In the spirit of full disclosure, the seed for this blog was something I read over on Writer Unboxed about quirky character names. It got me thinking. I don’t know about you, but character names are as important to me as my titles . . . you don’t go messing with them (she sends up a prayer up to the Gods of publishing.)
I spend a lot of time naming my characters. What do I use as a criterion? Danged if I know. But I know a character’s name when I see it. I use Baby Names , or if the name must be ethnic, I use Baby Names Garden.
But really, that’s only a jumping off place. I usually know a lot about the character before I name them, so it’s really a matter of what name resonates with me when I hear it. Does that guy look like a Kale? This is obviously, totally subjective, and some of the logic resides with the girls in the basement, not with me, so I can’t be really clear about some of what goes into my naming.
Did you ever think about memorable names in books you read? I can probably take a guess at why Margaret Mitchell chose Scarlett for her Herone’s name, but why did Fitzgerald choose Jay and Daisy for The Great Gatsby? What made J. D. Salinger choose Holden for his protagonist in Catcher in the Rye? There were people in the basement in on that those – don’t tell me there weren’t.
I don’t know where the names in my head come from, but I’m finding to commonalities: I like boy names for girls (Stevie, Dani, Sam) and I love, love, love, nicknames. Here’s a few from my books:
Charla Rae (yes, I borrowed it, with permission, from our own Sharla Rae) who goes by Char, or Little Bit.
James Benton who goes by Jimmy or JB.
I even have a nickname for their animals – Char’s horse’s name is Buttermilk, but since she’s fat, Jimmy nicknamed her Pork Chop.
I’m not the only one hung up on Nicknames, I’m in good company. How about Harper Lee’s (hey, there's a girl with a guy's name!) Scout, Jem, and Boo Radley?
Are you obsessive about your character names, or is it just me?
How do you choose them? Have you ever changed one?
We're proud to have with us today, Debra Holland, a Golden Heart winner, whose book was NOT picked up for NY publication. They said "sweet" historicals wouldn't sell. Well, as you'll read, they made an error. One that Debra is capitalizing on. Here is her inspiring story of the past year.
UPDATE! As of 1/28, Debra'sWild Montana Sky just hit #1 on the Amazon top 100 Western Romance list. Hernumber three book, Stormy Montana Sky, which hasn't even been out two weeks, is number 31 on the list.
What a difference a year makes! Last January 1, I'd hadn't even considered self-publishing. In fact, I had a negative view of self-published books. I was deep the process of writing my nonfiction (traditionally published) book, The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving. At this point in the process, I'd had my two sample chapters accepted by my editor and was looking at writing 18 more in the next two and a half months.
I had secret doubts that I'd be able to write a GOOD book by the deadline. I used every motivational trick I knew to keep myself positive and on track. It was the one of the most difficult things I'd ever done. But the book is out now, I'm getting stellar reviews and making an impact on people’s lives, so it was all worth it!
Around February, Delle Jacobs posted her monthly self-published sales numbers to our group of friends, The Wet Noodle Posse. I was blown away. I made a mental note to self-publish my novels (that two agents hadn't been able to sell) and wished I wasn't buried in the grief book so I could do it now.
Once the grief book was turned in, I knew I had two weeks before my editor would get the revisions back to me. So I did a read through of each of my two fiction manuscripts, paid Delle to do my covers, made a 10 minute attempt to format the first book, Wild Montana Sky, before giving up and paying someone to do it for me.
Wild Montana Sky went live on the evening of April 28, and the next day, Starry Montana Sky followed. Of course I had hopes for some sales, but I never dreamed that they'd catch on and I'd sell so well: 27,069 (Wild Montana Sky) and 10,207 (Starry Montana Sky) for the year.
These numbers are a combination of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There are probably another 100 or so sales through Smashwords, which reports quarterly. (Monthly numbers below.)
I've been flabbergasted, excited, and humbled at the success of these two sweet historical Westerns.
After the grief revisions were done, I began working on Stormy Montana Sky (which I'd begun in 2004 and stopped writing after 50 pages.)
I became a self-publishing cheerleader, speaking to my chaptermates and writing blogs because I wanted other writers to know they had options besides traditional publishing. I also began preparing the first two books in my fantasy romance trilogy for publication.
Sower of Dreamswent live on July 31 (799 sales) and Reaper of Dreams followed on August 7 (243 sales.) As you can see, they didn't take off like the Westerns did, but they are selling steadily at about 100 and 50 a month. The covers are by Lex Valentine. They've paid for themselves by this point.
Although I’d finished Stormy Montana Sky by late November, it had to go to my editor. After my revisions, I sent it to several copyeditors, and didn’t get it back in time to self-publish the book in 2011. (Although it’s self-published now.)
In the meantime, I decided to self-publish my Romantic Space Opera, Lywin's Quest, (a 2005 Golden Heart Finalist.) I hesitated to self-publish it because it's EPIC at 140,000 words and the next two books in the trilogy are going to be a lot of work. It also didn’t have the copyedits finished in time to self-publish in 2011, although it’s now available.
Self-publishing has reawakened my creativity. When my books didn’t sell, I became discouraged. I stopped writing fiction and switched to nonfiction. What I didn’t know I was doing was stifling my creativity. I’d get a story idea and squash it thinking, “It’s too much work to write a book that doesn’t sell.”
Now ideas are flowing. The Montana Sky series has expanded (in my head and in notes) to two more full-length books, 3 novellas, and a collection of Christmas stories.
Having an income from writing, instead of spending money through taking classes, going to conferences, buying books, belonging to writers’ organizations, paying for editing, etc, is wonderful! Although I must say, checking my sales numbers has become an addiction.
Here's my sales breakdown by month:
APRIL WMS 11 (.99)
SMS 5 ($2.99)
MAY WMS 479
SMS 106
JUNE WMS 2454
SMS 638
JULY WMS 5085
SMS 1842
SOWER OF DREAMS (SOD) 3 (July 31)
AUGUST WMS 5106
SMS 2180
SOD 97 (.99)
REAPER OF DREAMS (ROD) 45 (Aug 7) ($2.99)
SEPTEMBER WMS 4348
SMS 1733
SOD 104
ROD 44
OCTOBER WMS 3975
SMS 1445
SOD 104
ROD 47
NOVEMBER WMS 2386
SMS 1047
SOD 119
ROD 57
DECEMBER WMS 3232
SMS 1227
SOD 129
ROD 50
TOTAL SALES
WMS 27,069
SMS 10,207
SERIES 37,272
SOD 556
ROD 243
SERIES 799
During this time, I've done very little promotion. I've written some blogs and done some guest blogs. I've requested reviews from about 10 review sites and the books have been favorably reviewed by all those who said yes. I had a brief pop of sales in October from Pixel of Ink picking up the book. If you look back through my blogs over the last six months, you can read about other things I think work. http://drdebraholland.blogspot.com
Barnes & Noble sells very few of my books in comparison to Amazon. I'm frustrated with that company because there's so much more they could do to improve sales for all their authors. (But that's another blog post.) However, in adding up the numbers for this blog, I was able to see how the consistent (although small) sales can add up over time.
I'm more grateful than I can express to all the readers who bought my book and to the authors who led the way on the path of self-publishing and to those who continue to support and educate me.
I hope you are all taking the time to reflect on what you can do to make 2012 the best year ever! Best of luck with keeping all your New Year's resolutions. Here's to a wonderful, healthy, and prosperous 2012!
Dr. Holland has a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy, and holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern California, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has twenty-five years of experience counseling individuals, couples, and groups. Dr. Holland is a popular psychotherapist, consultant, and speaker on the topics of communication difficulties, relationships, grief recovery, stress, and dealing with difficult people. She is a featured expert for the media, and does entertainment consulting.
Let me offer this disclaimer first: Even though I've spent a lot of hours researching thisparticular blog, it is purely for entertainment purposes. Takewhat resonates with you, what you find fun (or funny), what you can use to construct your personal, unique understanding of this information. I want to thank Jeanine Just for her insight and helpful research.
One of the things I committed to this year at WITS is to share a bit of my "out there" beliefs and knowledge. I can identify with you if you cry, "Hogwash!" because I've been there, too. Change is inevitable. Remember entrophy in chemistry and physics?
Yeah, I agree. Maybe it's better to forget those classes.
I know this is an important year for me, so I've been talking to my "woo-woo" friends, reading articles, and attending lectures about what this new year, 2012, the Year of the Water Dragon, the last Mayan calendar year, will bring us. I believe if we are aware of potential opportunities we can take advantage of them. Now is the time to get inspired and get going. I'm excited about the possibilities for 2012.
Breathe a sigh of relief, because 2012 promises to be calmer than 2011. You may find yourself focusing more on the well-being of others as well as your own. You may even volunteer or become involved to help, as one source says, "correct a social problem." There is great potential for new-found freedoms.
Here's a list of advice to take advantage of possibilities for a fuller life in next twelve months.
Tie up loose ends, complete unfinished projects
Acquire new success skills to build foundations for what's next in your life
Go forward fearlessly with your heart's desires to confidently make life changes
Let go of past losses, bad decisions and shattered dreams--without drama
Focus on things you prefer to experience
Respond rather than react
Prepare for an intense, fast-paced year with major breakthroughs
Turn crisis into blessings
Do not get caught up in the manufactured fear of the unknown, change, security, or loss of control
Be discerning
Reorder your priorities
Move forward, it's the only direction we can go this year
Do expect the unexpected
Logic and linear thinking won't always work
It will be possible to get greater control of your destiny
This is not a year for outer revolution
Listen to your intuition
There will be many new innovative ideas in all areas
Step out of your comfort zone
Throw away the rule books
Develop calmness; be the eye of the storm; find your inner peaceful place
Make conscious choices
Make a commitment
Show courage
Show resolve
Break free of old patterns and habits that make you depressed or unhappy
Revisit your "old" life to help close the doors on the past that you no longer need
"Be truth"
Indecision is worse than the wrong decision
Beware of irrational behavior, destructiveness, indecision and worry in yourself and others
Be a visionary
Be an inspiration
Stop playing the victim role
Avoid burning your bridges
Manifest what you really want by only envisioning what you want
Look for the opportunities in everything, everywhere
Use your heart-based energy
Choose to free yourself
Businesses that are passionate about their products and services will flourish
Interdependence, not dependence or co-dependence are
Surround yourself with positive supportive people
Connect with like-minded people
You will rarely be in the situation for the reasons you think; very everything from a broader perspective
Upgrade your energy--physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
Don't personalize "stuff"
Quiet your brain
Give yourself a time-out to walk in nature
Nothing can stand in the way this year
Let go of preconceived ideas about people, places, ideas, and situations
Staying stuck will become more painful than making changes
Logic and linear thinking won't work like they used to
Bravely take trips into the unknown
Paradox will abound
Use your imagination to envision your best future
Empower and heal
Actually, the advice seems helpful for any year. But this year, in particular, the list may prove quite powerful. My suggestion is to highlight a handful of items that relate to you and your situation right now. In a different color, highlight another set that you're drawn to, even if you don't know (now) why they call you. Review your highlighted possibilities/reminders once a month to refresh your memory of your potential for this year.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if this time next year we have taken advantage of the opportunities available to us this year to reach our potential to enjoy our lives fully?
Which ideas resonated with you? Do you have additional "movie trailer" suggestions for 2012?
