From One Indie Author to Another: The Ten Commandments for Indie Publishing

by Selena Blake

copyright 2011, all rights reserved

So you're ready to go indie. Or are you? Do you have your plan of attack? Have you done your research? Have you asked lots of questions? Sought guidance for your upcoming adventure?

From one indie author to another, here's my list of Ten Commandments for Indie Publishing. I’m by no means an expert so take them with a grain of salt.

1. Be Professional

To me, it means looking at your writing like a business. Making sound business decisions. That may mean hiring a professional cover artist and editor. Spending money (when you really need to!) to make money, as LJ Sellers did. Act professionally and treat your work and your writing time as a professional would.

2. Publish Clean Copy

It’s not enough to write the book. You need to polish it. Luckily, most of my current releases had been previously published which means that I polished them a lot before I sent them to my editor where they went through three more rounds of editing. I got to keep those edited copies. As Joe Konrath says, have your betas and fellow authors proof your work. I’m lucky enough to have two editors as friends.

3. Use Professional Cover Art

The saying goes: never judge a book by its cover. But we all do it anyway. Why would you want to submit a small, fuzzy, hard to read cover to sell your book? You wouldn’t roll in the mud before going into a job interview would you? Decide what you can spend. Ask your fellow indie authors who they use. View plenty of cover art. Contact cover artists with an idea of what you need.

4. Promote

I’ve done plenty of it. I’ve joined message boards, yahoo groups, Goodreads, Shelfari. I have a website and a blog and a newsletter. I offer free reads. I’ve joined sites within my niche where I’ve met readers, shared book recommendations and purchased advertising. I also write guest blog posts like this one. And I've done blog tours. I have profiles on all the major social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari, Myspace, Bebo, Linkdin) and of course, Amazon. The key is interacting, I think. Subtle promo, not drive by promo. Consistent presence.

5. Advertise

I’m a big fan of having someone else do my promotion for me while I’m sleeping. So I’ve had advertisements on half a dozen sites over the years and I’m looking to increase this in the future. Look for sales. Double check the numbers. Don't be afraid to try something once. Again, ask for recommendations from friends and Indie authors.

6. Distribution

I’ve always felt that distribution is important. When I look at the most successful companies, the ones who pay attention to getting their products into the hands of their customers as easily, efficiently, and cost affectively as possible are generally at the top of the list. With so many options available to us now, making your books available on as many platforms as you can makes sense to me.

7. Be willing to change

Along with the brand new cover art that graces all my current books, I changed the descriptions on many of them as well. I’ve even changed the blurbs more than once. The great thing about digital publishing, in my opinion, is the ability to craft a description that gets more attention. It’s being able to go back and adjust your key words, change your title or cover if you feel you can do better. Adjust your price points. Or even, updating your book.

8. Grow your readership

That sounds trite, doesn’t it? But what I mean, and what I’m trying to do, is meet new readers. Introduce myself to them. Become friends with them. Discover what THEY want to read. Publishers often think they know what readers want and authors often feel like readers should want something out of the ordinary. Independent publishing gives you the flexibility to try something new. To give readers what they say they want.

9. Have a plan

Just like businesses have a business plan and many professionals have a career plan, I recommend having a career plan and a marketing plan. Both of these will help keep you focused and they’ll provide guidance along the way. But don’t carve these into stone. Be flexible. I had a career path and marketing plan developed way back when I sold to my first publisher. Now I’m readjusting that to include self publishing. And perhaps even a POD anthology of my Stormy Weather series.

10. Write Another Great Book

The key here I believe is to always be learning, always improving your craft. As Joe Konrath has mentioned, there are plenty of popular authors who weren’t the best writers in the beginning. But time and knowledge will allow you to write a better book. And when you write a better book, that should help you sell better.

There's a reason "write another great book" is the last on the list. It's the final thought in the process. Keep writing. Keep perfecting your craft. Keep developing your voice. Keep writing.

Good luck!

Selena Blake writes erotic paranormal and contemporary romance. First published in 2008, her series Stormy Weather has been on the best seller lists and nominated for awards.  She's a fan of action movies, Diet Coke, Milky Way bars and thunderstorms, not necessarily in that order. Learn more about her online at http://www.selena-blake.com or catch her at facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorSelenaBlake

Reviews or peyews?

I have found a site where an author and reviewer go at it through the comments pretty strongly. It makes me wonder how often we get reviews that we think are really stinky and unfair.

I also have to ask how many do we get that are peyews but are truly justified, even if we cannot face up to the bald truth?

Reviewers take a lot of time to read your work, and although they are only one person's opinion, reviews are an important part of being a writer. It is not really a professional bit of behavior to diss them about their point of view (when posted) when you get that not-so-positive one.

A few things to remember about book reviews are :
1. They are a reader's perspective of the story, and not always parallel to our love of the book/story.
2. They are oftentimes posted in public places and can lift or lower your rankings based on whether it is good or bad.
3. They are also something that you will end up doing for someone if you are a writer.

Have to say that the weather has finally turned out nice here and I give IT a five star review! Hope your week flies by!

The Publishing World—The Big Bang

copyright 2011 Marci Baun, all rights reserved.

The publishing world has exploded. The world of books as we know it is going to end. Publishing Armageddon is coming. Run for the hills! (g)

Okay, not really, but if you listen to some of the talk out there and read some of the articles, you’d think we were just a second away from being overrun by a tsunami. To some degree, we are. A tsunami of change, which is not a bad thing at all. The publishing industry has been bloated and dysfunctional for a long time. The business practices of both the bookstores and the big 6 publishers has seen to that. It needs some shaking up, perhaps even a big bang, to get it back on track.

Change is good; change is healthy; change will keep the industry moving forward, even if we have to go kicking and screaming into our future. (Remind me I said this when I’m having one of my fits. ;) ) The future is kind of scary. Not just for us publishers, but for the authors and readers as well.

Why us publishers? Well, the “new” rage is self-publishing via Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s PubIt, and Apple’s iBookstore or through POD technology (print on demand). A number of unpublished (and previously published) authors listen to J.A. Konrath or look at Amanda Hocking as an example and are saying they don’t need publishers. What they don’t realize is that Konrath already has a fan base, and Hocking knows how to work the social networking system. (However, she has signed a four-book, $2 million deal with one of the big 6.) Not everyone is going to have the same results as these two. Matter of fact, the vast majority won’t. And what frequently happens is when the book doesn’t do as well as the author had hoped, they bring the already published work to a publisher. Most publishers will not sign a book that has been published (whether it was for free on a website, or available at Amazon, Apple or Barnes & Noble or anywhere else one the web). It’s just not sound business practices…unless that author has an established track record or the story looks promising enough to invest in.

Personally, I think self-publishing will either become more sophisticated or will turn out to be the latest fad. Only time will tell.

One of the biggest draws of independent publishers in the past has been the ability to take a chance on a new author/genre as well as our short turnaround time from signing a contract to releasing a book (anywhere from one to three months). While we can still take chances on genres and new authors, the more established houses are finding their editing queues to make this nearly impossible. For instance, Wild Child/Freya’s Bower is, at this moment, a year from contract signing to release. We used to be able to go from contract signing to release in three months. This presents a problem for those of us who like to “pack light.” Our flexibility has been decreased quite a bit, and many of us are forced to close our submissions to new authors for months (and some permanently) at a time. When we are open, our guidelines are tighter and require more. Authors want to know that we are serious about our business. The same is true for publishers. We want to know the authors are serious about theirs. 

For authors who truly want to see their books go somewhere but don’t have the know how to do it alone, this is also a scary time period. Many are still hooked on print. They don’t understand eBooks, and many have disdain for that format entirely. That attitude of disdain can only hurt them. eBooks are here to stay. Every year, this portion of the industry grows by astronomical percentages (last year was easily over 240%).  Marketing eBooks is challenging, but so is marketing print. Authors are being asked to do a lot more now than they ever have before. You can’t be a hermit and still be a successful author. Not any more. Not even the blockbuster authors can do it. And, for many authors, who grew up with the idea that being a recluse is part of the author life, that’s scary.

So, what do they do now? They must educate themselves about the new publishing industry and social networking, treat publishing as a business (because that’s what it is), and really get a tough skin. This business can be brutal. As long as you don’t take anything personal and know it is business, you can survive, and even thrive.

Now, readers are also being forced to change.  The closing of Border stores across the States has made it so many areas no longer have local bookstores. These chain stores put a lot of mom-and-pops out of business. Now there is a huge hole in the marketplace. Where do they go? Where can they go? This is forcing readers to buy differently. Either they buy online or go to what my sister-in-law said was “having to cave and buy a Kindle, even though I love the feel of holding a book in my hands.”  She is mourning the loss of her local bookstore. (I don’t blame her. Yes, I publish eBooks, but I still enjoy holding a book sometimes. Some of my fondest memories are of combing the shelves for the latest novel from a favorite author. Alas, I don’t have that kind of time anymore, but when we do visit a bookstore, it can still take hours before you’ll drag me out of there. I must say, though, that the last time I visited one, I was highly disappointed with the selection. I’ve become spoiled from indie press. And you don’t see much indie press in bookstores. (grin)

The prices of the indie presses’ books lure readers to our eBooks, but there are still those who turn up there noses at us. Take my brother and nephews, for instance. They are avid readers. (Yay!) But, other than the Christmas I gave one of them a copy of a book we had published, they have never read any of our books. This is not meant to be a bad reflection upon them. This is just an example of the average person. There is definitely a biased about indie press books (and self-published books). It’s slowly changing. It’s one of the things we, as independent publishers and/or authors with independent houses or self-published, must take into consideration and work into our business/marketing plan. It still makes my blood boil a little, but it’s the reality, so I can either work around this and find the readers who want to read our material, or get angry and bang my head against the proverbial wall. Since anger is not productive, I’ll claw my way over that wall if I have to. (g)

This has also changed the landscape for organizations. I am the vice president of Electronic Publishing Internet Coalition^TM (http://epicorg.org). This organization was established in 1998 because RWA treated eBook authors as the redheaded stepchild (this has changed some and RWA isn’t the only writing organization to do this) and provide support for these authors. The new environment requires EPIC to redefine itself and think about what more it can bring to the table. It’s a wealth of information to its members, but it wants to be, and must be, more.

There is definitely an upside to this situation: there have never been so many opportunities in the publishing world as there are now. Truly, the opportunities are endless, but, and this is a big “but,” those entering this business, whether it’s in the capacity of a publisher, self-published author, or author, must be prepared for the long haul, have a marketing plan in place, have realistic goals, determination, and a thick skin, and do their homework. Oh, yes, and have talent. (A bit of luck never hurts either.)

With all of these in place, you’ll be prepared to ride out the big bang that is creating this new publishing universe. The ride will be exhilarating and scary with the potential of great things, but it will never be dull and will never guarantee you anything but a wild ride.

***

Marci Baun is the publisher of Wild Child Publishing and Freya's Bower. She is also the vice president pro-tem for two organizations Electronic Publishing Internet Coalition (http://epicorg.org) and Association of Independent Digital Publishers. Her career in electronic publishing began in 1999 with the e-zine Wild Child Magazine. Wild Child has since morphed into the publishing house and been featured in Writer's Digest in its Standout Market column. When she's not working (HAHAHAHAHAHA), she is a wife and mother to a very active, sweet six-year-old girl who, at present, is home for Spring Break and driving Mommy nuts. :)

Writing Synopses: How hard can it be?

Hi, folks!

I've been working on polishing and editing and writing synopses lately. For weeks... Actually, when I think back, it's been months! My publisher has decided to try to catch up with me, and we're going to put out 3-4 books per year for the next few until we get all of the books out of the queue and I can write fresh for every release. That means lots of synopses. And not just one per book.

We do 3-4 versions of the synopsis for each book. Often they range from loglines (a one or two sentence short blurb), 50 words, 150 words, to 250 words. We also produce slightly longer treatments for the Hollywood crowd, but these include what folks call the "plot spoilers," or the secrets that will be revealed at the end of the mysteries.

I always found writing a one page synopsis tough. But the loglines are brutal!

This week I happily gave my Sunday slot up to Sonya Bateman, our dear former member of MB4. Next Sunday I'll write an article to share how I came up with a few of them, and show you what I cut out of the long ones, and how I choose which themes on which to focus, etc. It really is a learning experience!

Today I thought I'd share a nice synopsis provided by Marci Baun for one of her authors. Marci runs Wild Child Publishing and has a great crop of authors out there. See what you think?

 ***

Deputy Karen O'Neil is a California girl, shedding the abusive husband who'd ripped her from a sun-drenched, stimulating life as a San Diego cop to isolation in rural Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Talented, attractive, and cut off from everything she wants, her rock-bottom self-esteem lunges at the mysterious airplane crash as though a life line, a chance to escape the doldrums of perceived failure in every other aspect of her life.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Adam Phlatt has his own issues. His career is going nowhere. His love life smolders in ruin after he horribly misplayed his heart, something he swears he'll avoid forever. The accident investigation is a no brainer, a simple case of too much airplane and not enough pilot. The easy inquiry over, he plans his return to Chicago and the safety of his own loneliness, yet he somehow entangles himself with Deputy O'Neil's complex personality.

Karen refuses to let go of the case, or of Adam. When she discovers the pilot's life is a lie, it's a whole new ball game. Thrust from one perplexing clue to the next, they tumble headlong onto a group of criminals, intent on protecting a lucrative shadow business with violence, if necessary.

Karen and Adam face an impossible confrontation, even as hope triumphs over experience, and they fall in love. Their first intimate encounter as lovers is interrupted by the disappearance of a friend under sinister circumstances.

A killer targets Karen, and Adam must regain what he once was--a man tough enough to save the woman he loves.

Her attention focused on a smoking hole containing the remains of a wrecked airplane and its equally wrecked pilot, will Karen O'Neil notice salvation walking up behind her?

***

I think this was very well done and quite intriguing. What do you think?

Have a wonderful week, and remember to take pleasure in the little things, and if you love to write....write like the wind!!!

                                                                                                                     -  Aaron Paul Lazar

P.S. Here's the link if you're interested in taking a further look at the book described above,  OUT OF IDEAS by James Greer, released by Wild Child Publishing in February 2011.

Writing Master and Apprentice, by Sonya Bateman

MB4 welcomes back Sonya Bateman (aka S.W. Vaughn) for her first guest post since the changing of the guard. For those of you who don't know her, Sonya was an original member of our MB4 team and writes screamingly good fiction.

--  Aaron

Note: This article first appeared on the Romantic Times Book Reviews website.

This is a love story. More or less.

Master and Apprentice was the first novel I’d ever written under contract. The first book in the series, Master of None, had sold to Pocket Books as a two-book deal, with a synopsis and fifty pages of the second book—which was at the time titled Djinn’s Apprentice—already written. At that point, having already completed eleven novels (yes, it took me that long to break into publishing), I was fairly confident that I could meet the dreaded deadline with the second book.

It wasn’t long before I was forced to reevaluate my opinion. Confidence is a fickle thing, and around page 200 of the sequel... it left me.

I was sure Confidence had laid eyes on some other, more established writer—perhaps Jayne Ann Krentz, whose books I’d recently glommed. Or maybe it had gotten bored with urban fantasy and jumped ship to Stephen King territory. I knew I shouldn’t have read Duma Key that sixteenth time. At any rate, one night Confidence packed its bags and moved out, without leaving so much as a Dear Sucker letter, and I awoke the next day completely stuck.

Without Confidence, my characters turned on me. My unlucky thief, Donatti, decided it’d be a great idea to cease and desist all this save-the-world stuff and find some tropical island to hide out on until the djinn finished achieving world domination. Ian, the main sort-of-good djinn, wanted to take his princess and go home—if only I hadn’t let his princess get kidnapped. For weeks, they sat around glaring at me. Taunting me. Telling me that I shouldn’t have taken the contract, because I was never going to finish this book, and my publisher was going to send some goons around to lump me up or cart me off to writer jail.

Finally, I realized that the problem wasn’t where I was stuck. It was how I’d gotten there. I needed to go back and frontload a catalyst in the earlier part of the book that would make things happen later.

Thus began my fortunately brief tryst with Panic.

Panic settled in comfortably, having been with me before. It reminded me that I’d done this type of major change with other books, and it always resulted in the deletion of several chapters. Once, I’d had to scrap an entire 80,000-word novel because I’d written it around the wrong main character. At that point, I hadn’t been on a deadline—but I was now. And Panic gleefully poked me with this fact over and over, while I stared at the place I knew the change had to come: page 16. I was facing the prospect of deleting 175 pages of work, and somehow writing 300-plus brand new pages in about ten weeks.

Then an unexpected idea presented itself. Instead of changing the plot and deleting large chunks of story to accommodate the catalyst, which I’d planned to work into the arc of an existing character, I’d create a new character. Someone quirky and interesting and fun, with lots of guts. Since my characters were, on page 16, traipsing around a largely uninhabited mountain, I thought, “A crazy hermit mountain man! Yes!”

And the hermit said, “Actually, I’m a woman.”

I named her Mercy, and she fit right into the story like I’d intentionally left gaps just for her. She brought her pet raccoons along, and even finagled herself a romantic sub-plot with an existing character. I didn’t have to delete anything major, and my sketchy planned ending suddenly solidified itself with Mercy’s addition.

Panic hung around for a while, muttering halfheartedly about deadlines and deleted scenes and writer jail. Once I ignored it long enough, Confidence poked its head back in and asked if it could stay awhile.

I let it, even though I knew it was still seeing Jayne Ann Krentz and Stephen King on the side. To this day, Confidence and I have a spotty relationship—but it usually comes around just when I need it the most. I did manage to meet my deadline for Master and Apprentice, and that’s what matters.

But I’m sure Panic isn’t done with me yet. In fact, it’s looking forward to my next book more than I am.

-----------------------------------------------

MASTER AND APPRENTICE is now available at Amazon, BN.com and (almost) everywhere books are sold (except Walmart).

Haven’t read the first book yet? You can read MASTER OF NONE online for free this month (April) when you join the Pocket After Dark online romance and urban fantasy community (also free).

In other news, my alter ego – former Murder By 4 member S. W. Vaughn – has a present for you: a free book! Starting this Tuesday, April 5, BROKEN ANGEL will be free for your Kindle through Smashwords and Barnes & Noble in eBook format. This is the first in a thriller series about underground street fighting, and the next three books in the series will be on sale for $2.99 for a limited time.

Here’s what it’s all about:

One rule: don't lose.


When Gabriel Morgan’s sister disappears somewhere in New York’s underground, he’ll do anything to save her. But finding her is only the beginning, because Marcus Slade won’t let her go for less than ten million dollars – earned through Gabriel’s blood.

Slade, one of five ruthless leaders of an organization identified only by a symbol, runs hookers and street fighters, and never gives up what's his. Including Gabriel’s sister. To win her freedom, Gabriel is forced to undergo a brutal training program with Slade’s top fighters in order to become one of them. He is branded, broken, given a new image, and a new name.

In the ring, Gabriel is known as Angel…and he does not lose. Because the price for losing is his sister’s life.

----------------------------------------------

Visit Sonya Bateman at http://sonyabateman.wordpress.com/

Visit S. W. Vaughn at http://housephoenix.wordpress.com/

Author of the Month: Stephen King

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. —Stephen King

King has long been a favorite author of mine, especially when I’ve felt the need to be scared out of my wits. To this day, I can’t drive past a corn field without recalling the images he created in, Children of the Corn or wonder what would happen if a virus like the one in The Stand killed all but a few. And what if machines came to life like they did in, The Mangler? And yet in spite of the scary gore we often associate with his works, his writing flows and pulls the reader along to places they never thought of going and continue to relive long after the story ends.


Of course, we assume authors like King are overnight successes. Maybe it’s because that’s the point in their career when we, the readers, come in. The truth is, King’s overnight success developed over numerous year of dedication to the craft. He’s written about 49 novels, has 166 published works that include short stories, essays, novellas, and poems, and 51 movies adapted from his writings and yet his journey is one that many of us could easily relate to.

King’s first professional short story sale, The Glass Floor to Startling Mystery stories was in 1967. Years later, several of his short stories were collected into his Night Shift collection. In college he wrote for the school newspaper. In 1970 he graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Main in Oron, but was unable to find a teaching position for several months and supported himself and his wife by working as a laborer at an industrial laundry. He eventually did go on to teach high school English and continued to write in the evenings and weekends to produce short stories and work on his novels.

So far this scenario sounds vaguely familiar.

His first major break came in the spring of 1973 when Doubleday & Co. accepted his novel Carrie. It was published a year later. The sales from this book allowed him to quit his teaching job and dedicate his time to being a full-time writer and the rest, as they say, is history. Although I couldn’t find any reference on his website about his frustration with this book—how he tossed the pages in the trash and his wife made him pull them out and finish it. I have to wonder if the dedication he wrote in the book implies this is so, "This is for Tabby, who got me into it- and then bailed me out of it."


It’s comforting to know that even the greats need someone to believe in them—to nudge them along and prod them on to achieving their dreams. Where would I or any one of us be without our private cheer block? And so, when I feel alone, frustrated with the writing, it helps to know that others have walked the same path, survived, and flourished. It also makes me realize that in comparison, I have only just begun my journey. Whether my path to success is long or short, it all depends on perseverance and to quote King, “… a lot of hard work.”


About the author:

Marta Stephens writes crime mystery/suspense. She is currently working on the third book in her Sam Harper Crime Mystery series, Grave Witness.

How do we sell books? One at a time!

 

How do we sell books? One at a time!

© Raff Ellis 2011  all rights reserved

A wise author friend once said to me: "You know how I sell books? One at a time!" This is one of those truisms that should cause every author to think and yet, many do not.

I've been promoting and selling my first book for over three years now and I've learned some dos and don'ts. But one thing I didn't have to learn was that everyone is a potential book buyer, and if you treat them well they may just buy yours. If an author believes in his/her product then he/she shouldn't be bashful about promoting it and soliciting sales.

Admittedly, most authors suffer from insecurities about their writing and are many are introverted. As a result they are unsure whether their work is good enough to openly promote. But after the initial validation arrives, such as being published by a reputable press, they should be unabashed about putting themselves "out there" to solicit sales. Authors shouldn't be timid about offering their book(s) to others in a nice, unobtrusive way. Let me tell you about some of my experiences in this regard.

Whenever I'm seated on an airplane next to someone who is reading a book, and when the occasion presents itself I venture to ask, "Is that a good read?" It has never failed to get a response and always initiates a pleasant conversation. I then ask, "What other kinds of books do you read?" This normally elicits the response, "Oh, all kinds." I then offer, "Could I give you a recommendation?" "Sure," they invariably say. I then give them my business card, which has the cover of my book on one side and one line reviews and where they can order the book on the other (a card I designed myself, and which several authors have mentioned they wished they'd have done that). Oftentimes, if I have a book in my carry-on, I sell it to them on the spot.

Once I met a little old lady on a flight and we enjoyed a nice conversation—in which I mentioned that I was on my way home from a book appearance in Austin, Texas. She said she'd like to buy one but the only copy I had was in my checked luggage. Unfortunately, she hadn't checked any so we parted ways in the terminal. "Darn," I thought, "There goes a sale." About a month later I got a letter from the woman telling me that she had ordered my book from Barnes & Noble and loved it. "You probably don't remember me..." she began, and related our trip together on that plane. Of course I remembered.

Many people have never met an author face to face and getting a personalized  autographed copy from one can be  considered a thrill. Venues where I've sold books will surprise many an author. I took a bunch of mail ordered books to the post office to start a conversation, and sold one to the postal clerk. When being checked into a hospital for surgery, I sold one to the admitting nurse. I've sold books at a bowling alley, a funeral dinner, to a cashier at a restaurant, to my doctors and dentists and their receptionists, at cocktail parties, once while out for a walk, and in a hotel bar while having a drink. I always carry business cards with me and hand them out at every opportunity. Everyone is a potential book buyer!

I believe in answering all my emails and treating people with respect. I met an author via the Internet and even bought one of her books. I tried to correspond with her but she never answered my inquiry. Do you think I'll buy another of her books? Underneath it all, everyone is a potential book buyer and you never know where your next sale will come from.

After all, we do sell them one at a time.

 

 

Raff Ellis is a former computer industry executive and prolific writer of short stories, essays, and political commentary. His first book, Kisses from a Distance, was published by Cune Press, Seattle, Wash.

A graduate of LeMoyne College with a BS in Pure Science, Mr. Ellis also has a MBA from the University of Central Florida. He spent his entire business career in the computer industry, rising from the ranks of computer programmer to CEO of an Information Technology R & D firm.

He lives in Florida with his wife Loretta.

The Purple Loon: Serial Short Story, Part 4

by Kim Smith

“Whoa! Hold up.” I held up my hands to show I wasn't armed. “That's my son, and he is innocent of whatever you think is wrong here.”

“I need some money,” the man said, his dirty face wrinkling into a scowl.

“Sure, man, sure,” I said. “Easy does it.” I pulled forty dollars from my pocket and stepped closer to him. “You gotta let the boy go though.”

He considered my words and nodded once. I held the money out. He shoved Zak toward me. snatched it from my shaking hand. My breaths were coming hard and fast now as I situated Zak behind me. My eyes never left our assailant. He sheathed the knife and giving me a terrible look, sat down on a nearby stack of old newspapers, blocking our only way out.

“Mister,” I stammered. “You need Jesus in the worst way.”

“He ain't never helped me.”

“You never asked right.”

Once again he shot me a mean look. 

“Look,” I said, placating. “We're just going to take off. You can continue on with your life, as bad as it is, but just let us go.”

“Don't wanna go on. Wish I was just dead and buried. Might get a little peace that way.”

Suddenly, I knew that we were in no danger from this man. He had just had a bellyful of life and its trials and wanted some relief. I pulled out my wallet.

“I've got a hundred in here,” I said, fumbling around. “I'll give it to you.”

“Why?” His face showed genuine fear now. “I ain't done nothin' nice to you.”

“Because, you don't have to do nice things to be saved. You just have to believe and say it and it's done.”I pulled out the bill and waved it at him. “Are you saved? Do you know Jesus, for real?”

In a moment, big fat tears rolled down his cheeks and his shoulders shook with the sobs that came from a tortured soul. He covered his eyes. I took a step toward him and when he didn't object, knelt beside him.

“Sir,”I said softly. “Let me pray for you. Let's get this old life dead and buried and get on with a new one. One where you can find joy and peace.”

He nodded, wiping his face on his sleeve. 

Then, there in the presence of a dead body that I knew we would have to take care of after we dealt with a living soul needing new life, we prayed. Zak joined us, and soon, given new hope, the man admitted to the murder and we waited on officers to come.

Later, walking around the grounds that I had known so well in my youth, I remembered how I had turned my life over to Jesus here. The thought of turning the old place into a retreat for recovering souls, men and women of past addictions, and anyone who needed peace came to my mind.

I told Zak of my idea, and he patted my shoulder and smiled.

Yep, there was a lot of hope here.

Part 1  by Aaron Paul Lazar

Part 2 by Ron Adams

Part 3 by Marta Stephens

The Purple Loon - Part 3

I endured Zak’s moaning and groaning about coming to the lake for the past several hours. How ironic of him to find something of interest at the moment I wanted to leave. I decided to give him a minute to indulge in whatever it was he’d found inside the storage closet in the old dining hall. Before I could take my first step toward him, he yelled again. This time it was more like a shriek of panic.

“Dad, hurry!” He pointed at the white object sticking out from under a crumpled old blanket. “What … is that what I think it is?”

The fear in his voice made it clear it wasn’t the baby raccoons I’d fully expected to see. Zak was a city boy. He’d never experienced joys I remember of those long summers vacations here or the critters that routinely invaded these buildings when no one was looking. No, clearly someone else had taken advantage of the abandoned camp ground for a much darker reason.

“Son.” I pulled him away from the storage room door. “Why don’t you go wait for me in the car?”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“We need to call the police. Go on, do as you’re told. I won’t be long.”

“But, dad.”

“But nothing. Go!” I waited until Zak was outside before stooping down and lifting the blanket to reveal a human femur and skull. A thick layer of dust floated off the covering into my face. I coughed and sneezed several times and was sickened at the thought of having drawn into my lungs the dust that had concealed this horrid secret. I reached for my cell and started to dial 911 then stopped. My thoughts immediately flashed to the years of silence between Daphne and I. Had she really sold the place out from under me? Maybe that’s why the old sign still hung from its pole and my grandparents’ cabin still stood yards away from this building. I had no proof, only hearsay of the sale. And why hadn’t she told me of her husband’s death?

I looked at the skull again and tried to imagine Mark’s face. My finger froze on the send button of my cell when the unthinkable idea came that the dearly departed might have been capable of murder.

“Dad.”

“I thought I told you—” The words caught in my throat when I turned and saw the stranger holding a knife to Zak’s throat.

Read part 1
Read part 2
 
To be continued on March 31, 2011 ...

The Purple Loon - Part 2

I stood and watched for several minutes as the ash floated, dispersed, and finally dissipated beneath the mirrored water. The sun was starting to sink low in the west, and the mist that always rose from Loon Lake at dusk was just appearing, ghost-like above the surface. I crossed myself, a final act of respect for my dear departed sister, and started back to the car.

It took a second to realize Zak had let the boredom overcome him, and he was nowhere in sight.

No doubt off exploring the decaying ruins of my family’s favorite vacation spot. I detoured from the car and started down the washed out gravel road between the cottages. The shadows from the setting sun were lengthening with every step, and the mists were beginning to muffle the sounds.

“Zak! C’mon buddy, let’s get outta here before it gets too late!"

I listened for the sounds of footsteps, and heard none. I continued further down the row, calling out every few seconds. The air was turning cool and damp as the shadows took over the light. As warm and inviting as this place was in the summers of my youth, as a father searching for his missing son it was ominous and foreboding.

“Zak!”

I continued on, past the diminutive general store building that used to sell the summer guests kindling for campfires, charcoal for their grills and all the ingredients for the best S’mores ever made. If not for the growing panic in the pit of my stomach, it was an enjoyable stroll down memory lane. I couldn’t fathom why Daphne kept the place at first, and I was completely lost as to why she said she sold it. We never lied to each other before. We lied to our parents when we got in trouble, and to the principal the day we skipped school to go the Red Sox game, taking the "T" all the way to Fenway Park. But never to each other.

“ZAK!”

I was moving at a jog towards the dining hall, when I saw the swirl of the mist and the shadow of another person moving towards the old dining hall. I quickened my pace, finally breaking into a run as I went straight for the hall. The door swung shut as I reached it, and I burst through with a flourish.

“Dad?! What the hell…?” Zak yelled, pulling the earbuds for the I-pod out of his ears. I grabbed his shoulders caught somewhere between fury, panic, and relief. I should have let him have it, blast him for wandering off. I hugged him instead.

“C’mon, Zak. I want to get back to Portland tonight before we head home in the morning.”

“You used to come up here all the time when you were kids?” he asked, kicking through years of dust.

“Yeah, like a million years ago. “ My mind wandered off to the evening meals with all the other families that stayed here.

“Dad!” I heard Zak call from across the room. “Come here, quick!”

***

See Part 1 of this story, here. Part 2 was written by the author of Key Lime Squeeze, Ron Adams. The next installment will be courtesy of Marta Stephens, on Wednesday, March 30th.

WHO DO I HAVE TO KILL? by Ellen Meister

WHO DO I HAVE TO KILL?

The Story of How My Book Got Optioned by HBO

© Ellen Meister 2011 all rights reserved

When Aaron Lazar invited me to blog on MURDER BY 4 about how I got my HBO deal, I had two worries. First, how was I going to tie the story into the theme of this blog? (Answer: get cute with the title. See above.) And second, would it be okay to submit a one sentence entry? Because in reality I didn't do a damned thing.

Okay, I wrote a book. But beyond that, I was nothing but a passive bystander who didn't even have a front row seat to witness the action.

I'll back up. When I got the high concept idea for THE OTHER LIFE—a story about a woman with the ability to cross through a portal to the life she would have had if she had made different choices—I knew it felt cinematic. But I had no real hopes for a movie or TV deal. After all, people told me my first two books would play well on screen, and Hollywood didn't come calling. So I just focused on writing the book, digging as deep as I could into the very emotional story, hoping it would touch people.

When the final draft was approved by my editor at Putnam, my literary agent showed the manuscript to a film agent who agreed to represent it in Hollywood. I never got to speak directly to the film agent ... and still haven't. All communication goes through my literary agent, who explained that the odds against a sale were tremendous and I shouldn't get my hopes up. I wasn't supposed to think about it.

No problem.

Except that every conversation I had with my husband over the next several months seemed to end with the pointless fun of brainstorming ideas for who could play the leads.

Still, I managed to put my head down and get to work, writing the next book and promoting THE OTHER LIFE. Once in a while I managed to sneak it into a conversation with my agent, using phrases like, and if it gets optioned for a movie ... To which she always responded, or television.

I even managed to work the topic into a conversation with my editor, pining about how great it would be if THE OTHER LIFE got optioned for a movie. To which she replied, or television.

Hm.

"I think they're talking to television people," I said to my husband. And once the phrase was uttered aloud, I permitted myself the indulgence of believing talks might actually be underway. Perhaps I'd get a call from my agent soon telling me USA/AMC/Lifetime/TNT wanted the option.

"Showtime?" my husband offered.

No no no. I wouldn't dare dream that big.

It was just days later that I saw my agent's phone number on the caller ID. Only it was after business hours and it wasn't her office number, it was her cellphone. My heart pounded. Could this be significant?

Deep breaths, I told myself. There are a thousand-and-one things she could be calling about, each more likely than a television option. I answered calmly, and heard her begin a sentence with three words I never expected to hear:

H ... B ... O ...

thunk

Okay, so maybe I didn't pass out cold. But I did scream so loud my kids are still traumatized.

For the record, I am a huge HBO fan. The brilliance, the talent, the boundary-busting creativity of those folks knocks me on my ass. But I'd be lying if I said a series on HBO is a dream come true, because I never dared dream that big.

To be clear, this is an option, and it could be quite a while before I find out if the series will actually get produced. In the meantime, I'm not going to think about it. I'm not.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch BOARDWALK EMPIRE again ...

 ***

 

Ellen Meister is the author of three novels. In addition to being optioned for an HBO television series, her most recent book, THE OTHER LIFE (Putnam, 2011), was chosen by the American Booksellers Association as a Great Reads/Indie Next List selection, and was featured on NPR. Her other published works include THE SMART ONE (HarperCollins, 2008) and SECRET CONFESSIONS OF THE APPLEWOOD PTA (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as numerous short stories. She currently curates for DimeStories, a literary podcast program, and runs an online group for women authors. Ellen lives on Long Island with her husband and three children and is at work on her fourth novel, FAREWELL, DOROTHY PARKER. For more information visit her website at ellenmeister.com.

The Purple Loon: Serial Short Story, Part 1

Good day fellow writers and readers. Today is a momentous occasion here on Murder by 4. Our team of four mystery writers has come together to bring you a story - a four part story, to be exact, written in series by each of us. Today you'll read my opener. Tuesday, you'll thrill to Ron Adam's part 2. On Wednesday, you'll be treated to Marta Stephen's third section, and on Thursday, you'll enjoy the finale, written by M. Kim Smith. I hope you enjoy our foray into the world of collaborative writing.

- Aaron Paul Lazar

“I’m bored.” My son sighed and leaned his shaggy head against the rental car window.

At seventeen, Zak didn’t exactly value my company. But he’d been the only member of our family free to drive six hours to Maine for an unexpected funeral.

“We’re almost there. Here. Eat a Twinkie.” I tossed the bag of junk food toward him, hoping to win a smile. He’d been quiet and distracted during the service.

He moaned and sputtered, but dug into the bag and brought up a Twinkie.

We continued down the bumpy dirt track toward the place I’d been happiest as a child. I’d avoided it for years, ever since Daphne told me she’d sold our grandparents’ camp to a realtor who’d turned it into a condominium lakeside resort.

How could she? She’d just upped and sold it.

I hadn’t spoken to her for ten years because of the nasty argument we’d had, and felt awful when I discovered at the funeral that her husband had died around the same time she’d sold the place.

We rounded the last curve. “Here we are.”

The old sign—The Purple Loon, Housekeeping Cottages—still swung from its pole.

Strange. Why wouldn’t they change the sign if they’d bulldozed the cabins and erected monstrosity condos on the shore?

What was stranger, however, was the sight that greeted us. My grandparents’ original cabin stood intact, not far from the old dining hall. A few red shutters hung crooked on the windows. I caught a glimpse of the lake, and spotted multiple cabins stretching down the hill.

“What the hell?” I got out and turned in a dizzy circle.

Zak emerged, stretching. “I thought you said Aunt Daphne…”

“I know what I said.”

“Geez, Dad.”

I slid an arm over his shoulders. “Sorry, son. Aunt Daphne didn’t tell me the truth about this place.”

I popped the trunk, leaned down, and tucked a brown canister under my arm. “Come on.”

We strolled down the sandy path toward the water.

“Dad?” Zak spread his gangly arms wide. “Where are all the people?”

I scanned the dilapidated buildings. No leaves rustled. No footsteps fell. Any renters who happened to show up would probably be ghosts. Nobody could live in these conditions.

We passed the old shower building. Next, the sun deck, half caved-in. To our right, the community center where we’d played games by the fire on cold nights. Its door hung on one hinge.

We reached the dock and stopped. Loon Pond glittered, its surface glassy in the late afternoon light. In spite of the beauty, my stomach twisted in frustration. Why had Daphne lied to me?

I picked up the urn and walked onto the dock. Zak followed.

“Well, sis. This is the best place for you.” I unscrewed the top of the urn and tipped it sideways. “May your spirit, however dishonest, be free.”

I emptied Daphne’s ashes over the lake, looking for answers in the floating gray cinders.

I found none.

... to be continued on Tuesday, March 29th.

***

(See Aaron's bio and specials on his books this week on the tab above for Aaron Paul Lazar.)

Warren Adler - How I got the idea for my mystery series and the principal character Fiona FitzGerald.

Today we welcome back renowned novelist Warren Adler. It's a distinct pleasure to be allowed a rare glimpse into this great writer's world, and the story behind the story. Fiona Fitzgerald is one of my favorite characters in Mr. Adler's books, so this is a particularly enjoyable post for yours truly.

-  Aaron Lazar

copyright 2011, Warren Adler

It was the early eighties and the mass media consensus on gender was undergoing a massive change. Women were on the march and the emphasis was on both upward mobility and equality on all fronts, especially in the workplace.

In the culture of imaginative fiction, the concept of the heroic figure was being “genderized” and the notion of the female cop, soldier, firefighter, construction worker and other jobs once considered male turf was swiftly disappearing.

Although I had never tackled the mystery genre which was growing in popularity, my agent persuaded me to take the plunge and since I lived in the metropolitan Washington area, I decided to use the police department that covered the nation’s capitol as my venue. In casting around for a knowledgeable female who could give me some insight into the inner workings of the department and her own psyche I was lucky to find an experienced female homicide detective, Judy Roberts, who led me deep into the entrails of the mindset and procedure of police work as seen through the female perspective.

Thus was born Fiona FitzGerald, a brilliant young white woman, working with the largely black dominated police force. Because I was familiar with the political and social circles of the power elite in Washington, I conceived the idea of Fiona working only on those cases that involved that segment of the Washington upper crust.

The first book in the series “American Quartet,” dealt with a failed politician whose twisted mind conceived of the idea of staging a replication of the assassinations of our four American Presidents. It was cited for that year by the New York Times as being one of the most outstanding mystery books of that year. The series was born, although the background of Fiona was to undergo a profound change after the second book “American Sextet” was published.

In the first two books, Fiona’s father was a New York cop and she had grown up in that city. As with all of my books, the movie people beckoned and I found myself discussing film projects with a number of producers. One of them suggested to me that instead of making Fiona, the daughter of New York cops, it might be more interesting to make her the daughter of a prominent Senator who had grown up in Washington.

The idea appealed to me for many reasons and I made the change, immersing her in a culture that I knew a great deal about. She was now ensconced in the heady precincts of elite Washington with many contacts in that world, social, political and media and allow me the opportunity to expand on all the possibilities inherent in that milieu.

In the five books that followed, she was assigned to investigate murders that related to the power elite. It was a world I knew well. Readers addicted to the series would unfortunately be confused by the sudden change of background but I took the plunge and got few complaints.

A new publisher, founded by an experienced former executive of a major publishing company, decided to take on the series and I consented to move Fiona to his new company. This gave me the opportunity to fix Fiona’s background in the first two books and make her uniformly the daughter of a Senator. I rewrote parts of the first two books to fix this situation and saw in this new publisher a chance for Fiona to go on indefinitely solving murders among the players in the power structure.

Alas, it was not to be. The new publisher went bankrupt before he could launch the full series and I was forced to continue with the original publisher. Thus, in the first two books, Fiona remains the daughter of a New York cop, although in the subsequent books she had been transformed into her new incarnation.

Nevertheless, the movie and TV people continue to pursue the idea of starring Fiona. Two film companies have optioned the Fiona books. NBC has optioned the material twice, once for movie of the week and once for a series. Scripts have been commissioned, including one by yours truly and another prominent television writer, but, so far, she hasn’t found her television or movie legs. Nevertheless the books continue to be in play and there is some optimism that Fiona will once again be on her way to movie or television stardom.

In the meantime there are always the seven books and she has a growing fan club.

***

Warren Adler is a world-renowned novelist, short story writer and playwright. His books have been translated into more than 25 languages and two of his novels, THE WAR OF THE ROSES and RANDOM HEARTS, have been made into enormously popular movies, shown continually throughout the world. His stage adaptation of the novel THE WAR OF THE ROSES is currently being produced in Italy, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague and countries in Scandinavia.

Mr. Adler is a pioneer in electronic publishing and has acquired his complete backlist and converted this entire library to digital publishing formats. As a novelist, Mr. Adler's themes deal primarily with intimate human relationships—the mysterious nature of love and attraction, the fragile relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children, the corrupting power of money, the aging process and how families cling together when challenged by the outside world. Readers and reviewers have cited his books for their insight and wisdom in presenting and deciphering the complexities of contemporary life.

In 2005, Mr. Adler started the Warren Adler Short Story Contest, which has become one of the most prestigious international online short story contests thanks to the extraordinary literary quality of its submissions. The first anthology of contest winners is now available on Amazon.

Today, when not writing, Mr. Adler lectures on creative writing, motion picture adaptation and the future of Electronic Books. He is the founder of the Jackson Hole Writer's Conference and has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jackson Hole Public Library. He is married to the former Sonia Kline, a magazine editor. He has three sons, David, Jonathan and Michael and four grandchildren and lives in New York City.

Writers and Books

Seems like the main theme anywhere I look this week is about writers and books. All kinds of books. But my day started off with a wish for a copy of a writers magazine.

I remember an article from Writers Digest and wanted to check it out but of course the magazine is long gone into recycle infinity.

There are a great many magazines out there for writers, online versions, too.

Do you read writers magazines? Do they help you?

I would like to check into some of the great contests they offer on occasion as well, but at the moment the entry fees would probably kill me.

Hope your Thursday flies by!

The Three P's of Writing

copyright 2011 Ron Adams

I have had an occasion to witness the turmoil of some writers and publishers when things don’t go according to plan. It was a sad thing to watch, and I am grateful to have maintained good working relationships with all the parties involved. I offer, therefore, some assistance for the new, budding, aspiring, frustrated writer still working on getting their masterpiece into the hands of the readers. Please take it for what it is, and I hope these tips can be of some help. I call these the three P’s of writing.

PROFESSIONAL – First and foremost, writing and writing well is an art form, one which most of us have invested our hearts and souls in. But publishing is a business. It is a for profit enterprise where the writer must learn to become the best business person they can be, and be willing to approach it in a professional manner. Life is not fair, and the business world is not fair, either. Approach every interaction with your agent and editors in a straightforward, respectful, and professional manner, and most of the time it will be returned in kind. Not always, mind you, but you will be better served in that approach in the long run.

POSITIVE- Remain as positive as possible in all your dealings with your agent, editor and publisher. Adopt a can-do/will-do attitude towards all interactions. Be willing to listen to those that may have more expertise, and offer what expertise you can bring in a positive, constructive manner. A problem solver is easier to work with than a problem bringer.

PHILOSOPHICAL – A while back, a friend of mine got me and my wife involved in a network marketing business. Yeah, I know, but I did learn a valuable lesson. They have a philosophy of some-will-some-won’t-so-what in regards to their business. Not the worst approach to take to this business. When going through the process of promotion and building your writing career, listen to those you believe in and trust, listen to the experts, and remember some things will work, some things won’t. So what. Doing is better than not doing, trying is more productive than not trying.

And if I have to add a fourth, it would be PERSEVERANCE. Keep learning, keep growing, and keep believing in yourself and your goals. I can’t promise that any of these will get you on the best-seller list. But I do believe that a positive, professional writer with a philosophical approach, who perseveres in the face of adversity, will be one that agents, editors and publishers will want to work with.