Recently, someone in my RWA Chapter announced she was going to self-publish her novel. Her announcement was met with much celebration. But not so very long ago (even as short as last year) this sort of announcement would have been met with a lukewarm response, at best.

Personally, I support this author's decision. I hope she does very well, and at the very least, a novel she believes in, which is written well, will be available on the shelves as "proof" of her dedication and hard work.

But, I wanted really to talk about the options today and her efforts really opened that door. Of course, this is nothing new -- discussions like this are cropping up all over the place. Authors now have freedoms they didn't have previously: self-publishing, small-press digital and print publishing, traditional publishing, are just a few. Authors are starting publishing companies to support their self-pub ventures. Authors are creating "Imprint" motifs to make theirs stand out. Authors are joining with other authors to help network their independantly published titles. And through it all we see the same things happening in both small press and traditional press.

My own feelings?

I think an author will succeed the most by incorporating a variety of approaches, not just using one and only one. It's hard, very hard, to generate notice as an indie-pub'd author. Exposure is often one of the biggest contributors to sales. Sales make or break a career.

I know what I have made in royalties from my small press books, and I know how much time I've put into marketing my book and trying to garner exposure. I also know that even where I have succeeded, there's no way I can generate the level of exposure, or quality of exposure, on my own that my traditional publishing house can do simply by stocking it in bookshelves.

It's also a well-known fact that the authors who see the greatest success in Indie publishing are those who have a following. Those who are releasing their back lists in digital. I caution the author who belives they will become an overnight success through Indie publishing to step back, read the industry, and really consider the expectations you might have.

Even authors who have some degree of exposure through small houses often struggle. If they are struggling, and they have some marketing abilities granted to them, it's even more difficult for those who don't.

So, my thoughts are very much along the lines of use the digital world to your advantage. There's absolutely nothing wrong with indie publishing or using a small press. But do so with an open mind and open eyes. Celebrate your releases. Promote your rear off.

Still keep working on a novel that can meet the demand of traditional markets. Because, you'll develop a symbiotic relationship between both markets. Readers who pick you up off a bookshelf and fall in love will look for other titles. Readers who find you on Kindle, will look for others. If you have the ability to produce at even a moderate tempo, you can compose one or two shorter stories for the digital world with one or two longer stories for traditional publishing. Digital comes out faster. Those quick releases will help keep your name alive, your product flowing, and keep folks reading you while they are waiting on your next "larger" release.

I've tried to encourage all my critique partners to consider the *business* of writing. I'm encouraging you to do the same. Step back from the goals and dreams and celebrations and look at how you can make the current business model work for you. And that model is (or should be as you draw it out) heavily influenced by the digital world.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Hey all!

I'm blogging on the Beta Hero over at:

Romance Books R Us

Stop in please, say hi, and take a look around at this exciting group of authors.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Every author, almost, has a circle of critique partners who willingly rip manuscripts into shreds to help the author reach the best work possible. We cry together, we laugh together, and we most definitely vent together. As a good friend once said, critique partners are like marriages. And no truer words have ever been spoken.

This year, I'm tickled pink to see the accomplishments my critique circle has made. In one month's time, five of the eight people I have worked with on a regular basis have climbed mountains.

Elisabeth Burke finaled in The Golden Heart for her historical romance entry, The Healer.
Dyann Love Barr sold to The Wild Rose Press.
Alicia M. Dean sold another novel to The Wild Rose Press.
Trisha (name withheld) has editors jumping to review her manuscript.

Another woman, Heather Snow, (who has not been a regular critique partner, but who I have worked with on occasion, and is a fellow chapter member and good friend) finaled in The Golden Heart with her Regency Historical, Sweet Enemy.

I said five, and left off one. A week ago I signed with literary agent, Jewelann Cone of the Atlantis Literary Agency. This is a milestone for me, and I'm ecstatic about it. I will not share details, but suffice to say that in the short time I've been under contract, I am extremely impressed with the work she's done.

So... critique partners -- WAY TO GO!!!

I'm proud to work with you, proud to have been able to contribue to your success, and I am indebted to the contributions you've made to mine.

Let's toast and hope the rest of this year goes just as well.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

For every person who's had a voice in the whole RWA versus Eligibility in e-pub, yesterday RWA made a bold move that impressed the membership like I've not witnessed before.

In response to Harlequin's venture, Harlequin Horizons, RWA killed the number one romance publisher's eligibility within the national organization.

Bold. Impressive. And while I was a bit miffed about the whole 'e-issue' stuff, I must say yesterday I was very proud to be a member of RWA.

I feel for the HQ authors who are probably caught in the middle of something that feels more like a landslide than anything else. Questions have come up through loops and blogs about how this will affect the author's direct membership, after they've already achieved status like PAN. I don't foresee too much fall-out there, frankly. It's going to hit the newer HQ authors, the authors still waiting in the wings, and the aspiring hopefuls harder than anything.

That said. Whether it be for the better or for the worse, I have to admire the RWA Board for not waivering on their position about vanity presses. It takes a strong backbone to stand up to a giant like Harlequin.

We'll have to see who shot who in the foot. Right now too many things are up in the air and it's way too early to tell.

But the ensuing carnival ride ought to be amazing.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

I've been waiting since I opened this blog to have a topic come up that really felt important to talk about. And now, it's been handed on a silver-platter, by non-other than Harlequin.

I have endeavored to keep things very flat and even-keeled here on my blog, because I am mindful of my career goals and don't particularly want to jeopardize them. However, when something affects so many areas of publication, it's hard to just sit back and stay silent.

As aspiring authors who work with critique partners and work with RWA, we are 'taught' (for lack of a better term) that we should not settle for self-publishing and/or vanity publishing. We should take our rejections as they come, we should keep our noses to the grindstone and we deserve to be rewarded, financially, for a book written well. Not to mention, within RWA anything self/vanity published won't be recognized.

Now, the number one publishing house for Romance, the granddaddy of them all, is opening a self/vanity branch. Which, on the surface might not be so terrible IF they didn't brand it with the big name, HARLEQUIN.

By sticking that brand name on there -- as opposed to having a branch named just Horizons, who traces back fiscally to the parent company HQN -- several things happen:

a. Authors are being encouraged to use this service -- good business practice. But in return, they have to pay fees they will likely never make back, and particularly not when they only see 50% of the royalties on rights they supposedly own in full. Not good. This fails the author.

b. Books that go through this process are released into the market wearing the HQ name. On the site, it even makes references to people who couldn't get their books published in other means. Translation -- the quality wasn't up to industry standard for one reason or the other. HQ carried the belief of quality in their market. Only, the uninformed aren't ever going to realize the difference. We have people paying to put a brand on a book, that does not meet qualifications. This fails the industry, particularly in a genre where authors already struggle to be taking seriously.

c. Authors who have already worked hard and attained the right to say "I'm a Harlequin author" or "My book was published by Harlequin" now face the immediate question "Self pub or...?"
Shame on you HQ for shaming your authors.

d. And then there's the whole issue of their fees. Frankly, I can think of a four letter word that begins with 'R' for them.

Carina Press I could endorse. But Horizons? The whole concept makes me quite literally sick to my stomach. I don't want aspiring authors falling into well-written promotional traps invetned to pad a bottom line. I want pre-published authors to succeed. To know the respect that comes with having a legitimate publishing house buy your book.

And for all the editors that work for HQ who might stumble on this... know that nothing here is any sort of reflection on your work or my feelings for you personally. I have a sneaking suspicion there's a whole bunch of HQ editors who would like to see this Horizons venture go away -- though they aren't in any kind of position to likely discuss any of it.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com