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Self vs. Traditional Publishing

I've been pondering for weeks now the idea of trying again to publish through the traditional publishing houses if I am fortunate enough to win the Clive Cussler Adventure Writers Competition in October. 

In conversations with, and, reading the blogs of other writers, I still find myself in a quandary as to my future decision. Many say the traditional route is long and uncertain process, but could be rewarding if successful, whereas continuing as an indie publisher can be just as rewarding if done right with a well formulated marketing strategy.

When I first completed Zero Point, I sent out queries to publishing houses and received too few "not interested," and far more "no response." After months, and with a growing doubt as to my book's worthiness, I set it on the shelf for over a year until I discovered the self publishing world.

With print on demand publishing and the ebook market booming, I decided to jump in. I found it a fairly simple process; from having a cover professionally designed, my MS formatted for ebook, to uploading the MS to the POD publisher, Yeah baby..! I thought the royalties would start rolling in. Ummm....Not so much. But, I did realize a greater personal satisfaction of hearing from others that they did enjoy the story, which was a nice feeling. But, with the writing competition results nearing, and the second book in my series half complete, I find that I would enjoy seeing a higher sales and more feedback through book reviews and hopefully, interviews to get my name and story out there.

I must be patient; as is the golden rule for all writers. It it happens, then great! If not; then I'll keep plugging. Until then, I'll keep writing.

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Interview with Twin Soul author Victoria Limbert

 

POSTED BY JOHN WARNER     INDIE BOOKSPOT.com

Victoria Limbert, author of the Twin Soul novels, talks about her approach to writing and her plans for the future.

Why do you write? Is it something you’ve always done, or always wanted to do? Or is it something that you started fairly recently?

There are two main reasons why I write. The first one, the main reason, was due to bullying in school. In the earlier years I was bullied quite badly. I discovered a new world when I sat down, picked up a pen and began to write. I found that I could create worlds where people were strong against all the odds. It was fun to pretend I was these characters; facing hopeless situations, fighting strong beasts and falling in love with the handsome stranger. It was purely escapism. A way to get away from life’s problems, or at least simply cope with them.

As I grew older, and more problems were thrown my way, I looked back on those childhood stories and turned them in to full length novels which I hope to succeed with in the future.

The second reason I write is because of my dad and his love for Stephen King, Dean Koontz and David Gemmel. He would become so immersed in the storyworld that my mum was forced to shout him at least five times before he could drag himself away from the book. I realized then that I wanted to do that. I wanted to write words so powerful, so meaningful, that those reading them would have to physically drag themselves out of the world I have created. Almost like some fantastical prison.

Tell me a little about your books.

The Twin Soul Novels is a series I am writing (Book One is out on Amazon called Lilith) about a young girl called Annette Anderson. She began her life normally, as any child, with a crush on a handsome boy, defying her parents to run and see him, but, after suffering a traumatic event a darker world was opened up to her, one far less innocent. She began to see horrific monsters, felt the heat of Hell’s flames and believed she had been cursed by God with the Sight for being ‘impure and dirty’.

After years of seeing these evil things she turned to alcohol, drugs and sex, any manner of sin to take away the visions for a short while. This behavior attracted the attention of demons. One in particular. The She-Demon Lilith. Surprisingly when Lilith tried to enter Annette’s body, her human soul fought against the demon, entrapping them within her body where they are forced to reside on a shaky truce in order to survive both the human and demon worlds. Annette, who hoped for a quick death at the bottom of a bottle or with drugs in her system, is dismayed to find out her life, as long as she is entwined with Lilith, is eternal.

Lilith, the first book, centers on a spate of grisly murders which are turning human attention towards the demon worlds. Annette and Lilith must find out who is slaughtering humans and stop them before Hell spills over and the human’s world becomes a nightmare of monsters and evil. Annette has vowed to protect the human race, while being tied to the demons.

Are there any authors who inspire you?

Many! My gosh, where do I start? I read so many books and love much of what comes my way, but if I was to narrow it down I would say for early inspiration it was David Gemmel and the Eddings brothers, then as I grew up I discovered Laurell.K.Hamilton and she knocked me off my feet! Her Anita Blake novels were all I would read for quite some time. I would read them in a few hours and spend months praying for her to write the next one.

Though a child’s mind began the adventures of Annette and Lilith, it was truly an adults mind, with the inspiration of Laurell. K. Hamilton, which shaped and developed their characters and the story. That woman made me laugh and blush constantly. For the magical elements in the books I write, Cassandra Clare has great influence as does Lauren Kate.

How do you write? Do you make yourself write a certain number of words per day?

I really should start planning time to write, but honestly, though I do try and write everyday, I don’t hold myself to any plan. It is something I need to do, but I am such a Noob in the Indie scene, I am definitely learning as I go. Usually I like to be organized, I like to plan, but my imagination doesn’t play fair. I say to myself ‘right Vicky, here is the computer, we have an hour, let’s write something great!’ then I sit at the computer staring blankly, feeling the pressure. Then, I will be doing something unrelated, cleaning, watching a program on TV or talking to a customer at work then Bang! I have a great idea and I have to write it down. I will then spend several hours writing, editing, re-writing and I look up at the clock and it’s the early hours of the morning.

Did you try to get a conventional publisher or agent interested before you opted for self-publishing?

For quite some time yes. Honestly, the first time I ever tried I was very naive. I sent off dozens of e-mails and letters without a cover letter, a query letter or anything. I was very new, though I try to learn my lessons quite quickly. I then researched it, and spent hours reading through the guidelines for submissions and realized each company like things in different ways. Some wanted to see only 3 chapters of my manuscript, others wanted to entire thing, others wanted short synopsis and cover letters, and others wanted a certain amount of words.

I spent years doing this, following every tip, reading lots of forums for more information and received many rejections, nice comments on my writing and lots of advice. It was only a few months ago I got sucked in to Indie publishing and still hope one day to find a traditional publisher as I have many books I am working on with many more ideas.

What goals have you set yourself? Do you want to sell a certain number of books in 2012? Is there some way you measure success, on your own terms?

Although sales are very important, and it’s always nice to earn money from my writing, any money I get is a bonus for doing what I love. I measure my success on weather people enjoy my books, on whether they love them and want to read more. It means I have accomplished what I set out to do as a child who was quite badly bullied. I succeeded in creating a world where others can escape the trials of life for a few short hours. I haven’t set myself a target, for now I just want to enjoy the experience and learn more about the Indie scene. Maybe in the future I will settle on a new target.

How have you marketed your books? Have you used social media (Twitter, Facebook etc)? Have you paid for any advertising (Facebook Ads, Google Ads etc)? And how did it go?

I have my own website where I market my books, write book reviews for others and have a blog where I write about things I have discovered on my journey. I have my own Facebook fanpage which is doing extremely well and Twitter, Goodreads and the new site ‘Your Book Launch’ is where I do the majority of marketing. If I could figure out how to use Pinterest I would be there aswell. I have an Amazon author page and I am making lots of great friends who I treasure.

Away from Amazon, have you had much luck with other outlets? Do you use Smashwords, Barnes & Noble etc?

Currently I am on the KDP Select promotion on Amazon. I have only had my book for sale for just under a month so I have yet to figure out if the KDPselect is working for me. After the 90 days, if I don’t feel its working, I have plans to join Smashwords and there are some great independent sites out there that are helping Indie authors which I would like to research further.

What’s next? Are you working on anything at the moment? Do you have anything new coming out in 2012?

Lilith is currently on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and on the KDP Select. I am currently writing the second book in the Twin Soul series which I am hoping will be ready towards the end of this year, as it seems I already have people who cant wait to read it. Their reviews have been fantastic. I also have an epic fantasy in the works which I hoping will be out early next year and a series of short post apocalyptic stories which are steadily coming to life. There is so much I want to do, but right now Twin Souls are my priority.

Victoria Limbert’s Lilith (Twin Soul Novels) is available from Amazon. You can also visit her website, follow her on Twitter and find her on Goodreads.

Action Adventure Hero...Tough, tender, or a bit of both

Being that I usually dive into the genre of action adventure thrillers, I get to read some great stories with a lot of tough as nails heroes, thwarting  the villainous plans of their antagonists; saving the world one scene at a time. Plenty of heart pounding action? You bet! Lots of cliches? Love it!

However, is there room for a hero that is somewhat larger than life, but possessing a softer, more fragile character trait? A hero that knows the path they have been thrust upon has to be followed at any cost, but wishing it could have been someone else.

I have been seeing it more often and I believe it adds a fresh, new dimension to the action hero, whereas reading of their escapades, I know that he, or she is struggling emotionally with their goal. Feeling their pain and  oft times sharing their tears as they suffer personal loss along the way.

When I first started writing my action thriller, Zero Point, I hit the keyboard full steam with my protagonist, Josh Turner. An archaeologist who was your typical, larger than life tough guy with a penchant for adventure and intrigue. About a third of the way through, I became aware of the fact that I really didn't like him on a personal level. For me, that was not good at all. If I didn't like him, I knew he wouldn't stand a chance with a reader.

So I went back to his bio and thought of ideas to make him more of an ordinary person, inadvertently forced   into an extraordinary situation. I gave him more emotion; a caring for people and less of the "lock-n-load" mind-set. I threw in a conflict with his father, his mentor, but also his source of rebellion. A personal demon that had  followed him since his childhood. And finally, a reluctant somewhat clumsy suitor for that special lady, who he felt distanced from. When I did the re-write, I finally could truly say, "Yeah..I like the guy now." I could relate to him more on a personal level.

Can our heroes be tough? Vanquish the bad guy and win the day? Sure they can, but can they also shed a tear along the way? Why not?

 

Sometimes you just gotta' have faith!

I was in down-town the other day running a few personal errands and had made my last stop before heading home. Walking through the parking lot back to my car, I saw a young woman, probably in her teens standing nearby. She seemed to be looking at me and I could tell she wanted to talk to me, but she seemed hesitant. Not wanting to stare, I averted my gaze and continued to my car whereas I heard a nervous voice call out–”sir … can you help me?”

Turning, I saw this young lady approaching, and sadly my first thought was that of suspicion. What did she want? Could this a robbery? Was there someone hiding nearby to help her?  In retrospect, I couldn’t help having those thoughts, and I’m sure most would have the same seeing the world we live in these days. I pushed those feeling out (just a little) and asked her what the problem was. She kept her gaze down as she spoke softly saying, “my mom is across the street at the medical clinic. She left her pocket book home and we don’t have enough gas in the car to get home. Can you spare some change?”

Okay… at first I thought to myself, yeah.. right. I’ve heard this similar line before. I was about to tell her no when she looked up and I could see her eyes welling up with tears. They say the secret to a person’s heart is in their eyes, and these eyes to me were telling the truth. I felt bad about my prior cynicism and mistrust. I pulled out the few dollars I had on me and gave it to her. In a quiet voice she said “thank you sir–God bless you;” turned and headed off.

As I got back in my car, I thought to myself, sometimes you just gotta have faith; faith in the reality that there are some moments in time when the harsh reality of this troubled world is not tugging at your coat-tails all of the time.

My first interview as an author

I was very pleased to be chosen for an author spotlight on "Writ.” A writers group on Google Plus. The following is the interview:

Time for our March Writer Spotlight! This month, the honor goes to +Tim Fairchild , an action-adventure novelist hailing from Maine in the United States.

1. Your first novel appears to be an action adventure with an environmental spin. Is there a deep motive behind that, or was it just the story that came to you?

Good question, Andy! I tend to think it was a little bit of both, and, in my book, I wanted to apply an adventurous tie with my characters between history, nature, and our quest for new energy. It was a good medium to express my awe of nature’s sometimes harsh fury and that we as humans have this false sense of security that our planet, with its ever changing ecological and geological attributes, can never be altered, or in the case of my story, Zero Point, used as a weapon to harm us.

Nature has done some amazing things over millions of years. For example; Incredibly, human-kind was almost eradicated 70,000 years ago by an act of nature, leaving only an estimated 15,000 humans left on the planet, which is the subject of the next in my series, The Toba Element. Surprisingly, our planet was warmer in the 1500′s than it is now. A Tsunami five-hundred feet in height was recorded as recently as 1958 in Lituya Bay Alaska, and that wasn’t the first, or the last time it will happen.

Our planet Earth is an amazing, living, breathing thing; constantly changing and sometimes it can be a bumpy ride. It is human arrogance to believe that our world never changes and if it is, that we alone are the cause, though we can surely expedite it with our greed, waste and short-sighted thinking We have a choice to be good stewards of our home, or not. If we choose the latter, our host, the planet Earth, will surely remove us as easily as a dog ridding itself of a flea.

2. You’re a novelist who plays guitar and hosts open mics. Do you dabble in songwriting as well?

A few year back, well, more than a few, I wrote a couple of songs, but at the time, I did it for fun. I still enjoy doing the classic of the 70’s…yeah, I’m that old.:-) Songs from the Beatles, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, and the like. Surprisingly, many still enjoy that genre of music. I’m really astonished at how many younger people do.

3. What are your feelings on Oxford commas?

I’ve been criticized for using it and for not. I guess it depends on the writer’s voice and choice. Me? I believe; when in doubt, use it. The Chicago Manual of Style strongly recommends using the Oxford comma because it prevents ambiguity when reading a passage.

4. What about Maine led you to choose it as your home?

Our children are now grown and have their own lives, so when I retired, my wife and I decided to relocate to Maine as a choice of finding a quieter lifestyle. We love the peacefulness of the outdoors and Maine has so much to offer us. Beautiful rocky shore-lines, mountains, rivers, the occasional moose on the interstate; oh, did I mention lobsters?

5. Why do you write?

I was always a dreamer as a young person. My mind would wonder off on adventures in exotic far-away places. (Mainly during class in school.) I always held the dream of visiting different lands and experiencing different cultures. I finally had that opportunity later in life with mission trips to places such as Honduras, Belize, and Peru. I discovered so many beautiful places and wonderful loving people on these trips. It had a profound effect on me and I try to express that in my writing. One of my characters, Samuel Caberra is based on a Qeuchuan Native friendship I established in Peru. All in all, I write for the enjoyment that others get from my story. That to me is gratifying. I don’t do it for money, or fame, though I wouldn’t be upset if I made a few dollars.:-)

6. Have you been writing forever or did it just start one day?

I think we all have probably heard many friends say, I would love to write a book.” I was one of those for many years. A busy life of having to maintain a career, raising a family and all the other things in life’s little ‘cookie jar’ kept me from realizing that dream. It wasn’t until my retirement that I sat down one day and said: “I’m going to do it!”

I started writing my first novel Zero Point in late 2007. Put it on the shelf for a year, and, in the interim, took a couple of fiction writing courses. A friend encouraged me after reading the draft to stop doubting myself and pursue finishing it. Well, I did finish it and self-published it with Lulu POD and Kindle. I even went out on a limb and entered Zero Point in the Clive Cussler Collectors Society’s annual Adventure Writers Competition. To my amazement it made the top five finalists with the winner to be announced this October at their annual convention. I guess my point here is; to beginning authors, don’t ever give up on your dream of writing.

7. What are your non-writing interests and do you think they affect your writing?

Oh, I believe so! I’m a huge science and history buff. If I didn’t have the Discovery, or Science channels on the television, I’d get rid of cable TV.:-) I’ve always held an interest in archaeology as well, thus my protagonist’s occupation. I was taught to write what you love the most and what you care about. I can’t speak for others, but for me, it seems to work.

8. Other than Writ, what, if any, writing groups do you belong to?

Though I’m still pretty new on Google plus I am following Writers.com, Authors Anon, The writing Network. On the web I found; The World Literary Café. Great place!

9. What color is your toothbrush?

Blue and white. Isn’t everybody’s?

10. If you could tell the Writ community one thing about you, what would it be?

First I think it’s great we have a place like Writ to share our experiences, work, ups and downs, and the like. For that I am grateful. The one thing about me? Hmmmm? I believe in the over-all good in humanity and that we can make a difference in other people’s lives.