Julia Barrett's World

Still waiting for blood tests.  In the meantime, my boy is doing his best to hang in here. Thank you all for your good wishes.

News…

The very busy and lovely author Stacey Espino will be a guest on my blog later this month.  Her menage, Saving Grace, will be released over at Siren-Bookstrand on June 16th.  Gorgeous cover!

There are a few new blogs I’ve been following:  Read React Review:  http://www.readreactreview.com/ Jessica is so damn smart, she’s scary and addictive at the same time!  She just introduced her readers to Rosario of Rosario’s Reading Journal:  http://rosario.blogspot.com/ Just reviews – Who woulda thunk it?  Rosario has some great stuff on her site.

Rebecca over at Dirty Sexy Books has a new WordPress site:  http://dirtysexybooks.com/ Go WordPress!  Her site is not quite as downhome as her old site, but she’s working on it.  Rebecca is one of my daily visits.  She is wonderful about reading comments and responding.  There’s a group of very funny and friendly bloggers, Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos, Susi at The Geeky Bookworm, Larissa at Larissa’s Bookish Life,  Mrs. K. Khan and K.C. of Smokin’ Hot Books, Janna at E-Romance Reader and Anna over at her site, Chronic Bookaholic-Strictly Happy Endings – who go out of their way to make you feel welcome when you drop by.

Let me see…sliced two fingers today cutting up chicken for the dog.  The vet told me to give him pizza if I have to, in order to get him to eat.  I’m not allowed to cut with sharp knives – and don’t give me that bologna (baloney) about how sharp knives are safer than not-so-sharp knives.  That’s a crock.  A number of years ago, I sliced the tip of my middle finger off while cutting ginger and lemons – with a very sharp knife.  Damn, that stung!  I dropped my fingertip in a plastic bag filled with ice and headed to the doctor’s office.  When I pulled the baggie out of my purse, he laughed and he could not reattach it.  Right now I have cotton balls taped to my fingers with Scotch Magic Tape.  Couldn’t find any bandaids.  My guy ate the chicken.  So it’s all good.  What’s a little blood between best friends?

I actually managed to work a bit on my paranormal this afternoon.  Tonight I think I’ll spend some time writing Rescued, the sequel to Captured, featuring Ekkatt’s brother Tirrit.  Be patient.  It will happen.  Lots to distract me right now.

I’m slowly reading Cutting for Stone, all 658 pages.  It’s beautiful and brilliant, but probably because I’m so distracted, my brain cells just aren’t embracing the book in the same way they did the amazing Under Heaven.  Under other circumstances…

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I recently read a timely blog post, authored by Rob Eager, President of Wildfire Marketing, on the hidden costs of social networking.

I found his take on the subject extremely interesting.  To be quite honest, I’m feeling more than a bit overwhelmed by the time involved in the promotion of my work when, quite frankly, what I’d really like to do is write.  I currently have three works in progress and they need attending to!  I find that I’m invited on a fairly regular basis to participate in chats and I’m asked to join more and more chat loops.  Don’t misunderstand, I appreciate the invitations, I’m so grateful when you think of me, and I’ll stop by if I can, but please don’t take offense if I decline.  There are only so many hours in the day and they have to be allocated to work, writing, website, pet care, household tasks, cooking, errands, hubby-related stuff and blah…blah…blah…I’m pretty sure you all live it so you get the picture.

Here’s the link to his post, but I’ll discuss a few of his salient points. http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/2010/05/the-hidden-costs-of-social-networking.html

I recently posted my concerns about Facebook.  Although I don’t check my Facebook site often, it’s still time invested in something other than writing.  My question was, and still is, is it worth it?  My answer was, and still is, I don’t know.  Maybe.  Information about my books is on my Facebook site.  Other than an occasional check and some maintenance, I rarely use Facebook as a social network.

Mr. Eager says, “There’s a basic economic principle that affects us everyday called “opportunity cost,” which is the cost of passing up another choice when making a decision. Put another way, it’s the benefits you could have received by choosing a different action. What does this have to do with selling books via social networks?

“I’ve watched a lot of authors and publishers become avid social networkers who spend considerable amounts of time reading and maintaining their blogs, FaceBook pages, Twitter feeds, YouTube channels, etc. When you conservatively add up the hours that these people spend surfing and contributing to social sites, the total amount of time can easily reach over 10 hours a week! That’s over one-fourth of an author’s weekly time devoted to social networking activities. (Some people claim they spend only 15 minutes a day. But, they’re shocked when they actually track their hours.) My point is that if you’re going to spend 25% of a 40-hour work week on a specific marketing activity, then that activity ought to contribute at least 25% of your total book sales. Yet, I don’t see that happening.”

According to Mr. Eager, social networking results in very few additional sales.  He then goes on to say something I am convinced of:

“If you’re going to sell more books, you can’t preach to the choir. You’ve got to actively go out and make new converts.”

He gives ten significant suggestions as to how we can invest our time to improve sales.  Not every one of his suggestions applies to my work as a romance writer, but I also write nonfiction and these are pretty useful.

1.   Write and send a newsletter to influential leaders.  (My interpretation – have a function on your website that allows fans to sign up for a newsletter, even if you only put out three a year.)

2.   Develop a new keynote speech or workshop based on a book.  (My interpretation – offer to teach a class or give a lecture at your local RWA chapter.)

3.   Contact and follow up with 3 trade associations for speaking opportunities.  (My interpretation – if you plan to attend a conference, sign up to participate in a workshop.)

4.   Send out a press release that connects your book’s material to current events.  (My interpretation – pertains more to literary fiction and non-fiction.)

5.   Contact 3 – 5 organizations who could purchase bulk quantities of your book.  (My interpretation – I do this with my nonfiction work, accompanied by an offer to do a reading and a book-signing.)

6.   Create 3 free resources for your author website.  (Your thoughts?)

7.   Write 1 – 2 chapters for your next book.  (My interpretation – Yesssssss!)

8.   Contact 3 – 5 well-known people who could endorse your books.  (My interpretation – keep reviewers and book bloggers you admire and respect updated on your new releases and your upcoming releases.)

9.   Update your specific book pages on Amazon with tour dates, RSS blog feeds, videos, etc.  (My interpretation – pretty self-evident.)

10. Attend a regional or national conference to build relationships with key leaders.  (My interpretation – I haven’t done this yet, but I do plan to attend RT next year and I know many of you attend conferences.)

If you’re spending your Sunday reading this – I’d love to hear your thoughts!  julia

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As many of you know, I’ve been spring cleaning -

thus the injured back…

So what did I do today?  Well…there’s this box, you see, this big box.  This big, fat, full cardboard storage box has sat right next to the head of my bed on my side of the bed for years.  What’s in it, you ask?

REJECTIONS…YEARS AND YEARS WORTH OF REJECTION LETTERS FROM PUBLISHERS AND LITERARY AGENTS.

Why, oh why, you ask, would I keep something like that next to the head of my bed?  Am I some kind of masochist?  Well…yes, I guess…but it’s more than that.  I’ve kept these rejection letters for two reasons, first the pragmatic – so I’ll know who not to contact again, and second the emotional – so I’ll remember to be humble and grateful for the positive things in my life.

So what did I do today?  I pulled out the box and opened up every SASE envelope, and I re-read all those impersonal, two sentence form letter rejections.  As I sat cross-legged on the bed, I felt all that indifferent, disinterested, detached energy seep into my hands.  It felt cold, ladies, very cold.  I dropped every single rejection back into the box, carried it out to the recycling bin and chucked it.

As the box left my hand and clunked into the plastic bin, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.  I don’t need that negative reinforcement anymore.  Probably I never did.  I’m grateful, I’m humble and I don’t care who I contact and who I don’t.  Those rejection letters made me feel like a POS for so long…honestly, do I really need to feel like that?

My friend, Regina Carlysle, recently blogged about the futility of New Year’s resolutions.  I never make them, but I guess Spring Cleaning is a bit of a resolution in itself, you know, brush off all those cobwebs, toss out the skeletons in the closet and start fresh.  Oops, speaking of skeletons, not my good luck mummy’s foot.  No really, my good luck mummy’s foot from The Valley of the Kings stays where it is – long story.  Smells like cloves.

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Philosophy and works with a philosophic bent – plus a few seminal works of fiction that became my friends and influenced me.

Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse.  Pushed me down that slippery slope towards Buddhism and the wheel of karma.

On the Road, Jack Kerouac – yes, there was a philosophic/nihilist bent to the Beat Generation and Jack Kerouac embodied that – anarchism with a conscience.  I possess a strong strain of anarchism in my soul

Jean Paul Sartre – Troubled Sleep – French Existentialism at its finest.  Why am I here?  What is my purpose?  These are questions we have to deal with, or not, everyday.

Franz Kafka – The Trial and The Metamorphosis.  German Existentialism.  Dark.  Grim.  Hopeless.  The Germans really know how to freak you out!

I’m a big fan of Emile Zola.  He considered Germinal his masterpiece and I agree.  Of course he was more of a political critic than he was an existentialist, but the book touched my heart and brought out the compassionate political activist in me.

Meetings With Remarkable Men, by G.I. Gurdjieff – chronicles, or attempts to chronicle, mankind’s search for spiritual enlightenment – which leads me directly to Be Here Now, by Ram Dass (a Jew-Budd) – the fun, charming, free-association, multiverse hippie search for meaning in the everyday.

Sons and Lovers.  Thank you, D.H. Lawrence for the pleasure of the physical.  (See Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.)

Carl Jung, my favorite Jungian psychologist with his theories of the archetype, synchronicity and the Collective Unconscious.  The two books that made a big impression on me are Man and His Symbols and Memories, Dreams and Reflections.  I love to slip these concepts into my books – in a Collective Unconscious sort of way!

I’m not a big Spinoza fan – too wordy and convoluted.  I prefer the works of Moses Maimonides.  He defined God by what he is not.  You cannot say God is one, you must say God is not multiple.  Great stuff.  Think:  Guide for the Perplexed.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell.  I’ve read most of his works.  Authors of romance unknowingly use many of his theories of the hero myth in their stories.  There is always an obstacle that the hero must overcome, some dark vale he or she must pass through to reach his or her ultimate goal.

Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters, by Elie Wiesel.  You have to read this one for yourself.  It’s a good introduction to the heart and soul of the Hasidic movement.  I’ll add to this – Days of Our Years, by Pierre Van Paassen, my grandmother’s favorite book which she left to me.

Don’t laugh – Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin.  This book became my bible when I was studying midwifery and when I was pregnant with my own children.  My copy is so dog-eared!  I will always remember one thing Ina May says when discussing fear of childbirth, something I try to apply to every circumstance – The antidote to fear is courage.  For anyone unfamiliar with Ina May and Stephen Gaskin and The Farm – http://www.thefarm.org/

Last, but not least…I kid you not…this book altered my path at a critical juncture in my young life - The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, followed by A Separate Reality and  Journey to Ixtlan.  Contrary to the author’s claims that these works were based on actual interviews with a Yaqui medicine man, I do believe that these books are mostly fiction.  It doesn’t matter.  I do know that the author, Carlos Castaneda, became a recluse and a real weird dude later in his life, but The Teachings of Don Juan, in particular, opened my mind to otherness/oneness and the notion of separate realities.

Wow.  I’m super tired.  Must be from listening to Baruch Spinoze!  Tomorrow – my favorite myths and then I’ll shut up!  Night!

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An author friend, Anny Cook, wrote a post on 5/12/10 that not only gave me pause, it made my heart hurt.

You can read it for yourself here:  http://www.annycook.blogspot.com/

She says:  “Every human in the world reaches a point of no return. It’s not so much giving up as finally reaching that place of diminishing returns where the results just don’t support the effort.
I am quickly approaching that point. Oh, not this week or the next, but soon. The signs are all there. Sales are flat-lining. I give parties and no one shows up. Most visitors to my blog and webpage are accidental and according to my meter, they leave almost before they arrive. That can’t be a good thing.
Lest you think this is a whine and cheese event, I will hasten to say none of the events listed in the paragraph above are NEW. No, that’s been the situation for quite a while. So why would I suddenly ‘fess up? Perhaps it’s simply a matter of facing reality and economics.
What is my time worth?
At least five days a week (sometimes more) I sit at my computer and write. From eight to nine I take care of business–e-mail, blog, social networking. Then from nine until around five I write. There’s a break until seven-thirty and then more writing until ten. Close down the computer. Start all over the next day. So I work a minimum of forty hours a week just writing.
My income last year was six thousand dollars.
Hmmmm. Forty hours a week multiplied by fifty two weeks = two thousand eighty hours. Divide six thousand dollars by two thousand eighty and you have…? Two dollars and eighty nine cents per hour. Not exactly a stellar income.
I never expected to sell my books like a Nora Roberts or J.K.Rowling.”

I don’t want Anny to throw in the towel.  Not only is she a good writer, she’s a friend and she is one of the very first authors to generously give of her time and herself, taking me under her wing when I was brand new to this epublishing business.  But, big but here, what she says is true.  We struggle.  I sometimes wonder if readers believe we are raking in mega bucks.  Some authors are…most are not.  It takes guts, determination and very often another source of income to stay in this business.  I’m happy with my current publishing situation, but in nearly three years with my former publisher, I grossed under $200 on four books, total.  I have some notion as to why that happened, and it is not conceit when I say I don’t believe it was related to the quality of my work.  Water under the bridge…kind of…

Do I write to make a living?  Or do I write out of love?  I write out of love and because I have stories to tell.  I hope to make at least a modicum of income doing it.  Up until April 30, I did work as an RN and I made good money, but the job caused me a tremendous amount of stress.  A three-day shift required three more days of recovery, and during that recovery period I couldn’t focus enough to write.  Now I’m writing full time and working on that mainstream novel I’ve had in my heart for years.  Will it make money?  Will it bring me success?  As my dad is fond of saying, one never knows, do one?  I plan to pursue the dream anyway.

I encourage you to head over to Anny’s place and read her post.  She does bring up the issue of e-piracy and lost revenue.  Sorry Anny…I have to laugh!  I’m not popular enough to be pirated!

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Published in the France in 1998, the book was released with the title Atomised in the UK, The Elementary Particles in the U.S.  Considered controversial and pornographic, which it is indeed, the book did win the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for both the writer and translator.  I was warned to gird my loins before reading – no need.  I’ve read worse.  As perverse and obscene as the story is, there is always a reason.  Yes, some events in the story repel me but others suck me in with their insane beauty while still others break my heart.  The author, Michel Houellebeco, has that rare and uncanny gift every writer wishes for, he can capture a character’s entire inner world in a simple, unpretentious sentence.  In a weird way, he reminds me a bit of Cormac McCarthy.  He possesses the same talent – the ability to transmit a character’s essence in a single sentence.

My next TBR book?  Can’t wait!  Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay.  He’s one of my favorite fantasy authors.

In other news…working hard on my new post-apocalyptic full-length work of science fiction.  So far so good!  I’m off to Seattle on Sunday for one day, then to Montana for three days.  Stuff to do!

Tomorrow’s post…maybe!  Puttin’ on yer weinnie shoes!

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Thanks for inviting me over to your place, Julia!  I love reading your blog. Now I get to play over here! Yay!

You asked me to give your readers a glimpse into the creation of the characters in my latest novella, “Nothing but Sex”, and to talk a bit about how they came to be. If you have read any of my books, you will notice that I tend to create characters that are as real and down to earth as you and me…and almost always with a humorous streak. Whether the hero is a hard-as-nails pro wrestler like David Chance in Out of Her Dreams, or a hard-working Native American rancher like Mike Running Elk in Nothing but Sex, my heroes are men with needs, wants, and insecurities just like every male in existence. These men are not perfect specimens. They sweat. They breathe. It isn’t unusual for my heroes to walk into the bathroom while the heroine is brushing her teeth and lift the lid to take a leak without bothering to ask if it’s okay with her. My heroes are just…guys. Even my alpha heroes sometimes need a kick in the pants to realize they are alpha. But once they realize what they want and need, they go after it with a vengeance.

I was surrounded by “guys” my entire life. Growing up, I had three male cousins who were all as alpha and as rock-headed as they come, and they drove my sister and I nuts. They were never wrong. They were never patient. And they were always getting into mischief and trouble. After my own sons were born, they followed the same path, and made life hell for their poor little sister. LOL! I firmly believe that in at least five of my many past lives, I was male. I was the worst tom-boy growing up. I asked for farm sets and ranch sets instead of dolls at Christmas. I never played with other girls. They were wussy! J

I can easily create a hero for my books by simply fishing into my memory banks and picking out the personality I am searching for, and then running with it.

My heroines are always just a little bit…me. Stubborn, loving to a fault. Self conscious and unaware of how others see them as people or lovers. Some of them are downright tomboy…others are alpha females. One of my novels from Resplendence (A Brief Moment of Pleasure) is about a female blackbelt in the traditional Japanese Martial Arts. She’s a toughie. But the hero is just tough enough to catch her. My heroines are normal, down to earth, and charismatic. And often I draw on my own real life experiences to plot my books.

No…that does not mean I do all the stuff that I write (grin) even though I would love to.  It simply means that something that happened in my past triggers a plot in my head, and I sit down to write.  I never plot out a book. I take an idea and start running with it, and never look back. While I write, I am “inside” my character’s heads. I am coming from their point of view. I use the language they would normally use, and that sometimes drives my editor nutty. When my well educated writer is thinking and talking, I use proper grammar and syntax. But when my hero thinks and talks, I use his point of view and voice.

I sometimes have an editor e-mail and ask why he swears so much. Why the heroine uses “frigging” while the hero uses the four-letter vulgar equivalent. LOL!  How many guys use the watered down term? Hmmm?  Most guys talk dirty when they are alone or in their own mind, and only clean it up when they have to. If in mixed company most will shift from WTF to “what the heck”. But not when they are alone or blissfully without a female audience.

I can’t write stuffy characters. It’s a mental and physical impossibility for me. I write what I know. I write what I feel. And I write what I like to see happen between my H/H.  I am very careful to round out my characters with background as I write, but I have noticed lately that there are readers who seem to skim right over the “filler” that gives them important info about the characters, and sets the scene for why they do what they do…and these readers are telling me that the story never explained how something happened. Or they didn’t get why the character did this or that.  I have to tell you…never skim in my books. If you do, you will miss something that is integral and important, and will come away thinking “Huh?”

When I put an entire story into less than 75 pages, the story is packed with loads of backstory, and loads of info. If you skim, you will undoubtedly miss a lot of that.

Nothing but Sex is a tight, fast paced 63 page novella that is a part of the Cougar Challenge Series. I believe that mine will be the tenth in the series, and is a stand-alone novella that can be read without reading the other nine…but I highly recommend that readers check out the others. The authors are hot and the books are great.

Here is a blurb and an excerpt:

Lee Blackhorse is hardly Cougar material, no matter what her friends over at Tempt the Cougar say. A forty-two-year-old woman who lusts after her thirty-year-old weekend helper is just plain nuts. Or is she? She’s been secretly hot for the man for years.

Mike Running Elk is the hottest thing ever to don tight jeans and a second-skin t-shirt…and he has no problem seeing himself in the role of lover. In fact, if he can just get the hot-as-hell woman to realize he’s plenty old enough to ring her bells, he plans to do more than just clean her barn and mow her grass. He’s waited for her long enough.

When her Saturday helper appears at her door with an injured hand, Lee can’t pull her eyes off his naked, ripped chest. And from her heated gaze, Mike can’t believe she’s as oblivious as she acts. The ice has been broken and he intends to heat things up even more…

An Excerpt From: NOTHING BUT SEX

Copyright © FRAN LEE, 2010

All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

Mike swore foully as he caught his glove on one of the murderously long barbs on the roll of wire fencing that he was trying to move and he tugged his leather work glove off to find that the barb had made it through to his palm. He shook his head and shoved his hair back from his face with his other hand before he tugged his unused handkerchief from his back pocket and wrapped it around his hand, which did very little to staunch the flow of blood. Swearing at his own clumsiness, he headed across the wide work yard to the back porch and stepped inside, knocking on the inside screen door.

She appeared from the archway to the living room, her face pink and her lower lip caught between her teeth as she caught sight of him and he realized that he hadn’t bothered to pull his damn shirt back on. He saw the way her eyes darkened as they slid over his body and he felt a shot of anticipation run from his gut to his cock. Her lips were full. Her eyes were smoky blue. A small vein throbbed in her throat. And it struck him forcibly that she most certainly was as aware of him as he was of her.

But before he could wrap his mind around her reaction to him, she was hurrying up the stairs to the bathroom and he was following, his appreciative eyes on the lush swell of her generous, gorgeous ass as he held the tea towel she had just handed him tightly to his bleeding hand. Sweet Jesus, but he loved her ass. He had loved it ever since he’d first seen her, when he was just eighteen, and he had asked her if he could do some odd jobs around the place to make some cash every week. Right after his dad had died. Watching her walk around in tight jeans had made him forget a lot of the pain in his life back then.

She filled a pair of jeans like they’d been poured onto her. His mouth watered and his cock grew impossibly harder. Even the stinging pain in his hand couldn’t distract his attention from that ass.

As she entered the bathroom and stretched up to the shelf above the toilet to lift down the first-aid kit, he almost whimpered. Was she trying to kill him? If she didn’t stop wiggling around, he was gonna blow.

“I can handle it from here,” he grated as she opened the box and started to take the soaked tea towel out of his grip. But she shoved his free hand away and gently placed his hand in the sink, rinsing it with icy-cold tap water that nearly made him yell at the pain. He stared down at her bent head as she probed and cleaned the wound and each time her body brushed his, he almost lost it.

He lost track of what was happening with his hand as every drop of blood in his body raged into his groin, threatening to explode. Maybe that was a good thing, because his hand might stop bleeding.

“I still think we need to get you to the clinic and get this stitched. It’s way too jagged to heal right, and it’s still bleeding.”

Her words were lost in the hot muddle of his emotions and body. But when she looked up into his face, he forced himself to pay attention. “Hold this clean towel in your palm. Press it tight. I’ll get my car keys.”

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Hubby is sick of hearing about it, but as I explained to him, choreography is critical!  To quote the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz…These things must be done delicately…Every body part must be in the right place at the right time and it must belong to the right person.  I have to admit, living in so many heads at once has been a fascinating experience!  Anyway – sent it off to my publisher last night – fingers crossed!  We shall see!  To celebrate, I’m getting waxed and a facial.  Nazi esthetician will beat the crap out of me but it will hurt sooooo good!

For a hilarious read, head over to Katiebabs at Babbling About Books – all about the Black Dagger Brotherhood – animation at it’s finest!!!  http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/ She had me spitting out my coffee this morning!

Happy Earth Day for all us hippies, old and young!  I’m heading out for a hike and I swear to pick up any trash I encounter – always do anyway!

The young entrepeneurs over at Project Bacon put up a sweet tribute to mom for Mother’s Day:  http://projectbacon.wordpress.com/ Plus the muffins look yummy with or without the bacon.

So, I’m taking a break from writing for a few days to get my Review page up and I’m going to post a linkity-link to my new nonfiction book which releases TODAY!!!  Then it’s on to futuristic sci fi and the sequel to Captured.

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Gotcha!

As ya’ll pretty much know, there’s more to writing than just typing on a keyboard.

1.  The story idea – do you plot and plan and outline and research?  Or are you inspired by a dream, a sunset, a storm at sea?

2.  Getting it down in a comprehensible format – not only writing the words but shaping primary and secondary characters and their relationships, creating dialogue, directing the action, and spinning meaning from ideas as ephemeral as spider silk.

3.  Self-editing – do you edit as you go?  Or do you write the entire book and then go back and edit?

4.  Completing a first draft – Are you an author who writes a first draft, does a quick edit and sends it off?  Or do you write two or three drafts before you are satisfied?

5.  Subbing – Following to the letter the guidelines of each publisher you sub to.  If you are world-famous, perhaps all you have to sub is a concept, or maybe just a single word.  I know I spend at least half a day getting the manuscript format correct, writing a good, descriptive synopsis and making certain I include all information required by the publisher.

6.  Waiting for acceptance or rejection – working on other manuscripts while waiting.

7.  Acceptance -  Signing contracts, filling out all the necessary forms and putting together blurbs.  Siren, for example, requires three blurbs of varying length and they ask for a completed cover request for the cover artist at the same time.  A day-long project.  Rejection?  We won’t even get into that!

8.  Edits – Working through 2-4 edits before the final once over.

9.  Promotion – Blogging, virtual blog tours, newsletters, website promotion, submitting ARCs for reviews and hoping for a positive response.

What did I miss?  I know I must have missed lots because it seems as if I’m working all the time on one writing-related project or another.

By the way, I love The Old Man and the Sea, but John Steinbeck is my greatest American novelist – East of Eden, Cannery Row, The Red Pony (sob), The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, The Pearl, Once There Was a War, The Winter of Our Discontent….

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Should you or shouldn’t you?

What’s an author to do?  I’ll keep it simple – If your work is original, the copyright is assumed.  In other words, you do not have to register your work with the Library of Congress and receive an official copyright registration in order to consider your work copyrighted.  Most romance authors published by epubs do not register their work with the Library of Congress.  That includes me.  As I said, the copyright is assumed and our publishers state in the title pages of our books that this work is copyrighted.

So why copyright?  Why bother?  Well, let’s say you have a unique work of fiction or nonfiction and you choose to submit it to numerous publishing houses – epubs and otherwise – and literary agents.  And let’s say you haven’t copyrighted the work.  What are your risks?

Most publishers and agents know the law far better than you and they have no intention of stealing your work.  If you are extremely lucky, the publisher or agent will acknowledge the receipt of your work and you’ll receive that one in a hundred precious personal rejection letter.  That’s about it.  Rarely, someone might find your idea interesting and mention it to a writer they know, possibly a writer already in their house, or on their client list, or even a friend.  Important***you cannot copyright an idea.  That means, hypothetically, that if a world famous author reads your manuscript, is intrigued by the concept, and decides to write an original work putting their own spin on your idea – such is life.  You have no recourse.  On the other hand, hypothetically, if a world famous author loves your concept and releases your book as their own, maybe changing the names and locations and tweaking a scene or two, that is copyright infringement – but you still have little recourse.  Why?  Because you didn’t officially copyright the work and although you may be entitled to minimal damages, if little old nobody you can prove those damages in the first place, your legal fees will likely far exceed any monetary recompense you receive.

If you register your work with the Library of Congress for a nominal fee and someone steals your work, you are entitled to damages that will far exceed your legal fees.  The basic fee for a copyright registration is $35.00, a small price to pay for peace of mind.  http://www.copyright.gov/

Now, what sorts of works would I consider copyrighting?  My nonfiction work.  I always copyright my nonfiction work and in fact, my action recently paid off when a former publisher continued to market and receive royalties on a work that was no longer under contract with them.  Not only had the rights to the work been returned to me many months before, I held the registered copyright.  Hindsight may be 20/20, but foresight is 20/15.  Yes, I incurred some legal fees, but the publisher got a well-deserved slap on the wrist.

In the future, if I should write a longer work of mainstream fiction and decide to give the major print publishing houses and literary agents another go-round, before I send my work into the big blue void I won’t hesitate to fill out a form, pay my fee, and register a copyright.

In other news – Siren author Beth Carter tells me that her work, Black Leather Pants, is being released in print.  Congrats!

http://www.sirenpublishing.com/bethdcarter/

Small town girl Penny Varlet has moved to Los Angeles to pursue her love of art. Her boss, Kiley Laurent, is a sinfully sensual man who finds his way into her erotic dreams. One night, while working late, they act on their impulse and share a moment of raw passion.  Circumstances continue to throw them together, until one night, while working late, Penny is attacked by an intruder and hurt. Kiley whisks her away to Paris to heal, showing her a world of art and wonder. As she heals, can Penny put the anger over her attack to rest and find the courage to act on her love for Kiley?
“I was always told to write what you know. In 2004 I was living in Paris, France and had this vision of a woman coming to see the sights and explore the city like I was doing, and falling in love with a Frenchman. Much of Penny’s experiences in France are actual ones I lived through, so her journey is also my journey!” ~Beth~

Beth Carter has a contest on:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JustEroticaRomanceKontests/?yguid=400919632

You can win a print copy of Black Leather Pants or an ecopy of Spirals.  Her new work, An Innocent Heart, comes out with Siren in late March.

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Sometimes I worry about over-exposure.

It’s not my fault!!!

Jack Nicholson made me do it!

When 2009 began, the farthest thing from my mind was that I’d have four releases in three months.  Whoa Nelly as in – never look a gift horse in the mouth, but good God, people must be sick to death of me!  I’m sick of me!

The past few years have been beautiful in many ways, tragic in a few, and flat out frustrating when it comes to my career as an author.  This year took me by surprise.  I expected to see Captured in April, but Siren was really on the ball and I found out in late December that it would be released on January 6th.  My Everything was released by Cobblestone on February 12th, The Cougar Book with Logical Lust came out on February 14th and now Beauty and the Feast with Resplendence.

Believe me, I ain’t complaining, but I barely have time to breathe!  Besides, I do really worry about over-exposure.  Isn’t it better to play hard to get?  You know…like a little goes a long way?  Or is it out of sight, out of mind?  Really – which platitude is it?  I’m hearing Jack Nicholson’s voice in my head – The truth?  You can’t handle the truth! I get like that when I’m overtired…you know…can’t spell worth a damn and Jack Nicholson speaks to me like some perverted devil on my shoulder.  OMG, now I’m flashing on China Town…My sister…my daughter…my sister…my daughter...

Oh, BTW, I think of Captured like I think of Legolas….ahhhhhh…Legolas…..sigh.  Writing Captured was just – like – that.  Sigh.

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Good God in heaven I’m tired!  I’ve spent the day finishing up Book Four of Daughters of Persephone - Tempus Fugit, Time Flees.  Bloody exhausting and exhilarating at the same time!  Of course, I only have the cover for Books One and Two, but it, the cover, that is, bears repeating.  Or perhaps bares repeating.  I do love that cover, so Dune-ish in a hot naked guy butt sort of way.

So…news…Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos is stumbling over Beauty and the Feast, my upcoming contemporary romance from Resplendence.

http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/

Stop over there and check things out – I’ll be giving away a free copy of this delicious, smoking hot romance.

I’m still running my recipe contest here – I’ve tried Lil’s bacon-inspired croissant sandwiches, Jen’s black pepper parmesan biscotti and Dana’s Lemon Cheesecake and so far, we’re on a big hitting streak!  Leave your recipe and you might win a copy of Beauty and the Feast.  My contest runs until April 1.

In other news, Tessie Bradford’s fabulous book, Possessing Eleanor, comes out today with Resplendence as does The Devil to Pay, by Pamela Labud – buy link:

http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/

Okelie dokelie – ’nuff for tonight.

Oh gosh!  Over at Author Island in the Tiki Hut with my excerpt from Logical Lust’s The Cougar Book today.  I would love to have you drop in!  http://authorislandtikihut.blogspot.com/

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I’m throwing my hat in the ring and trying my hand at menage.  My philosophy is this – there can be no slut factor and no positions that necessitate unrealistic contortions.  There will be a reason for one woman and her three men…a damn good one.  This is so scary and I wouldn’t do it if I hadn’t A.  dreamed a menage and B.  hubby hadn’t given me an out of this world idea for a second book – m/f/m.  Is that how you describe it?  I actually don’t know the difference between m/m/f and m/f/m.  Anybody?

Oh yeah – I’m off to work today, but Susi over at The Geeky Bookworm is hosting me today – guest blog – how Barry White influenced my romance-suspense, My Everything!

http://thegeekybookworm.blogspot.com/

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Yee-hah!  My romance/suspense, My Everything, will be released on February 12th with Cobblestone Press.  Just got word this morning.

Never had so many releases in such a short period of time.

Check it out in the coming soon section.

My Everything, by Julia Rachel Barrett

http://www.cobblestone-press.com/

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Check out Lesli Richardson, over at her blog: http://www.leslirichardson.com/

Here’s the link for the original post…and I love the title – You Are Not A Special Snowflake!

http://leslirichardson.blogspot.com/2010/01/writing-how-to-you-are-not-special.html

She put together a marvelous, informative, coherent manifesto on how to do what we do best…write.  I felt her blog was so important that I contacted her and asked her to elaborate on a few of her answers.  She graciously agreed and took the time to get into a little more detail.

Thanks for having me! I appreciate you asking me to be here.

I don’t think any new writers are served by getting a pat on the head and false reassurances they can do it if they put their mind to it. There’s a lot more to it. On the other hand, the fact that it IS doable if a person wants to work hard for it–just like any other career path–should actually comfort them. There is no magic formula, just a lot of hard work.

A.  It’s a lot of frakking work! When you talk about work, are you talking about the mere craft of writing or are you talking about writing, editing, putting yourself out there, risking failure and rejection yet persisting?  Are you talking about promotion and contacting individuals who might be interested in your book despite knowing that they may never respond?  For instance – not only writing books, but blogging, commenting on other blogs, asking for interviews and reviews, really stretching your comfort zone…

As slow as traditional publishers have been to embrace e-publishing, some writers have been even slower. I don’t understand why. Maybe it’s they feel cheated that they worked hard all those years just to have someone else come up from the ranks and make money the “easy” way. (HA! It’s NOT easy, believe me!)

If your goal as a writer is to make money, then you HAVE to write smart. If your goal as a writer is to write and be an artist and you don’t care if you publish or not, then go the self-publishing route through Lulu.com or someone like that, you’ll make about the same amount of money that way and can claim you’re “published.”

But just like the Edsel didn’t survive, neither will traditional publishing if they don’t shift their business paradigms. Let’s face it–Harlequin started Carina, they see the money they’re losing by not embracing e-publishing. They’re not the only one seeing the light. Over the next few years, I see the big publishers struggling for money and more readily embracing e-publishing now that the little guys have proven it’s more than doable, it can be profitable if an author wants to work hard.

But traditional publishers, despite bleeding red ink from their coffers, didn’t want to take the risk until someone else proved it could make money. Just like erotica, now lots of traditional publishers put out erotica lines. Now it’s e-publishing. We’ve proven there is a viable and rapidly growing market for it, especially as more people get smart phones like iPhones and BlackBerries that can double as e-readers (I use my BB as an e-reader when out and about and stuck in a line).

I’m not saying traditional publishing is dead. The old-fashioned publishing MODEL is dying, however. It cannot sustain itself in the current environment. It will have to change to embrace new technology and reader desires. Look at the current backlash among Kindle readers over windowing e-book releases after hardcovers. Publishers will be forced to start listening to their readers, because they will start losing those customers–and authors–to those readers. I’m surprised more A-list writers haven’t actively started self-publishing. Once you have name recognition, you don’t need to fight a distribution stream battle, you are automatically in the door. I think (and I’m not the only one who’s said this) that you’ll start seeing more writers becoming publishers and cutting agents and traditonal publishers right out of the mix.

Thanks, Lesli, for these words of wisdom!

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