all people, etc. And we want it. As Anna J said, it’s what all the hip thirtysomethings are buying these days (this hip thritysomething, btw, turned 34 on Saturday, woe is me.)

FM always makes me think of a friend of mine, whose personal theme song is “Gypsy”. And it suits her. And so now, when I hear it, I think of her.

I’ve always used music to help define my characters, although I haven’t been as good with it of late. I even have one or two characters who don’t have a theme song, which is odd to me because that’s where they used to come from.

Part of it may simply be that music isn’t as available here. The radio is a joke. And THEY TALK OVER THE MUSIC, which I HATE with a passion. No radio station can even pretend to be any good when the DJ keeps interrupting the songs to prattle on about his garden or, even worse, sing along. Which I’m sad to say is not unusual here. When I was growing up none of the stations dared to do such things; it was a huge advertising point. KSHE 95 and KS 94 both ran ads, for years, about how they never talked over the music. And they didn’t. Which was good.

But I’ve never really had a theme song of my own. Over the years I’ve had different songs that speak to me, that say something important. Songs that make me feel a certain way or remember certain things.

Perhaps this is part of my problem. So many songs have so many memories attached to them these days, and as time goes on those memories grow more and more bittersweet until the sweet is all gone. So many bands I used to love, so many CDs I practically wore out, that instead of filling me with the joy and optimism they once did now only make me think of lost opportunities and broken friendships and times I made an ass out of myself.

But it still bothers me, that there’s no song that defines me. There’s no song that I listen to and think “This is the statement I want to make about myself, these are the lyrics that could have sprung from my own head, written about my own life.”

So what’s your personal theme song? Or one of your friends? Why don’t you have one, if you don’t?

1. Do you have any comment on RWA’s recent re-redefinition of “Vanity/Subsidy publisher”?

Loose Id is not a vanity or subsidy publisher by any definition, so RWA’s modifications to that policy won’t affect us or our authors.

2. What do you think a writer should look for from an epublisher, and how should they expect to be treated?

Professionalism and professionally. Look at their website for a start. (I got the following questions thanks to an article one of my fellow Loose Id partners wrote recently.) How long has the company been in business? How many titles does the company release each week? Does the company ever promote old titles? What are the contract terms? Are there any rumors flying around about this company? Does the publisher want books like mine?

You may want to check out her article for more info here.

(http://fogcitydivas.typepad.com/dishing_with_the_divas/2007/04/today_i_am_very.html)

3. What are the most common mistakes made by authors submitting works for consideration?

Not doing their research on what the publisher and market wants. Grammatical and plot mistakes can be worked on, but the story has to be a strong one first.

4. Although conservative non-fiction has a large following, lately I have picked up on a resistance to conservative leaning fiction. Two well known agents even stated such on their Blogs. This is informative, and it means if you write from a conservative perspective, it would be best to seek representation elsewhere. My question is how pervasive is this attitude among publishers and agents? Do the political views or leanings, in either direction, of the author or characters in a book influence your decision? Would you ask an author to tone such views down to make the book more palatable to a larger readership?

Other than trying to avoid politics and religion as much as possible in our stories – we sell romance, not politics, and we have no desire to annoy any of our market – we have no particular policy on this.

5. With a primarily digital mode of publication, how do you decide how much to publish? Are all high quality manuscripts that meet the perceived needs of your customers published, or is there a goal for monthly or annual publications?

I’m going to quote very freely from Doreen’s article here—
There’s a balance between too many and too few releases. Too few releases may mean that the publisher is new on the block or has a questionable reputation with authors. Even if the company is solid, readers only re-visit sites that frequently offer fresh new titles.

In contrast, some E-publishers release too many titles. With too many new titles, readers become jaded and will often postpone a buying decision, thinking “No hurry…I can wait to see what’s new tomorrow before I buy.”

Chances are you’ll do best with a company that releases a regular amount of new titles every week, because readers visit the site when they know there are new releases on a regular basis.

6. When would you advise an author to seek publication with a traditional print publisher and when is it in their best interests to publish in digital format? The pros and cons are often debated among authors, and I was wondering how the actual publishers saw these issues.

All right, I won’t quote Doreen’s article because she has a very lengthy answer for that. The short answer would be, consider a traditional publisher when you’re writing for the mainstream. E-publishing tends to publish certain subject matter in advance of traditional print. If you’re blazing a new trail in fiction, you might find a good home with an e-publisher.

7. Can you share any sorts of revenue targets you have in mind when purchasing a manuscript? I assume that you need to sell a certain number of copies before the time spent acquiring, editing, and publishing is worth it financially. What is that approximate point? What percentage of manuscripts make this cut-off?

We prefer to keep our sales targets confidential, but I can say that we don’t select books if we don’t honestly believe they will strike a chord with our readership. We’ve been releasing new titles every week for more than three years; by now we’re familiar with what our customers want to buy.

8. By far the most famous epublishers currently are focused on erotic romance. I would guess that far more erotic romance is bought in ebook format than in print. First, is this guess accurate? Secondly, what prospects do you see in the short to mid term for other genres in eBook format? Will we soon see non-romance mysteries or fantasy or manga taking off? Will we see it with your company?

We believe that there is a huge market for erotic romance in e-publishing. The nature of electronic media means that the books can more easily be kept private than a print book. Your kids are far more likely to stumble across a print book than an electronic book.

Loose Id has always been on the cutting edge of new trends such as manga-inspired erotic romance. However, we have no plans to branch out into other genres such as non-romance mysteries. Those markets are already being well-served by traditional publishers.

9. Is there such a thing as a best seller list for e-books?

Not at the present time.

10. Since marketing and promotion are a shared venture with publishers and authors, what do you see as some of the best venues and tools to establish the name and work of a new writer?

My marketing partner would say start by writing the very best book you can – one with a great hook and memorable characters. Word of mouth from readers is the best advertising and it certainly helps when you have something you can market easily. Even before that getting your name known (in a good way) on lists and blogs is helpful. After that, there are many useful avenues you can pursue. I’d check with fellow authors and ask your publisher what they will do or recommend the author do.

You may also want to take a look at a new blog that a fellow e-publisher, Margaret Riley of Changeling Press, and I have started to answer epublishing questions. It’s here. (http://treva2007.livejournal.com)

Thanks so much to Treva for taking the time, and for the excellent answers and links!!

My guest blogger is dragging heels, so hopefully that will be ready next week,

So this is just a quick one. We’ve had a very nice day today, although the birthday cake I made didn’t turn out quite as pretty as I’d hoped. Stupid fan ovens are the bane of my existence. They dry everything out (although not the cake, as I’ve learned to add a little extra liquid) and, especially bad for cakes, make everything bake uneven on the tops. HATE THEM. I forgot to turn the bottom cake upside down for frosting (bright pink) so it ended up like some sort of insane Barbie-land mushroom.

We went to Forbidden Planet in Bristol, where Princess decided there was something she MUST have:

It’s what all the fashionable six-year-olds are wearing these days, and since it was her birthday, we gave it to her. We’re not sure why she loves Ghost Rider so much, but she does. She draws him too.

And I got a darling pair of shoes, very unlike me because they’re wedge heels but I couldn’t resist them, they are so Carmen Miranda/Miami fun (and on sale!):

They’re actually a softer shade than they appear here. Just a little present for me, too.

So that was my day.

Sorry everyone, I owed you a post on Friday and was a no-show.

Life has intruded, in the form of a WIP that’s kicking my ASS. And a husband. And two children.

Which, btw, the Princess turns six on Wednesday, so I will be unavailable most of that day too. We’re taking her to Bristol where she can pick out something at Toys R Us and build her own bear at Cribb’s Causeway, which is a big mall–the only one anywhere nearby, as far as we know. And I’m going to bake her a yellow cake from scratch, since they don’t have yellow or white cake mix here (I don’t like chocolate cake. So nobody in my family gets chocolate cakes. I’m cruel that way.)

But, I do hopefully have a really fun guest blogger for you on Wed.–so check back.

Also, the publishing interviews have started coming back, so look for Treva Harte’s here on Friday.

The WIP is around 25k words now, and I think it’s finally starting to really swing for me. I actually think it’s all very good–probably the best thing I’ve ever written–but I’m finally really getting into the meat of it, the book’s first big setpiece after all the initial action and turns and twists. Poor Megan, everything is falling apart around her.

And critting, and trying to come up with a story idea for next year’s Ellora’s Cavemen anthologies, which I don’t know if I’ll do or not. I find short stories very irritating and difficult to write. My mind keeps coming up with new twists and turns and before I know it I’ve plotted a long novella.

I’m also planning a barbeque for the last Saturday of this month, and I need to come up with a dessert. I’ll probably make another cake. I’m trying to do an Real American Cookout, you know? Complete with A-1 sauce, which my Mom sent to me and which I hoard like gold. But that’s the kind of hostess I am, that I’ll share on this occasion.

I love giving parties, I really do. I used to do it all the time. For the hubs’ birthdays, for the Princess’s birthdays (Faerie never had a birthday in the States.) Really, for any reason I could come up with.

Haven’t had one here, really, except for Faerie’s first birthday when we still didn’t have furniture.

How about you? Parties? Dessert suggestions? Feelings about particular cakes?

Well…sort of anyway. But I couldn’t resist the title.

Hubs and I are becoming acquainted once again with the magic of television, all thanks to DVD and a multi-region player. We’ve been watching Dexter of late, and are eagerly awaiting the first series on DVD, which should be winging its way across the ocean to us.

Maybe one of these days the Royal Mail will stop its incessant striking and actually deliver it to us, wonder of wonders.

So. Loving Dexter. Especially the intense Miami versimilitude. Everybody looks sweaty all the time, which is exactly the way people in Miami actually look. The murder scene in the first episode was a hotel here the hubs actually stayed once. The second looked to me like Bayside, where I used to go with some coworkers if it rained and so we got the day off (we worked on the beach selling drinks from trailers.) Sigh, I do miss Miami.

Also just started watching Heroes, which kicks serious ass. The first season comes out on DVD August 28, so we’ll be getting that one too.

There’s nothing else to do here, after all.

Except read. I just finished “Rises the Night” by Colleen Gleason, and enjoyed it very much, too. I read “Fashion Babylon” and enjoyed it not as much. I read a few other books I thought were only eh. And I’m enjoying the hell out of Necropolis: London and its Dead, by Catharine Arnold. Only a chapter or so in but already having much, much fun. The descriptions of Roman cremations gave me some great ideas–although ever since seeing Conan the Barbarian as a child (regular readers may remember this is one of my all-time favorite films)(how’s that for alliteration?) I’ve been fascinated by the idea of funeral pyres anyway. I just plain like fire.
Also firing (ha ha) the imagination is her description of charnel houses and the many and varied uses for bones in France and Italy.

Including chandeliers.

Totally look for human bone chandeliers somewhere in one of my next books. They’ll be there, oh yes.

What have you been watching or reading lately?

(Oh, and: I’ve decided that instead of placing my book excerpts on my website, I’m creating new blogger blogs for each and posting them there. So if you click on the “Sample Chapter One” links on the site, you’ll be led to a blogger page. I’ve seen a few readers say this is easier on the eyes. Haven’t transferred all of them yet but I’m in the process.)