tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post6581233286565772876..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by KD JamesJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-66966945059556805392014-06-12T22:17:25.361-05:002014-06-12T22:17:25.361-05:00Thank you, RSS. The praise is humbling, coming fro...Thank you, RSS. The praise is humbling, coming from someone whose writing surpasses mine in every way, except perhaps in terms of availability. Grrrr. But we're going to work on that.KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-90303852789977878572014-06-12T18:56:45.566-05:002014-06-12T18:56:45.566-05:00Enjoyed the post and the information. Am going to...Enjoyed the post and the information. Am going to check out the HCRW book, it sounds good and helpful. Already have and have read the excellent novella mentioned. rssasrbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14957629113999230457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19917408326721661712014-06-12T15:27:56.335-05:002014-06-12T15:27:56.335-05:00Thank you, Alan and Avril, I'm glad you enjoye...Thank you, Alan and Avril, I'm glad you enjoyed it.<br /><br />And thank you, Joe, for letting me take over your space for a few days. You've got a good group over here, smart and funny people who made me feel welcome. It's been a pleasure.KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-47091360738759399042014-06-12T11:08:26.595-05:002014-06-12T11:08:26.595-05:00Contact with bankruptcy law firms just outside of ...Contact with bankruptcy law firms just outside of your neighborhood to receive idea in your <br />area. On average the most common conditions 5-10 session is fully resolved and <br />the customer must be receptive to change for therapy to <br />work. And lastly, when a lawyer promises you vengeance, assures you a 100% win, <br />and tells you everything that you want to hear,<br />most probably than not, he is a bad attorney.<br /><br /><br />Here is my web page - Long Beach (<a href="https://Www.Youtube.com/watch?v=UMzJ0AbFoOI" rel="nofollow"></a>)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-48602576190109019942014-06-12T08:28:00.396-05:002014-06-12T08:28:00.396-05:00Great post and really enjoyed your sense of humour...Great post and really enjoyed your sense of humour.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04601761053183710038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-60283774407112940842014-06-12T08:23:52.686-05:002014-06-12T08:23:52.686-05:00An additional link: http://www.thebookseller.com/n...An additional link: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/hachette-reveals-amazon-digital-sales-share.htmlAlan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88337858793512319982014-06-12T08:10:58.120-05:002014-06-12T08:10:58.120-05:00Great blog post, KD, I like your humor.
@Joe: for...Great blog post, KD, I like your humor.<br /><br />@Joe: for the first time, Hachette has revealed the distribution of its ebook sales. It seems to me the information isn't present in The Passive Voice blog, so enjoy! :) <br /><br />http://aldus2006.typepad.fr/.a/6a00d8342e8a5353ef01a511cbdb86970c-piAlan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-84973641187405205322014-06-11T23:31:28.123-05:002014-06-11T23:31:28.123-05:00Thanks, Lou! I remember you once told me I have a ...Thanks, Lou! I remember you once told me I have a "wild and wicked imagination." I wrote it down, so I'd always remember. One of these days, I'm going to write a cowboy romance for you. Maybe they'll be cowboy pirates.KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42495583804267971632014-06-11T22:22:15.948-05:002014-06-11T22:22:15.948-05:00Thoroughly enjoyed the guest post, KDJ! But that d...Thoroughly enjoyed the guest post, KDJ! But that doesn't surprise me as I have always enjoyed your voice. You have a clever and original writing style!<br /><br />One of your imaginary friends...Lounoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-74811750080001009292014-06-11T20:08:25.005-05:002014-06-11T20:08:25.005-05:00Aww, Peter, what a lovely thing to say. I have no ...Aww, Peter, what a lovely thing to say. I have no doubt whatsoever that you'd be disappointed if you ever met me. I'm not exactly a sparkling conversationalist. All my words go straight from my brain to my fingers and completely bypass my mouth. I'm very quiet.<br /><br />And kudos to you for the reading diversity. Something Sol Stein wrote in his book "Stein on Writing" has stuck with me [paraphrasing here, as I'm too lazy to go find the book]: The purpose of non-fiction is to impart information. The purpose of fiction is to evoke emotion.<br /><br />I think that's true. When someone talks about a novel they LOVED, you don't hear how informative it was or how much they learned. You hear about how it made them feel, how they cried when it broke their heart or how worried they were about the bad guy getting away with it or how it scared the ever-loving crap out of them. And different readers want to experience different emotions/genres. <br /><br />What has surprised me, since joining HCRW, is what a huge range of diversity there is within the romance genre. When I first started reading it, it was mostly (not exclusively) historical romance and a few westerns. I think the internet helped change that mix and self-publishing is opening up the genre even further. It's pretty exciting to have all that choice, both as a reader and a writer.<br /><br />It makes me crazy to hear people criticize genre fiction as "escapism." Damn straight, it's escapism. I have enough reality in my life, thank you. We need stories, of all kinds. <br /><br />Whoa, anyone have a step stool so I can climb down off this soapbox? Not sure how I got up here... oh, there it is. Joe keeps one handy, I see. :-)KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1591312171888601302014-06-11T19:52:34.811-05:002014-06-11T19:52:34.811-05:00These lenders will scrutinize your credit report a...These lenders will scrutinize your credit report and tell you which items you must get up to speed.<br /><br />Many times, this saves clients thousands of dollars on legal representation. And lastly, when a <br />lawyer promises you vengeance, assures you a 100% win, and tells you everything that you <br />want to hear, most probably than not, he is a bad attorney.<br /><br /><br /><br />Also visit my page - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDy0_twsdqg" rel="nofollow">Burbank</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-16572486441749970552014-06-11T19:00:48.906-05:002014-06-11T19:00:48.906-05:00Thanks for the info, K.D. I wish you lived close b...Thanks for the info, K.D. I wish you lived close by so we could “do lunch” and swap advice and stories.<br /><br />I think that every genre author (and reader, for that matter) has to suffer the condescension of people who do not “get” what the fascination is. It’s not just for Romance books, but also Cozy Mysteries, Science Fiction, Police Procedurals, Spy Thrillers, etc. For all of them, each of which has legions of fans, there are others who go, “What is it? I don’t get what it is with that crap!”<br /><br />Romances, though, I think are special, because the stories that they tell touch all of us to some degree. The best of the well-written Romances are as good as any writing out there. Two of my all-time favorite books—of any type—are <i>Through a Glass Darkly</i> by Karleen Koen, and <i>Forever Amber</i> by Kathleen Winsor, both Historicals. Or how about <i>Gone With the Wind</i> by Margaret Mitchell, which won the Pulitzer Prize. If you want something more modern, there is <i>Love Story</i> by Eric Segal, or <i>The Mulberry Tree</i> by Jude Deveraux, or <i>Mark of the Loon</i> by Molly Greene (a self-published novel that rivals anything that BigPub has ever put out).<br /><br />The millions of readers, including myself, who have enjoyed all of these books have been drawn in by the stories of the people in them, the interpersonal relationships that blossom, flower… and, yes, sometimes die… over the course of the story, just as in real life.<br /><br />Maybe that’s what Romance stories are: personal stories. Maybe that’s why we love them so much.Peter Spenserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18317246557600202574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-45955444917382750612014-06-11T15:07:11.624-05:002014-06-11T15:07:11.624-05:00Walter, have you been drinking? If not, maybe you ...Walter, have you been drinking? If not, maybe you should consider it? Clearly, with that imagination, you're a writer. <br /><br />We did have an iguana. You know that game at the State Fair where you toss a ball at a bunch of glass jars, only the ball is bigger than the opening of the jars and no one ever wins... my son won. Ball went in on the first try. He could have gotten ride tickets, but no, he wanted one of the little baby iguanas. It was sort of cute when it was little. Then it got big and scaly and it was mean. <br /><br />One day the kids decided the iguana might like some fresh air (I wasn't home at the time) and carried his aquarium outside and put it in the sun. Where there was no shade. By the time their dad realized what they'd done... well, that was the end of poor Gort.<br /><br />Gort only ever ate kale, back before it was trendy to do so. Quite the stylish fellow. So if your iguana did indeed eat Aunt Marge, I'd say that's a pretty good indication that it must be an alien. On the other hand, if your iguana is as mean and ugly as Gort was, I suspect your aunt had good cause to run away from home. I certainly considered it. I suggest looking for her in places where there are pirates.KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-79077864170201353112014-06-11T14:55:08.397-05:002014-06-11T14:55:08.397-05:00Again with the pirates, JAC? I think I've figu...Again with the pirates, JAC? I think I've figured out how to get guys to read romance. And I'm with you on mis-reading the fisking. The first time it was mentioned I was all, "You're going to do <i>what</i>?! Oh, that's a K. Never mind."<br /><br />Thanks, Adan. I hope it's helpful. Or at least entertaining.<br /><br />Hi Linda! Hi, Carol! Good to see you over here. We are indeed lucky that HCRW is such a great group of professionals.<br /><br />Paul, I'm not sure, since I wasn't in charge of it, but it's possible we uploaded the book through Smashwords for distribution to AMZ and BN, rather than directly to each of those sites. Smashwords has a requirement that books contain that phrase. Free advertising, maybe?<br /><br />Patrice, yes, the organization and volunteer effort that goes into RWA is phenomenal. Such a wealth of information about the craft and the business of writing.KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-80786728080911711842014-06-11T14:54:28.558-05:002014-06-11T14:54:28.558-05:00Joe: check out Neil Gaiman's reaction to the A...Joe: check out Neil Gaiman's reaction to the Amazon/Hachette mess at http://www.salon.com/2014/06/11/neil_gaiman_i%E2%80%99m_obviously_pissed_at_amazon/?source=newsletterHairheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91331061864256225302014-06-11T11:56:35.584-05:002014-06-11T11:56:35.584-05:00Thanks for sharing, KD! Years ago I bought an RWA...Thanks for sharing, KD! Years ago I bought an RWA book full of great advice and anecdotes from Romance writers. I've never written romance, but I learned a LOT from that book. Maybe it was the Romance Bible?<br /><br />In any case, great organization. And at BEA they tend to bring along a couple of cover models. Whom I wouldn't mind *frisking* at all. <br /><br />Appreciate your post, and Joe, who is still giving back in connection with the Alzheimer's fundraising efforts. Patrice Fitzgeraldhttp://www.patricefitzgerald.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46852456571411883742014-06-11T11:32:44.435-05:002014-06-11T11:32:44.435-05:00Wonderful article! We will be linking to this grea...Wonderful article! We will be linking to this great post on our site.<br />Keep up the good writing.<br /><br />my site: <a href="http://zijmaakthet.blogspot.fr/2012/04/de-beurs-in-houten.html" rel="nofollow">weight loss pills for women</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-30030677138189869442014-06-11T09:35:24.766-05:002014-06-11T09:35:24.766-05:00You have an iguana?
My Aunt Marge was abducted by...You have an iguana?<br /><br />My Aunt Marge was abducted by an iguana hiding in the barn.<br /><br />I think the iguana is really an alien, but I do not know for sure. It is really a good liar. We thought that Marge was the liar, always cracking those jokes about a talking lizard in her backyard and a spaceship in her barn. It turns out she kept a straight face because she was not joking.<br /><br />When she disappeared, I flew out to see if I could find anything. I have always been good about finding things, but finding Aunt Marge has been real hard. I have not found her yet, but I figured I would write all this down. Better if I did it all right away. I keep a note pad by my bed. <br /><br />It could really be aliens who got her, because of the spaceship in the barn and all the oil stains on the grass. I asked the police to test for radiation, but they were too busy. I suspect the police might not have an open mind about aliens. I think either the aliens left in the spaceship, or the iguana ate her.<br /><br />So, I would like some advice: if I eat the iguana, is it cannibalism?<br />Walter Knighthttp://www.waltknight.yolasite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-73687891631552171802014-06-11T08:48:00.283-05:002014-06-11T08:48:00.283-05:00When midlife hit me (and it hit HARD), I started w...When midlife hit me (and it hit HARD), I started writing after a 30-year lapse. I wrote a book that must have been 500,000 words, and when I got done, I groaned. "Oh my god, it's a romance."<br /><br />Well, it was. And I still loved it. I'd never read romance (Okay, I'd read "The Flame and the Flower" long ago and hadn't been impressed by all the rapiness), but I'd heard about RWA. I found our local chapter—HCRW, yay!—and joined. And learned about romance, but mostly about writing. Here I thought that since I read so much, I automatically knew how to write. HCRW had workshops out the wazoo, helpful members, access to more workshops...<br /><br />A publisher offered to buy one of my books. Whoa!<br /><br />And then self-publishing started to go legit, and Sarra Cannon offered her mind-blowing workshops. (She also offers these online, so you can take them as well.) I can now proudly say that by the end of this year I'll have six novels out that have been professionally produced in all ways, but self-published. They all aren't "proper" romances, but they have romance elements, like any good book. (Well, I think that's a "must-have.") I love to write, I love my books, and I love HCRW.<br /><br />I'd also love it if people bought that anthology. I'm in it, but I don't get $$ from sales. Proceeds go to support our chapter (and those workshops!).Carol A. Stricklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08144748925453952984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-78817425055548079172014-06-11T07:37:48.651-05:002014-06-11T07:37:48.651-05:00KD, terrific post! I too was surprised and delight...KD, terrific post! I too was surprised and delighted when I started coming to HCRW. I was used to going to meetings with food writers, who talk a lot about food and writing recipes but very little about the business of being a successful writer. How marvelous to find a group so willing to share ideas for researching Regency bodices and for making a living as a professional writer. Thanks for contributing to the anthology and to the community!Linda Watsonhttp://www.cookforgood.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-68018158249831005652014-06-11T06:08:54.297-05:002014-06-11T06:08:54.297-05:00KD, very much enjoyed the post and thoughts and hu...KD, very much enjoyed the post and thoughts and humor ;-)<br /><br />Appreciate the links, and am getting Heart of the Matter, sounds like fun & useful to read.<br /><br />Thanks!adanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710750989853277203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-54002798139904500452014-06-11T02:19:40.896-05:002014-06-11T02:19:40.896-05:00Pirates! Do the pirate one! ;D
Great blog, KD. I&...Pirates! Do the pirate one! ;D<br /><br />Great blog, KD. I'm more a fan of pirates than romance for the most part(once persuaded 300 strangers to dress up as pirates for a comedy night) but you have a great writing style so I'm open to being persuaded otherwise.<br /><br />The anthology also sounds really useful. I've been self-pubbing for a while and am a firm believer in honing the skills wherever possible, so will be interested to read it. Off to purchase now!<br /><br />(And KD, I misread "fisking" every time, but not sure if that's English slang or just my dirty mind...heheheheh.)<br />Nice to meet you!<br />JAC <br />JAClementhttp://jaclement.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42853292569407694882014-06-11T01:29:56.967-05:002014-06-11T01:29:56.967-05:00Hi, thank you for this post. The only problem I fi...Hi, thank you for this post. The only problem I find with the book on Amazon (when looking inside) is that it states it's a Smashwords edition. Paul Zantenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-72740298696413553442014-06-10T18:56:14.247-05:002014-06-10T18:56:14.247-05:00Stephan, I confess that I'm a bit surprised by...Stephan, I confess that I'm a bit surprised by this purported interest in pirate stories. I was expecting more of a "good choice, abandoning <i>that</i> novel" reaction. Maybe I should re-think that decision...<br /><br />ME, I'm always learning too. Unfortunately, some of my biggest lightbulb moments come immediately <i>after</i> I hit that "publish" button. *sigh*<br /><br />Adam, your comment cracked me up. Thank you. Very clever wordplay. KD Jameshttp://kdjames.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-47113288487902926612014-06-10T18:48:11.628-05:002014-06-10T18:48:11.628-05:00It's a balance of Fisk vs. reward. In olden ti...It's a balance of Fisk vs. reward. In olden times it was referred to as physque. Better to light a kindle than curse the darkness. Or as Marcel Marceau once said if you got the mime I got the place. It is a constitutional right to free associate. And there it is. In other words, the above would not be.w.adam mandelbaumnoreply@blogger.com