Julia Barrett's World

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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From Talia Ricci at Joyfully Reviewed - This is the second book of mine they’ve reviewed, which is totally cool! I’m reprinting it in total, even the criticism…ah well…nothing’s perfect! I like the teenage sister I created, but c’est la vie. Thanks, Talia! By the way, the male cover model for My Everything, Jimmy Thomas, contacted me before he headed to RT. He seems to be a very interesting guy and he puts out some major hot covers!

Years ago, Grace Adams and Ben McCall were in love. Circumstances changed and they ended up not being together. Now Grace is a widow and she loved her husband, very much, but has always felt that he deserved more than she gave him – after all Ben controlled her heart, even when married to someone else. Now, however, Ben is back in Grace’s life and while he says they can’t have forever, Grace refuses to give up hope.

Ben McCall went undercover and into seclusion with the death of his wife and unborn child. His type of profession is just that dangerous. When he is called back to the States in order to help a friend in danger, Ben and his friend realize something – Ben is the one in danger. Now he doesn’t know who to trust and when Grace Adams, the woman he has never forgotten, comes back into his life, Ben knows that he must keep her safe at all costs.

I adore reading about former lovers finding each other again. Ben and Grace were special. Grace was strong, stubborn (almost too much) and beautiful. She kept in touch with Ben’s family even when he left her without an explanation. Ben, for all of his secrets, desired the warmth and companionship of a wife, one to come home to and that scared him especially when his first wife was killed. The fact that a madman is trying to get to Grace makes Ben bonkers and I didn’t even suspect the identity of the bad guy until the very end.

I had only one problem with My Everything and that was Ben’s sister at the very end. Too stupid to live comes to mind – especially with her inability to listen to reason, curtail her stubbornness or even do what she was supposed to do. The end result of her actions almost ruined the entire book for me.

With a intriguing and highly suspenseful storyline and erotic love scenes that sizzle, My Everything is a good read – just ignore Ben’s sister and all will be well!

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