Louis Bertrand Shalako's Blog
June 28, 2012
The Writer's Rules of Engagement
Here is a little blog post I wrote on the writer's rules of engagement. May be offensive to some readers.
http://shalakopublishing.blogspot.ca/...
http://shalakopublishing.blogspot.ca/...
May 13, 2012
To submit or not to submit? That is but the question. (From Oct/11)
I'm in the process up winding up the plot on my seventh novel, which is in the detective/mystery genre.
It's not surprising that we are running up against the old quandary, the question of whether or not to submit it to a publisher.
Major publishers often require an agent, and I don't have an agent. One publisher in particular, specifically mentions in their submision guidelines, 'no self-published authors need apply,' and that seems pretty clear to me. I'm not going to adopt a pen-name and submit anyway, because that would be dishonest.
If I did submit the book to a major publisher, bear in mind this is a first draft at this point, and of course they are looking for 'completed projects.' The trouble here is that I might not hear back from them for eight months to a year, and of course I would be fiddling with my book during that time. How could I possibly claim that it is 'complete?' I can't, can I? It's a first draft, and subbing now just to save time could so easily backfire.
Also, while many authors make simultaneous submissions all over the place in hopes of getting at least one hit fairly quickly, I tend to figure out who I would like to publish my book and then submit it to them. Then I just sit and wait. (Or fiddle with the book.)
Let's assume that in six months I get a response, and then they want to see the whole manuscript. That's fine, but it will be at least a year before my new book hits the bookstore shelves, and another six months before I see any revenue from the sales of my book.
I would hate like hell to have to wait anything up to two and a half years for a rejection slip, although others have waited longer. Assuming the first six publishers reject you, you could go three to five years without any joy, and that's clearly a waste of time. Also, after fifteen years on disability here in Ontario, I live one step from homelessness at all times. Where in the heck would you sent a rejection slip, or more optimistically, how would you contact me if you were interested?
The problem is we aren't getting any younger. While I have 'the rest of my life ahead of me,' there is no way to tell just exactly how long that is going to be, which is always an important consideration.
As yet, there is no decision, but if anyone wants me to submit my book, you had better be talking a hefty advance, or I just don't want to mess with you. Life is too short for that sort of nonsense.
It's too much aggravation, and to go and get ripped off or lose my rights in some bankruptcy kerfuffle just isn't going to happen.
Note: 'Redemption: an Inspector Gilles Maintenon mystery' is now available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, Sony, Baker-Taylor, Createspace, Indigo/Chapters, and other fine online bookstores.
Here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006G583XE
Here it is at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/redem...
The book has been getting some good reviews, and some other, reasonably good reviews.
A brief note: I have been offered four contracts by vanity publishers. Once I realized who they were, I jsut walked away.
I have no regrets about that. It was the right thing to do, and a sound business decision. I can't advise other writers what to do. Everyone has different goals and expectations for their work.
It's not surprising that we are running up against the old quandary, the question of whether or not to submit it to a publisher.
Major publishers often require an agent, and I don't have an agent. One publisher in particular, specifically mentions in their submision guidelines, 'no self-published authors need apply,' and that seems pretty clear to me. I'm not going to adopt a pen-name and submit anyway, because that would be dishonest.
If I did submit the book to a major publisher, bear in mind this is a first draft at this point, and of course they are looking for 'completed projects.' The trouble here is that I might not hear back from them for eight months to a year, and of course I would be fiddling with my book during that time. How could I possibly claim that it is 'complete?' I can't, can I? It's a first draft, and subbing now just to save time could so easily backfire.
Also, while many authors make simultaneous submissions all over the place in hopes of getting at least one hit fairly quickly, I tend to figure out who I would like to publish my book and then submit it to them. Then I just sit and wait. (Or fiddle with the book.)
Let's assume that in six months I get a response, and then they want to see the whole manuscript. That's fine, but it will be at least a year before my new book hits the bookstore shelves, and another six months before I see any revenue from the sales of my book.
I would hate like hell to have to wait anything up to two and a half years for a rejection slip, although others have waited longer. Assuming the first six publishers reject you, you could go three to five years without any joy, and that's clearly a waste of time. Also, after fifteen years on disability here in Ontario, I live one step from homelessness at all times. Where in the heck would you sent a rejection slip, or more optimistically, how would you contact me if you were interested?
The problem is we aren't getting any younger. While I have 'the rest of my life ahead of me,' there is no way to tell just exactly how long that is going to be, which is always an important consideration.
As yet, there is no decision, but if anyone wants me to submit my book, you had better be talking a hefty advance, or I just don't want to mess with you. Life is too short for that sort of nonsense.
It's too much aggravation, and to go and get ripped off or lose my rights in some bankruptcy kerfuffle just isn't going to happen.
Note: 'Redemption: an Inspector Gilles Maintenon mystery' is now available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, Sony, Baker-Taylor, Createspace, Indigo/Chapters, and other fine online bookstores.
Here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006G583XE
Here it is at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/redem...
The book has been getting some good reviews, and some other, reasonably good reviews.
A brief note: I have been offered four contracts by vanity publishers. Once I realized who they were, I jsut walked away.
I have no regrets about that. It was the right thing to do, and a sound business decision. I can't advise other writers what to do. Everyone has different goals and expectations for their work.
February 13, 2011
More Questions.
I was looking at 'The Paranoid Cat and other tales,' one of my ebooks here on Goodreads, and I can't quite figure out how to make it free, or even make a preview.
Sometimes all one can do is to delete it and maybe re-upload, and then set the price to 'zero.'
What may be easier, is to simply give the book away from Lulu.com. So next month, that is the book that I will be giving away. Without a print book, I really can't do the giveaway thing here on Goodreads.
A nice simple solution!
I had more questions, but I forgot some of them.
Oh, yes. I went over to 'Heaven Is Too Far Away,' and you can read it for free.
How come it didn't work for the other one? (Or, shall we say, what did I do wrong?)
Sometimes all one can do is to delete it and maybe re-upload, and then set the price to 'zero.'
What may be easier, is to simply give the book away from Lulu.com. So next month, that is the book that I will be giving away. Without a print book, I really can't do the giveaway thing here on Goodreads.
A nice simple solution!
I had more questions, but I forgot some of them.
Oh, yes. I went over to 'Heaven Is Too Far Away,' and you can read it for free.
How come it didn't work for the other one? (Or, shall we say, what did I do wrong?)
February 12, 2011
Long Day.
Today I polished three short stories totalling about 4,200 words. The longest, at about 2,300 was one I really wanted to cut. I had trouble doing that.
Like many stories, I have my doubts, but I submitted them all anyway. Not much to lose, at this point!
On Twitter, I added in Twitpic, aptly named, and uploaded my first photo, predictably the cover of 'The Case of the Curious Killers.' Hopefully I won't abuse the privilege.
If you follow the right people, you can get a lot of information that is useful, although my own 'tweets' can be kind of lame.
I noticed that my books on Goodreads don't have any indents. Checking another self-pubbed author, I saw her book was exactly the same.
It might be wise to look at more books before making the call, but it is possible the Goodreads system strips that all out. As I recall, I uploaded pdfs.
Like many stories, I have my doubts, but I submitted them all anyway. Not much to lose, at this point!
On Twitter, I added in Twitpic, aptly named, and uploaded my first photo, predictably the cover of 'The Case of the Curious Killers.' Hopefully I won't abuse the privilege.
If you follow the right people, you can get a lot of information that is useful, although my own 'tweets' can be kind of lame.
I noticed that my books on Goodreads don't have any indents. Checking another self-pubbed author, I saw her book was exactly the same.
It might be wise to look at more books before making the call, but it is possible the Goodreads system strips that all out. As I recall, I uploaded pdfs.
February 8, 2011
Working Hard.
I'm not reading much fiction lately. After a couple of months of nothing but blog posts, it was good to complete one story, a 'weird west' type of sci-fi, and then I wrote an all-new story, short as it was at about 550 words.
Both of these stories make me look more of a 'stylist' and that's kind of a revelation. I have been working hard, I admit that. At some point it had to get better.
Hopefully, both of those will find a home somewhere. It is always troubling to find a typo in something we just subbed, but that too is part of the game. I'll just sub that one on to the next guy, (after fixing it of course.)
Both of these stories make me look more of a 'stylist' and that's kind of a revelation. I have been working hard, I admit that. At some point it had to get better.
Hopefully, both of those will find a home somewhere. It is always troubling to find a typo in something we just subbed, but that too is part of the game. I'll just sub that one on to the next guy, (after fixing it of course.)
January 30, 2011
Revisions.
Last night I made a couple of minor corrections in one of my ebooks. By the time I uploaded it to Smashwords, Kindle, and Lulu, and etc; two hours had gone by and I was getting pretty tired. It was one-thirty a.m.
What I forgot was that Kindle really prefers not to read, 'Smashwords Edition' in the front matter. What that means is that I have to wait until the bogus upload fully processes through the system, and take it down, and load it up again...ugh.
I also forgot all about Goodreads!
It's one of those deals where once you start, you can never quit.
That's okay, I like to keep busy, and I'll just go and upload that now...
-louis
What I forgot was that Kindle really prefers not to read, 'Smashwords Edition' in the front matter. What that means is that I have to wait until the bogus upload fully processes through the system, and take it down, and load it up again...ugh.
I also forgot all about Goodreads!
It's one of those deals where once you start, you can never quit.
That's okay, I like to keep busy, and I'll just go and upload that now...
-louis
January 10, 2011
A Day Off.
My last post indicates how wrapped up in editing and formatting I have become. It is both nice and necessary to take a day off once in a while.
This morning I saw three deer on my way to get smokes! Later in the day I saw an immature red-tail hawk sitting about fifty feet up in a tree behind the house.
The omens are all good.
It is nice to read something for pleasure once in a while. Lately it's been nothing but work, work, work.
This morning I saw three deer on my way to get smokes! Later in the day I saw an immature red-tail hawk sitting about fifty feet up in a tree behind the house.
The omens are all good.
It is nice to read something for pleasure once in a while. Lately it's been nothing but work, work, work.
December 30, 2010
POD File. (For Dummies.)
So far the POD file for 'The Case of the Curious Killers' is going fairly well. A minor point, but I didn't grab the most up to date file. I would have gone through it anyway, a quick re-write won't hurt the thing.
It is tempting to open up the margins a little more. One 4x7 I have here has a .25 inner margin and about .375 outer. But with this template both measurements have to be the same, because of the left-hand/righthand page thing. They have to match in a mirror-like image sort of a way. That's my interpretation, but I will check and fool around with it.
Otherwise the left page has a big gutter and the right page a small one, is what I'm saying. At Smashwords, for formatting we are advised to keep it simple, no more than two types and sizes of font, stuff like that. Nothing over 16-point, etc. But those were all e-books.
I haven't run across anything like that on Lulu, but they do stress embedding your fonts to make the printable PDf. There are instructions for OpenOffice on how to do that. (Editor's Note: He is talking about making Pdf's in Adobe Digital Editions.)
Ten-point looks fine for the text, and it again looks like about 427 pages. The 741-page figure I got the other day was clearly wrong, but I still don't know what happened there. I'm paying attention to the proper number of blank sheets. Page numbering should not be a problem...okay, it's not immediately obvious, but I can try it as a .doc file in Word and import it again...maybe.
In other words, I'm taking my time and thinking it out as best I can. Realistically, I probably will have to go through a couple of proofs, maybe more.
I could upload a file and pay someone $300.00, allegedly. I would be waiting a lot longer, on my income. This way I learn how to do it for myself. The postal delays will be the worst thing--it's almost inevitable that we discover some little thing in the file before we even get a copy by mail.
It is tempting to open up the margins a little more. One 4x7 I have here has a .25 inner margin and about .375 outer. But with this template both measurements have to be the same, because of the left-hand/righthand page thing. They have to match in a mirror-like image sort of a way. That's my interpretation, but I will check and fool around with it.
Otherwise the left page has a big gutter and the right page a small one, is what I'm saying. At Smashwords, for formatting we are advised to keep it simple, no more than two types and sizes of font, stuff like that. Nothing over 16-point, etc. But those were all e-books.
I haven't run across anything like that on Lulu, but they do stress embedding your fonts to make the printable PDf. There are instructions for OpenOffice on how to do that. (Editor's Note: He is talking about making Pdf's in Adobe Digital Editions.)
Ten-point looks fine for the text, and it again looks like about 427 pages. The 741-page figure I got the other day was clearly wrong, but I still don't know what happened there. I'm paying attention to the proper number of blank sheets. Page numbering should not be a problem...okay, it's not immediately obvious, but I can try it as a .doc file in Word and import it again...maybe.
In other words, I'm taking my time and thinking it out as best I can. Realistically, I probably will have to go through a couple of proofs, maybe more.
I could upload a file and pay someone $300.00, allegedly. I would be waiting a lot longer, on my income. This way I learn how to do it for myself. The postal delays will be the worst thing--it's almost inevitable that we discover some little thing in the file before we even get a copy by mail.
