Stacia Kane

Yes, yes, we all know about Amazon vs. MacMillan. And I’m sure we all have our own opinions. I know I certainly do, but since Scott Westerfeld said it better I’m just going to link to his post on it, and say, THIS.

I am also leaving the Amazon links up on my site, because I know there are readers who prefer Amazon, or even side with Amazon. But I do encourage you all to buy your books elsewhere. Bookstores are important. Choice is important. Support bookstores, and buy from them, because it matters.

Now. This weekend was also my first-ever attempt at making a beef-and-lentil soup. It turned out pretty well! As always I messed about with the recipe a bit, sort of amalgamating several into one and picking and choosing. For example, most recipes I found called for canned tomatoes. I don’t particularly like eating tomatoes in soup, so I substituted a can of tomato paste instead; tomato flavor with no slimy tomatoes. So here’s the recipe, since I promised I’d post it:
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Seeing as how we are now less than a month(!!) away from the release of DEMON POSSESSED (2/23), I’ve been hunting through the ms for the last few days looking for a new sneak-peeky excerpt to post. Difficult, as always, since we want to avoid spoilers.

Today’s excerpt comes from Chapter Two, and it seemed to me like a nice little view into Megan’s life as the story begins.

I hope you enjoy it!

Note: This is from the pre-copyedited manuscript. The final printed version may vary slightly.)
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Hey all!

Today is the official release date of Undead Much?, the second novel in my great friend Stacey Jay‘s Megan Berry, Zombie Settler series.

I LOVE this series; it is so much fun, and scary, and awesome. Here’s the blurb:

Q: How many guys does it take to make your boyfriend wild with jealousy?
A: Only one, if he’s UNDEAD.

Megan Berry had a perfectly average new-sundress-and-boy-obsessed life–until her power to settle the Undead returned. Oh, and then her best friend tried to kill her–and ruin homecoming–with a bunch of black magically raised zombies. At least she got a spot on the pom squad and a smokin’ boyfriend (Ethan). But now Megan is in deep fertilizer all over again.

Why? Well, let’s see…

· Feral new super-strong zombies? Check.
· Cheerleader vs. pom squad turf war threatening half time as they know it? Check.
· An Undead psychic hottie (Cliff) who’s predicting a zombie apocalypse–and doing his best to tempt Megan away from Ethan? Yum. I mean, Check.
· Earth-shattering secrets that could land Megan in Settler prison for life? Um, IT WASN’T ME!!!

Everyone thinks Megan’s at fault for the new uber-zombie uprising. Looks like she’ll need the help of both Cliff and Ethan if she’s going to prove her innocence before it’s too late…

Stacey’s made this fun little commercial/teaser video, too, so check it out:

First, let me just say that when I asked on Monday about keeping to my schedule, this was what I meant. I’d fallen into a bit of a trap with the blog, where I’d come up with a good idea for a post but hold on to it because it wasn’t a “blog day,” and by the time Monday/Thursday rolled around I would have either forgotten it or it felt outdated; the immediacy simply wasn’t there anymore. So I probably won’t be on a set schedule anymore but am still planing to blog minimum 2x a week, unless something happens or I’m buried in work (in which case I will let you know).

One of my new projects is really starting to come together in my head, too, at least to some degree. I’m considering starting to post metrics for it, simply because I did enjoy posting them back when I was writing UNHOLY GHOSTS.

Anyway. I got an interesting email the other night, and it sparked some interesting thoughts/discussions, so I thought I would share it with you and see what you think.

I’m not going to quote the email directly here, but it was from a lady who owns a small online jewelry store. She asked if I would be willing to accept a piece of her jewelry–for free–in exchange for blogging about it; positive or negative, it didn’t matter. Just mention the store.

I checked out the site, and some of the stuff was really nice. Stuff I would actually wear. I have very specific tastes in jewelry–ask anyone who’s ever tried to buy me any–so it’s not always easy for me to find things that appeal. I don’t wear gold, ever. I don’t like anything heart-shaped or with hearts on it. Not too sparkly. Not a fan of colored stones unless they’re onyx or black pearls (I do love black pearls). I like chunky things. I like dull silver better than shiny. And of course it just has to feel and look “right.” I’m not saying my tastes are so, so, so unique, just that as with everything else they are specific. But yeah, I liked some of the stuff on the site.

Here’s the thing, though. My initial response was, of course, suspicion. The email wasn’t particularly personal; no mention of how she’d been reading my blog for a while or had read any of my work or anything like that. The first thing I did was click Show Details so I could see if this was a mass email. It didn’t appear to be, but of course it could have been BCCd to a thousand people for all I know. I hopped on Twitter to see if anyone else had received a similar email. No. I checked out the site (obviously).

My other initial response, of course, was that while I guess it was a bit flattering, I couldn’t do it. Of course not. I’m not a reviewer. My blog doesn’t exist to inform consumers and it’s not one of those blogs that runs solely on the strength of my fascinating personality, like some famous blogs (I don’t really read any of those, but I know there are a few bloggers who are basically just famous for blogging). I’m a writer, not a shill.

It felt like it would be unethical for me to do this. And I still feel like it would be the wrong thing to do.

But here’s the thing. Right on the heels of that came, “But why?”

Why is it unethical? Why is it wrong for me to get something free in exchange for my honest opinion on it? That’s what review sites do; hell, as I mentioned the other day I know Del Rey has sent out some ARCs for UNHOLY GHOSTS and I’ve already gotten a look at two of the reviews written from those ARCs (both very positive, thank goodness!)

I mean, I talk about things here. I’ve talked about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and shoes, and clothes, and make-up items, and movies and of course books. I’ve recommended things and recommended you stay away from things.

So why is this different?

Actors or singers or TV personalities or whatever get free stuff all the time, in return for endorsement. Not that I’m equating myself with them in any way, I’m just saying. Heck, doctors get free samples of things in hope they’ll recommend them to their patients. I’m sure, in fact, that there are thousands of other situations where people, everyday people, get offered free things in hopes they’ll recommend those things to others; kind of like a free sample of a new fabric softener you’d get in the mail.

For that matter, I put brand name items in my books. I drink Coke, so my characters drink Coke; I wouldn’t turn down free Coke if, say, the Coca-Cola company read my books and wanted to say thanks or whatever. (I also have a character who drives a superbadass ’69 Chevelle, the uberfast 427. So, um, Chevy, if you happen to be reading this…) But seriously, I do use products and those products sometimes appear in my work, and of course I don’t do it for compensation or anything–it’s versimilitude, or to avoid awkwardness, or whatever–I wouldn’t grumble if the people at Coca-Cola decided to thank me for that, either monetarily or in free products or anything like that. I’m not looking for it, of course, and it’s not why I include the mentions, I’m just saying that while that too might feel a little weird it wouldn’t freak me out.

But this… I don’t know. Am I crazy for thinking this feels different, is different? Am I crazy for thinking I’m not going to do it? Is this some weird ethical hang-up nobody has but me?

What do you guys think?

I could have sworn that I’ve blogged about this before, but I just did a search and nothing turned up, so I guess I haven’t. Or maybe I’m searching wrong. Anyway. (No, I did sort of discuss this before, in this 2007 post, but not with the same focus, so I don’t feel as though I’m repeating myself.)

Here’s the thing. Writing involves making up stories. Perhaps you’re a plotter, one of those bizarre creatures who knows exactly what’s going to happen in the story before you open a shiny new Document and follows your path as tidily as a ballerina with months of rehearsal. (In which case I seriously envy you, despite my snottiness. It’s fond, admiring snottiness, I promise.)

Or maybe you’re a pantser like me, and start with a character or two and a premise, and toss them into the document and see what happens. Maybe like me you have a few vague ideas of where the story will go; I tend to have some sort of idea of what the climactic battle will be like, and maybe a scene or two sort of lurking in the back of my mind waiting to be used.

But either way, you need to make up the story. It’s down to YOU; it’s your responsibility. Quite frankly, a fiction writer who cannot make up a story is not a fiction writer. If writing fiction is what you want to do, you need to learn and absorb the skill of Making Shit Up. Period.

Which is why it drives me insane when I see writers–or those who want to be or claim to be writers–asking people what they should do with their story. Should the hero and heroine get together now? Should the villain do this or that? How old should the characters be? Should the villain die at the end? Should the father be the bad guy?

Then there are the secondary questions, what I refer to as the “unfamiliar” questions. I call them that because the questioner is seemingly unfamiliar with either the genre in which they are writing, or with books in general. (They could also be called the “Is it okay” questions, since they tend to start that way. These are questions like, “Is it okay if the hero cusses? Is it okay if the heroine isn’t a virgin? Is it okay if the heroine kills the bad guy? Is it okay if the hero gets drunk? Is it okay if the hero has a kid?” etc. etc.

I’d say the latter annoy me more, but honestly, they both annoy me equally.

Wow, it’s been a while, huh?

Sorry. I was, in the words of Bill Murray in Caddyshack, unavoidably detained.

Christmas shopping. Christmas cooking. Having family here for Christmas–my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces came for a visit. Good Christmas, in all. I got some cool books and a nice big Le Creuset pot to add to my collection (I am obsessed with Le Creuset, if you’re unaware of that).

Also, moving. In a nutshell, our landlord wanted us to buy the house, whereas as time went on we started thinking we did not in fact want to buy the house. But he really wants to sell the house, so we have moved out of the house. So now we’re in an apartment my mom owns, basically. Much cheaper, much smaller, but fine, and frankly we’re happy to be done with the house. The only problem is, we had no one to help us move, really, so spent from New year’s Day until the 5th hauling bags and boxes of stuff around. It was tiring and made me achy, and I’m glad to be done with it.

Also Faerie got her hair cut, which is adorable, but was weird for me as it was her first haircut ever. All that baby hair, gone! It went from butt-length to shoulder-length. The good news is I think the ponytail is just about long enough to donate to Locks of Love, and even better than that is that Princess now wants her hair cut as well, and her ponytail will definitely be long enough to donate. And her hair is very thick. So I’m pleased about that.

And yes it has been very cold here, and we had a little snow.

But enough with the domestic blah blah blahs. (Unless you want to tell me about your holidays, in which case please do!) Let’s talk about fun stuff!

First, I’m debating whether or not to keep the blog on a Monday/Thursday schedule, or if I should just blog when the mood strikes me. Thoughts? (And yes, I know, I haven’t exactly been regular of late, but I’m trying to get back into the swing of things.)

Second, ARCs for UNHOLY GHOSTS went out last month, and I’m already seeing some feedback online. I’ve got a couple of reviews, which sadly I can’t share yet but am very excited about, but here’s some Goodreads updates from one fabulous, charming, and delightful reviewer, if you’d like to take a look.

Third, got my Guest status approval from Dragon*Con for 2010 a week or so ago, so as of now I plan to be there with bells on. (Probably not literally, no. I’m not really a bell kind of a girl. But I’ll be there anyway!)

And I’m working. I have three open projects at the moment and am shuffling my way through them, which is fun. Also have had thoughts on a number of writing-related topics we’ll be covering here on the blog.

Which brings me to an apology. It’s an apology for something you guys didn’t know about, but an apology just the same. I’d intended to use the days before Xmas to convert the Strumpet series to PDF and expand it as a gift to all of you; unfortunately because of the family and everything else, I didn’t have the time. I barely had time to open the computer at all, in fact. So it didn’t get done. I do still really want to do it, and am still working on it in drips and drabs. So do look for it soonish, and if you’re one of those who has asked me about it or who got use out of it, and have any comments on it or anything you feel you’d like to see expanded or gone deeper into (heh heh), please let me know, either by commenting here or by emailing.

I’m also considering, once that’s done, uploading it onto Lulu so y’all can get print copies if you so desire. Does anyone have any experience with that? Because given how bad I am at that sort of thing, I have a feeling I’ll need help when the time comes.

And I guess that’s about it for the moment. I certainly hope you all had wonderful holidays, and that you’re all keeping warm!!

Yes, I’m late. I hate the weeks before the holidays; there’s suddenly millions of things to do and no time to do them. Anyway, I have the second guest post from author Simon Wood, and this one is even better than the first, I think. So enjoy!

I Want It Now, If Not Sooner

I suppose it’s because of the times we live in—we can get anything we want and fast. Technology has placed the world in our hands. It’s just as easy for me to communicate with my friends and family back in England as with my friends in this country. We can get everything in an instant—coffee, movies, music, mac ‘n’ cheese. This godsend has a tendency to make us impatient.

I’m guilty of this. If I see more than two cars lined up in the drive-thru or people standing in front of the ATM, then screw it, I’m going elsewhere. Time and Simon wait for no man.

I’ve seen this trait for instant gratification amongst writers. They want to see their book in print the moment the manuscript spills off the printer. But traditional publishing isn’t like that. It’s a big machine that moves slowly. A lot of planning and a lot of people are involved in the book making process. I had a book release party for Working Stiffs at the weekend and one of my guests asked me how quickly it took from start to finish.

“Nine months,” I said, injecting a healthy dollop of incredulity.

“That slow?” my guest remarked.

They read me all wrong. Nine months is bloody fast! I worked my butt off for six months writing it and the publisher busted his hump for three getting the cover done, copy editing and working with the printer, etc. And this was for a small press book not bogged down by big publishing machinery.

None of this takes into account the process of finding an agent and a publisher. Take my first book, Accidents Waiting To Happen. I started it in January ’99, began sending out the manuscript that September, collected a bucket load of rejections, didn’t land a contract until October ’01, and it wasn’t published until July ’02. That’s three and a half years. If I hadn’t sold a bunch of my stories in the meantime, I’m not sure I would have stuck with it. Three and a half years is a long time to wait.

I won’t say I felt hard done by waiting this long, but I felt I’d paid my commitment and patience dues. My story pales in comparison to some successful writers out there. I know one mystery writer who waited eight years to sell that first book. Another wrote ten novels before he sold one to a major publisher. I can’t imagine writing ten books and getting nowhere. I would have given up a long time before I sat down to write the tenth book.

Vanity presses and print-on-demand (POD) services make it possible to take a freshly printed manuscript and turn it into a book in a matter of days. So I can see the appeal to the writer. Why punish yourself with the waiting game when you can have your dream today?

I won’t condescend and say that just because I waited nearly four years to see my book in print, you should too. It’s a lame and insulting argument.

But I will say you’re doing yourself no favors going for instant gratification. Writing may be an art but it’s also a craft, and crafts have to be honed. A writer, like any craftsman, needs time to develop his skills. Traditional publishing is a big machine and not everything it produces is solid gold, but it contains a lot of talented people whether it be writers, agents, editors, etc. Whether you or I like it, it takes time to be heard. The cold hard fact of the matter is just because a writer writes doesn’t mean he or she deserves to be published. Your work may not be ready yet, your subject too controversial or worst of all, you may not be good enough. Writing is a leap of faith. A writer’s belief in their work and dedication to the craft can all be for naught. Every time I commit to writing a story or book, I have no idea whether it will be published. I have a small yet significant body of work behind me, but I hope and pray it will be good enough for publication when I send it off to the publishers.

Vanity presses can bring you publication today, but they can’t give you the distribution, advances, marketing, and editing that the developing writer is going to need to become an accomplished writer. Like I mentioned in my early posts, small press publishers have published my first three books and getting those books seen has been tough. With POD printing services, those hardships are magnified. Reviewers tend not to review self-published books and stores tend not to stock them. For a self-published book to be a success, the writer has to spend the majority of their time selling the book instead of developing their writing skills.

The hardest book to sell will be the first. It may take years, but it’s worth the battle. The difference it will make to your sales and ability to build a career is immense. If you want to see your book published in every store and given every chance for success, then you have to be in it in for the long haul. There are many ways of getting there, but going for instant gratification isn’t the answer.

Every writer (new and experienced) wants their work published, but publish well, not fast. It’ll make a world of difference.

Simon Wood is originally from England but now resides in California. He’s an ex-racecar driver, a licensed pilot and an occasional private investigator. He’s had over 150 stories and articles published. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines anthologies, such as Seattle Noir, Thriller 2 and Woman’s World. He’s a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. He’s the Anthony Award winning author of Working Stiffs, Accidents Waiting to Happen, Paying the Piper and We All Fall Down. As Simon Janus, he’s the author of The Scrubs and Road Rash. His next thriller, Terminated, will be out next June. Curious people can learn more at www.simonwood.net.

My Large cover images totally messed with the formatting of the site’s front page, so in hopes of fixing that, I’m just adding this little post here.

Today we have a special treat! I “met” Simon when we were both guests on that podcast show; he’s a cool guy and a really good writer, and he graciously agreed to let me have a couple of articles for the blog. This is the first. The second one will be up next Thursday.

The Road To Publication – And How Not To Get Mugged Along The Way

By Simon Wood

The road to publication is long and without road signs. There’s no one to hand you a map or rules to the road. So when every would-be author hits the road with his or her finished manuscript, they are vulnerable to predators. The scent given off by a new author is very powerful. The wolves and bandits will smell you coming a mile off. I think first time authors must smell like cut bait.

For most authors, finding a publisher is a Tolkienian adventure. My personal quest to find a publisher took two years and cost me hundreds of dollars. But in hindsight, a number of my run-ins with the wolves and bandits were of my own creation. To my credit, I dodged the perils that line the road to publication without serious injury, but they could have been avoided all together, if I’d been a little smarter.

Gone are the days when fiction authors could sub their novel directly to the New York publishing houses and be given a chance. Every author needs an agent to be their guide to publication. But, how does the naive author know what a reputable agent looks like? This is where I wasted a lot of time and money. I scoured the various Writers’ Digests of Literary Agents because that’s the right thing to do. Unfortunately, these digests are like yellow pages. They list the good, the bad and the ugly. I sent blanket queries and synopses to over a hundred agents without a clue of who I was introducing myself too. Not surprisingly, I introduced myself to some of the carpetbaggers along the way.

I had agents who said they loved my work and praised the great book I’d written when I’d only sent them a one-page query letter. One agent threatened to trash my name in the industry when I quizzed her on her standard operating practices, then she sent my manuscript back in pieces. Luckily, I never broke the golden rule of dealing with agents—DON’T PAY AN AGENT ANY MONEY UPFRONT. Regardless of their reasons, reputable agents don’t ask for money before they market your book. I know it’s tempting to accept an agent’s offer, but the newbie author has to know when to say no. So when an agent asks for $700 for printing and postages expenses or $200 to read a manuscript before they’ve done a thing, don’t haggle or negotiate, say no thanks and move on.

Although it seems to be a growing trend for reputable agents to charge expenses for postage, I’ve known authors to have paid less than a hundred dollars. But the agents bill after the fact, not before. If any agent says they are charging expenses, ask what they are for and get an estimate before you a sign contract.

So, if I was setting out on the road to publication again and was hunting for an agent, what would I do differently? First off, I wouldn’t bother with the market guides. An unsuspecting author doesn’t know what they are letting themselves in for. If you want to find an agent, start with their trade association. The Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc. (AAR) lists their members, a code of conduct that all their members must abide by and a great list of questions to any and all agents who offer representation. There are some great agents out there who aren’t AAR members, but finding them is hard, so the AAR is a good place to start. Another good resource is writers’ associations. If you are a mystery writer, consider joining the Mystery Writers of America. If you are a horror writer, consider joining the Horror Writers Association. They have a member’s directory where the authors list their agents. The first time author should write to these agents. The agents listed represent someone with a reputation in the same genre and someone who has made a legitimate book deal.

After doing things like this—the right things—the first time author still may not find an agent. I didn’t. This means you probably aren’t going to get a book contract with Harper Collins, Penguin or Time Warner, but it doesn’t mean all publishers are off limits. There are a number of small and medium sized publishers who will deal with unknown writers. You need to do their homework. Scour bookstores and jot down the names of publishers. Seek out their websites and check out their guidelines. If a publisher says they will take unagented submissions, then submit. You have nothing to lose…

…or do you?

There are bad publishers out there, just like there are bad agents. The same law about agents applies to publishers—DON’T PAY A PUBLISHER ANY MONEY UPFRONT. Publishers pay authors, not the other way around. Again, if you are asked for money, walk away. If you see an author mention their publisher and you’ve never heard of them, check them out. See if the publisher’s claims live up. If a publisher says their books are available on Amazon, use the search facility on Amazon. Punch in the publisher’s name and see how many of their titles pop up. If you don’t find any or it says to allow six weeks for delivery, there may be problems with distribution. And if so, your book might make it to print, but not much further. Authors shouldn’t be afraid to ask for changes to a publisher’s contract. If certain rights are asked for and you aren’t happy, negotiate them out. Again, the likes of the HWA and MWA do have typical sample contracts that authors without agents can use for reference.

The road to publication is fraught with danger. But it doesn’t mean the first time author has to be mugged and left for dead. First timers need to stop sticking pins in the pages of digests and hoping for the best. To put things into a plumbilogical terms, when hiring a plumber to fix a broken pipe most people don’t go for the first name they see. Usually, they ask for a referral and check that the plumber is licensed. The search for an agent and/or publisher should be the same. You need to know the industry and ask around, choosing from trusted sources.

Following my tips won’t guarantee you publishing success, but they should help prevent you from walking into some of the horrors that lurk on the road to publication.

Simon Wood is originally from England but now resides in California. He’s an ex-racecar driver, a licensed pilot and an occasional private investigator. He’s had over 150 stories and articles published. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines anthologies, such as Seattle Noir, Thriller 2 and Woman’s World. He’s a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. He’s the Anthony Award winning author of Working Stiffs, Accidents Waiting to Happen, Paying the Piper and We All Fall Down. As Simon Janus, he’s the author of The Scrubs and Road Rash. His next thriller, Terminated, will be out next June. Curious people can learn more at www.simonwood.net.

Sorry the image is small; for some reason WordPress refused to give me the “Large” option, so it was either this or full-size, which is like 960 x something and thus huge.

But…here is a never-before-seen excerpt!:

The Mortons looked like any nice, normal semi-suburban family, struggling to make it all the way to that big cookie-cutter house with thirty feet of grass in every direction around it, but that meant nothing. In fact, it meant Chess needed to be more careful, more on her guard, because the Mortons clearly wanted that nice suburban home. It was all over their smooth, round little faces.

People who wanted things were dangerous. People who wanted things would lie and cheat and steal to get them.

She of all people should know that.

So she stretched her lips into a fake smile and dug out her notebook. “When did you say the manifestations started?”

Mrs. Morton paused for a minute, placing one dainty pink-tipped finger to one dainty pink-slicked lip. “I believe it was about five weeks ago, wasn’t it, Bill dear? While you were at the convention.” Her gaze returned to Chess. “Bill’s an optometrist.”

“That’s great.”

What was she supposed to say? Bill could examine every eye in the District and she wouldn’t give a shit.

But Mrs. Morton was obviously very proud of the fact that her husband had looked at enough eyeballs to become an expert on them, and the last thing Chess wanted to do at this point was alienate the family.

“I was in the laundry room,” Mrs. Morton continued, “putting a load in the dryer, when I heard Albert here start yelling. It was odd, because Albert is such a brave, quiet boy. Just like his Daddy.”

If Mrs. Morton would stop verbally jacking off her husband and son, this would all be done so much more quickly, but then Chess guessed it was just about the only sex the woman got. Mr. Morton, silent and pale in his sweater-vest, looked like the kind of man who ate ribs with a knife and fork. Not exactly a wild beast in the bedroom, she guessed, but then what did she know?

“Did you actually see the specter, Mrs. Morton? Or was it just Albert?”

“Well, I didn’t see it that time, no. But he described it so well I felt like I did. Then later I did see it. In the bedroom. Just as I was drifting off to sleep.”

“And what did it look like?”

“It was just horrible. Like a…a ghoul, or something. It made the room so cold, it felt so…evil.”

She gave a delicate shudder. “Gray, and sort of wrinkly. Moldy, if you know what I mean. It wore just rags, might have been a dress once but I couldn’t tell. I don’t even know if it was a man or a woman, but it had been dead a long time. Did it escape from the City of Eternity? I thought they couldn’t escape from there, but then if they really couldn’t we wouldn’t be haunted, right?”

“Some spirits never made it to the city. We’re still cleaning up the old religions’ messes.”

Chess made another note on her pad. Intensely interested in placing blame on the Church. Cannot describe entity with any degree of detail. Then, below that, she added: Vodka. Laundry soap. Toothpaste.