Tag Archives: publishing

PARTY TIME!

Wait… it’s almost party time.

Yessir (or yes ma’am, or yes creature-of-the-night or yes oak tree if that’s how we’re feeling today), we’re going to have a party. It’s a Facebook party, but dangit, it’s a REAL party.

And we’re celebrating a book release.

You’ve all been so patient and supportive, encouraging me through the tough parts of this project, celebrating the small victories, offering advice or a loving kick in the pants when I needed it. I think we all deserve to have some fun, don’t you?

The Bound release party is happening June 26, 2014 from 12:30 to 8:30 PM EDT (Eastern). It’s a long party, and obviously I’m going to have to step out for bathroom and coffee breaks and to do silly little things like feeding my family, but this seemed like a good way to make sure that everyone who wants to can stop by, sign in, and participate in a few activities for a chance to win prizes. You’re under no obligation to stay for the whole thing.

Prizes? Indeed. I’ll be giving out a few e-book copies of Bound over the course of the party (drawn for from participants in specific activities), and a grand prize of a signed paperback copy plus a bag of the magical tea I drink while I’m writing and an Amazon gift card. I might throw some more prizes in there if enough people show up.

print

Like so.

If you’re an author and would like to give away a copy of your e-book in an activity to get the word out, I’d be happy to help out. Just e-mail me (kate.sparkes @ live.ca). I’d like to make this about you guys, too. I couldn’t have done this without you.

So here’s what you do: follow this link to the party page. Click up top (under the banner) to indicate you’re coming. Then on the 26th, look for the sign-in post so I know I’ve got your name for the grand prize, which will be chosen randomly from everyone who shows up. Invite friends, if you’d like. Look around, have some fun, join in discussions or activities if you’d like. Ask a question, if you have one. This is my first Facebook party, but I think it’ll be small enough that I’ll be able to keep up with everything. Mingle. Make some mew friends. Or be the weird dude who sits in the corner and talks to the dragonlings. That’s cool, too.

 

ROW80 Update:

It feels like we just did this. Um… everything approved with formatting. Should have that proof paperback in my hands Tuesday (or Wednesday, what with the mail being slow here). I’m about half way through my read-through of book two, and I’m getting some fantastic ideas about how to improve it. I’ve also had a most delightful realization about Aren’s grandmother. Nothing I could ever write into a YA series, but no one ever said that everything set in a world had to be for the same age group… you never know. I keep finding these characters who want to have their stories told, so even when this trilogy is over, I don’t think I’ll be done my work there.

Frustrating, infuriating, difficult and just plain hard as this work is at times, I really wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Release date still set for June 26, though I’m hoping to have e-book links available sooner, just to cover for retailers who are slower about putting things up. I may be queen of the procrastinators, but I think I’m actually going to be ahead of schedule for this one.

I just jinxed it, didn’t I?


Pleases and Thank Yous and OMG A BOOK: ROW80 goals post, round 2

So this goals post is a week late. I said last Sunday that I was putting it off because of my surgical thinger on Monday (UPDATE: everything is fine, general anaesthesia is creepy, painkillers are kind of fun but I’m off of them now). That was true, but it wasn’t all of it. I was waiting to get stuff back from my editor, and I wanted to make sure his evaluation wasn’t going to be KILL IT NOW WITH FIRE AND EXTREME PREJUDICE before I made goals public.

Wouldn’t want to have to retract my goals now, would I?

Anyway…

This has the potential to be a huge round for me. I’m not going to lie, I might need you all to talk me down from an 8th-floor window ledge at least once, assuming I can find a building anywhere around here with eight floors.

Why? Because this round covers April 7 to June 26, and depending on how things go… no promises just yet… I might just have a book out by the end of this round.

LIKE A BOOK AN ACTUAL BOOK I MIGHT BE HOLDING MY WORDS IN MY HANDS IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS HOLY CARP.*

Pictured: Holy Carp.

Pictured: Holy Carp.

I got the edits back, and they’re exactly what I had hoped for. My guy is a master of the “sh*t sandwich” technique. No punches pulled on things that need improvement, but some of what he said was so encouraging that I fell asleep smiling the night I got and read the (20 page) critique. When I read the line notes, I spent equal amounts of time slapping my forehead over silly little mistakes and grinning like an idiot because he totally got what I was going for so much of the time.

I’ll do a post on this experience later, because it was so interesting.

The important thing is that he had ideas on how to fix problems I already knew existed, and came up with suggestions that are really going to push this thing up to a whole ‘nother level.

I’m both excited and pants-crappingly terrified. It’s… different.

So what are we looking at over the next few months? A THRILLING roller-coaster of me working on that in a most professional manner and handling all of my other plans and responsibilities with the grace and aplomb of Martha Stewart organizing a dinner party, obviously.

*snerk*

But seriously. Professionalism is this round’s goal. Distance. This isn’t my baby anymore. It’s a product, and if I have anything to say about it, it’ll be a damned good one. I know I’m insecure about a lot of things, but I’m absolutely confident about that.

So, the goals. Please note that these could change and things could get pushed back. But:

APRIL:

  • Edit Bound (pray for me, send happy thoughts, whatever. Please. I’m new at this.)
  • Write back-cover copy (SOMEBODY SAVE ME)
  • set up Facebook author page, change personal account name for consistency
  • hire proof-reader (anyone know someone cheap? I’m pretty well out of cash)
  • find reviewers who might be interested in YA Fantasy (again, if you know anyone, or are someone and want an ARC, see below)
  • put together front-matter and back-matter for the book, metadata, keywords, etc

MAY:

  • finish edits
  • send out newsletter with release date, cover reveal date, preview, and request for readers willing to review ARCs in exchange for a free copy (sign-ups here, if you’re DTR**)
  • Formatting (kill me now)
  • cover reveal here and on other blogs, if anyone wants to assist… *puppy dog eyes*
  • apply for ISBNs
  • submit to CreateSpace, order proof copy, correct all the things
  • Prepare for awesome-yet-smallish Facebook release party (you’re coming, right?)
  • Add to Goodreads, set up give-away
  • revisions on book 2 (we’ll call this a stretch goal)

JUNE:

  • Upload to Amazon, Smashwords
  • LAUNCH THIS THING *smashes champagne bottle on Kindle*
  • Release party
  • mood swings, morning after regret, probable IBS
  • Draft book three for JuNoWriMo if revisions on 2 are done. Otherwise, keep up with that and get to book 3 later.

 

This timeline terrifies me. I’ve been 100% sure I wanted to publish independently for almost a year, but the traditional-minded part of me is still screaming “YOU CAN’T DO IT THAT QUICKLY! SO WRONG!” I’m still amazed when I see authors post things like, “Well, finished a draft, guess I’ll release next month.”

Um… *hides under table*

Time to stop wussing out, though. This is my job now. As entrepreneurial ventures go, it’s a risky one. I just have to learn to be OK with that.

Now, before things get too crazy, I think I should take a minute to thank all of you. My WIPpeteers, my blog friends, my real-life friends who care and have encouraged me and put up with my “should-I-or-shouldn’t-I” crap, and especially those who have read my stuff… you’re all the reason I’m going ahead with this. Your love and encouragement have meant the world to me, and have given me the confidence to follow this dream. You’ve convinced me that this is a gamble that’s going to pay off (in satisfaction and experience, even if not in cash). Your advice and assistance have brought me this far. So thank you.

 

Anything else y’all think I should be doing to get ready?

Oh, and if you need to reach me privately about anything, my contact info is in the “About Me” tab.

 

*Not written like this. You’re welcome.

**Down to read.

 

 


And So It Goes in the Arts Today…

Here’s an interesting quote I happened upon in yesterday’s newspaper in an article about how Marianas Trench is doing a concert in St. John’s tonight and I’m not going. Okay, so the article says nothing about me not going, I’m just bitter (come on, I was just there!). It does, however, feature guitarist Matt Webb saying something that sounds exactly what you hear from authors all over the place these days:

“Everyone thinks that once you have that elusive record deal that you just coast,” he said, “but in today’s world, it’s when the real hard work begins. There’s no huge budgets anymore, so you really have to do a lot of the work yourself, whether that’s online through social media, promoting your work or whatever.”

Take out the word “record” and replace it with “publishing,” and how many times have we heard that? Seriously, tell me. I’ve lost count. Once a day, at least, on various blogs or news articles.

Sucks for many of us, who would be happy to just write and hand off the marketing stuff to someone else. This seems to be our reality, though.

So, what thinkest youse guys? How do you find out about new music or books? Do you ever try to connect with favourite artists via facebook or twitter, or have fans connected with you that way? How much promotion of this sort do you think is necessary? How much does it suck that I’m stuck in the armpit of the province right now and not in St. John’s, waiting for a concert and a possible holiday on Wednesday?*

Feel free to post any links to helpful promotional sites/tools/whatever, anything you’re using and having success with. Or if you think that self-promotion is a crock and completely useless, feel free to tell me that, too.

(I’m a fan of Kristen Lamb’s blog, myself. I’m waiting for her revised books to come out so I can read ’em up)

Bonus thingy:  CreateSpace posted this on faebook yesterday, and it was too perfect not to share. I’m totally doing the guitar hero thing. *ahem*

*Regatta Day is a floating holiday, entirely dependent on the weather. It’s a bit weird, to be honest, but I like it.


Pen Names (and also tangents)

nom de plume

I’ve never really thought about using a pen name.  I can see the benefit if you want to keep your personal and writing life separate (I know I wouldn’t want my grandparents to know I wrote smut, if I did that. NEVER happens. *cough*), but I want my own name on my work when it goes out into the world.

Well, kind of my real name… in real life, I’m not Kate. I’m Kathleen. I know, SHOCKING. The weird thing is, I spend so much time on this blog and commenting on others, with critique partners and at write-ins on Twitter that I now think of myself as “Kate” and have to stop to think when I introduce myself to people in real life. Do you know how awkward it is when someone asks your name and you have to stop to think about it? So much worse than forgetting your own phone number…

Anyway. I’ve wanted my own name on my books for a long time. Definitely since I started thinking about publishing anything. There’s just one teeny-tiny problem.

Quick, how do you spell my last name?

Did you have to look? That’s OK, everyone does. Please don’t feel badly if you’re someone who does/has done it in the past, because it’s not just you. Everyone writes my name as “Kate Sparks.”

It’s a fine name, if you ignore the fact that the name “Sparks” in writing leads you to thinking of sappy, tear-jerker romances. But it’s not my name. I’m Sparkes with an “ES,” and  like it. It’s not the name I was born with, but it’s actually a pretty cool name. It’s a shortened form of the word “Sparrowhawk,” for one thing, which is a tiny little badass bird. Fine by me!

So what’s the problem? If readers can’t remember how to spell my name, they can’t find me. If someone tells a friend, “I read this amazing book by Kate Sparkes” and their friend is all “AWESOME, I’m gonna look for that” and they search for “Kate Sparks”…

nope

See the problem? Especially for someone just starting out, I mean. If Stephen King changed the spelling of his last name to “Kyngge,” we’d still find him. For me, someone not finding my work on their first Amazon search could equal them saying “screw it, I’m reading the Hunger Games again.” And who could blame them? Fantastic book.

I’m getting off track again, aren’t I?

I’m not changing the spelling of my name to make it more searchable. I’m not changing it to Tallulah Fandongola, even if that is the name I give when I call the pizza place and it might be more recognizable (and is spelled phonetically). Most people probably search for books by title, so I’ll be OK as long as those are easy to remember (not like these ones), but still…

Questions! Will you publish/are you published under your own name? If not, why not? Do you recommend authors to people, or just books? Do you think Kate Sparrowhawk would be a good pen name HOLY CRAP THAT WOULD BE THE BEST PEN NAME EVER! What was I saying? Oh, any other thoughts on pen names, weird spellings, searchability on Google or Amazon? Anything, really. Tell me all of the things. ALL OF THEM! I’m not so much looking for advice or reassurances, since I already know what I’m doing. I just want know what you think.

(Also, if the day ever comes when someone searches on Google for “Kate Sparks” and it says, “Did you mean Kate Sparkes?” I will throw a huge party. Just saying.)

(Also also, have you ever read your own name so many times that it stops making sense and you begin to wonder whether you’re spelling it right? That’s me, right now, editing this post.)


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