Philippa Ballantine - Author

Award-winning Author of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk

Blog

Guest Post – Twitterpated

As part of the Write by the Rails Endless Possibilities Blogtour, I’m happy to welcome chapter president Cindy Brookshire to my blog with some novice tips on spring cleaning Twitter.

steampunk twitterMarch is about to roar in like a lion, so before the big blustery cat moves in, it’s time to preempt him with a quick spring cleaning of our platforms and social messaging tools.

Ugh, call the char woman or the chimney sweep. I’m too busy plotting.

I’m not asking you to do an overhaul – just a spit-and-polish.  Take Twitter for example.  I went to a local Chamber of Commerce small business roundtable yesterday, and these are five tips I picked up for maximizing “my presence as a thought leader” on Twitter:

  1. Make sure my profile description has an updated photo and key words that help people find me.
  2. Clean off the spammers that are following me and block them. They are easy to identify – “rapid weight loss” is one.
  3. Maximize your audience during prime tweet times: a. lunch b. quittin’ time c. 3 pm to 9 pm on a Monday or a Friday d. during any live event.
  4. Check out my competition and position my accordingly.
  5. Don’t use phrases like “thought leader” (oops, that was my own tip).

Ah, spring. Add some romance to those plots, and have a great day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXBbgzQmpJw

Cindy tweets as @cindybrookshire and @writebythe rails.

 

 

Welcome to the Authorial Darkside

Portrait of a Bad ManIt ain’t all sunshine and unicorns out there cupcakes.

I’ve written plenty of blogposts about how awesome the community of writers and podcasters are….and that still holds true…in most cases. However now I think it is time to address the nasty shadows in the corner of your sunny writing room.

There are people out to get you and bring down your brand. You might not know their names, and they might not know yours, but sooner or later your paths will cross. You might be surprised when a strange fellow writer you meet at a convention suddenly says ‘you aren’t fit to lick my boots’. Literally. That’s exactly what they will say. To your face.

The first time it happens, it will feel like a slap. You’ll be left dazed, and wonder ‘what did I do to them?’ or ‘why on earth would they say something like that to me?’ If they are ‘a big name author’ you may just want to flee the field altogether wondering if you will ever be able to make it in publishing.

But don’t. That would mean they won.

Here’s the unpleasant truth; not everyone subscribes to the ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ idea.

For some authors trashing other authors is a way for them

  • to feel better about themselves
  • to guarantee themselves publication (well at least in their head)
  • to make themselves look like ‘big man on campus’ to their cronies.

They will take joy in belittling other authors on panels, ignoring them in social situations, or taking to their blog to discuss the totally irrelevant clothing choices of female authors. And yes, we are talking about professionally published authors, some of whom have been in the business for decades.

For some reason, some writers think that your success means there is a little less in the pool for them. They get competitive, want to know sales figures, want to know how well everyone is selling, and can set out the trash people they feel are ‘threatening’ them. They then take to their blogs or open forums, in veiled or blatant ways to stick a stick in your spinning wheel.

There are enough challenges in being a jobbing writing: pulling in a pay check, taxes, selling a manuscript, hell just finding time to write, that we don’t need to rip each other apart. There are so many other ways to help your fellow author, build something, share readers and grow each others sales.

Before you freak out, and if this is your first rodeo, I want to assure you that in all my years writing, there are only a handful of people I have met that have been like this. The kind, helpful people who realise community is a more positive way to go really do outnumber those thrashing around trying to get attention by just being nasty.

Personally, I want to use whatever influence I have to help those with the attitude of the former. The others I will simply ignore and not bother wasting oxygen on. I suggest you do the same as well should you run across those unfriendly beasts.

In parting, my I suggest this as a way to fight the darkside….

promotnotbash

Guest Post – Consider a Memoir

As part of the Write By the Rails Endless Possibilities Blogtour, I’m happy to welcome Jan Rayl to my blog with tips on how to get your memoir done.

They say everyone has a book in them, and I believe it. I want to encourage some of you that have been toying with the idea of writing a book to consider a memoir. There are many stories about families lost to the passage of time. Generations of family history are lost. With the advent of self-publishing it is easier than ever to publish a book for a smaller audience like your relatives.

My father, Al Rayl, did just what I am talking about. He wrote a book, “Beyond my Wildest Dreams,” about his life for our family. I learned that I am related to Silas Vance, once Secretary of State for the United States. If that is not enough claim to fame I also learned I am related to Don Knotts aka Barney Fife. He was on, The Andy Griffith Show, a popular television show when I was growing up. These and many other family memories might have been lost had it not been for the book my father wrote.

Where to start? Start at the beginning, where you were born, and grew up. What memories do you have of specifics from “back in the day.” Were there family traditions for holidays?  What can you tell about parents, grandparents, great-grand parents? Include those family legends and tales that you have been told as part of your family tradition.  Interview your parents and grandparents and other relatives with open ended questions; “tell me about growing up in..,” or “what is the most unusual thing you know about our family,” or “do you know anything or anyone famous in our family?” Make a list of ten questions to ask and more will come to you as you start the process.

Start asking those relatives older than you their story, before their stories die with them.  Some you may know as fact and can be stated as such and some are legend. For example, my Grandmother tells me she believes we are part Choctaw Indian because she recalls her Grandmother told her this. At this point it is still family legend; however she recently gave me a name to work with. So now I am in the process of verifying this information. This is one example I wish I had known when I was paying for college had I been able to confirm it back then it could have helped financially with my education. You never know what gems your relatives may tell you if you interview them for your family history book.

Chances are your family book will probably never win you a Pulitzer or make you a millionaire but it does leave the legacy of your family story for generations to come. You might find some hidden gems out there that can be shared for generations to come.

Once you have all your information garnered write it down.  Each chapter can tell about a different aspect or time period of your family. You can do this in Microsoft word or Apple pages or any other word processing program. Once you have the story down on paper edit, edit, edit. I cannot say this enough. Have someone read and proof your story. Someone in the family that has good command of grammar and spelling can proof for you. Give them a free copy of your book and a thank-you in the acknowledgments. Spell check will not catch all the mistakes. Nothing is worse than trying to read a poorly written book with mistakes on every page.

Once the book is done you are ready to get it printed. You can use a vast number of publishers. For something like this for the family I strongly urge you to use a publisher that only charges for your book. You do not need to pay them to publish your book.  You do not need to pay for marketing services. This is a family heirloom it is not a New York Times best seller. One such publisher I recommend is Lulu. You can search on line for other independent (indie) publishers that publish on demand. By looking for “on demand printing” you can get small press runs of a few books and do not have to get more copies made than you janactually want.

If you are in the Prince William County are feel free to come to a Write by the Rails meeting and be encouraged in your quest to write your family treasure.  If you live in another are find your local writers group they are a great source of encouragement and inspiration. For more information on Write by the Rails

Jan is a travel and book review blogger. Jan is also a multi-media artist. Other fascinating travel facts, recommendations, adventures and reviews of the ever important vacation book can be found on Jan’s Blog  or on Facebook  drop by and leave her a comment. Jan is a member of her local writing group Write by the Rails 

The future of publishing is here…again

The future I remember my very first brush with self publishing. I wasn’t a writer then, heck my reading was still far from the fantasy and science fiction genre.

In a small mall in Wellington, New Zealand, there was a lot of empty space in the late 1980s. Times were lean, but I recall vividly that there was one man who had rented out the smallest space in his mall, and filled it with books.

Well, sort of.

Actually, with one book. His. The whole of this small space was full of his book, floor to ceiling. Even as a kid I recall thinking, ‘how the hell is he going to sell all these?’ I imagined him building houses with them, and just how awful he must be around the Christmas season giving them to every one of his relatives. I bet his family all got a copy…heck three copies…of his book. Every. Year.

I often wonder what happened to that guy? Is he still around? Maybe he took his precious book and put it out into the e-world. Maybe he just got burnt by that experience and turned into a bitter old man using old copies of it for toilet paper.

I guess he was the hipster of self-publishing, and I kinda wish I could remember what the heck his book was about.

He was so far ahead of the curve he couldn’t see the horizon. Now every man and his dog, and his dog’s flea has a book, and they are all up for sale.

What got me thinking about him was this article by Mark Coker, nice guy and founder of Smashwords, and nodding my head. I wonder if the guy with the one book bookstore is around to take notice.

For me the highlights are

  • It’s all about the basics. Write good stuff. No matter how much you write, if it isn’t good, then you’re never going to get people back to buy your next thing.
  • Production takes on increased importance in 2014. However, those that can produce at a decent clip are going to be at the top of the wave. So no slacking off!!
  • A larger wave of big-name authors will defect to indieville. Hybrid authors! Yes, big names realise that they can leverage that big name for their back list, or short stories and make money….in fact more of a slice of that money than even they are used to. Yay, more hybrids in the pool!

The things I am still noodling through as to how to leverage

  • Multi-book collaboration. Our daughter is mad keen for this series called the Cat Warriors. There are a huge amount of books, always coming out, and with all kinds of guides to go with them. At first I was boggled as to how one author could possibly do all that. The answer is, she doesn’t. They do. Erin Hunter is actually four authors. So I can see how this kind of collaboration could work, just not sure how to do it myself.
  • Subscription ebook services will change the game. How this will serve authors is a concern. Like Harlan Ellison says money should come to the author, but as long as this happens then this could be an exciting development that will make fiction accessible. I’ll wait and see on this one.

This article makes me excited, nervous, and then excited again. It’s important to keep on top of new developments, because this thing is moving like the Flash.

So stay light on you feet, because I know one thing for sure; I don’t want to be the one book bookstore guy. Neither do you.

Guest Post – Sometimes the Wolf Howls

EdgelandersToday I’m happy to welcome to my blog, Jennifer Meltzer the author of Edgelanders.

There is something primal inside us all, something feral and dark that relishes in the notion of freeing itself from the chains that bind us.

Whenever I think of that primal essence, of the inner-beast, I am reminded of the werewolf archetype, and of Fenrir of Norse mythology.

Son of Loki and the wolf mother, Angrboda, Fenrir was the very embodiment of destruction. When allowed to rampage, he destroyed and devoured everything in sight, simply because he could. By the time he reached adulthood, he’d grown so powerful the gods asked the dwarves to forge a golden chain strengthened by six impossible elements he would never be able to break: the nerves of a bear, the roots of a mountain, the steps of a cat, the beard of a woman, the spit of a bird and the breath of a fish. And with this impossible chain, they imprisoned Fenrir in a cave beneath the mountain, where he bides his time until Ragnarok, when it is prophesied that he will slay many a god, including the Allfather, Odin, during the final battle of this world.

On a symbolic level, the primal nature that resides in us all is so powerful, it must be chained in the deepest part of ourselves to ensure it does not overrun our lives.

But what if the beast was just as much a part of the man, as the man himself?

The beauty of the werewolf archetype, beyond the fact that there’s something intriguing about a beast who can also compose himself and with rational thought at times, is that he is driven by his own dual nature. He is fierce, powerful and just a little bit unhinged, and while there’s nothing sexy about someone so unhinged you’re worried he’ll start stalking you like prey, there is something appealing about a potential mate who’s not afraid to be reckless or take risks to ensure the survival of that which he holds dear.

Historically, wolves have a rather bad reputation. The “Big Bad” ate Red’s granny. He preyed on the three little pigs, huffing and puffing and blowing their houses down. His presence in the untamed woods filled Peter’s grandfather with so much fear he locked the boy inside the house and forbid him to go outside.

Predatory by nature, our fear of this primal beast has seen the wolf population dwindle over the centuries. This topic inspired me while writing Edgelanders, the first novel in my epic fantasy series, Serpent of Time. Centered around the U’lfer, a race of men with the ability to shape-shift into wolves and embrace their primal nature, they are a people all but extinct, and with so few mated pairs left among them, they can’t reproduce enough offspring to ensure their survival in the world.

Despite the negative image history presents us with, wolves are very protective of their own. They are pack and family oriented and it has been said they mate for life (so long as their mating is producing enough offspring to ensure the survival of the species.)

Writing about werewolves has given me the opportunity to explore the most primal aspects of man, the facets we often find dangerous and frightening. With just the right spin on the struggle between man and his inner-beast, the werewolf becomes a sympathetic character we can all relate to on some level we might not like to admit.

We are all subject to our primal nature from time to time, to the unforgivable urges of the beast within; most of us have just learned to ignore those urges and carry on as though they don’t exist. We keep that part of ourselves chained in the cavern of our soul, bound by impossible things like a fish’s breath and the roots of a mountain.

But sometimes the wolf howls strong, and in those moments we remember and know that one day we must answer the call, embrace the beast and let go our inhibitions.

 

Jennifer MelzerBio: Jennifer Melzer spent the majority of her life as a writer denying she actually liked to write romance, only to wake up one morning and discover every single tale she’d ever written somehow revolved around the heart. She has since given into the whim.

She resides in northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, a bunch of dragons and a dog who thinks he’s a wolf. She dreams nightly of laying on the beach and watching stars fall over the Atlantic Ocean.

Website: jennifermelzer.com

Twitter: jennybeanses

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifermelzerauthor

Taking it to the streets

fist_riot-1Being a published author is a delicate balancing act; you want to be easy to work with, but you certainly want to be treated with respect. To do that sometimes you swallow problems that go on behind the scenes. It’s not different to any other kind of business dealings really, except authors are their own brand that can be easily damaged that can ruin careers.

So when Phil Foglio took his problems with his publisher, Tor to the street last week, I was one of those who was kind of surprised…at least at first.

On his blog, he ripped off the bandage in public to reveal what most writers do not care to; sometimes things don’t go to plan. He hadn’t heard from his editor at Tor for nearly a year, and neither had his agent.

It’s business, things happen in business, but writers are afraid of labeling themselves ‘problem children’ by talking about what goes on with the gears get gummed up. If they do it is with their agent, or perhaps their authors friends on back channels or while at the bar in conventions.

Phil went against all that.

Miscommunication occurs often. People have different expectations, life problems happen, things get forgotten, spats and arguments happen. Writers might not have the same reputation for breakups that bands do, but they do happen. The fact is publishers and agents break up with authors all the time and readers seldom notice.

That’s a good idea.

To my mind there is no need to discuss the spats that occur behind closed doors. Fans, listeners and readers do not need to know that (it probably disrupts their enjoyment of a book knowing the ignominious background), but what happens when there is a more serious problem?

What happens if you have an issue with a publisher that begins to become apparent to your readers? ‘When is the next book coming out?’ was I am sure the clarion call that Phil was hearing all the time, and I am positive that eventually having heard nothing for a year, he just got sick of being unable to respond to those questions.

I would hope he discussed all his options with his agent thoroughly—I would bet for sure he did.

However the Foglios are in an enviable position; they have multiple Hugos, and a huge online following (just look at the massive amounts of money they raised from their latest kickstarter). Even in the worst case scenario, if they blew up their relationship with Tor, they would still have their self-publishing empire to fall back on.

Most writers do not have that luxury or that power. Big publishing is still an important game in town, and I have heard many rising authors talking about ‘wanting to impress a gatekeeper’ so they still matter. So for them taking it to the streets is not an option. To do so would mean blowing their career up on the launch pad.

Yet there is no getting away from it; for Phil it actually started a conversation they had wanted to have for a year.

They did finally did get a response from their editor at Tor—so in the end taking it to the streets at least got them further down the road than they were really at.

Yet it is one that a less accomplished, less popular, less awarded, less successful indie published, author would be have to be Hemming-way level drunk to consider. My fear is that other authors will think this is an option for them. Seriously, I hope no other author takes this option unless they are the at the same point at the Foglios. Ever.

Work your craft. Be as professional as you can. And above all don’t burn your bridges unless you never want to use it again, and you have other rock-solid ones you can take.