“Once” May Not Be Enough for This Love Story
Posted: December 30, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Inspirational | Tags: Book Review, Books, Inspiration, Inspirational Fiction, Mian Mohsin Zia, Novel, Once, Opinion, Review, Reviews Leave a comment
Once – Ask Me Anything, Not Love by Mian Mohsin Zia, is a inspirational tale of the struggle for love by one man, Morkel, whose brand is “M–, No Time for Love”. But love strikes when it is least expected and who you would least expect to fall under it’s spell. Although it is a love story, it’s no romance and there are no HEAs in this tale.
I can’t deny that this is a cute story, but I had a hard time suspending disbelief, due partially to the fact that the characters weren’t deep enough for me to be able to care, and also because the dialog did not feel real to me. People just don’t talk that way in my experience. The characters are idealistic and I felt they acted in ways that were very unrealistic, as well. Morkel, the protagonist, comes off as being full of himself and he claims that as a novelist, he can read people, yet when love walks up and stares him in the eye, he doesn’t see it.
That being said, it is a well structured story with a clear character arc. Morkel changes as he realizes his own need for and ability to love. I found it very entertaining, but the ending was disappointing for me. I guess I’ve come to expect a HEA when I think of a love story, and I felt the promise of the premise was not fulfilled.
I will admit that Mian Mohsin Zia puts out a quality eBook, with very few typos. Obviously, he spends the money to have it edited and promote it right, as well. I suspect this may account for his amazing popularity as an author. In self-publishing, it seems, you really do get what you pay for.
Once – Ask Me Anything, Not Love is a love story from the male perspective, a unique and entertaining tale, but not a romance. I give it three quills.
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“100 Ghost Soup”: A Modern Chinese Folk Tale
Posted: December 23, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction | Tags: 100 Ghost Soup, Book Review, Books, Fiction, Robert Chansky Leave a comment
100 Ghost Soup by Robert Chansky is an unusual story told in the tradition of a Chinese folk tale or legend. Chansky’s style and tone make the reading almost musical at times, and is particularly suited to reading aloud. This delightfully entertaining tale is written as if it could go on forever. Just when you think the story is finished, you find that there is still more – not an unpleasant surprise.
Bei Jimo is an seventeen year old orphan who has always wanted but two things: a name and a family. He sees an opportunity to have both those things in the month before he turns eighteen, when he learns someone wants to adopt him. Jimo tries to seize it, in spite of the fact that it’s only for one month, but he quickly learns that all is not as it seems.
In this tale the line between reality and illusion is a fine one and it is hard to tell which side of it one is on. It is a tale of fox spirits and celestial ministers, which looks at what it is to be family and the differences between truth and deceit, having a job and having meaningful work, the meaning of true wealth, and the role we play in our own fate and that of others. Although confusing at times and full of surprises, as when it is discovered that the cow is Elder Brother, the words to 100 Ghost Soup are loaded with great wisdom.
This book is quite long, but it is a well written, easy read which is very entertaining. The Chinese tone of both words and character, the tricks and puzzles, the obvious that it so well hidden it must be pointed out all work together to make me feel that I’ve just read an ancient Chinese folktale in a modern setting. I give 100 Ghost Soup five quills.
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Monthly Writing Memo: 5 types of Heroes
Posted: December 22, 2016 Filed under: Comic Hero, Screenwriting, Screenwriting, Super Hero, Uncategorized, Weekly Writing Memo, Writing | Tags: Action, characters, Novels, Stories, Writing 3 CommentsWelcome to the first Monthly Writing Memo! So for my own blog, Author the World, I’ve been thinking about doing a post about villains. As those of you who have been following know, I’ve been studying horror as I work on my horror film script. During this process, I’ve been wondering about the different types of villains, which in turn made me wonder about the different types of heroes in stories. So for this Month’s Writing Memo, I thought I’d do a post about heroes, and then later this week my post on villains will be up on Author the World.
In general, I think all heroes can really be broken down into a few main types, and every hero in a story usually falls into one of them. The way I’ve divided them up is by what motivates them rather than what they specifically do, or how they go about being a hero.
- The Savior –
The Savior is someone who actively tries to be a hero. They want to help people and save the day, so they seek out ways they can do this. The most obvious example of this is many superhero stories where characters like Superman or Spiderman actively seek out those in danger to help them. These characters do it solely because they want to help people and be a hero. Some want recognition, some want the satisfaction of saving people, but either way the thing that drives them is the need to be the hero. It’s a compulsion almost, and when they don’t just help when they see someone in danger, they actively seek the danger (and the victims) out.
- The Soldier –
The Soldier is similar to the Savior in that they feel the desire to help people, but the soldier does it out of a sense of duty and honor. That’s not to say they don’t have other motivations as well, but this character type is driven by the sense that it is their responsibility to help people, and they must take action. I think if you look at the movie “Die Hard” you’ll see John McClane fits into this character type. Yeah, he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he is also a police officer and when he sees the problem he feels it is his duty to take action. Many of these character types are those military or police type characters, or have other positions that are focused on helping people in some way. Some other example jobs that a character can have to fit this role include teacher, doctor, or even counselor/therapist.
The goal of this character is to do their “job” and help people because they think it is their responsibility and duty. Maybe it can cross over into the Savior role of feeling driven to help people, but the slight distinction is where the Savior would say “I helped because they were in trouble,” the Soldier would say “I helped because it was my job/responsibility to help.”
- The Mercenary –
The Mercenary Hero doesn’t necessarily have to be getting paid, though some form of payment is generally the motivation for them to be the hero. They are a hero because they get something out of it. An example of this is are characters like Nicholas Cage’s character in National Treasure. That is a personal mission for him and he doesn’t do it for anyone else, he does it for largely selfish reasons—he desperately wants the truth and the excitement of discovering the treasure.
The Mercenary is driven by what he/she personally gets out of being the hero. They can be paid to do the job, they can be on a personal mission of love or vengeance or profit, but whatever it is they are being the hero because it serves them, not because they want to serve the people they are saving.
- The Reluctant Hero –
The Reluctant Hero is one of my favorite types of heroes to write because they don’t try to be perfect, and often try to extricate themselves from the drama, but they morally feel the urge to help when they see a situation. Unlike the Savior they won’t seek out the conflict, and unlike the Mercenary they don’t want anything for themselves, but similarly to the Soldier they feel a sense of duty.
The Reluctant Hero is someone who doesn’t want to be a hero, and they aren’t doing it because it’s their job like the Soldier. They are a person who just happens to be in the wrong place at the right time, and they morally can’t bring themselves to turn away from those in need. If asked why they helped, they would respond “I couldn’t turn my back on it, and it was the right thing to do.” They don’t feel like it’s their duty, they just feel like they were the only one there at the time who could do it, so they did.
I think the one thing that is often interesting about the Reluctant Hero is that, if someone else was around who could successfully do the saving, the Reluctant Hero would let them, but often they are put in situations where either they have to try, or all is lost.
- The Anti-Hero –
The final type of hero isn’t quite a hero at all – the Anti-Hero. The Anti-Hero is not someone who is trying to help anyone, and they’re most often not a good person. There are slight varying definitions of this, but in my opinion, the Anti-Hero is a character who ultimately has their own larger goal, but they do kind, heroic things along the way in pursuit of their goal. I think this falls into a lot of gangster characters who do wonderful things for the “little people” but who aren’t really good characters at all, and whose larger goals are really something quite unhero-like.
Another version of the Anti-Hero is someone who does dark, violent things in order to achieve something good. This kind of character is like Batman at times (The Dark Knight is the obvious example). Batman kills and commits crimes in order to make Gotham a better place, going from loved hero to wanted criminal.
Either way, the main thing about the Anti-hero is that they don’t follow the same rules as the normal hero, and that they will often commit villain-like acts in the pursuit of their goal. These sorts of acts will stand in stark contrast with the heroic elements, and it will make the audience question whether the character is hero or villain.
Final Notes:
I’m sure there are some more minor variations of heroes, but in general, I think most heroes in stories can be divided up into one of the five categories above. If you aren’t sure about which your character is, ask yourself what motivates them to be a hero? What motivates them to commit heroic acts? If you have that answer, you should be able to pinpoint what type of hero they are.
For my blog post on the various types of villains, stop by Author the World on Friday. Until next month, happy writing!
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Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Independent vs.Self-Publishing (Part 10): Conclusions
Posted: December 19, 2016 Filed under: Books, Commentary, Promotion, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tags: Books, independent publishing, marketing, Opinion, promotion, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Traditional Publishing, Writing 7 Comments
This series on publishing has been a lot of fun to create, and I hope maybe there are some of you who have read all of parts 1-9. I started it because I found that while those in my academic career seemed to be in favor of traditional publishing, with many instructors providing information about self-publishing as an option only reluctantly, while authors all around me were getting their work out there by self-publishing their books.
As I looked into the topic more, I found that some folks used the terms independently published and self-published as if they were interchangeable, while independent publishers are really smaller independent publishing houses that are not among the “big five” traditional publishers. As stated in Part 2, for the purposes of this series that is how I will refer to and view independent publishers.
One of the reasons I enjoyed writing this publishing series was that I am fortunate to know many authors, from all three publishing models, and I was able to gather many different viewpoints, examining it from all sides. Overall, I was able to obtain a pretty healthy balance between the three models. I interviewed self-published authors Jeff Bowles, Tim Baker and Arthur Rosch. In the traditional publishing arena, I talked with children’s author, Stacia Deutsch and historical and biographical author, Mark Shaw. I was only able to interview one independently published author, YA author Jordan Elizabeth, but to even it out, I also interviewed two independent publishers, Curiosity Quills Press and Caleb Seeling, owner of Conundrum Press. And for a nice rounded point of view, I spoke with my friend and children’s author, Nancy Oswald, who has published under all three models.
Now is the time to look at the series as a whole and see what conclusions can be drawn. While I think all authors secretly long for a traditional publishing deal, because being picked up by a major publishing house is ingrained in us as a symbol of success, I see independent publishing houses as a feasible alternative to holding out for the big boys, which can take a long time and for some of us, may never pay off. In some instances, debut authors have a better chance of being picked up by a smaller independent press. With both these options identifying markets which would be a good fit for your work, preparing submissions, writing cover letters and queries, synopsis and outlines will take up a lot of time which might be better spent on writing stories. Once accepted by either a major or a smaller publishing house, the author may be expected to do a good portion of the marketing and promotion, as well, although services such as editing and illustration may be provided.
The upside to signing with a traditional publisher is that the major publishing houses pay out an advance on projected royalties, so major money can be seen in your near future. Independent houses may also pay out advances, but they won’t be nearly as big, and some do pay out a higher percentage of royalties. Of course, as Tim Baker pointed out in Part 2, the flip side to collecting a sizeable royalty is if your book flops. It would be a drag to have to pay it all back. Independent houses may also pay out advances, but they won’t be nearly as big, and some do pay out a higher percentage of royalties.
For self-published authors, there are no advances, but they keep a higher portion of their royalties than with traditional or independent publishing houses. Still, there is no big money now, and no guarantee that there ever will be. Authors may be waiting a long time for their writing to pay off.
As Stacia Deutsch mentioned in Part 4 of the series, traditional publishers provide professional editing and illustrators, to be sure your final product is of good quality. I believe this is true of independent publishing houses, as well, but you won’t find it available through the self-publishing process; one reason self-publishing carries with it such stigma. Gatekeepers insure the book you put out will be the absolute best it can be.
Despite the stigma surrounding self-published authors, due in part to a few self-publishers who like to take short cuts in lieu of putting out a quality product, there are some very good self-published authors out there. As Jordan Elizabeth pointed out in Part 6, self-publishing has a lot to offer. Self-published authors have a lot more control over their work than traditionally published authors, who do not chose their own cover art, and may not even get to keep their own title.
As Jeff Bowles pointed out in Part 1, another possible advantage to self-publishing is the ease and relative inexpense for today’s authors. You can publish a book with Amazon almost for free, and collect either 35% or 70% of your royalties, depending on the price you place on your book. I can attest to this as it is what I did with my short story, Last Call, and it didn’t cost me one cent. At least that way, if my story doesn’t rise to the top of the best sellers lists, (which it hasn’t), I really haven’t lost anything. The important thing to remember when self-publishing is that you need to put out a quality product. It is worth it to find a good editor, and for all of us starving writers out there, an editor can be employed for a minimal expense. I also suggest utilizing a good critique partner when funds are low, but be sure to have some type of editing done, by someone other than yourself, before publishing your book.
Although Amazon has made publishing extremely easy and inexpensive for authors, they have also monopolized the industry and are making it more difficult for independent publishers, as Caleb Seeling explained in Part 8. Learn more about the negative effects Amazon has had on the publishing industry in the Institute for Local Self Reliance’s report, which emphasizes, from a consumer standpoint, the need to buy local and battle monopolization. If readers heed this warning and buy their books from local independent, or chain, bookstores right down the block, the publishing industry may change yet again.
Amazon’s monopolization affects authors and reviewers as well, as is discussed in What Amazon’s New Review Policies Mean for “Writing to be Read”. As much as Amazon’s review policies effect the reviewer, they also effect the authors who are depending on those reviews to get their books sold.
Author Mark Shaw gave us a heads up about vanity, or subsidy publishers, charging unsuspecting authors exorbitant fees to publish their work as Mark Shaw warns in Part 5. They prey on authors who desire to get their work published so bad that they are willing to empty their coffers to do so. These publishers can get outrageously expensive for authors, so don’t be drawn in. The kicker is that even if you publish on Amazon or Create Space in order to fit your budget, you still may need to spend quite a bit of time and/or money on marketing as Art Rosch tells us in Part 3.
Independent publishing houses, also referred to as small or medium-sized presses, work along the same lines as traditional publishers, but they don’t publish as many books each year as the big five do. In addition, they tend to be more specific in what they are looking for, with most having very specialized niches that your book must fit into to be published. Although all independent publishers may not follow this practice, publisher Caleb Seeling says he actually seeks out authors whose work fits into his niche. In any case, authors should be familiar with submission guidelines of the publishing house they are submitting to, whether large or small. In her article, How to Smartly Evaluate a Small Publisher, Jane Friedman, of The Hot Sheet, (the publishing industry’s news letter for authors), offers some great tips on what to look for.
In Part 7, Nancy Oswald points out one of the big advantages to publishing with a small press is the more personal relationship between author and publisher. Whereas a traditional publishing house may not be able to put a name with a face, independent publishers work closely with their authors because they only have a few at any one time. Independent publishers may also have a shorter wait time for publication than traditional houses, which can be quite lengthy.
And then there are the new kids on the block, like Curiosity Quills Press, which are hybrid publishers, offering various combinations of traditional percs with self-publishing author responsibilities. These small independent presses may charge authors for some services, like subsidy publishing, but they also provide a certain amount of author copies at no cost, provide author support, and the services they do charge for are optional. You can find out more about this new model of publishing in my post, Hybrid Publishers: What are they all about?
After hearing from the experts, it seems no matter which model you choose to publish under, there is still a lot of non-writing activities required of authors, including marketing and promotion, resulting in the need for Today’s Authors to Wear Many Different Hats. Of course, you can also do as author Jeff Lyons suggests in his interview with Arwen Chandler, and hire a third party to handle such tasks, so we, as authors can get down to the business of writing. The only problem I see with this is that you must make money before you can spend money, paying someone else to do the tasks that don’t come as naturally as writing does.
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“Cast No Shadows”: A Collection of Ghostly Tales
Posted: December 16, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Speculative Fiction, Stories | Tags: Anthology, Book Review, Cast No Shadows, Ghost Stories 1 Comment
Cast No Shadows is a Curiosity Quills Press anthology of ghost stories for YA readers, but some may not be what you’d expect when you think of ghost stories. Stories such as The Last Act of Keri and Trent by Derek McFadden or Nellie’s Playmate by Lorna McDonald Czarnota use a different POV to tell their tale, and aren’t crafted to bring goosebumps to the flesh, but to unfold a ghost’s story in a creative way.
In other stories seeing and/or talking to ghosts is treated as a common every day occurrence. Stories such as Amity or Tillie in Utica by Jordan Elizabeth, Ghostly Affection by Grace M. DeLeesie, The Sun Valley Bistro by Kae T. Quinn, Ghosts of Holy Cross by Ashley Pasco, Graveyard Dust by Heather Talty, A Minor Matter of Deatb by W. K. Pomeroy, Death of a Necromancer by Misha Murphy, Ghost of Shadmoor Park by Grant Eagar, and Simon and the Ghost by Jeremy Mortis are crafted to entertain and make readers think, rather than to scare.
Still other stories in this collection are intended to surprise readers with the unexpected, as in Attic Secrets by Ashley Pasco, The Regal by Jeremy Mortis, Dark Rider by Amy L. Gale, The Sailor by Lisa Oaks, Sarah by Rachel Pond, The Staircase by Clare Weze, A Trace of Time by Joan O. Scharf, Try Me by Christine Blake, or Yankee Inn by Jordan Elizabeth.
Which is not to say that you’ll find no stories here that contain that eerie scare factor. It’s a large anthology, and stories like Faceless by James McNally, This Ol’ Haunted House by Gloria Slade, Jacked by A. F. Plant, Silent Opera and Swamp by Joan O.Scharf are aimed at stirring up that creepy feeling within readers.
Stories that I feel did this the best were Moving in with the Ghost by A Elizabeth Zumchak, Sweet Hollow Road by C. K. Raggio, House on Hazlenut Lane and The Blood Stained Handkerchief by Jordan Elizabeth. These four would be the five quill stories out of the entire collection, the ones that replay in your mind when you lay down to sleep at night.
Overall, I thought this anthology was a great group of ghost stories for a YA audience. Even the scariest ones achieved the effect without being too gruesome or violent. I give Cast No Shadows four quills. 
Kaye gives honest book reviews and she does not charge for them. If you have a book you would like reviewed contact Kaye at kayebooth[at]yahoo[dot]com.
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Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Independent vs. Self-Publishing (Part 9): Interview with Curiosity Quills Press
Posted: December 12, 2016 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing | Tags: Curiosity Quills Press, Hybrid Publishing, independent publishing, Publishing, Writing 5 Comments
This series has looked at three models of publishing from every angle. We’ve heard from independent authors Jeff Bowels, Tim Baker and Art Rosch, and traditionally published authors Stacia Deutsch and Mark Shaw, independently published author Jordan Elizabeth, and an author who has published under all three models, Nancy Oswald. We’ve also heard from Caleb Seeling, the owner of the independent publishing house, Conundrum Press.
This week, we hear from a small independent hybrid publisher that specializes in genre fiction of the highest quality. I have been privileged to review two Curiosity Quills anthologies, Chronology and Under a Brass Moon. I have also reviewed several books by Curiosity Quills author Jordan Elizabeth, who we heard from in Part 7, and Keepers of the Forest by James McNally.
Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Alisa Gus, Curiosity Quills was created as a resource portal to help writers, such as themselves survive the publishing industry, and quickly morphed into a publishing press which today, has solidified it’s share in the market. They work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Audible, and publish six new titles every month. Curiosity Quills Press offers the some of the advantages of a traditional publisher and offers their authors a chance to participate in the publishing process.
Kaye: How did Curiosity Quills Press come about?
CQ: Back in early 2011, Alisa and Eugene were an aspiring author couple working on a little MG project called Gatecrashers. In an effort to build up our socials and gain a following prior to release, they created a blog called Curiosity Quills (which was nearly called Curiosity Kills… dodged a bullet there!). Throughout that year, many guest authors and industry pros were hosted on the CQ blog to share their stories, wisdom, and experiences with the world. Before they knew it, a sizeable community formed around the CQ blog – and A&E had the brilliant idea of being more hands on about helping the authors hanging out on the site. It wasn’t long before Michael Shean and Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. became the first published authors of Curiosity Quills Press. Unfortunately, this was also the death knell for Gatecrashers or any other further writing project for Alisa and Eugene – turns out running a traditional publishing house is a HUGE time-suck!
Kaye: What are the publishing goals of Curiosity Quills?
CQ: We have a number of goals at CQ, and these can be broken down into the following points:
- To bring the highest quality genre fiction to the masses, at affordable prices.
- To spotlight genre fiction that some traditional publishers might find too unconventional; instead of following genre trends and the mainstream in what is popular, we try to stay ahead of that, anticipating gaps in the market.
- To diversify genre fiction, by publishing stories featuring characters of all race, sexuality, gender identity, social standing etc. While we want to stay ahead of the mainstream, we also want to be inclusive and representative of the ever growing, expanding world we live in.
Kaye: What do you see as the advantages of independent publishing over traditional or self-publishing for today’s authors?
CQ: Independent publishing offers the best aspects of both traditional and self-publishing. On the one hand, we’re able to offer the highest standards of cover designers, editors, proofreaders etc. on par with any traditional press.
We also offer authors access to a wide rage of services, such as NetGalley and features on sale subscription sites like Book Bub. And, as with traditional publishers, we are always focusing our efforts to get our titles into chain bookstores, like Barnes & Noble, as well as selling the rights for our titles to audiobook publishers, and film companies.
But, unlike traditional publishers, we offer a closer, more family-like community for our authors, and try to involve them in the publishing process as much as possible, getting their input on cover design, marketing campaigns etc.
Because of our close-knit community, there are always over authors – at various stages in their careers – on hand to answer questions, help promote each other’s works, and collaborate with.
Kaye: How has the increasing trends in self-publishing affected the role of independent presses?
CQ: Authors want to be much more involved in the process, and on the whole, we’re more than happy to accommodate this. We view publishing as a partnership, where both the publisher and the author bring different things to the table.
As mentioned above, the close-knit community leads to a family of authors all striving together to make CQ the best it can be, which is something you don’t always find with self-published authors. While there is still a level of camaraderie there, all self-published authors are competing against each other, in ways authors of independent presses aren’t.
Kaye: What do you see as the future role of independent publishing houses within the changing publishing industry?
CQ: Independent publishing houses will continue to bring readers what they want, know and love, while also broadening their horizons and opening them up to a wealth of new stories that might get overlooked by the mainstream.
At the same time, independent publishing houses will strive to bring authors an experience they won’t get anywhere else in the publishing industry, with all the benefits of traditional and self-publishing, but less of the drawbacks.
I want to thank Clare Dugmore and Curiosity Quills for sharing with us here on Writing to be Read. I know they are busy people and I appreciate them taking the time to answer my interview questions. Next week I will follow up with conclusions on the series in Part 10 of Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Independent vs. Self-Publishing.
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“Runners & Riders”: Steampunk at it’s Best
Posted: December 9, 2016 Filed under: Articles, Book Review, Books, Steampunk, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Books, Jordan Elizabeth, Runners & Riders, Steampunk, YA Leave a comment
Brass glass! Jordan Elizabeth has once again created an extremely well crafted steampunk romance in her latest addition to her Treasure Chronicles series. Runners & Riders is filled with mystery and intrigue, as well as plenty of steam powered gadgets and inventions that bogle the mind. Elizabeth captures the Victorian tone in every detail, taking readers of all ages on a steam powered journey that won’t soon be forgotten.
There’s an age old battle going on in New Addison City between Runners and Riders. A bored young Juliet Darcy finds herself smack dab in the middle of it all when she falls in with the notorious Runners, a brutal gang of thugs who take what they want, by force if necessary, terrorizing the city. Jonathan Montgomery is the newest young Rider, sworn to bring the Runners down after they murdered his parents when he was a child. Add an ancient mechanical princess who navigates the tunnels beneath the city with an agenda of her own and you have the makings of a great steampunk adventure.
Princess Arlene enlists the help of Juliet, who after being betrayed by the Runners, teams up with Jonathan to bring them down. But the Runners are ruthless, with little regard for anyone who stands in their way of their goals. Jonathan and Juliet risk it all to destroy the Runners and their merciless leader, but to do so, they must stay one step ahead in this deadly game.
Runners & Riders is well structured and full of surprises at every turn. I give it five quills.
Kaye gives honest book reviews and she does not charge for them. If you have a book you would like reviewed contact Kaye at kayebooth[at]yahoo[dot]com
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Pros. and Cons. of Traditional vs. Independent vs. Self Publishing (Part 8): Interview with Independent Publisher and owner of Conundrum Press, Caleb Seeling
Posted: December 5, 2016 Filed under: Publishing, Self-Publishing | Tags: Conundrum Press, Publishing, Writing 4 Comments
There is no question that the rise of digital publishing has changed the face of the publishing industry. How could it not? This week we hear from someone who has a good handle on the publishing industry and what those changes look like. The following is an interview with Caleb Seeling, the owner of Conundrum Press, a small independent publishing house which publishes poetry, literary fiction and creative non-fiction by authors in the Rocky Mountain region.
Kaye: What brought you to become a publisher?
Caleb: I have always been a reader and a writer, and during my grad and post-grad years, I became more involved with social engagement and cultural influence. So when the opportunity arose to enter the publishing industry as a senior acquisitions and developmental editor, I took it. As I learned how the industry worked, I hatched a vision for what my own press would look like–to run a literary publishing company as a social entrepreneur–had I the opportunity (and gumption) to start one. That opportunity came in 2009 when I joined the thousands of other editors in the unemployment lines when publishing companies laid off most of their low to mid-level staff. I decided to use the time to make my vision a reality, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Kaye: As the owner of Conundrum Press, what are your publishing goals?
Caleb: To not only publish excellent literature from the Mountain West, but also to champion voices of minorities and disenfranchised people. We’ll do this through an evolving acquisitions strategy, promotion, philanthropy, and also education via Colophon Center.
Kaye: What do you see as the advantages of independent publishing over traditional or self-publishing for today’s authors?
Caleb: Well, for starters, the term “independent publishing” has been coopted by the self-publishing world. Conundrum Press is a small press, and like most small presses, we operate much the same way a so called “traditional” press does—we accept agented manuscripts, we have contractual terms and pay royalties (and advances on occasion), we have full editorial, design, production, marketing, and sales processes, we’re internationally distributed, etc. So the question is really about what are the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to publish with a small press, or a medium-sized press, over one of the big 5 and their subsidiaries, or over self-publishing. The advantages are that we are more passionate, more invested over a longer period of time, more focused, and more flexible than large companies. And while we don’t have the resources that large companies have to throw at their A-list authors, we do at least the same amount of promotion, and probably more, than they do for their lesser known authors. We also have more resources and expertise than most self-publishing authors do, and have the ability to get books into more markets and sales channels than they do.
Kaye: This series is using independent publishing to refer to small and medium presses and I have distinguished these from self-published endeavors for my readers. That said, you stated that small and medium presses operate along the same lines as the big traditional publishing houses. Do you think it is any harder or easier for an author to get picked up by on of these houses than it is with traditional publishing houses?
Caleb: I guess the answer is it depends. Small presses are kind of like literary magazines—you’ve got to know what their focus is, be familiar with what they publish before sending a query. Their lists are going to be comparatively small per season, so they have to pick and choose very carefully. I have a slush pile, but I haven’t really had a chance to go through it because I am actively looking for what and who I want to publish, and then I go after them. Other houses may have different acquisition strategies. Also, there are many more small presses than there are large houses, so the chances are in your favor for that reason. But standards vary across the board, as well as how much editorial work they’re willing to do to get a manuscript ready.
Kaye: How has the increasing trends in self-publishing affected the role of independent presses?
Caleb: It’s made small presses that much more valuable, given the fact we are filling in the enormous gap left by the mega-conglomeration of media companies and the incredible noise created by the advent of relatively inexpensive print-on-demand and design technology. But self-publishing, while really great on so many levels, has increased the level of clamor for attention in the marketplace to a pitch that makes it nearly impossible for anyone to be heard at all. And with the cost of advertising and publicity staying as high as it is, it has perpetuated our culture of celebrity, where the only ones who get heard are the ones who are already known, or who have tens of thousands of dollars to throw at promoting one book, much less a list of 10-100 per year.
Kaye: How has the rise of Amazon and digital publishing in general, affected the publishing industry?
Caleb: Amazon has not only contributed to the noise, but it has encouraged unrealistic expectations of authors regarding the ability to sell, and in their bid to control the publishing industry through their algorithms and price controls, it has been antagonistic to publishers and contributed to the downfall of American community of which local bookstores have always been a hub. They’ve made our job really difficult and they are extremely unfriendly to work with on the vendor/supply side. On the other hand…never before has there been the opportunity to have ALL of our books available anywhere to anyone who wants them. And there’s the rub. Can’t live with them, and, for now, we can’t live without them.
Kaye: What do you see as the future role of independent publishing houses within the changing publishing industry?
Caleb: The importance of small presses will only grow as the mega-media conglomerates continue to merge, which they will, and as the glut of media grows worse, which it will. As the noise and de-diversification of books and content gets worse, the need for risk-taking gate-keepers will also grow. Small presses meet this need, and more and more agents and authors are turning to them, taking the bold, long-term approach to publishing that small presses excel at. What we need now, however, is readers to become aware of the publisher’s mark on the spines of the books they read, and to deliberately choose to buy a book from an author they may not know published by a small press. The success of the buy local and small food movements are encouraging…deliberate consumer choices really do change the world. It’s happening with our food and environment…so let’s see it happen with our information and entertainment as well. Buy local. Read small. If you find a book on Amazon that you want, call your local bookstore and order it from them instead. Or buy directly from a local or regional small press. Our culture is a garden that needs to be tended—small presses, conscientious authors and agents, and partnering indie bookstores can bring the seeds to fruition, but we need readers to harvest what we’ve grown.
My thanks go out to Caleb for taking the time to offer his input here. His responses have been educational for me and I hope they have for other authors out there as well. Be sure catch next week’s interview, as well, when we will hear from another independent publishing house, Curiosity Quills Press.
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Trouble Seems to Follow Ruby and Maude in “Trouble Returns”
Posted: December 2, 2016 Filed under: Action/Adventure, Book Review, Books, Children's Books, Fiction, Stories | Tags: Children's Books, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek, Historical Fiction, Nancy Oswald, Ruby and MAude Adventures, Trouble Returns 3 Comments
Trouble Returns, by Nancy Oswald, is the third book in her Ruby and Maude Adventure children’s series. The series are historically based stories about Ruby, an independent and headstrong young girl, and her ice cream loving donkey, Maude, and their adventures in Cripple Creek in the late 1890s. I had the pleasure of reviewing the first book, Rescue in Poverty Gulch, in which Maude is donkey-napped and Ruby risks her own life to save her beloved friend and companion.
Ruby must face her greatest fears in Trouble Returns, when she must face the villain, Jake Hawker, who’s she’s tangled with twice before, in a court of law, when she testifies against him. But she finds her fears very real when he breaks out of jail and comes after Ruby and her friends and family. Can Ruby triumph over Jake Hawker for a third time?
Trouble Returns is crafted to be a stand alone book as well, making me aware enough of events in the second book, Trouble on the Tracks, that I was able to easily follow the full story line, although I hadn’t read the second book, without giving me a bunch of block exposition. As you might guess from the titles, books two and three feature an additional character, who steals readers’ hearts: Trouble, Ruby’s lovable little cat.
I found this story to be a delightfully entertaining story which was skillfully written. Oswald has crafted another story that readers of all ages won’t want to put down. She’s done her research and the historic details are wonderful. Another plus for me was the fact that it is available in paperback, because I’m an old fashioned type of gal. I give Trouble Returns five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read, and she never charges for them. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Looking Back Over 2016
Posted: December 26, 2016 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Articles, Book Review, Books, Children's Books, Commentary, Fiction, Film Review, Horror, Movies, Nonfiction, Poetry, Promotion, Publishing, Screenwriting, Self-Publishing, Steampunk, Stories, Weekly Writing Memo, Western, Writing, Writing Event, Writing Tips, Young Adult | Tags: 2016, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, marketing, Movies, Novel, Novels, Poetry, Review, Reviews, Writing, Writing to be Read | 4 CommentsThis will be the last reflective post of the year. Next Monday’s post will find us in 2017. For my writing career it has been a slow take off, but I’ve seen progress. In July, I completed my Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. With emphasis in both genre fiction and screenwriting, and two completed novels, Delilah and Playground for the Gods Book 1: In the Beginning, two full feature film scripts and one comedy series pilot script in hand, I eagerly jumped right in to get my feet wet in either the publishing and/or screenwriting industry. I began submitting my work to agents, publishers, and competitions like crazy. I received mostly rejections, as expected, and although I still haven’t found a home for either novels or scripts, I did manage to find a home for two poems and two short stories. Not too bad. While the poems, Aspen Tree and Yucca! Yucca! Yucca!, appeared in print, (in Colorado Life (Sept.-Oct. 2016) and Manifest West Anthology #5 – Serenity and Severity, respectively), my short story, I Had to Do It was published on Zetetic: A Record of Unusual Inquiry, and my not so short, short story, Hidden Secrets was published on Across the Margin.
2016 has been a pretty good year for Writing to be Read. The revamping of the blog site was completed in March, I’ve managed post things on a fairly regular basis, we were honored with guest posts by my friend Robin Conley, and my visits and page views have risen, with almost 2000 visitors and over 2,500 page views. Looking at this, makes me feel pretty good about the blog, as a whole. Another good change is the addition of screenwriting content, which I believe has drawn a larger audience by widening the scope of the content.
Many of my posts were reflections of my own writing experience. These included: Why Writing is a Labor of Love; Fear is a Writer’s Best Friend; I’ve Come A Long Way, Baby; Writing the Way That Works For You; Creating Story Equals Problem Solving; What’s A Nice Girl Like Me Doing Writing in a Genre Like This?; Acceptance or Rejection – Which Do You Prefer?; A Writer’s Life is No Bowel of Cherries; Write What You Know; Discouragement or Motivation?; What Ever Happened to Heather Hummingbird?; How You Can Help Build a Writer’s Platform; and Why Fiction is Better Than Fact.
Screenwriting content included this past year seemed to be popular. In addition to my Making of a Screenplay series and Writing Horror is Scary Business, Writing to be Read also featured Writing Comedy for Screen is a Risky Proposition, and a book review for Hollywood Game Plan, by Carole Kirshner, which I can’t recommend highly enough for anyone desiring to break into the screenwriting trade. Robin’s Weekly Writing Memo also included several writing tips that could be applied equally to literature or screenwriting.
Another project I’m particularly proud of is my ten part series on publishing, Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Independent vs. Self-Publishing, which I just finished up last week. In this series I interviewed nine professionals from within the industry to get the low down on the three different publishing models. My interviews included self-published authors Jeff Bowels, Tim Baker and Art Rosch, traditionally published authors Stacia Deutsch (children’s books) and Mark Shaw (nonfiction), and independently published YA author Jordan Elizabeth. To balance things out a bit, I also interviewed children’s author Nancy Oswald, who has published with all three models, Clare Dugmore of Curiosity Quills Press and Caleb Seeling, owner and publisher at Conundrum Press.
I feel very fortunate to have had Robin Conley join us with her Weekly Writing Memo and her guest movie reviews. The useful writing tips in her Weekly Writing Memos covered a wide range of topics including critiquing, using feedback, ways to increase tension, Relatability or Likeability?, 3 Types of Plot, story research, what to write, making your audience care, world building, handling feedback, writing relationships, establishing tone, editing, word choice, How to Start Writing, endings, queries, Parts of a Scene, making emotional connections, the influence of setting, Building a Story, Inciting Your Story, movement and dialog, Writing Truth, time, Overcoming the Blank Page, Networking, character names, theme, set up, cliches, parentheticals in screenwriting, horror inspiration, and Learning to Write. Robin’s guest post movie reviews included Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Batman vs. Superman, Miss Perigrin’s Home for Peculiar Children, and The Neon Demon.
I am thankful for Robin’s valuable content and am glad that she will still be contributing Memos on a monthly, rather than a weekly basis. Although I was sad to lose her weekly content, I am happy for her as she moves forward in her own writing career and I wish her well in her writing endeavors. For those of you who looked forward to her weekly posts, you can catch more of her content on her own blog, Author the World.
2016 was a great year for Writing to be Read, even if it was kind of rough for the author behind the blog. You readers helped to make it a good year and I thank you. Now it’s time to look ahead and see what’s in store for 2017 Writing to be Read. I mentioned some of the things I hope to achieve above: more posts pertaining to the screenwriting industry, and coverage of more events throughout the year are two of the goals I have set for my blog. I also plan to add some author, and hopefully, screenwriter profiles into the mix. I had good luck with author profiles during my Examiner days, and I think they will be well received here, as well.
I also hope to bring in some guests posts by various authors or bloggers, or maybe screenwriters, just to give you all a break from listening to me all the time. I believe Robin plans to continue with Monthly Writing Memos, which will be great, too.
I look forward to all the great books that I know are coming my way in 2017, too. The first reviews you have to look forward to are a short memoir, Banker Without Portfolio by Phillip Gbormittah, a YA paranormal romance, Don’t Wake Me Up by M.E.Rhines, a Rock Star romance, Bullet by Jade C. Jamison and a short story, How Smoke Got out of the Chimneys by DeAnna Knippling.
I hope all of you will join me here in the coming year. Follow me on WordPress, or subscribe to e-mail for notifications of new posts delivered to your inbox. Have a great 2017 and HAPPY WRITING!
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