Author and Editor Mary Welk by Margot Justes

I’d like to welcome Mary Welk, to Beat Book Babes. We collaborated on a couple of anthologies, Hearts & Daggers and Hot Crimes, Cool Chicks. Mary is an award winning author as well as an editor.

Mary V. Welk writes the Readers Choice Award-winning “Rhodes to Murder” mystery novel series featuring ER nurse Caroline Rhodes and history professor Carl Atwater.  Her short stories have appeared in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes; Hot Crimes, Cool Chicks; Chicago Blues;  Mayhem in the Midlands; and Blondes in Trouble & Other Tangled Tales. Mary can be found on Facebook and at www.marywelk.com.

NO TRICKS IN YOUR E-BOOKS, ONLY TREATS

Booksellers will assure you that scary stories are all the rage in October. After all, Halloween is right around the corner, and what better way is there to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve than by curling up on the couch with a blood curdling ghost story, a haunting romance, or a spooky mystery?

I’ve chosen three e-books for my holiday reading pleasure: DARK HOUSE by Karina Halle; SCARY MARY by S. A. Hunter; and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman.

I look forward to reading all three of these on my Kindle, my only hope being, there’ll be no tricks in the e-books, only treats.

What I mean by “no tricks” is this: please don’t let me find a host of proofreading errors in the story, or poor formatting of the manuscript.

I recently read two e-books by established authors whose previous work I’d read in print format. The print books were well edited. The e-books were not. I finished one of the e-books because the story was compelling enough to overlook the few proofreading mistakes: spaces before ending periods; spaces deleted between words (ex: ‘of ten thousand’ became ‘often thousand’); an occasional missing word.

The second book had so many formatting problems that I quit reading after the third chapter, although I did skim the rest of the book just to see if the formatting ever improved. It didn’t. The main problem concerned the page setup. Some paragraph first lines were indented by 0.3 inches, others by 0.5 inches, and many by 1inch. Seeing continual changes in the paragraph indentation was extremely distracting. Then there was the problem of misspelled and incorrectly capitalized words. The names of the four seasons are never capitalized; the same holds true for names of flowers. A tulip is a tulip, not a Tulip.

Okay, you may think I’m being overly picky here, and that’s your right. But as a freelance editor, it’s my job to correct such mistakes in manuscripts before they’re published, and I can’t stop myself from noticing them in published books I’m reading. In this day and age of fierce competition in the publishing business, it’s imperative that writers do a thorough self-editing job that includes use of the pilcrow—that backward P on the toolbar—to show paragraph marks and other hidden formatting symbols. It’s equally important to follow that up with professional proofreading and formatting.

I love a book that’s a treat to read on my Kindle. I enjoy reading debut novels by new authors, and I’ve found several authors I now follow because their first books were so good. What I hate to see is a good story from a first time author dismissed by readers due to unnecessary mistakes.

If I could give only two pieces of advice to new writers, they would be this: learn how to self-edit your work, and invest in professional services to make your book the best it can be.

I’d like to thank the Book Beat Babes for having me here today. I wish you all much success with your novels and your new website.

Oh, and one last thing. I almost forgot to tell everyone that I’ve contributed a novel to the annual Halloween booklist. THE SCARECROW MURDERS is a mystery set in a rural university town during Halloween Homecoming Days. It features my series sleuths, ER nurse Caroline Rhodes and history professor Carl Atwater, along with a cast of colorful (and sometimes odd) characters who do their best to cause mischief and mayhem in little Rhineburg, Illinois.

Mary V. Welk

Creating Powerful Images from Ordinary Words! by DL Larson

After judging many entries this last month for the Windy City, RWA Four Seasons Contest, I wanted to share a common thread I found. Every entry I read had wonderful potential, and with a little work and tweaking, each manuscript could become an exciting page turner.

The common thread I'm talking about is the overuse of cliche's or phrases, or just worn out words that our eyes skip over rather than becoming intrigued in the story.

Here's a few examples of tired, worn out words:
- heart pounding
- palm sweating
- stomach clenching

We've all experienced these tension-filled moments. But, yawn, our eyes have read the words too many times to trigger a response the writer wants to deliver. What is lacking is a visceral reaction, an involuntary thump of excitement.

The definition of visceral response is: characterized by intuition or instinct rather than intellect. We're dealing with base emotions, gut reactions, earthy crudeness that wakes up inward feelings.

Here's a few examples of revved-up, viseral images that could easily replace the worn-out words:

- her heart slid down, down, down to her toes.
- invisible fingers squeezed her heart.
- his heart cat-a-pulted three-quarters into a coronary.
- her stomach skidded like a motorcycle on black ice.

Using viseral responses and images catches the readers attention and moves the story in a new, exciting way.

So now, you try! How would you change the following:

- heart pounding
- palm sweating
- stomach clenching

Share your visceral responses in the comment section!

Til next time ~

DL Larson
www.DLLARSON.com
visit DL on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/deb.larson.73?fref=ts

Sassy Texas Author, Jinx Schwartz, Shares Her KDP Select Experiences

Jinx Schwartz at her boat desk

Jinx Schwartz has written eight books, including five in the award-winning Hetta Coffey series. Hetta is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!

Raised in the jungles of Haiti and Thailand, with returns to Texas in-between, Jinx followed her father's steel-toed footsteps into the Construction and Engineering industry in hopes of building dams. Finding all the good rivers taken, she traveled the world defacing other landscapes with mega-projects in Alaska, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Like the protagonist in her series, Jinx was single, with a yacht, when she met her husband, Robert "Mad Dog: Schwartz. They opted to become cash-poor cruisers rather than continue chasing the rat, sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, turned left, and headed for Mexico. They now divide their time between Arizona and Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

And now, Jinx Schwartz shares KDP Select with us:

Kindle Direct Publishing been berry, berry good to me by Jinx Schwartz     

Thanks for inviting me to participate in your new exciting blog. Since Book Beat Babes concentrates on tips, trends and secrets in books, publishing and promos, I'll share my KDP experience.

The title of my piece dates me, but many of us remember the Saturday Night Live skit with Garrett Morris as Chico Escuela, a baseball player from the Dominican Republic. Had it aired today, the catch phrase, "Beisbol been berry, berry, good to me," would probably go viral.

I share Chico's sentiment; Amazon's KDP program came along at a berry great time for me.

But first, here's a little timeline in my book career:

1. Wrote the Great American Novel, self-published it in hardback. Hint: Do not do this.

2. Okay, at least my GAN (The Texicans) was picked up by Books in Motion for Audio. Admittedly this was tantamount to winning the lottery, considering it was my first book AND self-published when the self-part was still a derogatory term.

3. Undaunted by dismal sales, I wrote more books and published them with iUniverse (when they were still relatively cheap): Sold a couple here and there.

4. Was picked up by a small publisher who re-pubbed all of my books, and some new ones. This publisher made money selling ME books, which I did my best to flog off on friends and relatives, and at book signings.

5. Had a parting of the ways with publisher. They were loathe to even put my books on Amazon, nor ebooks in Kindle format. A slow learner, I went INDIE and decided the join authors smarter than me who had already jumped on the Amazon train.

6. Still foot-dragging somewhat, I went with Smashwords for more distribution, but at least put my books into Kindle format. Sold almost nothing except through Amazon. October 2011 until June 2014: sold a grand total of 450 books...all on Amazon.

Well, duh. Lemme think, what should I do? Oh, yeah, how about I sign up with KDP Select?

Life in the freebie lane.

July 2012:   Gave away 18,145 books and sold 428. Note: See 6 above: I sold almost as many books in one month than I did in the previous seven.

If I had a day job, I still couldn't give it up, but in a little over a year I've sold almost 8000 books, and given away 250,000. Could have done better if not for a four-month speed bump: see below.

Social media been berry, berry good to me, as well.

And if you don't think social media sells book, I have this bridge over a swamp in Florida I'll sell you. We spent four months on our boat in Mexico last winter and without Internet, my sales SANK, not a term one who lives on a boat part-time uses loosely.

It was not until an August freebie this year (almost 50,000 downloads) and going with Book Bub and a bunch of other promo sites, that I am back in bidness.

My final take? Well, nothing in this business is final, but for now Amazon seems to shine, and I've hitched a ride on their star. Did I sign up for Matchbook? Yep. Why? Why not? My print books are through Createspace, so why not sell some? To me it seems a win-win.

About the Hetta Coffey Series:

Book One, Which Starts It All 

A note here: I have five books in my Hetta Coffey series, and freebies work well for series. I have no idea how a stand-alone would fare by a relatively unknown author such as I. I also have a boxed set of the first four in the series, and it is selling well.

Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it!
She's a globe-trotting civil engineer with a swath of failed multi-national affairs in her jet stream.

Plying the San Francisco waterfront, trolling for triceps, her attention is snagged by a parade of passing yachts—especially their predominantly male skippers—and experiences a champagne-induced epiphany: If she had a boat, she could get a man.

In spite of a spectacular ignorance of all things nautical, Hetta buys her dream boat, but a shadowy stalker, an inconvenient body, and Hetta's own self-destructive foibles, give a whole new meaning to the phrase "sink or swim!"

Where you can connect with Jinx Schwartz:

Jinx's Blog: http://bit.ly/PSAAxI

Website: http://jinxschwartz.com

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/QpYtAR

Twitter: @jinxschwartz

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/YJ7hXT

Please Welcome Jinx Schwartz to Book Beat Babes by Leaving a Comment Below.

Young Adult books and reality

In recent years the young adult section has come into its own, with readers of all ages finding interesting, unique reads that often test the boundaries.

A few common elements include:

1 Making life real in an often unreal world.

Coming of age in today's YA books often means having young characters under 20 fighting zombies, dealing with an apocalypse, or even fighting for their lives. It's growing up in a grown-up, if not always real, world. But enough is real that younger readers can relate to it and see themselves in the character.

2 No matter the world, it has an identifiable setting.

 Beyond the main setting of the book, there are elements that are important or relevant to teens and young adults: do they go to school or have they left school? How do events in their life affect them, and change them or their circumstances? What about friends and pastimes? Belongings and possessions also establish their surroundings and personality.

  In my book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, the protagonist is worried about returning to school after falling ill, after all it's not every day you turn into a part-zombie. Becca's situation there turns out to have its own set of problems and obstacles as well, offering other themes familiar to younger readers—the idea of fitting in, feeling accepted and bullying. Her choice? For now, she has to leave school behind.

3 A story that goes beyond the usual and (often boring) everyday stuff.

It's the exploration, and how real life gets melded with the "fantastic" that make paranormal-themed books intriguing reads. After all, as in GIRL Z, it's not every day a 16-year-old gets to traipse around two states with friends, kill zombies, and help protect others.

4 Humor or comedy also can be used to heighten a serious moment, and lighten the tension. I mean, spooky can be funny, right? Hopefully readers get a little chuckle when the main character, Becca, tries to apologize to her cousin, Carm, after her first "hunger attack" at home:

"Carm, I owe you an apology. Big time. I'm sorry I scared you."

Her eyes round, she tried to make light of it. "It's okay, Bec. It's just, uh, I didn't expect you to stare at me, you know, like-like that."

"You mean like your arm was a giant chicken wing?" I asked. - From GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie.

5 Have fun. Even in the darkest stories, there are light-hearted moments that show the characters' other side. And enjoy the story—if you're not having fun writing it, will anyone have fun reading it?

* Christine Verstraete is author of GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie. For details and to read chapter one, visit her website, www.cverstraete.com and check out her blog, GirlZombieAuthors.

Formatting by Margot Justes

Welcome to Book Beat Babes.

 

I’d like to introduce Donnie Light-formatter extraordinaire-who has the patience of a saint. I can personally vouch for that. Donnie has formatted all my books since I went indie. He is indeed a pleasure to work with, and makes my writing life much easier.

 

Cheers,

Margot  Justes

A Hotel in Paris

A Hotel in Bath

Blood Art

Hot Crimes Cool Chicks

Hearts & Daggers

www.mjustes.com

 

 

 

How many ways can you say The End ?

By Donnie Light, Author and eBook Designer

 

Writers know the importance of creating a strong opening paragraph for their book. It’s a chance to hook the reader right away and then keep them engaged in your story until they get to…

The End.

That’s where the story stops, right? It’s the end of the line. You have hopefully taken your reader on a journey and have now delivered them a satisfying ending.

 

As a book and eBook designer, I see many manuscripts each day from a very diverse group of writers. One trend that I’ve noticed recently is the lack of using the words The End to close the story. Using those time-tested words The End no longer seems necessary to many. The story simply ends... without saying so.

 

Imaging watching a movie and sensing you are near the end, when the scene abruptly ends and the screen goes dark. You may wonder if the film broke... You may wonder if that was really the end, or if there is more coming. You didn’t see The End flash on the screen, and you haven’t see any credits roll by… so you  are left to wonder.

The same holds true with a book. You need to signal to the reader that the story is over, and assure them that they are not missing pages or that their eBook reader has not malfunctioned and cut the eBook short.

There is more than one way to end a book or eBook. While The End still works for me, in today’s publishing market it pays to explore options that may entice a reader to connect with the author. Here are some of the ways you can signal the end of your book or eBook:

 

●       An Author Bio - in today’s social media driven marketplace, allow your readers to get to know a bit more about you.

●       Links to your website or blog - invite the reader to visit your website or blog.

●       Links to Social Media - let readers know where to find you on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and other social media sites.

●       List of other titles - list the titles of your books and perhaps a very brief description. Perhaps provide a link to a website that has all of your titles listed with descriptions and links to purchase.

●       A Sample Chapter - consider publishing a sample chapter from your next book and allow the reader the chance to explore it while you have their attention.

●       Author Notes - tell the reader a little about how the book came to be, or interesting facts that you researched for the book. Perhaps an interesting fact related to a site in the book, or facts regarding a historical person who appears in the book.

 

These are the most common things I see added to the end of a book. However, I have also seen thank-you and acknowledgements, and even a list of songs that the author listened to while writing.

The main point is to end your book and acknowledge that the story is over, while perhaps inviting the reader to explore other books you have written and the chance to connect with the author. In today’s publishing marketplace, making that connection with the reader is a critical aspect of marketing your book.

So properly say goodbye and thank you to your reader for spending so much time with you and your story, then invite them back for more.

 

Donnie Light is an author as well as an eBook, Print Book and Cover designer. His business website is eBook76.com, and his writing website is www.DonnieLight.com. He’s always willing to answer publishing-related questions to help authors on their own publishing journey. Contact him through his website.

 

 

Affirmation For A New Start! by DL Larson

Here we are at Book Beat Babes, our new blog site. New beginnings bring forth new affirmations and I want to take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment as a writer and as a contributor to this new blog site. To affirm is to declare one is equal to a challenge and to accept the challenge. It also means to grow in that challenge. So I plan to spread my wings and flourish as a writer. I have chosen this path, accepted the knowledge that work awaits me and I can not, will not, give up along the way. I will continue in this new direction with dedication and a lot of gutsy determination. Will I fail? Of course. But I will also endeavor to persevere!

 To help me stay on the path, I've started a list to follow and add to. (Feel free to share your ideas with me!) - I need to write everyday! - I will keep my dream alive! - My dream is to write the best story I can imagine. - I will not run from failure. - I will not fear success. - Final choices will always be mine to make. - I will explore new marketing strategies. - I will write what I want to write. - I will share my knowledge with others. - I will not let rejections stop me. - I will keep my dream alive!!!!!!

 My Affirmation as a writer, to YOU, the reader: I am a writer. I take random words and meld them into stories that move your heart and mind. I connect with your emotions, your imagination, your fears and dreams. I can make you laugh, I can make you cry. I can make you stay up past your bedtime! I can take you into the future or slip into the past. You will go where I take you, for I am the writer and I pray, if I have done my job, you will always enjoy the ride.

 Til next time ~ DL Larson
  http://www.DLLARSON.com 

PS: perhaps you have an affirmation of your own ~ feel free to re-dedicate it with us today!

IN THE WORKS

Exciting plans are in the works to bring you the latest and greatest tips, gossip and what you don't want to miss about the book industry. Stay tuned for the official grand opening of Book Beat Babes in mid-October. More to come later!

Morgan Mandel