Robert Gregory Browne, a pal of mine from Thriller Writers whose debut novel KISS HER GOODBYE came out this year, posted over at Murderati yesterday about log lines. It’s definitely worth reading (but come back here when you’re done!) Rob posted this article a year or so ago on his own blog, and it resonated with me. Being able to pitch your idea in on sentence so that someone “gets it” is a valuable tool. I use loglines (though not as good as Rob’s!) to summarize all my books. However, after reading Rob’s lesson, I realized that what I thought… Read More

Over at my personal blog, I’ve asked people to ask me questions so I don’t have to come up with blog topics since I have a couple deadlines all about the same time and I’m brain dead 🙂 Susan Hatler, a friend of mine from the Sacramento Valley Rose, had a great question about proposals. And since it’s more craft/writing related I decided to answer it over here. Question: Since I’ve heard you’re not a plotter, is it difficult to write a proposal before you’ve written the book? How do you deal with writing the actual novel if the characters… Read More

I originally was going to blog about POV today, and have a nice partial post written about how and why I changed the POV of the first chapter of my paranormal novella. But that can wait until next week. In the last twelve hours, two of my online communities have suddenly started talking about making a living writing–print runs, advances, etc. The overall tone turned negative and fatalistic–how can anyone make a living doing this? I’ve heard statistics thrown around (with no back-up) that only 200 writers “make a living” as writers, or 5% of published authors, or whatever. I… Read More

I’ll admit, I was surprised when I was asked for an author blurb. This is basically a one or two-sentence endorsement of the book which may go on the front cover or on an inside page. First, though my debut trilogy did well, I’m hardly a household name among suspense lovers like, oh, Robb, Coben, Connelly, King, Koontz, Gardner, Gerritsen, Hoag and many others. Second, and most important, who am I to judge whether a book is good or not? What if I love it and one of my readers hates it and gets mad at me? What if I… Read More

On every writer’s loop I’m on, professional jealousy has been discussed. We often talk around it, because we don’t want to be seen as green with envy. Some people are the brunt of it more than others. Some people tend to be more envious than others. But one thing we all don’t quite understand is WHY. Why do some feel the need to slam the success of fellow writer’s? Today I read a great blog over at MJ Rose’s Buzz, Balls & Hype about WHY professional jealousy exists and offers some great advice. So I’m passing it on to all… Read More

I found this circulated on one of the writing loops I’m on. I don’t know who created it, but I thought there were some interesting points of discussion. Nine Marks for a Bestselling Author 1. Perseverance is the key 2. They write and write and write 3. They like to write and write and write 4. Promotion is constant 5. Marketing is critical 6. Fans are an important asset 7. The more success the more pressure 8. They’re grateful 9. There is no single profile for a best-selling author Sounds like good advice. Let’s break them apart and discuss them…. Read More

Okay, admit it. You’ve read books replete with errors. With typos and missing words and things that just don’t make sense. Who’s the first person you blame? The Author. Right. Been there, done that. It’s not always the author’s fault. Page proofs are the final stage before publication. You get the book in typeset form. For my publisher, this means a mock-up of each page, complete with printer marks, chapter headings, what-have-you. The dedication, the acknowledgments, and my favorite page–the inside page that tells the reader that this is a work of fiction, and it’s bears my name next to… Read More

Authors tend to be the last to know what’s going on with their books. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been kept in the loop regarding most aspects of my books journey from production to shelf, but there are a few things that came as a surprise. Like, when I walked into Target and saw THE PREY sitting on an endcap with a BREAKOUT BOOK sticker. It would not have been a surprise if I saw it a week or two after the release date. But this was two MONTHS after the release date. I thought Target just didn’t pick up… Read More

I’m outgoing. An extrovert, you might say. I love talking with people, in person, on the phone, on-line–doesn’t matter. I need that human connection, especially now since as a full-time writer, I spend so much time in my head (which can be a very scary place!) I think book signings are a good thing, within reason. Like with all promotion, if it takes away from your writing time, you have to evaluate whether you’re getting a huge benefit from it. But if you can fit in a few signings, there are good reasons to do so. First, some definitions: LAUNCH… Read More

Over at Kristin Nelson‘s blog, she wrote about the state of the chick lit market Why would a suspense writer even care about the chick lit market? Because we’re sisters. Or brothers-in-arms. Or any other cliche you can think of. The truth is, chick lit today is where romantic suspense was 3-5 years ago. When chick lit first became really popular, maybe about three years ago, good writers who had a good manuscript were bought up in very nice deals across the board. Publishers were snatching up new authors right and left, and established writers with the right tone were… Read More