Top Five Reasons Not to Indie Publish

 You're thinking about going the Indie route. I hear ya; traditional publishing is almost completely closed without an agent, especially since all the writers conferences have been cancelled. Before you get all giddy about finally becoming a published author, here are the five reasons YOU SHOULDN'T INDIE PUBLISH:

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

1.  Crappy cover art. If you're not a tech whiz, or know anyone who can create an amazing ORIGINAL cover, then don't bother. Covers generate interest before the story, before any queries, before your name. Spend the time and/or money to get a great cover. Remember, if it was done by someone for free, generally it looks it. 

2.  Not enough or no editing. I've seen bestsellers from giant publishing houses with the occasional typo, wrong tense, time flub, etc. It happens. When these mistakes run all through your manuscript, it looks like you simply slapped that puppy on Amazon as soon as you could. If you did that with your manuscript when you were submitting to agents and/or editors, no wonder you're considering Indie publishing.

3.  "I'm going to make sooo much money!" Yeah. No. Does it happen? Once in a while, yes. I'm sure people can give me two or three names of mega successful Indie authors; I can show you ten thousand who didn't. Don't be fooled into thinking if you throw something up for $.99, that people won't care if it's not perfect and you'll make thousands because people want cheap. Hint: they don't care if they spend under a dollar or over $30; the book better be good or no one's buying it.

4. Your tagline (the 1-2 sentences giving the reader a short preview about your book) is better than the actual book. Anyone can write a sentence about a story- you have to live up to it. And if you don't, even if you give the book away for a promo, word will get around and no one will want it, even if it is free. Crap is crap and no one thinks it's a deal to get it for nothing.

5. It's soooo easy! Again, yeah, no. It's not. One simply doesn't write the story, pop on a cover, and put it up for sale (or at least, one shouldn't). Selling an Indie book is harder than a traditionally published book. While publishing houses are demanding more marketing by authors and cutting down what publicity they will help with (unless of course you're already famous), an Indie author-publisher has nothing. You will have to foot the bill for the free books you send to reviewers, to bloggers, as a promo, etc. You have to figure out how to get into book festivals and stores who generally want nothing to do with Indie authors. Indie authors are still pretty much the ugly, unwanted stepchild. There is nothing easy about going it alone so don't listen to anyone (especially a 'publisher' that will 'help' you for a fee....).

As a hybrid author (4 books with traditional publishers: Sirenz, Sirenz Back in Fashion, Blonde OPS, Beware the Little White Rabbit - anthology, 3 Indie pubbed)- Evolution Revolution trilogy: Simple Machines, Simple Plans, Simple Lessons) I can definitely tell you that traditional may be demanding as far as pleasing an editor who has a 'vision' for the book that you may not totally agree with, and a crazy deadline schedule, but more doors open for a traditionally pubbed author. I don't want to discourage you, but see above. If any of these apply to you, maybe you want to consider dental school.

I wrote this post because I got a free download of a book from an ad on Facebook. Indie book- she's doing her own marketing, good for her! Part of #5 is taken care of. The cover looked amazing. Yay! she conquered #1, I'm really interested! If I like the first one, I'll pay for the rest of the series! I don't know her motivation, so I can't speak for #3, but since she's done well so far, let's assume she's not just thinking moolah, but is dedicated to her creativity. Uh oh, snag. I hit problems with #2. The tagline drew me to the story, and initially, the manuscript lived up to the hype- for about half a chapter. With all the errors: spelling, grammar, timeline, and format (missing or misplaced words, sentences ending in the middle of the line and continuing on the next line), it just killed me. I liked the premise and I think this writer could have a good story if only she had spent the time reviewing, revising, and getting someone to give her honest advice. It would help considerably if she previewed the ebook before okaying it to go live. The mistakes were so frequent that I honestly can't finish the book. I'd like to know what happened to the characters, but not enough to waste my time grinding my teeth over all the mistakes. So she lost the sale of every sequel because of the first sloppy book.   

Do I feel bad? Not particularly. I spent so much time getting my illustrations and words and format on my Evolution Revolution series as perfect as I could (and still a few mistakes got through...) that I have no patience for anyone that lets that many mistakes go, brushing it off as possibly unimportant because it's 'about the story.' Don't kid yourself, it's about the total package. Maybe someone will review it and tell her and she'll get it. And no, I'm not going to name the book for the same reason I don't do reviews; no one thanks the messenger.

Char

Don't Want to Hear That Anymore...

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Besides being the year for almost every conceivable disaster- pandemic, social chaos, tornadoes, unemployment, school cancellations, tropical storms, heat waves, toilet paper shortages- 2020 will also be known as the Year of Yet Another Cliche. These are the phrases/words I NEVER want to hear again: 

        Unprecedented times

    Challenging times

    

    Hydroxychloroquine

    Social distancing

    Kanye

    Uncertain times

    Karen

    United - Apart

    We're in this together

The one that bugs me the most (ok, they ALL bug me) is 'social distancing.' Um, NO. What we want is physical distancing- you know, keep your physical distance to stop the spread. Social distancing implies avoiding any social situations. That would mean no one goes anywhere, ever.  And that is just not possible. So politicians, if you want an accurate catch phrase, next time call an author.

I'm pretty sure most of you feel this way too. And, as an author, I will never write a pandemic story because you know almost everyone else is going to write a novel or screenplay about it. I read pandemic stories before Covid-19, and that was fine. I've lived through a pandemic now and to me, that's like reading about your worst nightmare; I don't go there. I don't read all happy, happy, joy, joy books but it doesn't mean I want to relive something which stresses me to the max personally. 

Now I have to get back to my rom com novel because I have to break a few hearts and totally screw up a character's life...  😉

Char 

(wow, I really like all the new font colors, Blogger, but where the frick is the tab to fix spacing??) 😖

    

My New Best Writing Buddy

Writers have many tools, some of which are like trusted friends: a thesaurus, a computer/laptop, Spellcheck...

I have found a new one that I just want to hug:

 
Yes, it's a book; not a new software program, or an app, or anything downloaded. I'm writing a story that travels through almost 400 years of history. I wanted to include both momentous and unnoteworthy historical events. Trying to Google history decade or year by year would have taken too long. I remembered my son had a book that traced history. Actually, he had two. Not only could I get all the basic information I needed on any time period or event in history quickly through the index, BUT! The one book, The Times, edited by Richard Overy, IT HAS A TIMELINE.

It shows all the events from 700 BC, from development of simple farming to creation of major works of art and music, to every war.  At a glance, I can scan all the continents and see what was happening at any one time across the globe. There are maps and diagrams and charts, too.

For a novel about time travel, or which spans decades, centuries, or several millennia, this book is a gold mine- even though it's old school. I'll bet it's even quicker and easier to use than any computer program or Google, too.

My son no longer wanted the books, so they go on my reference shelf, adored once more. I have a lot of plans for those two. Stay tuned.

Char

Relax, Imagine, Believe

This quarantine and the state of the country is a tough situation.

1. We can't go anywhere, like meet up with critique groups, or take classes or go shopping.
2. Book events and conferences are cancelled.
3. Social media is a minefield that is tearing apart friendships, casting suspicions, and making a tense situation worse.
4. I think the stress of confinement and the uncertainty of everything are making people angry and act out.
5. My agent is dealing with personal issues so I'm subbing- and not getting very far.

I could make a list with 100 points to complain. It's looking grim. I'm usually an optimist but yes, 2020 is taxing my supply of silver linings. It's time to stop and regroup.

 I have to (and I do) try to live by the above. So I'm going to relax, and the best way is to wander through my garden. New flowers are blooming:

Now that I'm relaxed, the next part is to imagine. While it's easy enough to imagine getting a book deal, it's not as easy to imagine that this quarantine will be over soon, or that we will find the answers to social injustice, or that we can soothe the festering anger. As writers, imagining is what we do. What would the world be like if we imagined a more perfect world?

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things

And because we can imagine, we can believe.

I can imagine these brown-eyed Susans in full bloom. They will be beautiful. I believe they will bloom (especially since I put up a wire fence to keep the deer from munching on the buds). A part of believing in our imagination is doing the work to make it a reality.  For stunning blooms, I had to put up the fence. For a book deal, I have to do the writing, revising, and submitting. For social justice, we have to look deep at what's wrong and make hard changes. For a kinder world, we must be kind. For anger, we must imagine ourselves at peace, and strive for it. 

"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." - Eleanor Roosevelt

So let's get started.

Char

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Monday Again, So Blog This!

Monday. Blog Day.

I don't have anything to write about. I'm trying to revise an NA (new adult) novel but with my right hand/arm in a brace and hurting, typing is hard. Even worse is that I like to print out my novel and revise while reading the comments from critique group members. I hate the double screen because everything's too squishy (I work on a laptop, so I don't have a big desk monitor). I have ideas for other books, but don't want to start until I clean up the several I'm working on so I can submit them.

Weeded my meditation garden with my left hand. I think by the time my right arm gets normal,  my left is going to look like Hellboy's giant stone fist.

Enough boring you with complaints. How about I show you a little happy?

My bee balm bloomed (say that 3 times fast). I love the coral color.

My astilbe popped with color. And yes, I had to go to Dictionary.com for the proper spelling because I was pronouncing it wrong.

I don't know what these pretty purple peeps (I'm obviously in the mood for alliteration), but they are one of my faves. I have them in front, pool, and meditation gardens. If you know, tell me!

The only way for my lilies to bloom is to put them in pots. Rabbits? Chipmunks? Gophers? I don't know but SOMEBODY is eating them.

And finally, have a happy, and SAFE Fourth of July. While our current situation is far from perfect, we have a good beginning as stated in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. 

We have not always employed these ideals, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. We need to work harder to embrace all humanity. We must learn from the past to improve our future. Don't give up- we can make it work.

CHAR 

Some of this, some of that...

I can now type with 2 hands, so it's time for a new post. But since my broken right arm can only last for 10 minutes before it starts to hurt like heck and swell, this is going to be a short post-

1- Dr checkup tomorrow, hopefully find out why wrist is so bad.
2- Arm break slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) getting better.
3- Revisions on my new projects is frustratingly slow because of stupid wrist.
4- Bunny moved out of my strawberry patch and didn't eat any strawberries...
5- Mating foxes need to learn that 'outdoor voices' ends at midnight.
6- I will spend most of this week in my bathing suit, poolside. Can't go anywhere anyway...
7- Trying to get more followers/friends on my Facebook author page- Author Charlotte Bennardo- which will be my main page in the future.
8- September is going to be crazy busy because by then I should be able to paint my living room.
9- Working in a new genre- adult sweet romance/drama. Children's publishing is a tough market.
10- Spending too much time wondering when life will get back to normal- and slowly realizing it will never be the same...

Oh, and here are some happy pictures of my meditation garden because we all need moments of peace and sanity...

Geraniums are such happy flowers..

My middle son loved daisies when he was little, so I make sure I always have them in my garden.

Since I put up a better fence, the bunnies and deer can't eat my astible. It's never looked this good!

Day lilies- how can you look at them and not smile?

Yarrow- some say weed, some say wildflower, I say pretty.

Cracked birdbath works as a pedestal planter.

So there's some happy for you. Hope to share more Good Things and give everyone just a tiny bit of serenity...


Char

Taking A Step Back...

Yep, missed last Monday's blog. This time, I have the BEST excuse. I'm not dead, so okay second best excuse. Wait, haven't been kidnapped by aliens. Or joined a secluded religious order. Or been in jail. But I have a REALLY good excuse.

I fell off my bike and broke my arm. Got 6 staples for a gash in my head, too. Lots of road rash. I'm a righty, so typing this left-handed is a tedious chore. I'm going to need some recoup time.

Have pity on me, send prayers and vibes, and show cute pics in the comments.

Char