‘being an author’

I have been asked several questions as of late about ‘being an author’. It is all strange and still a bit new to me. Really, it is something I never pictured for myself…it just kind of happened that way. Time is one of the many blessings that a bad economy has given me.

I had a story to tell, wanted to tell, needed to tell…but, no voice. I found a wonderful friend on the internet. One as creative as myself, with the knowledge I lacked. We started 4 books and were working on each of them and together we found a groove. Through his kind words and consideration, my voice became clear. I woke one morning and I knew how the story was that needed to be told. I got on my computer and let what was on my mind flow. I e-mailed it to Chris and called him. I was so excited. We chose to put the other books on the back burner….Boudica was born.

This is a job that does not pay right away. That being said, I had to work my day job. I would type at night and send it to Chris. In the morning, I call him and we go through it. Discussing every note and working through every detail. He would take what I sent and add his spin to it and we would go through it again. I average about 35 hours a week writing and conferencing about the book.

The story flowed like water through my keyboard. I have trashed entire chapters if I do not feel they hold true to the story. The lead heroine came from a very deep and private place and through the series she has grown quite dynamic…mystical and human at the same time. The reporter became a way for Chris to give men a voice and inject a male line of thinking in the book. Not some Joe GQ but, rather an everyday kind of guy.

In the first book, I wanted to transport the reader to Boudica’s world. I had to give care with the story as I knew it would be a series and did not want to give away too much. Since I had never done this before, I bumbled my way through it. Chris and I spent hours on research. The cover held a lot of meaning to Chris and me and it took a few days to get just what we wanted. We were also blessed with help and criticism from our spouses. They gave us a lot of love and support. As the book ended, Rose stepped up to the plate and was a big help once we chose how we would publish (see blog on publishing).

While book 1 was being published, we worked on book 2. As it began, we started calling it ‘the sexy book’. It was difficult to write as most of it was in areas I was well acquainted with. I took a lot for granted. We had to rewrite the first 3 chapters 4 times just to add detail. The family we met in book one became part of our family in book 2. Our parents, spouses, children, friends and clients all now wanted weekly updates. I found myself reaching deeper and wanting more from book 2. I wanted the reader to feel as though they were at the table with the characters’.

As marketing for book 1 is happening and publishing on book 2, we are currently working on book 3. So far, it carries the name of the fun book. This one has been very unusual and had a lot of research put in. The reader feels a sense of friendship. I am always amazed to see where Boudica will take us next…..

To publish or to be published

To publish or to be published…that is the question. I find each writer has to answer this for themselves and for their work. For us, we went the self publishing route. This is not and was not a choice made lightly. Many things must be taken into consideration-
1) How big is the book?
2) Are you willing to pay all of the extra people?
(proof reader/converter/ISBN/barcode/copywrite/printer/ect…)
3) Are you willing to do the research?
4) Having to write and obtain permission for places or people used in the book.
5) Marketing…this is a big deal…knowing who to write letters to…weather to send a book or a press release…getting people interested

These are but, a few of the issues we had to discuss before we chose to do it all. Chris and I being the creative type had delusions of grandeur. Thank heaven we had Rose. She put us to being practical. When we made our final decision to publish the book on our own, she was there for us. Just as Chris and I had clicked creative juice on the book, Rose’s creative side shone in the publishing arena. There are contracts for work you need to dole out and some to be signed. If they made it past Rose it went to Cindy, she does all my legal work.

This part of writing a book takes 20-30 hours a week of my time. Walter and Dale both help by giving us new ideas and editing. All of us knowing it will take 6 months- 1 year before it takes off. My upfront costs for book 1, was just under $2000. We had to rush to make our Christmas deadline. I was sad as a handful of mistakes had to slip by us.

Launching the website to go with the series was not as easy as one might think. It had to be gone through and really scanned to make sure the content did not go all over the place. The product line was also a hard thing to develop.

Going into book 2 was much easier. We knew what to expect and what was expected of us. I allowed more time for every phase wanting to make sure it was better than book 1 not only in content, but also in editing.

What advice would I give other trying to accomplish this goal?
1) PROOFREAD your book at every junction
2) Don’t assume your book is the only one on the market
3) Take classes in Marketing (useful weather or not you have a publisher)
4) Ask for help from family and friends

All in all, I am happy with our choices. It has not been easy; it is a long wait for return on your investment, but to me, it has all been worth it. I am new to publishing and still learning. I have been asked if we would publish books other than the ones that we write…the answer is yes. I review manuscripts that have been sent to me and if I like it and believe in it, I would publish it.

I hope this helps to answer most of the questions I have been getting. I love the mail and e-mail from the fans and new authors. Thank you all so very much.