When it rains, it pours!

I’ve just endured one of the most stressful periods in my life, and while things haven’t quite resolved themselves, everything appears to be ending positively.  So, now that I’m feeling a little less stressed, I’m starting to reflect (hey, I’m a writer, that’s what we DO) on the past few months.

And I’m starting to wonder why so many stressful things always happen at once?  Is it the law of attraction, with one stressful event attracting another?  Is that why we have the saying, “bad things happen in threes?”  Or, is it just a fluke of timing?

I have a friend, for example, who seems to attract strange events.  If there was ever a “story” that someone wanted to tell at a dinner party, the same thing has happened to my friend (only ten times worse).  And she’s not trying to ‘one-up’ anyone’s story–these things really do happen to her.  Does she attract them?  I’ve always wondered.

One of the most infamous fights I’ve had with my husband over the years (besides the one where we spent weeks arguing about bathroom rugs and the hipness factor of fuzzy toilet seat covers and then both came home from Bed, Bath & Beyond with the same darn rug on the exact same night) is the one where I said, “You’re such a d*mn optimist!”  Oh, the husbandly chortles that still ring forth today.

What that statement implies is that I am a pessimist.

But am I?  Dan Baker, in What Happy Women Know, defines pessimism as someone who takes any bad situation personally (not me), sees it as pervasive in all aspects of life (not me), and believes it’s permanent (not me).  So why did these events (that are totally outside my control) cause me so much stress?

The F-word.  Fear.

I’ve had a big a-ha about myself over the past few months — I’m a fearful optimist.  I really do believe things will work out in the end, but I’m terrible scared they won’t.  ‘Knock on wood’ was tailor-made for me.

And, honestly, I could do without the stress (and the wrinkles) that comes along with all that fear.  So what do you do when you are facing events that are completely out of your control?  I wish I had some great answer.  With all the self-help books I’ve read, you’d think I would have the answer.  I don’t.

But then, maybe I do.  There was one point where I was feeling pretty low.  I took out one of my favorite books, The Work, by Byron Katie.  It basically has you ask four questions: 1) Is it true?  2) Is it really true?  3)  How do you feel when you think it’s true?  4)  How would you feel if it wasn’t true?  And finally, it asks you to turn your stressful situation around.  I know it sounds lame when you write it like this, but it truly is life altering.  I did my work, and it made me feel much better.  Of course, I didn’t keep doing it, which is why the stress crept back in.

So I don’t know if there’s any major life learning.  Maybe that you can read all the self-help books you want, but you actually have to APPLY the learnings to reap the benefits?  Or, perhaps,  you just need to believe that things will work out.  Stay positive.

And always knock on wood.

The Power of Belief

This summer, my tennis instructor promoted me to level 2.5, and my tennis game promptly fell apart.  Thirty seconds after he told me, I was lobbing balls into other courts, missing the ball entirely, and practically falling over my feet.

You see, I’d been visualizing myself being promoted to a level 2.5 for months.  I’d been practicing, and visualizing and working toward a December 2011 goal.  And when I reached that goal six months before I expected?  I freaked out!  My mind was saying, “You’re not ready!  You’re not good enough!  You won’t be good enough for 6 more months!”

My subconscious didn’t believe it.

According to Napoleon Hill, in order to change your subconscious mind, you need to visualize yourself having whatever it is you want, but add emotion to it.  He says that having faith (belief that it will be/is yours) is the most powerful emotion you can add to a visualization.  When I got promoted earlier than expected?  My faith flew right out the window (it must have followed all those errant tennis balls).

And then I got scared.  What if I get into the next class and they demote me because I’m not good enough?  And the worst thought:  what if everyone thinks I’m a horrible player?  Aaack!  The world might come to an end!

I knew I was being stupid, but somehow, I let the fear impact me.  I avoided playing tennis, didn’t practice, and skipped some lessons.  Hmm.  Me thinks that is NOT the way to get better.  But, I’m back at it this fall.  And you know what?  I’m holding my own.  I’m definitely not the best in class, but I’m certainly not terrible.  And out of three new instructors, no one has demoted me.  I’m having fun again, which is the most important thing.

So, I need to start visualizing a new goal for my tennis game.  Not sure what it will be, but I do know it’s going to be something that I believe is doable.  Senior’s Tour?

Obssessing Over Numbers

I feel like I’m in High School again, checking the phone every 5 minutes to see if he called.

But, instead of giving my number to a cute boy, I’ve just launched my first novel, London Falling, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.  And I’m checking my sales numbers every 5 minutes.

If I’m not checking sales numbers, I’m checking to see if anyone posted a review.  It’s a strangely vulnerable feeling–like that High School crush all over again.  Will he like me?  And then my sales numbers go up by 1.  Or 2.  And I want to jump around the room like an idiot.  Or, the numbers haven’t moved, and I want to crawl back into bed because my career is OVER.  Yet, it’s only been 2 hours since I last checked!

Isn’t it funny how your mind takes a small piece of data and extrapolates it into something life changing, when it really is just a tiny data point?  If I take a step back, I realize that I’m actually hitting my daily sales goals–and I haven’t even started my marketing yet.  Two people purchased the book before I even knew it was live (and a giant thank you to whoever you are).  I already have a 5-star review on Amazon, which is great news after only a week.

Oddly, my numbers would look BETTER if I checked them LESS often, because the jump in sales would be so much bigger.  So, why does my brain keep catastrophizing a two-hour (or four-hour, or overnight) dip in sales?  I think it must be evolutionary.  Or else, I’m really just a pessimist.  I have to keep reminding myself of The Work (by Byron Katie).  She’s got this great way of analyzing your thoughts and turning everything around.  It’s based on 4 questions: Is it true?  Is it really true?  How do you feel when you think it’s true?  How would you feel if it wasn’t true?

I know, it looks ridiculous if you just look at the questions.  But, when you read the book, and understand the process behind the questions, it’s life changing.  Makes you realize that you’re thinking yourself into feeling bad, when there really is a 50/50 chance the situation could be the good (so why make yourself feel bad, when you could feel good?  Humans are strange, aren’t we?)

Anyhow, a few random thoughts on the numbers so far, in case you are interested:

- Kindle is outselling Nook by over 8 to 1.  Is it because Kindle is that much bigger than Nook?  Is it because I have a 5 star rating on Kindle, and nothing on Nook yet (although Kindle was still way outselling Nook before the review was posted, so I don’t think this is the reason).  Or, do I just associate with Kindle people (because everyone knows those Nook people are . . .)?

- 7 people have downloaded samples on Smashwords, but none of the sample readers have bought it yet (it’s been a few days).  I’m wondering how long people keep samples before reading them and then purchasing them?

- Supposedly, my book has been shipped to Apple, but my Apple computer is so old, I can’t log onto the internet anymore to access my i-tunes account.  Alas, I can’t tell if it’s up on Apple yet.  And, I can’t obsess over the numbers yet.  I guess that’s a good thing?

- My book club ladies have bought my book.  How do I know?  The 5 books listed as, “Customers who purchased your item also purchased . . .” are the last 5 book club books.  Cracks me up that my modern romance is grouped in with Colum McCann and Jamie Ford.  Oh, wait, I just checked and there is a romance in there (finally!!).  Courtney Milan’s Unlocked.  It’s a historical romance novella, and I happen to have read it.  I loved it, and it was such a quick read–I actually wish it had been longer!

Okay, enough random musings about my numbers.  I’ll write more about Napoleon Hill’s book next time.  In the meantime, I have some sales numbers to check.

Before I go, I just wanted to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought the book so far!  Everyone has been so supportive and positive.  Thank you!

 

The Secret

Anyone not heard of The Secret yet?  Anyone tried it out?  I have.

I can’t tell you how surprised I was to find that the second step in Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich was actually the same thing as The Secret.  “Visualization of, and belief in attainment of desire.” 

So, the theory is that you visualize whatever you want to have.  It’s important to include the five senses, and especially emotion (the way you will feel when you achieve your goal, not how you feel now).  The more emotion you put into the visualization, the stronger it is, and the more likely it is to happen.  And, you must act like you already have it.  Then, of course, you have to believe it will happen. 

Anyone who’s ever desperately wanted something knows how hard it is to believe that your goal/desire will actually happen.  I honestly thing that is the hardest part of The Secret: letting go.  I’m not that great at it, to be honest with you.  I like to control things.  A lot.  Even my tennis instructor has to constantly tell me to relax!

Anyway, I’ve had many conversations with people where they express surprise that I believe in something like this.  I’m the ultimate in rational, fact-based thinking.  But, when I sat down to analyze the big successes in my life, I realized that I was practicing The Secret without even knowing it.

So, I decided to try it out one time, on something I didn’t really care about.  A free bottle of wine.  An organization I am involved with was giving away a free bottle of wine at the end of a meeting.  Big deal, you say.  Well, I have to tell you, I have NEVER won a single thing in my entire life.  EVER.  In fact, one time we were giving away free office equipment from my old company, and we drew names until we reached the end (in case people didn’t want the old NCR computer).  My name was THE LAST name drawn.  Yup.  I’ve always told people that I never win anything.  Perhaps what I was doing was visualizing the loss?

So, I went to the website and looked at pictures of the bottle of wine.  Imagined tapping my fingers against the bottle.  Imagined the taste.  Saying “cheers” with my husband.  Then I promptly forgot about it (no worries=belief).  Guess what happened?

I didn’t win.

Gasp!  However, they had a second surprise drawing for another bottle.  Guess who won that bottle?  Me.

Of course, half of you will say that it was chance, but you know what?  You can’t rain on my Secret parade.  I’ll always believe that I imagined that win. 

Which makes me wonder: how often am I imagining bad thing happening, rather than good things? 

Napoleon Hill has a few other pieces of advice:

• “conduct yourself just as you would, if you were ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MATERIAL THING WHICH YOU ARE DEMANDING.”  (THE CAPS ARE HIS AND VERY ANNOYING, I KNOW!).  You may think that I am driving around an old Highlander that I inherited from my mom, but I’m actually ”driving” around a black BMW X5.
• “If you think you are beaten, you are; if you think you dare not, you don’t; if you like to win, but you think you can’t, it is almost certain you won’t.”
• “When visualizing the money you intend to accumulate, (with closed eyes), see yourself rendering the service, or delivering the merchandise you intend to give in return for this money.”

So, this was the big idea that Andrew Carnegie told Napoleon Hill.  And then Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 of the most successful men of his day and they all agreed it was a major factor of their success.  That’s a pretty good recommendation! 

Anyone else tried The Secret?

London Falling Book Cover

What’s desire got to do with it?

Okay, this post is not about what you think it’s about.  It’s about goals.

Over the holidays, I finally read the book, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.  It’s an old book–written in the 30′s, I believe–it has so much great information about goal-setting and becoming successful.  It’s very un-PC, as well as being way to wordy for the 21st century, so I thought I might capture some of the key points on my blog.  It is a very motivating read, if you have the time, however.

Basically, Napoleon Hill was asked by Andrew Carnegie (steel-magnate) to conduct a (twenty-year?) study on success.  Hill interviewed 500 millionaires–people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Charles M Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr., George Eastman, and John D. Rockefeller, and F.W. Woolworth.  I guess you could call them minorly successful

Hill boiled everything down into 13 steps to riches (riches being a stand-in for happiness, health, wealth, etc.  But mostly money). 

The first step is DESIRE.  In Hill’s mind, the first step to success is not just having a goal, but having a goal that you desire above all else.  For me, that desire isn’t going cold-turkey on caffeine, or earning the next level in tennis.  Those are goals.  My desire is to earn a living as a writer. 

Notice that I didn’t say that my goal is to become published.  Most traditionally published fiction authors have a hard time making a good living off of their writing.  That’s why so many are in academia, or teach other writers how to write.  Or write articles for magazines.  If my goal was to become published, it wouldn’t matter how much money I made, and I would probably be less inclined to go the indie publishing route.  It’s a lot of work publishing your own novel.  But, if it goes well, there’s more money indie-publishing than traditional publishing.  I want writing to be my job.  My main job.

I like that Hill chose the word desire, rather than the word goal.  A goal can be easily changed (like my caffeine goal!  Today was a double caffeine day, btw).  Desire can’t be easily changed, even when you hit a brick wall.  Desire gives you the motivation to find a way around (or through) that wall. 

According to Hill, “More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known, told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”

Wow.  I can relate to that.  You see, right about the time I was finishing London Falling, I quit writing (and decided to start an entirely different business about something I know nothing about.  Can we say floundering?)  Anyhoots, I was feeling pretty much like a failure.  At the same time, the writing bug kept coming back to bite me.  But after I announced to everyone I had known that I was starting this new business, how could I go back to writing?

What would everyone think?

And isn’t that the biggest excuse not to do anything that you’ve ever heard?  But now I’m so sophisticated and in-touch with my thoughts that I never rationalize like that anymore (cue hubby’s laughter).  Which brings me to the next quote, “EVERY FAILURE BRINGS WITH IT THE SEED OF AN EQUIVALENT SUCCESS.” 

Do you know who else I heard say almost the exact same thing?  Jay-Z. He said that he never learns anything from his successes.  The only time he ever gets better is when he fails. 

Deep.

So, I turned my quitting into a learning opportunity and figured out what was wrong with the way I was pursuing my goal.  Basically, I learned that I needed to get my writing in front of readers (critical readers, not just my hubby).  But with my current editor (paid for by me) and the hundreds–no thousands.  No millions–of future readers, I’ll definitely be getting that through indie publishing.

So, here are Hill’s six steps to creating a goal (the comments in quotes are Napoleon Hills):

1.  “Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.”  Down to the penny.  I’d tell you mine, but you’d get jealous.

2.  “Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.”  For me, it’s writing every weekday and a certain number of books per year.  It’s also improving my writing every day, whether it’s reading an author who is better than me (not hard to do!), taking classes, or working with an editor. 

3.  “Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.”

4. “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.”  All you planners (AKA procrastinaters like me), this one is for you!  Starting is the hardest part.  For me, I find the hardest part about writing is sitting my rear-end in a chair and writing that first sentence every day.  Until that point, I dread writing.  After that fist sentence, it’s fun (or at least not dreadful!).

5. “Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.”  In 21st century speak: write down steps 1 through 4.

6. ”Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning.  AS YOU READ–SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.”  Anyone ever heard of The Secret?  It’s basically step six.  More on that next week. 

Until then, I thought I’d leave you with a quote from Joyce Meyer (not someone I listen to normally, but I love the quote):

“It’s better to have a big goal and reach half of it than to have no goal and reach all of it.”

Looks like I picked the wrong week to . . .

My last post about giving up caffeine inspired my sister-in-law to give up Facebook for lent.  She’s doing great.  I, on the other hand, am not.  For the past two weeks, all I can think about is this quote, from the movie Airplane:

“Look like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.” ~ Steve McCroskey

He goes on to say the same thing about amphetamines, smoking and drinking.  I love that movie because it’s the first “adult” movie I was allowed to see.  But that’s beside the point.

The point is, I’m not off caffeine yet.  But, there are extenuating circumstances (aren’t there always?).  Two weeks ago — the same day I wrote the post, as a matter of fact, my husband and I learned that we’d finally been chosen as a foster-t0-adopt family for a 2.5 year old boy, and we were being placed with him the next day. 

You heard that right.  We had twenty-four hours to prepare for a total upheaval.  And the past two weeks have been amazing.  Wonderful, actually.  But also stressful, crazy, completely new, and unplanned.  I’m not tired at all.  I’m exhausted.  Physically, emotionally, and mentally.  But, I’m starting to adjust to the new routine, and I’m really enjoying it.

So, I’m not off caffeine.  However, I do have one major success to relate: I haven’ increased my caffeine, either.  I’m still at the same level.  And, that’s huge, for me.  Normally when I get crazy and stressed out, I’m the first one to OD on latte’s.  “I deserve this because . . .”

Over the past few years, I’ve read a bunch of books that talk about the power of our thoughts.  How what you think can actually create the reality.  “It’s raining today, so it’s going to be a bad day,” or “No one will like me at the party,” and then you proceed to stand in a corner and not talk to anyone, so of course no one likes you!  It’s really forced me to focus on what I’m thinking. 

For example, I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains all winter.  I would look out the window and think, “there’s no way I can walk the dog in this!”  Like I’m the Wicked Witch of the West and the water will melt me.  If that were true, the dog would be 600 pounds by now.  Now, I recognize that I’m creating the situation, put on my (very ugly) raincoat, and walk the dog.

It’s the same thing with bad days.  “I’m having a terrible day, so I need this treat.”  Or the latte.  This time, I did a better job of recognizing the fact that I don’t really need the caffeine to get through the day — it was just my brain telling me I needed it. 

I didn’t do such a great job of telling myself that I could still continue to go “off” caffeine.  And, I did cheat two days.  But, I did better than I’ve ever done in a stressful situation.  And I have to celebrate that.

Baby steps.

We Are Our Habits

There is an interesting quote from Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich, that says, “both success and failure are largely the results of HABIT.” 

It’s an old book (and shockingly un-pc), but there are wonderful nuggets of like that spread throughout the book.  You see, he interviewed 500 of the most successful men (I said it was un-pc) in the early 1900′s, including Ford, Edison, Carnegie, and Woolworth, and wrote about the keys to their success. 

It makes total sense, especially with what we now know about the brain.  You do something one time, and your brain creates a connection between two nerve endings.  You do it again, and the brain wraps a little myelin around the connection.  Another time, a little more myelin.  And on and on, until you don’t even need to think about doing it.  That’s why it’s so hard to change your habits–your brain is hard-wired to develop them. 

Ever heard that it takes 28 days to change a habit?  That’s because it takes that long to develop a new connection with at least some myelin to combat the one already in place.  And why it’s so easy to go back to the old habit–the new habit doesn’t have the same amount of myelin wrapped around it.

That’s why all the top athletes use visualization as part of their training.  Your brain doesn’t recognize that you aren’t actually doing the activity and develops all that wonderful myelin, whether you visualize or actively do it.  I read about a study on the U.S. Olympic ski team, where injuries prevented some of them from practicing.  Instead, they visualized their practice (using all five senses, picturing the run in detail), and they hadn’t lost any skills/training when they returned to the slopes.  The ones who didn’t visualize took huge steps back. 

In business, every successful man who Napoleon Hill interviewed developed the habit of visualizing success.  Visualization makes a habit stronger.

So are your habits holding you back or moving you forward?  Are you visualizing success, or are you visualizing failure?

Every successful author that I’ve ever heard speak has always said that their number one tip for success is to write EVERY SINGLE DAY, whether you want to or not.  If you want a healthy body, you need to work out every single day (or close to it).  If you want to improve, develop the habit of deliberate practice (see my first blog post).   

I’ve got plenty of habits that are holding me back.  One of the main habits is caffeine.  Watch out for the person who finishes all the milk in the morning before I have a chance to make my first latte.  He’s learned that it’s better to wait and get his coffee at work, rather than face the wrath that is me without my coffee.   

In and of itself, caffeine is not a bad habit.  But, it’s the habits that have sprung up around it that are the problem.  You see, I make my latte, curl up with a blanket, the dog, and a good book, and an entire hour goes by before I even start to become productive.  That’s seven hours a week.  364 hours a year.  Now, I write about 2-3 pages an hour.  So that means, I could be writing TWO MORE BOOKS A YEAR, if I just took advantage of that extra hour. 

Puts everything into perspective doesn’t it?

Lent is just around the corner, and I’ve decided to quit caffeine this year.  I’ve tried before, and failed many times.  This time, I started eary.  I’ve down to a sixth of the caffeine I was having just a few months ago (only one latte a day, with 2/3 decaffeinated espresso).  I’m practicing Kaizen–making small changes, so that the overall change is easier.  I go down 1/2 Tablespoon of caffeinated espresso until I get used to the new level of caffeine.  And then drop 1/2 Tablespoon again.  So, in another week or so, I’ll be completely off caffeine. 

I focused on caffeine, because it provides the excuses for me not to be productive in the morning.  Once I’m off caffeine, then I can work on eliminating the morning cup of (decaffeinated) coffee.  Then, I’ll have to develop a new habit to take the place of my morning snugglefest with the dog.  Maybe a workout?  Maybe writing?  And practice it every day, until it’s strong enough to combat the old habit.  And I’ll visualize it, too, to make the connection even stronger.  Whatever it is, it will be a habit that pushes me toward my goals, rather than away from them.  It will be a conscious choice this time.

Wish me luck!

The New Publishing Paradigm – Part Two

I am not a risk-taker. 

Just ask my former bosses.  Risk-taking was always on my “opportunity” list.  And ask anyone who’s seen me trembling in fear at the top of a steep ski slope before I find a nice easy green instead.

So when I told my friends that I was going to self-publish my novel, I think they all thought I’d lost my rockers.  I certainly never thought I’d go down this path.  Self-publishing is for people who can’t get published in New York.  They’re terrible writers.  They have terrible books.  They don’t understand the business.  They’re taking a terrible risk that probably won’t pay off. 

Or so I thought.

J.A. Konrath, already published in print, sells 1500 e-books a month on his own.  Amanda Hocking, who only started self-publishing last April, has sold close to a million copies of her books.  In less than a year.  She’d never been published before.  And you know what?  If she’d gone through the traditional route, she still wouldn’t have a book on the shelves.

Once you sign a contract, it can take up to two years before your book is on the shelves of bookstores.  Why?  Mostly because of the long lead times the reviewers require to review your book (6 months in advance).  And, the sell-in time for the sales force.  And the behemoth that constitutes the publishing biz.  I understand it.  I used to be a brand manager for a major food company.  It took us at least that long to get a new product on shelves.  But now there are e-readers.  And anyone can have a book published in only a few days.  For someone like Amanda Hocking, that’s a lot of dollars to give up.

Okay, so we can’t all be million dollar sellers in our first year of publishing (although we can hope).  So, for a newbie author, what are you choosing between?

Well, if you go through NY, you need to get an agent first.  Then, they sell to the editors.  The publishing house gives you a nice upfront advance.  $5,000 is about the advance they’re giving to unpublished authors these days.  Your agent takes 15% of that.  Then, they sell-in your books to bookseller.  Then, a few years later, your book comes out.  With no marketing (not even a website), because you’re a new author.  

Most mass market paperbacks have an initial print run of 20-30,000 copies.  Bookstores generally only stock those books for 8 to 12 weeks before returning them for 100% of the cost they paid for them.  Yup.  100% of the cost.  In fact, they have two years to return them.  Because of the financial difficulties (Borders anyone?) that many of the bookstores are in, I’m hearing horror stories of some books being returned as soon as they arrive in the store.  Not even being shelved.  Oh, yea!  So that takes down your sales. 

If you sell 50% of your print run, you’ve done well.  That means, 50% have been returned for a full refund.  Let’s say you have an initial print run of 25,000 copies.  You sell 12,500 copies (50% — great for a newbie author).  You make 6-8% royalty rate on those books.  Let’s say they price it at $7.99.  So, you’ve made $6,991.  Hey!  That’s more than your advance, so you get another $1,991.  But that’s several years later.  And your agent hasn’t taken her commission yet.  So, maybe four years after you’ve finished the book, you’ve made a grand total of $5,942. 

I quit my day job for this?

But, that’s print.  And everyone knows that Amazon now sells more kindle books than print books.  Print books are being overtaken by e-books.  Well, Kindle takes 30% of the price you sell your book for.  Your publisher takes 75% of that (they’re generous and give you a 25% royalty rate for e-books).  Your agent takes 15% of that.  So, if you sell a book for $5.99 on Kindle, you get $.89.

Now, let’s say you self-publish your book on Kindle.  You earn 70% of the list price.  So, for the same price book, you’d earn $4.19.  Even if you price your book at $2.99 (which seems to be where most self-pubbed e-books are settling), you still earn $2.09 per book.  And you probably sell more books on the Kindle at that price than the publisher at $5.99.  And guess what?  The publisher is probably going to have to drop their price to $2.99 over the long-term too.  Then, you’d be making a whopping $0.44 per book.  You’d have to sell almost 5 times as many books through a publisher versus the number you’d have to sell on your own to make the same amount of money.  And, long-term, if you become a big author and start selling your backlist, you’re going to much happier that you’re earning $2.09 per book, rather than $0.44 per book.

So, obviously, you must be getting something for all that money you’re paying to the publisher, right?  It’s a full-service shop, so they give you 1) Editing.  2) Cover Design 3) Copy editing (misspelled words, grammar, etc.) 4) Marketing.  But wait.  They don’t market you unless you are already a NYT Best-selling author.  And, I can pay someone to do my editing, copy editing and cover design. 

Then what are you getting that you can’t get on your own?  Distribution.  Which is definitely a plus.  But, like I said, you’re only on the shelves for a few weeks/months before you’re gone.  And, with booksellers going out of business and e-readers starting to sell in big numbers, I don’t know how long that benefit will last. 

You also get the prestige of publishing with a Big 6 publishing house.  But, frankly, I’d rather earn a bigger salary.  I love to write, but at the end of the day, I still need shoes.  And clothes.  And a house-cleaner.  I’m dying for a house-cleaner.  You’ll know I’ve made it, when I tell you I’ve hired someone to clean the house for me.

I’ve heard a lot of authors say they’re worried that Amazon is going to cut the royalty rate.  Well, if they do that, they’ll do it for everyone, so you’ll be earning less with your NY publisher too.  And, some authors fear that NY won’t take them if the e-publish.  But that’s not true anymore.  Amanda Hocking got offered a deal.  She turned it down because it would take too long to get her books published.

And, what if you don’t sell?  Well, you might not sell with a traditional print deal either.  There are no guarantees in publishing.  And, I’d rather find out now, so I can improve my writing and make adjustments, rather than wait several years.  Plus, there are so many stories of authors who’ve taken a book that was turned down by NY, self-published it, and it’s selling gangbusters. 

So, I’ve stopped trying to sell my manuscript in NY.  I’ve hired an editor.  I’ve hired a book designer.  I’m working on my marketing plan.  And turned myself into an Indie author.

At the end of the day, I think it would be risky NOT to self-publish.

Pen names, Twitter and the new paradigm

This morning, my hubby interrupted my caffeine infusion (never a good thing) to quote me this (from Twitter, I think): “Twitter makes you love the people you’ve never met and Facebook makes you hate the people you actually know.”

Too true.  I almost laughed, and I probably would have if I’d been more awake.

With my first book coming out this Spring, I have been thinking about marketing.  A lot.  So, now I have a blog, and a website (under construction!), and Facebook fan page (with no fans yet.  Of course, it would help if I actually invited people.  And put something on it.  And published my book.)  Then we come to Twitter. 

Conventional wisdom says that I need to be on Twitter discussing things that are of value to my reader (women who read contemporary romance).  So, if I write Scottish historicals, I could tweet about a new article that discusses the role of women in that society.  Or a great website that shows what they wore in that day and age.  Alright.  I’m fairly creative (or at least I think I am), so I should be able to come up with something.  My first book is set in London, so there must be a ton of ideas.  I sit down with pen and paper.  

And come up with nothing.  Seriously, what am I going to tweet about that my reader is going to care about and that makes sense coming from me?  ”Low priced fares to London on Expedia!”  or “Just had a new idea for a hero!”  or “Just ate the BEST crab cakes!” 

Ugh.  Boring.  I’d have absolutely no followers except myself and my husband.  Maybe my dad if he knew what Twitter was.  Besides, I only have a limited amount of time in my day — time that I should probably be using to write books.  So, unless I can figure out a reason to tweet, everyone will be stuck with my blog and Facebook page. 

Which brings me to my pen name.  Everyone has been asking me why I chose a pen name, especially since the new movement is toward authenticity.  Well, anyone who knows me knows that my last name is a whole big mouthful of German, which wouldn’t fit very well on a book cover.  And, since I can barely spell it, I’m guessing it won’t go over too well in any search engine.  I’ve spent too many minutes searching for a book by Lisa Klaypas–Klypas.  No, Kleypas–in the Kindle Store.  I’m not about to subject anyone else to that!  The hubby suggested I use my maiden name, but it is seriously boring.  If you’re going to change your name, why not REALLY change your name?  I wanted something that I liked, that was short, and easy to remember.  And no other author has the name.  Hence, Emma Carr is born.

BTW, I think the hubby needs a pen name too.  So far, we’ve come up with Bodington Carr (we were at a bar at the time) and Austin Carr (not sure where that one came from).  Haven’t settled on anything yet, but I’m open to ideas. 

I’ve decided to use this blog to chronicle my publishing journey.  For me, writing is exciting, but it is also a very solitary existence.  And the dog never answers me when I ask him questions (btw, Finney won’t be getting a pen name.  He thinks it’s stupid).  Which is why I read a ton of self-help/success books to help keep myself motivated.  So, I’m going to write about all of the crazy aha’s I get when I read something particularly motivating.  And, I’m going to write about publishing, because people always ask me about it when I tell them I’m a writer (more on that in the next blog).  So, you don’t have to be a romance reader to read my blog, although I can’t promise I won’t drift into the romance arena once in a while. 

Finally, to the new paradigm.  Last fall, I was happily sending out my synopsis and query letters, trying to find an agent for London Falling.  Because that is how you get published.  And I had a few agents express an interest in my book and my writing.  But then I found this blog by J.A. Konrath called “A Newbies Guide to Publishing.”  And he talked about the paradigm shift happening in the publishing world.  That publishing with a Big 6 publishing house no longer makes sense.  Then he laid out the argument.

An entirely new world opened up to me, and I realized that it made more sense for me to become an Indie author (the new term for author’s who publish their own books) than to try going the old, traditional route.  The advent of the e-reader has totally changed the world of publishing–just look at the near-death of Border’s–and I want to be on the leading edge of this exciting new world.   And now, Seth Godin is on the band wagon.  I could go on for hours about the shift, but I’ll save it for my next blog.  You’ll probably be surprised by the numbers!