Marketing Your Self-Published Books

In 2012, I self-published my latest novel, Unraveled, through Amazon Create Space. It was a relatively easy process, once I learned the intricacies of preparing the manuscript to upload in Microsoft Word.

As an aside, let me just say how much I hate Word. My family and friends know it's my favorite soapbox subject--how much I hate Word. I've used Word Perfect since the dawn of computer time and there is no comparison between the two. Word Perfect is so easy to use and so user friendly. For example, if I want a header on one page and not on another, it's two easy steps to make the change. If I don't want page numbers on some pages and I do on others; or if I want one style of page numbers on some pages, and a different style on others, simple, Simple, SIMPLE. Not so in Word. It's a complicated process that brings me to the edge every single time. I. Hate. Word.

But once I passed the manuscript-preparation hurdle (and I have to pass it with every manuscript I prepare), I was good to go. Katy Popa designed my cover (as well as the covers on my re-released novels) and did a beautiful job, and voila, my book was ready for print. Even with four proofreaders, one of whom was a teacher for 30 years, it took about four read-throughs to find all the typos. I think I corrected them all, but if you find one, please let me know!

So, what then? Marketing. Talk about throwing a damper on the party. Marketing is the hard taskmaster you'd like to murder in the night. But alas, he's indestructible and all you can do is bow to his authority.

I've helped several authors put their books on Create Space, and they always ask, "How do I market my book?" I want to say, "How the heck should I know?" But that would be so unprofessional. So I act like I know what I'm talking about when I advise them, and I'm going to try to do the same thing here.

Social media is a friend of any author, whether traditionally published or self published. And I advise my author friends to take advantage of it. Facebook especially. Plan a Big Launch for the release of your book and get all your FB friends in on it. Prepare a beautiful graphic for your release for your own use, and for the use of those you've been able to enlist to help you. On the release date, have everyone publish the post you've prepared and ask everyone who receives it to Share it. It's like a pebble making a splash, then creating a ripple effect. The idea is to get the ripple to grow into a tsunami. No, it's not easy, and mostly it won't happen, but the bigger you can make that ripple effect, the better for you.

Another thing I do is appeal to book clubs. I'm still working on the details as to how to make that work for me. But of all the publicity-type marketing things I do, participating in book clubs that have read one of my books is my all-time favorite. I love hearing complete strangers talk about what they did and didn't like about my book, and interacting with them. It's tremendous fun. The challenge is finding the clubs, but again, social media is a good place to begin.

When I have a new release, I have postcards printed that I send to everyone on my mailing list which I continue to grow every change I get. For example, when I speak, I have my audience fill out a slip of paper with their name and address that goes into a drawing for a free book. I make it clear that the ONLY thing I use their information for is to mail a postcard to them when I have a new release. One the front of the postcard is my book cover. On the back is a blurb about the book, where it's available, and a place to address the postcard. You can get postcards, bookmarks, etc. at a good price from Vista Print.



















I also do extensive marketing to libraries. I've done that with all my books, not just my self-published titles. I have a large file of libraries that I market to with close to 2,500 libraries on my list. I found them at Library Technology Guides, which list all the libraries by state, city and county. In preparing my list I first added library systems, state by state, which have more than one library in their group. For example, Los Angeles Public Library System has more than 70 libraries, and may purchase multiple copies of your book to put in their libraries. Next, I added to my list libraries in cities with a population of at least 40,000. And I barely scratched the surface with my 2,500 library list.

I prepared a nice one-sheet with my book covers, blurbs about them, where they're available, and added a link to my Amazon author page. At the top of the one sheet, I invited the Library Director to consider purchasing my books for their library patrons. In the early days, I mailed my one-sheet to the libraries on my list. Now, thank God, they can be sent electronically. I sell a lot of books to libraries, and though I don't make much money per book, I am finding new readers, and that's the whole point. I often hear from them, and that's a nice bonus. After I've marketed to the libraries on my list, I go back through the list a couple of months later to see who's purchased my books, and often find that my books are "Checked Out." I love it.

In balancing writing versus marketing, I usually set aside about 4 hours on Saturday afternoons to market to libraries. I start my playlist on Spotify and get to work. I don't do it every Saturday, but I work hard to get through my list, state by state, with every new release. It takes several months but to me it's worth it.

Finally, at least for purposes of this post, I try to set up radio interviews to promote my books. You can scan radio programs on blogtalkradio.com to find the programs that will fit with your book. Those are done from home, on the phone, and are fun to do.

So these are ways I work at marketing my books. What suggestions can you add to the list? The more we know, the better it is for all of us working hard to get our books out there.

Resisting Perfection

Katy began our discussion last week talking about the hazards of reading our old manuscripts. We all pretty much agree, even the most successful writers we can name, it's not necessarily a pleasant stroll down memory lane. Patti asked the question, "Can we see our own writing for what it is? I'm beginning to have my doubts." I'm right there with her. As I'm writing a novel I like to think it's pretty darn good, but golly. But by the time I'm finished with it I'm usually so saturated with the project that I can't begin to be objective. It seems completely flat to me. I often ask myself, "Who in their right mind is going to want to read this?" Or worse, publish it? That's when it helps to have a critique partner, someone to talk you down off the ledge, another writer who can objectively evaluate the writing, the plot, the character development, etc. Someone who will also give praise where praise is due, but is not afraid to point out the weaknesses as well. I am beyond blessed to have had Katy as that critique partner with my last three books, and now I have my other Novel Matters pals to lend their wisdom, knowledge and expertise to my writing.

So reading our previous work can cause us some anxiety, but in a way that's a good thing, because it helps us recognize growth. It lets us see where we've strengthened our writing and where we still fall short. Because, sorry to say, we'll never arrive.

One of my favorite books on writing is Elizabeth George's Write Away. I have so many tabs on the pages I can't see the edge of the book. The tabs are even color coded. Alas, I can't remember what the colors mean. No matter. This is a resource book I go back to time and time again, and one I highly recommend.

In Chapter 1, "Story is Character," she touches on our subject in regards to character development, citing a problem that new writers in particular tend to fall into. She says:

I try to keep some basic guidelines in mind when I'm creating my characters. First, I try to remember that real people have flaws. We're all works in progress ... and not one of us possesses physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological perfection. This should be true of our characters as well ... As individuals we're all riddled with issues of self-doubt in one area or another. This is the great commonality of mankind. So in literature, we want to see characters who make mistakes, who have lapses in judgment, who experience weakness from time to time.

If I had my first manuscript to look back on -- the one I discarded in a recent move -- I know I'd see just how badly I fell victim to that error early on. It wasn't quite the "silent movie" depiction of good characters and bad characters, where the heroine is all perfection and the villain is a cigar-smoking jerk who spends most of his time twirling his black handlebar mustache, but it was close. My protagonist was an angelic creature, bearing her many trials and tribulations with quiet dignity, while the antagonist was cruel and rigid in her opposition to the heroine.

To quote Megan: B-O-R-I-N-G.

Well, I tend not to do that with my characters now, which hopefully shows some growth in my writing. I actually had fun creating the character of Aria Winters in Unraveled, a young woman flawed in so many interesting ways. A character who was relatable. And it was the flaws that gave me the story. Elizabeth George confirms this when she says:

... characters are interesting in their conflict, their misery, their unhappiness, and their confusion. They are not, alas, interesting in their joy and security. The first gives them a pit out of which to climb during the course of a novel. The second robs them of story.

She gives an entertaining example of this from the writing of one of her students, who was creating a private investigator in the story she was writing:

[In the first 10 pages] ... we met the PI, his sister, their mother, and their stepfather. the PI was from a large Irish family. His sister worked for him. He and his sister got along well; they were practically best friends, and they loved each other to pieces. On the night in question ... the PI and his sister -- loving each other to pieces -- are going over to their mother's house for St. Patrick's Day dinner. They adore their mother and wouldn't miss a St. Patrick's Day dinner for all the corned beef and cabbage in County Clare. Plus, their mother is a superb cook, the best cook ever, in fact ... So they go over to their mom's house, and the first person they see is their stepfather. He's a wonderful man. They worship him. He made their childhood bliss.

At this point in the chapter, one was praying for someone to come along and put all of these characters out of the reader's misery. Why? Because there was no conflict. There was nothing but happiness, joy and familial bliss. Alas. There was no story

.
No kidding.

Ms. George goes on to talk about the importance of giving your characters flaws. And she's absolutely right. There's no dimension to a perfect character, nothing the reader can connect to. And nothing on which to hang a plot.

Have you ever found yourself writing flawless characters? Been hesitant to show your characters' imperfections? And conversely, not allowed your antagonists to have any good qualities? Have you seen growth in your writing when it comes to character development -- or any aspect of creating story? What helped you see the importance of letting your characters' humanity show through?
 

Dig Deep

It's June 3, and before we get to my post, how about a trivia game? There's a song from the 60s that makes reference to today's date. (It also happens to be my nephew's birthday, so happy birthday, Johnny!). If you can think of which song it is, well, you're probably not a Gen-Xer. But if you know the answer and are the first to post it, we'll send you a copy of our fun and whimsical Novel Tips on Rice recipe book. If someone does come up with the answer, I'd like to have further conversation about the song ...

I recently answered some interview questions for a blog I'll be a guest on in July, highlighting Unraveled. One of the questions was what my top three pieces of advice to writers would be. One of my points is for writers to dig deep to make their writing as authentic as they can, so that it might have the biggest impact possible for the reader.I know I've said it several times on this blog so forgive my redundance, but it's my opinion that the first job of fiction is to entertain. That said, I don't have the time or the desire to read what I term "fluff" fiction, or fiction that doesn't deliver something of substance. By fluff, I mean cotton candy, which has absolutely no substance. It's sickly sweet, dissolves with hardly any satisfaction, and typically upsets the stomach. If I'm going to give up precious hours of sleep time, because that's when I read for pleasure, and invest time in a novel, I want it to strike a chord in me, to cause me to reflect on something relative in my own life.

My next novel, The Color of Sorrow Isn't Blue, due out July 1, is the story of a woman's emotional response to losing a child. In writing this story I drew from my own experience in losing my son seven years ago, and believe me, the well of emotion continues to be deep and raw. But that doesn't mean I believe our novels should be thinly veiled autobiographies. I don't. At all. There's no rule against it, it's just my preference as a writer and a reader. (There are those who write memoirs in novel form, and that's a whole different subject.) To that end, this woman's story is not my story. She responds in a way completely different to how I responded. She doesn't lose her daughter in the same sense that I lost my son -- but loss is loss, gone is gone. And I drew on my experience and emotions like never before. Trust me when I say this was a painful story to write, and there were many days I didn't want to go anywhere near it. That was often hard to overcome. But was it worth it? I certainly hope so. One thing I can say unequivocally is that this is my best writing yet.

When it comes to your own emotional well, do you draw freely or would you rather stay as far away as you can from it? How does that decision affect your writing and the stories you tell?

Ever Come Unraveled?

I was speaking to a small women's group soon after Unraveled was released. As a way to lead to my introduction, the moderator of the meeting went around the tables and asked the women to say something that makes them come unraveled, which I thought was a clever and innovative way to begin. Mostly the women stated their pet peeves rather than describing something that really rattles them. So after my introduction, before I got on with what I'd prepared to say, I told a story that, a few years earlier, had caused me to come unraveled, in a big way. As a fun way to spend our Friday together, I'm sharing that with you today.

I have to say, the one unanswerable question in the universe is, "Where is a man when you need one?" The answer for me might be Jamaica, Cuba, Siberia ... anywhere but home. When this particular story occurred, my husband was in the Philippines. It was the mid-nineties and Rick and I were brand new empty-nesters. My husband, who is a builder, decided he wanted to live in the country, so he built us a beautiful home on five acres a few miles out of town. We lived there three agonizingly long years. I wrote "Back Side of the Moon" as my return address on all correspondence, because that's how it felt to me -- like I was living on the back side of the moon. It took 15 minutes at 60 mph one way to get a gallon of milk. It was definitely not my cup of tea. But Rick was in country heaven and decided to fulfill a longtime dream: he began growing a herd of Texas Longhorn cattle. Moo.

So we got a couple of Longhorn cows ... that we named after our granddaughters. Don't you know those were the safest cows in the county? They weren't ending up on anyone's dinner plate. Every morning and evening Rick would go out and feed them, and put a special blend of oats in their feeding trough. Then he'd bang the can and they'd come running from whatever corner of the pasture they were in to enjoy their treat.

Whenever he was away, it became my job to do this. But I wasn't quite so cozy with our cows. No, I'd wait till they were in the furthest part of the pasture, then I'd tiptoe to the feeding area, pour their oats into the trough as quietly as I could, and hightail it out of the pasture before they got a whiff and came running. Remember, they had horns. Long horns.

Well, as I said, my husband was in the Philippines for a few weeks doing some sort of ministry, and one morning the phone rang at 6:00, waking me from a dead sleep. A woman on the other end of the line said, "Your cows are in my yard," then she hung up. I laid there half-asleep, trying to make sense of the call. Your cows are in my yard ... your cows are in my ... Wait! What?! "MY COWS ARE IN YOUR YARD?!" I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, popped my contacts into my eyes, grabbed my keys, and hauled out of the driveway. Then I hit my brakes and thought, "Wait. Who called?

Whose yard are my cows in?!" I had no clue. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I drove around looking for two runaway cows, feeling like Little Bo Peep, because I. Can't. Find. Them! Anywhere. And the things I was saying out loud to Rick ... well, I won't repeat them here.

I looked everywhere I could think to look, but no luck. So I drove back home, wondering, What do I do now?! I no sooner got back in the house when the phone rang again. This time it was my neighbor who lived on the acreage to the south of us, and who was the self-appointed, unofficial Neighborhood Watch Captain, because she knew everything about everything that went on anywhere within range of her binoculars. And she said to me, "Sharon, are you looking for your cows?" I swear, I'm not making this up. I looked at the phone in my hand. Am I looking for my cows? Are you serious? How could you know this?! "Yes, I am. I'm looking for my cows." And she said, "They're in so-and-so's yard." So I drove down there, and sure as the world, there were Haleigh and Katelyn in so-and-so's yard.

So what do I do now? I am not a country girl. I don't even own a pair of boots. Nor am I the Pied Piper. And they are not going to fit in my Explorer. And then it hit me. One of the guys who worked for my husband was a cowboy! A real one. With a horse and everything. So I called him. "Choya!" (He was even named for a character in an old western his mom had liked.) "You have to help me." And he did. He drove twenty or so miles to get from his place to ours, rounded up the herd, and got them back in our pasture. Then he mended the fence and made sure things were good the rest of the time Rick was away. God. Bless. Him.

Well, that's the kind of thing that happens regularly when Rick is on a trip, and it's one of the things that unravels me.

We sold the place shortly after that.

What unravels you? Share and I'll put your name in a drawing for a copy of Unraveled.

Bull, er, ... riding

I forgot to mention when I first posted this, so I'm adding it now: Best-selling author James Scott Bell is teaching a Writers Digest webinar tomorrow, Thursday, February 7, titled "How to Make a Career Out of E-Books." The cost is $79. Jim is a great teacher, so if you're giving any thought to indie publishing, this will be a worthwile workshop.

Carpe Annum. I love our theme this year. It makes me feel empowered. Ooooh-rah! as my marine corps husband would say. Yes, he was discharged in 1972, but remember, once a marine, always a marine. I met him when he was home on boot leave, and he taught me that saying right from the beginning -- along with how to spit shine my boots. Ah, young love.

I actually got a jump-start on our theme and seized the year in 2012, when I took the publishing bull by the horns and released Unraveled. It was a small bull, with wee little horns, and he hasn't given me much of a ride -- yet -- but I'm happy to be in the saddle. Oh wait, they don't saddle bulls. But you get the idea.

I was tired of sitting on a manuscript I had complete faith in, because "CBA doesn't like missionary stories." That's what I was told. That in itself kind of threw me for a loop, but what bothered me most was that I do not consider Unraveled a missionary story, any more than I consider Secretariat a western. Yeah, there's a horse in Secretariat but that's where the similarities between it and a western end.

Similarly, Unraveled uses a short-term missions trip as a vehicle to carry the main issues, which are how we react to a personal crisis of faith, and confronting truth in our own lives when we'd rather just not. At least that's how I see the story. It's certainly what I meant to convey when I wrote it. But, alas, I was the only one who saw beyond the missionary element. And by the way, My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay is one of the finest CBA novels I've ever read, and it's most definitely a missionary story.

And so, since I had faith in me, I went for it. And I'm doing it again. I have just re-released Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday, which NavPress took out of print when they decided their fiction experiment wasn't working out for them. As I look on my bookshelves I see Mary DeMuth's Watching the Tree Limbs and Wishing on Dandelions, and Tosca Lee's remarkable Demon and Havah, all published by NavPress. Well, I for one am glad NavPress experimented, and I'll leave it at that.

So I'm here to present Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday in their stunning new covers, designed by our own Katy Popa's Cotton Bond Studio. Tada!!! They're available at Amazon, in both print and Kindle version for the first time. The Kindle books, along with Unraveled, are available at a special price for a limited time. I'd really appreciate you helping me get the word out. If you haven't read them, I hope you will. And if you have, I'd be grateful if you'd post a review on Amazon.

As I navigate myself through the world of indie publishing, I'm still on the fence about whether or not to pursue a traditional publisher for my future novels. One thing I know, I'm not going to spin my wheels any longer. I believe in my work, and if the comments I receive from readers is any indication, others do too. I'd like the little splash I'm making to turn into a tidal wave, and I'm doing all I can to get the ripple started. As I've mentioned before, if you're in a book club contact me for a special offer.

What about you? Have you considered self publishing? Why would you or would you not?

A New Year, A New Work

For 2013, we at Novel Matters are busy lining up interviews and guest posts with some amazing authors and industry professionals. We're starting off proud with Chris Fabry, whose gritty, suspenseful Western romance, Borders of the Heart, was released just last September. He'll visit us on January 28, so there's still time to read the book before his interview!

Carpe Annum! I love our theme for 2013. That's what the 6 of us plan to do, corporately and individually in the coming year, and I expect you do too. In my case I'm moving forward with indie publishing, and anticipate releasing my next novel on my birthday, July 1st. Happy birthday to me! I'm working hard at promoting Unraveled, and will soon re-release Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday, in both print and Kindle format. Yay!

As many of you can attest, there are a number of highlights in the life of an author: finishing a novel, signing that first contract, holding your published book in your hands, hearing from readers -- which really is one of the best things about being published. But another "best" for me is beginning a new manuscript. It's a thrill all its own, and holds so much promise. I can imagine Harper Lee sitting down to begin Mockingbird, creating one of the most enduring novels in literature, as told by one of the most endearing characters in literature, Scout Finch. I wonder how much Harper Lee knew about her story when she wrote that first paragraph. She could not possibly have imagined the lasting impact it would have on the world around her. She not only seized the year, she seized the ages. Wow. There's no end to the author studios our imaginations could take us to, envisioning ourselves looking over their shoulders as they penned, "Call me Ishmael." "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..."

As this new year begins, I've just begun work on a new manuscript. In December, I posted the prologue I wrote several months ago, but the prologue was as far as I'd gotten with the story. Yesterday I began Chapter 1. I'm so excited to be back at work. Since I began writing in the mid-80s I've had a novel in the works, without exception. Until 2012. I completed my last novel early in the year, and except for that prologue, I didn't write another word. I've said this before, I know, but usually by the time I'm 2/3 of the way through one manuscript, ideas for the next one are pounding at my door. I begin making a file for the new work as scenes present themselves and characters begin to take form. Dialogue is loud in my ears. I give myself a week or two after finishing one manuscript, then I'm right back at work on the next.

But there was much about 2012 that sapped my energy, both physically and mentally. (Do you sense how glad I am that 2012 is over?) I had ideas for two possible novels, but I couldn't make up my mind which way to go, and couldn't get traction on either one. I dabbled in plot and character development, going back and forth between the two, but nothing jelled. Then, in November, my daughter Mindy and I were making our every-7-week, hour-long trek to Folsom, where we get our hair done, when I brought up my dilemma. Mindy knew about my two possibilities, but as we talked about them, one of the ideas really began to click with me -- especially when Mindy threw out a terrific idea for a cover based on my working title. That settled it.

An odd way to decide on a novel to write? Perhaps. But simply put, it tipped the scales in favor of one topic over the other. And it gave me the enthusiasm that had been lacking. So for the past few weeks I've been expanding on plot ideas and character development, which is by far my favorite part of this early process. I love looking for the perfect names for my characters, and as I'm sure you've found, there are names that are exactly right for the people we create. I seldom hit on the right name, right off the bat. Instead, I try out a name, maybe even begin the writing with the wrong name, which will nag me until I find the right one. When I find the right first name, I search for the surname that fits. Then I go searching for the face to fit the name. Almost always, that's the point when a character comes to life for me.

But in the case of my current protagonist, her name came to me first, late one night when I was unable to sleep because of illness. It was as if she were suddenly there with me on the couch, introducing herself. A 12-year-old girl with an unusual name. And I said in a whisper, "What's your story?" And she began to tell me. Which was a bit unusual, because she doesn't speak.

Oh yes, there's nothing like beginning to write a new novel, to begin acquainting yourself with the characters who populate your fictional world; to discover the secrets they keep -- or try to; or to follow blindly along, not sure in the beginning what you'll uncover. It's as stimulating for me to uncover the plot of the books I write as it is the books I read. In both cases, there's always such great anticipation.

What about you? What's your favorite thing about starting a novel, as a reader and/or an author? And how do you plan to seize the year in 2013?

Going Indie

It was with much thought, prayer and a good dose of nerves that I decided to go independent in publishing my latest novel, Unraveled, which I released in August. My former agent had tried to find a home for it in CBA, with no success, so when I told her I wanted to publish it myself, she gave me her blessing. I made the decision because I believe in the story, and because I believe the quality of the writing is equal to my other published novels. But it was apparent that if it was to be published, it would be done independently. The reader comments I’ve received so far make me glad I was brave enough to give it a try.

There were a number of ways I could go once I made the decision, but I chose to go with Amazon CreateSpace because our own gifted Latayne had used CreateSpace for The Hinge of Your History: The Phases of Faith. She gave me pointers on how to get started, and once I began the process, Amazon made it very easy to navigate through. I’ve been very satisfied with CreateSpace, and would go that route again without hesitation.

Now I’m in the marketing phase, which is a daunting task. But I was pretty much on my own in promoting Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday, so this isn’t new territory. Fortunately, I’m a lot more knowledgeable than I was in ‘08 when those novels were published, and I have many more contacts. That said, I’m still only making a ripple with my efforts, when my goal is to make a splash. I’d really like to connect with book clubs, but I’m not sure how to find them. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I'm marketing extensively to libraries, as I did with my earlier novels, which is already proving effective.

As you know if you follow this blog on a regular basis, Patti is also in the midst of going independent, and I’m happily benefitting from her research. She recommended Make a Killing on Kindle Without Blogging, Facebook and Twitter: The Guerilla Marketer’s Guide to Selling Your Ebooks on Amazon by Michael Alvear. I like his writing style, like his dry wit and humor, but after reading the first four chapters my assessment was: Just shoot me now. There was no way that I, a relatively unknown author, who is not remotely guerilla-ish, was going to succeed at selling books, whether traditionally or independently published. No. Way. I might as well hang it up. But then I got to Chapter 5, and began feeling less suicidal. Rather than telling me all the reasons why I should fail, Michael began to show me how I could succeed. I’m creating my strategy and will soon put his recommendations to the test.

James Scott Bell’s Self-Publishing Attack! The 5 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws for Creating Steady Income Publishing Your Own Books has also been helpful. The suggestions that overlap in both books are the ones I’m concentrating on first.

Is going independent the optimum course for me? That remains to be seen. What is certain is that there’s never been a better time to try. No longer does self-publishing require an outlay of thousands of dollars, or mean boxes of books in your garage. With a minimum investment you can have a quality product to put on the market, but that’s the key word here: “quality” is vital. From cover to content, don’t cut corners. Period. The old maxim holds true: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.  With the enormous changes taking place in the publishing world, self-publishing is losing its stigma. Many A-list authors are going that route, particularly with ebooks, because for many, it makes the most sense.

What about you? Have you considered going independent? If so, why? If not, why? And again, if you have suggestions about reaching book clubs, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Dancing In the Desert

Would you believe me if I told you that when I wrote my first novel, "To Dance In the Desert," I didn't exactly know what I was writing about?

You might believe it if you didn’t like the book.

Or if you did like it, but you’ve written one yourself, you might understand completely.

Or if you pay attention to the mysterious ways of God. If so, you weren’t surprised at the words Ariel brought us from Neil Gaiman.  Perhaps, like me, it comforted you to remember how often you’d reached for the words, and found them there waiting.

Ariel asked what our droughts looked like. Mine has been, for several years, a drought of words, brought on, at least in part, by the economic dryness we’ve all experienced.  The other ladies on this blog have suffered worse than I have, and by their friendship and example, have kept me from despair.  They have been Jane to me, the ones who showed  me how to dance.

Lately, I’ve sensed a turning, a small, first pirouette (it starts inside, where it doesn’t yet surprise the neighbors). It feels like a strange kind of joy, like a last kiss to the world we’ve lost, and a desire to assert myself into the new one, to explore it  for possibilities.

The turn manifested first in a desire to make a few changes of my own. I woke one morning resolved that all the wallpaper had to go. We’re still painting.

And for the next step – a sashay left? – I got myself a real, get-up-and-go-to-work job, and one I think I’ll love. It’s at a local non-profit that will allow free reign for all my flower-girl impulses toward service and community.

Then, just to buck the obvious assumption that I will now spend even less time writing, I’ve already begun a new regimen of getting up at dark-thirty, and going to the keyboard.  I’m pleased to say it’s going well.

Ariel mentioned Gaiman’s commencement speech, and I looked it up, and loved every word. As happens on YouTube, one video led to another  (Neil Gaiman on the Greg Ferguson Show) to another (Neil Gaiman talking about copyright and the web) to another (Neil Gaiman’s advice to new writers). If my husband hadn’t asked for spaghetti, I’d be there still.

But in the commencement speech, Gaiman had something to say about this new, strange world that made me pirouette again:

The rules, the assumptions, the now-we’re-supposed-to’s of how you get your work seen, and what you do then, they’re breaking down. The gatekeepers are leaving their gates. You can be as creative as you need to be, to get your work seen. YouTube ande the web and whatever comes after YouTube and the web can give you more people watching than old television ever did. The old rules are crumbling, and nobody knows what the new rules are. So make up your own rules. 

Look at that.  It only takes a little turn for the end to look like the beginning.

I'm proud of these ladies - of Sharon and her new novel, "Unraveled;" of Latayne and her courage and persistence; of Bonnie, forging her new paths in fiction; of Patti, diving into the creative process in brave new ways; of Debbie for proving that great stories can be written in small bits of time -  and of you - for striking out like Abraham for a promised land you haven't seen.

Have you made a pirouette lately? Do tell. We’d love to read what you have to say.

I’d better go make that spaghetti.

Interview with Aria - The Protagonist of Unraveled by Sharon K. Souza

You’ll be glad you stopped by Novel Matters today. Our special guest is Aria Winters, the protagonist of Sharon Souza’s new release, Unraveled. Also, you can win a Kindle or hard copy of the book by leaving a comment. We'll contact the winner tomorrow (9/6) after 5 PT.

Aria is fresh out of Bible college, desperate to put some miles between her and her family, so she accepts a missions assignment to Moldova. When a student under Aria’s care goes missing in the human trafficking underworld, her faith threatens to shatter. Now, with the help of the very people she wanted to flee, Aria must rebuild her faith and rediscover her mission.

P - Aria, I've been looking forward to this chance get to know you better since I first read Unraveled. Your story mesmerized me. I appreciate the honesty you bring to the story, but before we talk about your adventure, I'd like to find out more about the Aria from before the first page. Ready? What is your biggest fear and who have you told about that fear? Who would you never tell and why? Sorry, I guess that's more than one question.

A - Well, Patti, you don't waste any time. This is going to be as painful as I feared. Ha, there's that word, fear. I'm going to pretend that none of this is for public consumption, and that this is nothing more than a journal entry -- a journal I plan to burn before the day is out. My biggest fear is that my family will learn the truth about the Aria Winters they believe can do no wrong. Because I did a terrible wrong, and I've spent the last eight 8 years making excuses for why it wasn't really my fault. And who have I told? NO. ONE. Who would I ever tell? Absolutely NO.ONE. Not even Kari Zalasky, who's been my best friend forever.

P - Maybe I did jump out of the starting gate a bit prematurely. I’m new at this interviewing thing, but you did a great job answering the question. Let's go back to your childhood. At the beginning of Unraveled, you're eager to stretch the boundaries of your life. That's understandable for a 24-year-old. Tell us something about where and how you grew up.

A - People laugh when I tell them I grew up/live on a compound -- and, okay, I realize I convey a distorted image, because where I live is truly beautiful -- but let them try living in a square fishbowl. I love my family. I really do. But I've been under the watchful eye of my parents and grandparents all my life, and I'm expected to remain under their watchful eye FOREVER.  We're like granny squares, connected, at the compound, and one of those squares is mine. How do you and your brand new husband, for example, skinny dip outside your grandparents' bedroom window? Not that I have a brand new husband, or expect to any time soon, but still ...

P - I remember having the same feelings at your age, and I didn't live on a compound. Still, I could hardly wait to get out on my own. Strangely enough, you went from one "compound" to another rather crowded living situation in Moldova (I had to look it up on a map!).  And you're so young. Tell me how you were prepared for living and working overseas. What do you wish you had known before you left?

A - How prepared was I? Well, let's just say I had plenty of mousse, but no work boots or gloves; not even an appropriate outfit to wear as "Teacher." And as for what I wish I'd known ... I wish I'd known how catastrophic my presence in Moldova would prove to be.  

P - Since we don’t want to give away too much of your story, let’s sidestep in another direction, just so we can get to know you better. People have preconceived notions about California girls. In what ways do you live up to those notions and how do you diverge from them?

A - Well, I love being a girl from California, but I don't want to be perceived as a "California girl." I don't fit that mold at all. For one thing, I'm not blonde. Ha. I've never been on a surfboard, and Hollywood isn't my Mecca. Okay, I did hope Ryan Gosling was in the top 10 in People's "50 Most Beautiful" countdown magazine that I took to Moldova ... and left in Moldova. That was a bummer. I do come from a privileged family, but only because my dad and grandfather worked hard. And I could have been from any of the 50 states and made that claim. It just happens that I come from California -- the best of the best when it comes to places to live. I do wear flip flops all year, and I've been known to wear shorts up till Thanksgiving, but then I get serious about winter. Which we do have in California. Well, in northern California anyway. I don't think there's winter in San Diego. Have you ever been there?

P - It just so happens I grew up an hour north of San Diego in San Clemente. I live in Colorado now, but that doesn't stop me from living by my new motto: I'm a beach bunny. I'm funny. I'm trusting Jesus with my future. What's your motto?

A - San Clemente, huh? And blonde? Who's the real California girl here? Well, Patti, I like your motto. Celie -- that's my mom -- would love it. The Shunk-Winters' family motto is: "We're Nuts!"  And let's just say this nut didn't fall far from the tree.

P - Very appropriate! But you'll have to explain your answer to our readership, or they'll think the compound is code for asylum.

A - The compound is 120 acres of prime farmland in northern California where my family and I live. We grow nuts! Walnuts, almonds and pistachios. In the center of that 120 acres are four 1-acre parcels. My Mam and Opa live in their house on one of the acres, my parents, sister and I live in another, my sister and her fiancé are building on the third parcel ... and the 4th belongs to me, where I supposedly will live with my husband someday. But I wouldn't mind letting the stitch slip on one of the granny squares and let my parcel unravel from the clan. I love my family. I do. But I need some space. Lots of space.

P - Thanks for clarifying, Aria. I heard recently that the people we know the best, the ones we are most intimate with, can be the most irritating. Parents and grandparents would certainly fit that category. Oh, the stories I could tell!

Let's move on to a topic central to your story. Many readers will relate to your spiritual angst in Unraveled. In this quote you're experiencing a tender time of fellowship with God: "The journey I'm on is like riding a carousel. Up one minute, down the next. Inflated with faith, then, whoosh, all the air is gone. I'm a leaky vessel, but can't see where to patch up the holes. So I fill and fill and fill, hoping one of these days it'll hold."

What would you say to someone who told you this?

A - I guess I'd have to tell them what Opa would tell me. "Baby girl," he'd say, -- of course, I'd leave off the 'baby girl' part -- "you may not be filling with the right kind of wind. The Wind of the Spirit is what you need. It tends to hold when nothing else will."  Then he'd wink.  I doubt I'd say it with the same conviction Opa has, but the words are right, that much I know. 

P - Opa is very wise, and it seems he’s passed that wisdom on to you.

We're all about reading and writing here at Novel Matters, so our readers would be interested to know what you're reading these days. What was your favorite read-aloud book as a child?

A - I loved the Eloise stories by Kay Thompson, loved her sass. And imagine -- living at The Plaza. As for what I'm reading now, One Hundred Years of Solitude, because of the great endorsement from your latest Author Interviewee, Athol Dickson. When he said it was the best novel ever written, I had to see for myself. I'm not far enough into the story to agree with him, but I will say I'm glad he recommended it.

P - I'm glad you caught that interview with Athol Dickson. Have you considered writing more about your experiences? I find your voice so compelling and honest.

A - Thank you for that comment. If there's one thing I learned from spending time with Andy in Moldova, it's to be honest. Or at least real. Your pretenses don't stand a chance with that guy.  And who knows, maybe there's more to my story -- or will be.

P - Ah, Andy, I was wondering if you would bring him up. Any updates on your relationship?

A - Hamilton Andrews -- Andy -- is about the most exasperating guy I've ever known, but when you talk about honest, they don't come any more honest than Andy. I admit there's a fascination there, but it's tempered with a whole lot of angst. Part of the fascination is that he plays the guitar almost as divinely as Opa -- and I'm a sucker for guitar. Say I were interested in Andy, it's highly unlikely he'd be interested in me. Johnnie -- she's my sister -- tells me I'm nuts not to see a two-way attraction there. But remember, everyone in the Shunk-Winters clan is nuts.

P - I wouldn’t sell yourself short, Aria. You have much to offer someone like Andy.

And with that, let me thank you for chatting with me today. Your story stirred me with its beauty and integrity. I’m more hopeful knowing there are young women like you charging into the darkness.

Where in the World . . .?

I'm very excited about the release of my new novel, Unraveled.

When my interview was posted a few days ago, Megan Sayer asked what made me select Moldova for the setting. Some decisions I make when I begin a novel are purely arbitrary. The choice of Moldova was not.

~

As I worked on the story line for Unraveled over a period of several months I knew, of course, it would deal with human trafficking. What I didn't know was where one character's abduction would occur. I didn't want to place that part of the story anywhere in Asia, because to me that seemed too obvious a choice. So then, where?

~

As a Christian I rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit in so many areas of my life, including my writing. I prayed for an answer to my question, "Where in the world should I set it?" because I felt the location would be an integral part of the story. I didn't receive a clear answer to my prayers until the very week I planned to start writing the novel. I shared my dilemma with my husband, Rick, who, as many of you know, travels all over the world physically and strategically building the kingdom of God. He printed out a newsletter he had just received from a missionary he knows in Moldova -- a country I'd never even heard of. Rick had never been to Moldova, but he had met the Moldovan missionary, Andy Raatz, in Armenia the year before.

~

Andy's newsletter that arrived in Rick's inbox that week just happened to deal with the very issue I planned to address in my novel. Just happened. Mhm. He wrote about what a major problem it is in that part of the world, and what he and his wife Nancy hoped to accomplish in ministry there, and I knew I had my answer.

~

I contacted Andy and Nancy and told them what I was going to write about and asked for their help. They were an invaluable resource throughout the writing of the novel, sending me photographs of the local community and answers to all the questions I had. They even took time to read the manuscript when I finished it.

~

But more than location came out of that answered prayer. Several elements of the story came because of that particular location, elements I hadn't planned, but that rose organically from the setting to add much to the story. That type of inspiration has occurred more than once in my writing life. As I prepare to begin another novel, I can't help wonder what kind of "surprises" are in store for me.

~

What about you? How has inspiration affected your work?

Unraveled

I've waited a long time to make this announcement: My latest novel, Unraveled, will be available by the end of the month. Finally. If you follow our blog, you know Patti and I are making the Indie plunge, publishing outside the traditional method. I've chosen to go with Amazon CreateSpace, and have been happy with the process so far. They've made it very easy to step through the process, but the end result will stand or fall on my own efforts. Have I created a quality manuscript, and will I do a more-than-adequate job of marketing it? I hope so on both counts.
~
As for the quality of the workmanship, I trust the women I co-write this blog with -- all exceptional authors in their own right -- and the ones who've read it gave me the confidence to move forward on my own. Katy designed a fabulous cover that has great significance to the story. It's beyond what I hoped for. This is the back cover copy:
~

Aria Winters wants off the nut farm. Literally. She wants to get as far away as she can from the Shunk-Winters family-run nut-farming business. So she takes her Bible school degree and heads to Moldova to teach English at a missionary school. Aria falls in love with all the children, but especially shy and beautiful Anya. When the unthinkable happens, Aria begins to question what were once the absolutes in her life. She returns to the family compound, where she tries to hide from life, and most especially from God. But just as the Moldovan sunflowers can't help follow the face of the sun, so Aria must face the true Son. Can she live with what His light exposes?

~
Am I nervous about going this route? Absolutely. But I'm also excited. It's been too long since my last novel was released. And when it became apparent that my writing fell within the great big chasm between CBA and ABA, I knew this was the course for me. And I'm counting on that great big chasm to be just that -- a great big void that I can help fill. I've said it before, and perhaps I shouldn't be quite so candid, but CBA has become a very small world unto itself, and the type of stories I write can't seem to find a home there any longer. I don't feel I'm a good fit for ABA either. But I'm not ready to hang up my spurs, creatively speaking, and so this seemed the best option.
~
The only way for this to work is to make the ripple effect as productive as possible. So I'm asking those of you who read Unraveled and like it, to tell your family and friends about it, and ask them to tell their family and friends about, and so on and so on. I'm asking you to Tweet about it and get the message out on Facebook. If you have a blog or some other way of promoting Unraveled, I hope you'll help get the word out. I'd be happy to do an interview for you. Above all, I want your feedback. You can email me through my website: www.sharonksouza.com, or through my Facebook page: Sharon K. Souza, Author.
~
So, look for Unraveled on Amazon, in print form and Kindle version, by the end of July. And please let me hear from you. It matters very much what you have to say.

Grand Openings

There are as many ways to begin a story as there are stories to begin. But they are tricky things. Where to begin? Where best to focus the reader's attention? What needs to be accomplished? Today's Novel Matters Roundtable is about opening paragraphs. What do we each look for in an opening, and we will each share the openings from our books.
The bonus of this roundtable is that we are holding a mini-contest! In the comments section, post the opening paragraph from ONE of your novels. All six of us will read the comments and offer our thoughts as we are able. One winner will be chosen to receive a Teeth and Bones edit of their first chapter. The winner will be drawn randomly from the comments section. Please ensure you post ONLY the opening PARAGRAPH of your novel.

For me, there are three things I look for in a beginning (things that capture my attention), 1) Story world--you could call this setting. But it's the way the writer was able to plant my feet

inside the place and time where the story takes place. 2) Narrator--Who is telling this story and why does it need to be told now? and 3) Movement and/or promise of plot--I like to see a little something up front that tells me this story is going somewhere, it has movement. I don't read much genre fiction, so I don't need my plot served hot in the first lines, but I do like some inkling of plot near the beginning.

Here are openings from two of my works:

1) Talking to the Dead:

Kevin was dead and the people in my house wouldn't go home. They mingled after the funeral, eating sandwiches, drinking tea, and spoke in muffled tones. I didn't feel grateful for their presence. I felt exactly nothing.

2) A Girl Named Fish (the novel I completed a week ago):

The population of Picture Island, Maine is arranged in a horseshoe configuration around the open grave, one in back of the other four or five deep. It’s raining hard and they’re frozen to the bone under the black awning of umbrellas. Why does it always rain at funerals? It’s spring but the rain is as cold as if the clouds had scooped the freezing ocean waters and dumped it down their backs. The wind howls up the cliffs to where they are gathered—a cemetery on a high cliff overlooking the sea. The rain slants so it drives sideways into their faces. People try to look reverently miserable, as if it’s mortality they’re contemplating and not their warm houses and maybe some buttered toast with tea and the weekly paper by the fireplace.

If you find it striking that both these novels open with a funeral, well, so do I. My approach is to create miniatu

res inside the scenes and paragraphs of the novel, so that each piece tells part of the whole, and also tells a mini-story of it's own that explores a theme found in other places in the novel.

Let's hear from the others:

What I look for in an opening paragraph is A) Voice -- which tells me right off the bat how I'm going to feel about the character. I want to feel an affinity with either the words or thoughts of the speaker; B) Promise -- what the story holds in store for me. I'll invest several hours in reading the book, so I want to know it will be worth my while; and C) Tone -- is this a serious read or will there be some humor weaved in. I love a touch of humor, even in a serious novel.

Here is the opening from my novel, Unraveled, which I hope will be released in November:

I lost my faith at twenty-four. Well, that isn't true. I didn't lose it, I left it. On a mission field in Moldova, amidst the sunflowers. Just took it off like a vesture discarded. Not outgrown. Discarded. It left me feeling exposed, I'll admit, but I figure if God isn't capable of protecting the weakest among us, well I'd just reather work for someone else. Oh sure, he makes it plain as day that pure and undefiled religion is caring for the widows and orphans, as if it's my job and not his. and that was the thing, he let us down in the worst way. So, I tipped my hat and shook the dust off my feet.

And this is from my most recently completed novel, The Color of Sorrow Isn't Blue:

Grief, it is said, is a sea that ebbs and flows. Comes in waves that roll over the shore, then recedes in a dizzying, lose-your-footing-in-the-sand sensation, leaving you unsettled but standing. Well. Whoever said that never felt the tsunami effect, the drowing, sucking, tidal wave of grief. I know, because I haven't come up for air in five days short

of a year. A suffocating, black hole of a year, each day collapsing in on itself like sand too long unwatered.

As per my usual, I'm going to cheat. Stylistically, I usually start my novels with a one-sentence paragraph, a grabber. L

ike the others, I'm looking to establish voice and a tone. Here's my first paragraph+ for Like a Watered Garden:

I received a box of flowers from my dead husband.

That's a stretch. They weren't flowers at all but a dozen montbretia bulbs. They looked like

hazelnuts with ponytails. Blooms wouldn't show up until July, I figured, if they showed up at all. The UPS man had hidden the box under the welcome mat. His clumsy attempt at security amused me until I remembered I hadn’t ordered anything from a seed catalog last fall. Far from it. Within a heartbeat, I knew the flowers—because that was what he had intended them to be—were from Scott.

Here's an example of a very different voice from my novel, Seeing Things:

You’re talking to the queen of skepticism right here.

I roll my eyes over newspaper stories where teary-eyed folks report they’ve seen Jesus in a potato chip. That sort of hogwash sends me straight to the comics for a dose of reality. You don’t have to worry about me. I know Alley Oop doesn’t slide through time, but the inhabitants of Moo remind me of my friends in Ouray with their common sense and heave-ho attitudes, something sorely missing among the potato chip crowd. Honestly, someone isn’t rowing

with both oars in the water.

I look for deliciousness - a hard to define quality of voice or mood that tells me I'm going to lovespending time inthe three hundred pages or so to come. Here's my two:

The woman stood atop the cinnamon bluff, her arms stretched to the horizons, her face dry as sandstone, her silver hair blowing like the grass at her feet. "She thinks she's Moses," muttered Data, peering through a gap between drawn blinds.- From To Dance In the Desert

They're just decorations, these candles. You don't need anything to pray. Truly, it is best to come with nothing-only yourself. Just one of the things I've learned.
- From The Feast of Saint Bertie

When I open to the first chapter of a book, I hope to find something fresh - some indication that the story is different than others I've read. I also look for the tone in the first paragraph and for some indication of the plot. But, truthfully, what strikes me as promising can change with how I'm feeling when I pick up a book, whether I'm in the mood for a light, entertaining read or a more engrossing story.

Here is the first paragraph from Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon:
"We weren't strangers to this courtroom. The first time we came, it was to petition to have Ginger's hospital birth records opened. When you lose a child to a genetic disease that doesn't haunt your family, you want to know why."

Here is the first paragraph of an untitled WIP I'm toying around with right now:
"Grover is an ink blot on a Google map - a Rorschach's splatter of asphalt and advertising tucked into a fold of brown hills. At least, from May through September, between the rains. Otherwise, the hills are fuzzy and green as moldy bread."

Maybe because I love mysteries, I want an opening paragraph to create a big question mark in my mind, one that forces me to keep reading.

I've attempted to do that in the following opening to my first attempt at a type of Biblical speculative fiction:
Last night I dreamed the dream again, and for the only time I dreamed it, of all the times I dreamed it, it brought me the least fear last night.

Now it's your turn: All comments are allowed, of course. If you want to enter the Teeth and Bones contest for a chance to have your first chapter read and commented on by one of us, then enter your opening paragraph in the comments section. Otherwise: What kinds of things capture your attention in an opening? Have you flipped open a novel, read the first bit and felt, ahhh THIS is what I'm looking for! Tell us!