Publishing—Who Has Your Back? Fellow Authors

By Linda Lovely

Like it or not, technology has changed publishing forever. There are three tech enablers: digital books/readers, print-on-demand (POD), and social media. This isn’t news—at least to fellow authors. Anyone who wants to publish a book can do so. The gates have come crashing down.

The latest statistics indicate 800 new books are launched EVERY DAY! 

From an author’s perspective, this is both good and bad news. Removal of the gates has provided new opportunities. It has also posed tough challenges. How can anyone find your new book when 799 others debut the same day?

A number of those 800 books are still published by “traditional” for-profit publishers that pay authors advances (sometimes) and royalties (always), and handle production details including editing, formatting, cover design, printing, distribution, sales and help with varying degrees of promotion. Having worked with traditional publishers, I must say they can make an author’s life much easier and allow you to concentrate on what you love—writing. However, unless you’re a star, the responsibility for promotion still falls squarely on your shoulders.

At the other end of the spectrum, independent authors—indies—publish their own books and personally handle (or hire out) production, sales, distribution, and even promotion chores. This means authors must spend hours tackling non-writing chores they may not enjoy, or spend money contracting for services without any assurance their sales will be sufficient to repay the investment. The upside is total control. Authors know they'll like their covers, because they're the only ones who approve them. They can tell stories and create heroes and heroines that don't fit comfortably in any traditional publishing niche. 

These are but a few of the pros and cons of traditional and indie publishing. Perhaps that’s why many authors now take a hybrid approach: traditionally publishing some titles, independently publishing others.

Recently, a third publishing option—the author cooperative—has arisen. It offers advantages of both traditional and independent publishing. That’s why I just joined nineteen other authors as a member of the author coop, Windtree Press, the publisher of my latest novel, LIES: SECRETS CAN KILL. As soon as I have my digital rights back to two books in my Smart Women, Dumb Luck romantic thriller series, Windtree will publish those books as well.

What does a coop offer its authors? I can’t speak for all coops since I’m sure philosophies and services vary. However, here’s why I joined Windtree Press:

• Brand recognition. Our shared website www.windtreepress.com sells all of our books. Since I know and take pride in the quality of my fellow members' books, I'm thrilled to have Windtree Press play a role in my brand.
• My fellow authors have unique talents and knowledge and are willing to share. For example, one member handles podcasts, another managed the website, another takes charge of our newsletter. That helps each of us achieve our goals. 
• We can cross promote our books on social media to gain new readers/fans.
• We can share the cost of resources such as access to new distribution channels or the savings from joint buying power, such as purchasing one hundred ISBN numbers at a time.
• While we’re committed to publishing at least one book each year with the coop, we retain our options to indie or traditionally publish titles when those options make sense. We lose no control. 

I’ve just begun this venture, but I have high hopes. Let me know what you think of the concept.

   

Writing Has Made Me Rich!

By Linda Lovely

Okay, no need for the IRS to start an audit. The meager author income reported on my tax return is unfortunately no lie. Nonetheless, researching mysteries and romantic suspense novels has made my life so much richer.

Here is a small sampling of my experiences and encounters with fascinating folks I would never have met if it weren’t for my research and professional affiliations.

Writers’ Police Academy

The Writers’ Police Academy (WPA) takes top honors on my list of opportunities to gain experiences and meet people I would never, ever have encountered if I had not attended the WPA. In August, I’ll make my fourth visit to the Academy, where I’m a volunteer staffer, giving back to an organization that is dedicated to helping writers of crime fiction get it right (and have a lot of fun in the process).

At the WPA, I have:

·         Searched a building with a SWAT team, carrying my own (unloaded) automatic rifle

·         Experienced the decision-making dilemmas police officers face in deciding when to fire in simulated real-life situations with hostages and armed threats. (I killed no civilians.)

·         Visited a burn site looking for signs of arson

·         Searched a wooded area for signs of a shallow grave

·         Learned self-defense tactics that work for women if they’re grabbed

·         Searched jail cells for contraband

·         Interviewed suspects and

·         Studied nasty bioweapon alternatives

·         Seen how dogs and robots would work to foil terrorists

·         Watched police divers retrieve underwater evidence

·         PLUS sat in classes presented to every type of law enforcement expert imaginable, from Secret Service, FBI and DEA agents to forensic psychologists, fraud and gang experts

·         What’s best? Many of the experts I met at the Academy and in my own backyard have been more than willing to help answer specific questions related to my manuscripts.

·         Retired Detective Lee Lofland, WPA founder, and Dr. Denene Lofland, who seems to know all there is to know about bio crimes, have become dear friends.

Sisters in Crime

Closer to home, I meet fascinating folks every month at the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Here are a few of our law enforcement-related guests:

·         An entertaining woman who heads her family’s bail bond company.

·         A psychic, considered empathic, clairaudient, claircognizant and sometimes clairvoyant.

·         A policeman who has spent nine years as a school resource officer.

·         Judges, public defenders, defense attorneys, DA.s and prosecutors.

·         Forensic crime scene and firearms specialists

·         A specialist in tracking computer and financial fraud.

·         The head of a group fighting domestic abuse and minor sex trafficking

·         A parole officer, 

Road Trips & Phone Interviews

Writing mysteries and romantic suspense also provides an excuse for road trips and conversations with some of the most interesting people outside of law enforcement. My most recent excursions have been to visit a goat cheese farm and a (legal) moonshine operation. I’ve also interviewed folks in my home town who are old enough to remember what it was like in 1938, when my novel LIES is set.

See what I mean about rich? I’m one Baby Boomer who believes there’s more to life than living an insulated life interacting only with people in your own age, ethnic, and income group.

Writers—what’s the most interesting research you’ve undertaken for a novel?