So...self-publish or publish traditionally. 
     There are two ways to go these days: go it alone or use the traditional approach (look like crazy for a Big 5 publisher). The problem is, the traditional publisher is getting harder for the new author to approach. I tried the traditional approach for five years. Now I'm going to try the Indie approach (find a small independent press to publish your book).
       Today, no one has to go unpublished. Amazon has solved that problem--with hundreds of thousands of titles published on that massive site every year--and the number is growing! 
       The challenge for the writer who wants  to go Indie is getting discovered in that mass of new pubs! 
         So, what to do?
         I'll share some of my thoughts on how to deal with the vast desert of amazon publishing in my next blog. 

Cathleen (designer) is finishing up the design work for Cooper's Moon. I see a book launch coming soon. Stay tuned for a time, date and place. 
​

Cooper's Moon, Blood Moon Rising, and a Cold Copper Moon in some way or another deal with the issue of trafficking in sex. The exploitation of women and children by traffickers is one of the best-kept secrets today. Anther well-kept secret is that the US is one of the top countries of destination for trafficking. If you want to  read more about this subject, check out Kara's Sex  Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. 

Once you outline (Don't let it becomes boring), start to fill in the spaces. 

Write what is real to you--that is, get  into the scene and describe what you see or feel as if you were right there. Writing is a lot like acting. In acting you have to be present to your character.

I find that when I don't like what I've written it's because I haven't even been close to the scene I am describing.

Easy? No. Not at all. Try it. You have to feel the place you are describing, smell it, see the details, hear the sounds. 

So Rule #5 is: Be present in the scene you're describing. Like Alice, drop into the world you are describing. 

One of the big questions authors have is should I outline my book or not? 

My thought: Yes and No. That's pretty confusing. And yes, I'm confused. I never outlined my first three books (none of them released as yet--hopefully the first will be this fall). And maybe it shows. Or maybe not. 
I have outlined book 4. So far I feel more comfortable with how the book is developing. 

The value of outlining--I now think--is that it makes the writing process easier. But not as interesting! Since I already know the path I am taking. 

So what is Rule # 4? 

Rule 4 is to outline--but not too much. In my mind outlining in too much detail takes the mystery out of the mystery. 

I would love your thoughts on this crazy and bothersome topic. 

In the meantime, all the best as you write! 

Connie

A writer once said the way to write a book is to write one page a day. And at the end of 250 days you will have written a short novel. Isn't that the way life is: One day at a time. The trick is to write in the same way: One page at a time. 

So Rule #3: Write a page every day whether you feel like it or not...And to hell with writer's block. And you will have that novel that you always said you would write at the end of it all. 

And keep it a secret! Nobody will ever believe you did it one page at a time! After all, how long could that take? 

​Connie

I just finished rewriting my first novel--again--for the third time. It took me 6 months to completely redo it. I started writing Cooper's Moon in late 1995. How many years ago is that?! This is 2016 (June) and I have just finished my final--dear God I hope it's my final--rewrite.

I plan on releasing it in late summer, 2016.      Finally!  

Anyway. You get the idea. Writing is a job that takes patience. This was my first novel--not my last. I had written two other novels after Cooper's Moon. . 
I also rewrote those novels several times as well. 

The moral of this story--don't fall in love with the first thing  you write. 

1. So Rule One in Writing is: Don't fall in love with what you wrote, BUT don't throw it away either. It might take several rewrites but the sentences and paragraphs and ultimately the story that you created will finally begin to take shape. 

You are probably wondering why I rewrote. Was I that diligent? That perceptive? That aware of my own writing deficiencies?
Nope. I had the benefit of the critical eyes of my agent (Tris Coburn of Coburn Literary Management) as well as the patient and honest feedback (sometimes more than I wanted) from my wife, Karyn. She's used to editing. Her role as managing editor of a national magazine helped her deliver the bad news to me on more than one occasion.. Tris and Karyn were both merciless--yet kind--in telling me I had a lot of work to do. 

2. Rule Two is: Get an unbiased (maybe even heartless) critic to read what you wrote. You will love what you have written--always! We authors always do. The unbiased--maybe heartless-- critic will give us the real story. Without that kind of feedback you will be venturing out into the maze of uploaded books (maybe as many as 300,000 a year) with no idea of how good (or bad) your book really is.

And....you don't want your readers to be your first critics. They can be unforgiving. Believe me. 

Rules 3 and 4 later. 

Stay in touch. 

Connie 

Need some advice. 

It's a new day for me. I am currently without an agent--for the first time in five years. By the way, my thanks to my friend and agent, Tris Coburn, for all of his support over these past years and for his hard work in getting a new author published. It's a big challenge in this new era in publishing with Amazon emerging as the new Elephant in the Living Room. And thanks also, Tris, for you continued support as I look for a new agent or toward self-publishing. 

So here is my dilemma--to try to get a new agent, or to self-publish. Or maybe both. 

Let me know your thoughts. I need some help. Thanks. 

totally redoing Coopers Moon first novel for publication...hopefully early spring!