Writers in the Storm

Writers In the Storm is delighted to welcome Bob Mayer, one of the premiere writer advocates in publishing today. Bob, along with Jen Talty (his co-founder at Who Dares Wins Publishing) have become very well known voices in "indie" publishing in a very short time. Here's Bob in his own words...

****************

Publishing is the Wild West right now, with changes happening daily and most of the prognosticators from the beginning of the year already proven wrong, as they were last year and the year before.  The recent settlement with the Justice Department by several of the Big 6 is a huge game changer. Jen Talty and I formed Who Dares Wins Publishing in January 2010.  At the time I was looking at it as a sideline, a way to get my Atlantis series back into circulation.  I was busy writing my epic Duty, Honor, Country, a Novel of West Point and the Civil War and editing The Jefferson Allegiance in anticipation of sending them to my agent for sale.  (Jen meanwhile, slaved away full-time for a year and a half building the company). As 2011 dawned, I had to re-evaluate.  2010 was a year of drastic change.  In January, ebooks constituted roughly 3% of the market.  People, ‘experts’, said they might make it to 5 or maybe even 10% by the end of the year.  They were wildly off. I had to evaluate based not on where publishing was at the moment, but rather where it was going to be.  So I made the decision to commit to Who Dares Wins Publishing completely.  Considering this is my livelihood, abandoning a proven business model for an unknown model was risky, but I’ve always taken chances and embraced challenges, from West Point to the Infantry to volunteering for the Green Berets and in publishing.  I’m going to use my own sales numbers, not the other authors we have, for the sake of privacy. In January of 2011 I sold 347 ebooks. By the end of the year, I sold close to half a million ebooks.  And I only sell two titles at .99; the rest of my titles range from $2.99 to $4.99, which means they earn 70% royalties on their platforms.   My average income per ebook is roughly $1.50.   We recently published The ShelfLess Book: The Complete Digital Author detailing all we’ve learned in e-publishing. Here’s another thing few discuss:  the 100% royalty rate of direct sales.  We launched an automated web site thanks to Jen Talty’s hard work that pays dividends in direct sales. However, I think with all the changes, an indie author has to continue to take chances.  I just signed a deal with Amazon Encore for some backlist titles and with their science fiction imprint, 47 North, for three future titles. One marketing tool I believe is very effective is to post on other people’s blogs.  People read their own blog.  I think building community is more important than direct marketing.  Making connections with the movers and shakers in the business is also important.  That’s the reason I was just at RT and will be attending Thrillerfest in July. It might be the Wild West in publishing, but as a former Green Beret, it’s the kind of environment we were trained to thrive in.

****************

If you haven't ever heard Bob speak, his classes are awesome - here he is talking about e-book pricing and the agency model: [youtube=http://youtu.be/a8bJyq3nf88] Are you finding this changing publishing environment freeing or overwhelming? Bob is traveling to Indianapolis today for a speaking engagement, but he promised to stop by so don't be shy with those questions. If you know the answer to someone else's question, feel free to help each other out down in the comments section too. :-) About Bob

by Fae Rowen Okay, Jenny Hansen is blog mistress this month, which means that things get a little wild sometimes here at WITS. I have to admit that I freaked out when I saw my next blog assignment: Tarot and conference. "Is Jenny crazy?  She want's me to write about what?" I fire off an e-mail.  "You mean the RWA National Conference in Anaheim in July?!" Yep. My mind spirals off into another galaxy - far, far from my everyday life.... Here's what I fear: Me sitting in the bar (which I hate to do--I'm no good at socializing) holding a deck of tarot cards.  Jenny working the crowd, pulling in victims writers from all over. Lines snaking around the lobby. In this horror flick, I look like a deer caught in the headlights, waiting for someone to approach me.  I feel like a Class A-WooWoo-Weirdo.  What if some editor or agent wants a reading...?  CUT! Very few people know I read tarot cards. And runes.  And the I Ching. I've been reading since I was sixteen, but just for trusted friends.  Occasionally.  (Ok, rarely these days.)  After all, can you imagine the looks I'd get at work if they knew the mathematician participated in a non-provable activity?  An occult proceeding?  Can you say SCORN? Well, they will now if they read this blog.  (Which, thank goodness, they won't.) Or if Jenny has her way in getting my "WooWoo" out of the closet. She wants a post on crystals too...says writers need to know these things for their "research." My experience in mixing my private hobbies with my everyday life: Years ago, as a wedding present I reluctantly agreed to be one of the reception "activities" at a friend's wedding.  This friend was in a circle outside my usual acquaintances, or I never would have considered his request. I sat at a table and read at the reception.  For three solid hours.  I'd never done anything like that before.  Never read for strangers and never so many people.  You would have thought I was giving away free money by looking at the constant line of people chatting and waiting. I never saw the buffet table.  I didn't even get a piece of cake.  In fact, when I finished with the last person, I looked around and the space was already cleaned up.   And I had thought no one would visit my little table. For months people I didn't know would come up to me in the grocery store, in a parking lot, in the mall--and want to talk about their reading.  I didn't know these people!  And I certainly didn't remember what their cards had said. Is Jenny really suggesting I do readings at Conference?? My brain is sufficiently spasmed by the e-mail that I need verbal communication. I call Jenny. "Yes, I need two blogs from you." "Just blogs? Two?  Right now?" "No, one in May and one in June." "About what?" "Didn't you get the e-mail?  One about WooWoo in May -- tarot, crystals, whatever you want -- and one about you and conference in June." My brain begins the long journey back from that far, far away galaxy. I hear Jenny buzzing in my ear: "Fae, are you there?  Can you write them?" You bet'cha.  Two separate posts? Nothing about Tarot in the conference post?  Whoopee!  I feel like a pardoned prisoner on death row. But I have to admit.  As I consider sitting at the bar in the Marriott this summer, it wouldn't hurt to have a deck, or two, in my pocket.  It might even be fun.  I'd certainly meet more people this way than my usual seventh-grade wallflower routine. Trouble is, I wouldn't remember anything afterwards. That's why Jenny, Laura, and Sharla would need to sit at the table with me.  I'll just need to find a good wig and sunglasses.  And borrow someone else's nametag. In the meantime, I'll write something about reading Tarot for May and my previous conference experiences for June. If you attend the RWA National Conference in Anaheim this July and see me in the bar, act like you never read this post. Has someone ever asked you to write something that made you terrified? Like you were hanging the naked you out for the world to see? Did you write it? (And you survived??) Do you have out-of-the-way talents that creep into your writing? What are they?

by Charlotte Carter When romance writers create a Happily-Ever-After tale, there has to be more to the relationship than simply LUST between the hero and heroine. As many a woman has discovered in real life, lust doesn’t last forever. (Shh, don’t tell my husband!) Whether you are writing an Erotic Romance, an Inspirational Romance or anything in between, you need to deepen that relationship to make the ‘forever’ believable. Here are some of the elements you can show to convince your readers.

1. The hero is great with kids; we’d all want him to be the father of our children.
2. If there are simply no children around, you can fake the same message by having the hero be kind to dogs, cats or assorted other animals, particularly if they’re injured.
3. The hero protects/defends heroine from her enemies.
4. The hero’s actions are mentally heroic; he is a truth teller and/or has integrity in spite of possible negative repercussions to his own life.
5. The hero has the ability to have fun, or enhances the heroine’s sense of fun.
6. The heroine empathizes with the hero’s past, his problems, or his possible future; she senses his emotional needs and wants to fill them.
7. The hero and heroine share either common interests or values, or both, often in spite of apparent or superficial differences.
8. The hero intuitively understands and meets the heroine’s needs, both emotionally and in a sexual way (at the sensual level appropriate for your book). (Remember, we’re talking fantasy here.)
9. The hero talks to the heroine, revealing more of himself than he ever has before. That makes him vulnerable.
10. The hero admires/respects what the heroine does/is, and lets her know it, either directly or through his actions.
11. The heroine learns from others that the hero is a worthy person.
12. In terms of personality or emotional strength (not in a materialistic way), the hero/heroine provides what is lacking in the other.
13. The hero puts the heroine first and is willing to sacrifice something important for her – and she will sacrifice for him.

While all of these elements lend themselves to one or more scenes, they don’t have to all be in every story. Nor can you simply throw one or two in just for the fun of it.

Every element in your story must be integrated and evolve from the characters and plot.

Your readers want to believe this relationship you’ve created will last forever. Give them good reasons to keep the faith–and your book. Did I leave any tried and true methods off the list? What is your favorite way to employ "Show Don't Tell" in your writing? Happy writing, Char Books that leave you smiling Big Sky Family, Love Inspired, 10/19/2011 Montana Love Letter, Love Inspired, 10/2012 2011 Book Buyers Best Finalist www.CharlotteCarter.com