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When You’ve Done Everything Right

by Karen Ball

Fresh cherry

I love cherries. If I could only have one fruit, that would be it. But not just any cherry. When we first moved into our home here in Southern Oregon, we planted a cherry tree. At the time, I knew what kind of tree it was. But the little tag identifying it has long since vanished. All I know is that our cherries are a rich, dark red on the outside, like a Bing cherry. But unlike a Bing, the meat inside is a light red, and the taste is a blend of sweet and tart. I’ve canned these cherries as pie filling, brandy cherry sauce, preserves, any a number of other wonderful concoctions. And they all taste marvelous. That blend of sweet and tart is perfect.

It took us a couple of years to learn what to do with that tree to get it to produce healthy cherries. One year, there was no fruit at all. We’d done everything right, but…nada. I was heartbroken. The next year, a modest production of cherries. But no sooner were they ready to harvest then the birds flocked in. They had that tree stripped in a day. One day, and all my beautiful cherries were gone. That’s the year I learned about putting netting over the tree. The next year, cherries galore. All of them infested with little white worms. That’s the year I found out about spraying the right substances at the right time. The next two years, it was as though the tree was making up for lost time. Cherries, cherries everywhere! And then last year, when we had record rains, the cherries were ready to pick almost a month early. Not only that, but they were huge and even more flavorful than ever before. And we picked close to 25 gallons. Yup, you read that right. Twenty-Five gallons. I still have probably a third of what I put up from last year’s cherries.

Really, You Don’t Have to Ask

by Tamela Hancock Murray

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Over the years I’ve seen lists of questions you’re supposed to ask an agent before signing a contract. Some of the questions are excellent. But I believe if you ask others, at least at the stage when the agent is discussing the possibility of representation, you may have not done the right research ahead of time. I culled these questions from a number of lists on the Internet. Most of these questions appeared on more than one list.

Can you give me a list of authors from whom I may ask for references? A quick trip to most agents’ web sites will tell you about the authors they represent. The Steve Laube Agency site lists all our authors. I’m always glad when authors talk to one another, and I often find new writers based on the recommendations of current clients. But in my view, asking for a list of references is off-putting unless you want to talk to another client before making your decision. If you are unsure of that agency, don’t send them your proposal until you know you’d be thrilled to work with them.

Who do you represent? See Question One. There are exceptions. Some agencies prefer not to make their client lists public and when speaking to them, this question makes sense. But if their client list is already on their web site, your question might give the wrong impression.

Influencers and Etiquette

by Tamela Hancock Murray

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Recently one of my author friends needed a couple of people to act as influencers. She asked me to give her the names of people who aren’t writers, which I think is a fine idea because readers in other professions will reach new audiences. I asked several people. None of them knew what an influencer is until I explained it. So when you are tasked to find influencers, feel free to direct them to this post.

Is an influencer the same as an endorser?

Not in the formal sense. An endorser is a recognized name, usually a popular author writing in the same topic or genre or a known authority in the field such as a doctor or pastor. That person writes praise for the book that will appear on the front or back cover or inside the book.

An influencer is a person who agrees to read a book with the hope that he or she will spread positive news about it. This person is viewed as a fan or friendly reader and doesn’t need to be a particular expert other than having read the book. Any reader can be an influencer, but librarians, book club members, and people with special interest in the era or topic are great choices.

Top 3 Reasons Authors Don’t Get Asked to the Prom (or Invited to ICRS) – Reason #1

by Karen Ball

not invited

It’s just around the corner. That time of year when publishers, retailers, agents and yes, some authors, descend upon a select conference center (this year in St. Louis in late June) to attend the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS).

ICRS. The trade show formerly known as CBA (Christian Booksellers Association). Where publishers gather with their editorial, sales, & marketing folks in shiny and grandiose booths to regale retailers with their offerings. This trade show has been around for a lot of years. In fact, I attended my first ICRS in 1982! Oh, how I remember standing there, staring at aisle after aisle of impressive booths and sparkling product; seeing famous authors I’d only heard of walking by or signing books; attending nightly extravaganzas that rivaled anything you could find in Nashville, Branson, or Vegas. It was, in a word, amazing!

And so it remained for a lot of years. Which made ICRS a coveted destination for authors. For years, the standard thought has been if a publisher takes you to ICRS, that proves they look on you as a rising (or established) star. A crowd pleaser. THE author whose products the retailers should carry in their stores. And so every year as the time approached for the annual event the excited buzz would begin…

B is for Buy Back

by Steve Laube

open-book banner

Many authors are also speakers and as such usually have a book table in the back of the room where the audience can purchase a copy of their book during an event. This can be a very valuable source of income for the author if they have negotiated a “buy back” price (also known as the author’s discount) at the time of signing their book contract.

Check Your Contract Restrictions
It is crucial that you read your contract if you plan on selling copies of your book. No publisher will allow you to resell your books to a commercial account. In other words don’t try to buy thousands of books at your author discount and then re-sell them to Wal-Mart at a special price. That is a no-no. And is a logical restriction.

Also, there are a couple publishers that do not allow you, by contract, to sell your books in any public venue. If you scoff at this after signing the contract and are caught, you are in breach of contract and could face the consequences.

When Do I Write Book Two?

by Tamela Hancock Murray

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Recently someone posted a question I get asked all the time:

After finishing my current book should I write the sequel or start something new?

This question is usually posed by a new author whose agent is marketing a series. The editors have not had a chance to weigh in with their interest in the series or lack thereof. Meanwhile, the writer is bored and wants something else to write.

What about curve balls?

If the series is contracted and the author already has much of the second book written, there is less to do and less pressure. Sounds like a plan. Well, maybe. Maybe not. While it seems to make sense to get as much done ahead of time as possible, with the contract offer still being pie in the sky, writing the second book may not be productive except as keeping with the discipline of being a writer. And, what if you get a contract offer, only to find the editor wants the second book to focus on a different heroine than you planned? Or what if the first book takes a different direction that will make huge plot impacts on the second book? I’ve seen these scenarios more than once so the idea that you’ll turn in two or three books that will remain almost untouched is unlikely. This is often a reality even for experienced authors.

Misused Words and Phrases

by Karen Ball

 literally

The English language is full of persnickety quirks, the most despicable of which are buzz words. Words and phrases we’ve decided work better than plain speech. Why say what you mean when you can just toss out a phrase that says what you want, but in such a vague and convoluted manner than people spend so much energy figuring it out that they can’t challenge you? Genius! Or how about those words we overuse, or misuse? Oy, da pain!

So here, for your reading pleasure, are some of the words and phrases that drive this logophile right up the wall. Literally!

Can you unpack that for me?

Nope. I can’t. Literally. What’s more, I don’t want to. I don’t like packing or unpacking. And what does packing have to do with anything? Whatever happened to the plain and simple, “Would you explain that, please?”

Repurposed

Folks, we all know what this means. Fired. Laid off. Out of a job. You can’t take away the devastation by giving it some innocuous name and hoping nobody challenges you on it.

Baby bump

Seriously? It’s not a bump. It’s a baby. Way better than a bump.

A is for Advance

by Steve Laube

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Whenever I lecture about money the room becomes unusually quiet. Instead of a common restlessness from listeners there is a thrumming impatience to reveal the punch line. The punch line that declares every writer will be rich.

Now that I have our attention let’s turn to the topic of the day. The Advance. This is defined as the money a publisher pays to the author in “advance” of the publication of the finished book. We read about the seven-figure advances in the news because they are unusual and quite substantial. The amount given to everyone else can be rather different. (Read the article where Rachelle Gardner answers the question “What is the Typical Advance.”)

Payout Schedule

The money is not given all at once. There is usually an amount given for signing the book contract and the balance comes at various stages of the writing process. Some pay half on signing, half on acceptance of an acceptable manuscript. Some pay one-third on signing, one-third on acceptance, and one-third on publication. There can be other triggers to create payments like an acceptable proposal for subsequent books in a multi-book deal. We even had one highly unusual situation where the total amount of the advance was divided up over the course of 15 months and the publisher paid the author monthly.

Do Some Plots Break Their Contracts?

by Tamela Hancock Murray

businesswoman tears contract

In 1995 I watched the movie Cold Comfort Farm. A British comedy, the story was not without charm, though I wouldn’t recommend this parody of literature for everyone. Early on, Aunt Ada, who seemed to be a bit crazy, said, “I saw something nasty in the wood shed.”

Throughout the movie, I waited to find out what Aunt Ada saw. I waited. And waited. But the question was never answered, at least not for the viewer. I tried to find out if the novel solved the mystery and was unsuccessful in that quest, making me believe the book did not reveal the answer, either.

In my mind, the story broke its contract with the viewer. Since whatever Aunt Ada saw had a great effect on her, I think the nasty something should have been revealed.

Apparently I am not alone. Even now, the Internet is rife with posts about the mystery.

Get the Job Done with Focus!

by Karen Ball

Puzzle

I was just talking with a client the other day about the writing life. She’d struggled with getting started on her novel. Then, once she started, she said it was as though she couldn’t keep her backside in the chair. Everything else caught her attention: laundry, dishes, kids, dogs, yard work, and on and on. And when she finally managed to write most of the book, there was that darned ending! She’d written and rewritten and rewritten it again. What’s more, she was about to rewrite one more time!

“Am I the only one who struggles with all this? Does anyone else?”

After I snorted my coffee—and then cleaned up—I told her the bald truth: “Only everyone.”

Okay, maybe not every writer struggles with these things. But more writers do than don’t. It’s SO much easier to do…well, anything…than to stay focused on writing. It’s not that we don’t love what we do. Of course we love it. But it’s just so hard! And getting immersed enough in the story to stay immersed can be a real battle. So what’s a writer to do?

Well, use the different level of focus, for one thing.

I’m firmly ensconced in the camp of writers that has trouble starting, continuing, and ending well. Which is what got me focused on focus to begin with. And here’s what I’ve found. It helps a great deal to start out with mountaintop focus. How? By looking at the whole picture, I can then break it down to bite-sized pieces. And breaking things down into bite-sized pieces engages my love of puzzles and my desire to “fix” things, which gets me fully engaged. I do this as often every week, or as little as once a month, depending on how the writing is going. Any time I realize I’m out of the chair more than I’m in it, I take a day to do an overview—mountaintop focus–of the book. I consider the following:

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