Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

U is for Undecided

By 4 Comments

USo many writers these days are still—yes, still— wondering whether to become indie published or to hang their hats on getting an agent that will sell them to a traditional publisher. We’re undecided because whether we want to believe it or not, there’s still a stigma on indie publishing. Many writers refer to it as self-publishing. Just a few weeks ago I heard a multi-published author say such a thing with derision in her voice.

Yes, sadly, that stigma comes from other writers—our peers. Why? Because we writers have a lot of pride, and to be honest, we’re snobs when it comes to our publishers, our agents and our writing.

Self-publishing has always been the underdog in the publishing world, even though we all know there have been some very successful self-published books.  Self-publishing has always been associated with vanity publishing. The phrase ‘vanity publishing’ even sounds hateful, doesn’t it?

The term “indie writer” usually means a writer who is totally independent, one who buys their own ISBNs, determines their cover, their release date, everything– and maybe even starts their own publishing company. They’re dependent on no one but themselves.

Regardless of definitions, the fact is you should never let labels influence you when it comes to achieving your goals and dreams. If you wrestle with whether you should go indie or traditional, the truth is:  you should do both.

Readers are our best friends. They don’t often know the different publishers or even care about them. They want good stories and great characters they can identify with. Make them happy with a fantastic story or series, and they’ll follow you anywhere!

Traditional publishers have editors, cover artists, proof readers and publicists, to name only a few who are involved in the production of a book. As an indie writer, you’re taking on each of  those jobs yourself—unless you hire some contract freelancers to do it for you.

My main point is: don’t be undecided when it comes to your writing and publishing career. Don’t let labels discourage you. Be intentional, but do yourself a favor: Fulfill your responsibility to your reader and make all writers proud.

How do you define indie publishing and self-publishing? Have you set your heart on traditional? Tell us your story.

IWSG DAY: Looking @ Kensington Books

By 6 Comments

Today is IWSG Day because it’s the first Wednesday in September.  IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  You can follow otheInsecureWritersSupportGroupr IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.  The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage, so today I sharing some market info with you in case some of you are still interested in traditional publishing.

If you’ve read my blog before, you know one of my favorite sites is Cindi Myers’ market news blog. Cindi is the author of more than three dozen women’s fiction and romance novels.  She started her market newsletter in 2000 as a way to share the information she collected with others. You can learn more about her by visiting her website:  http://www.CindiMyers.com  Cindi  allows readers to share her info as long as we give credit to her as the source so … I’m sharing, and encourage you to visit her websites here and here, or check her out on Facebook. 

I’m sharing Cindi’s review of Kensington Books.  There’s good information here. I hope you benefit from it.

. ******************************************

Editor Alicia Condon started off the spotlight. The focus of the Spotlight on Kensington Books was on letting attendees know what makes Kensington different from everyone else. Ms. Condon noted that last year the company celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is the largest New York-based independent publisher in the U.S. Steve and Adam Zacharias run the family-owned company. Being small allows them to respond more quickly to changing market trends. They give personal attention to each author but are large enough to have books on the New York Times list almost every week. Kensington editors and departments work at a team. As a smaller company, everyone knows everyone else.

Senior Editor Esi Sogah presented an overview of the kinds of books Kensington publishes. They publish over 500 books annually, in all genres and all formats. Zebra is the main mass-market romance imprint, publishing historical, contemporary, erotica, sweet romances, romantic suspense, paranormal – everything romance. Lyrical is Kensington’s digital first publishing program. In 2016 Zebra will debut Zebra Shout, which will focus on debut authors. The books will be priced at $4.99. Lyrical authors will also have the opportunity to move from ebook only to print in the Zebra Shout program. Dafina, Kensington’s African-American and multi-cultural program publishes over 80 books a year in all formats and all genres. Dafina is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Pinnacle publishes thrillers, westerns and true crime. Sogah emphasized that Kensington is willing to take risks on authors.

Associate Editor Martin Biro talked about Lyrical Press, Kensington’s digital-first imprint. They publish 20+ books a month and are growing fast. They also release a trade-paper POD version of every Lyrical book that is 60,000 words and up. Lyrical publishes a wide variety of fiction. It is very romance focused, but they also publish mystery and suspense with Lyrical Underground and contemporary romance with Lyrical Shine. They publish mainstream commercial fiction and young adult in Lyrical also. Lyrical is actively acquiring and they are open to experimenting with a wide variety of fiction.

Tara Gavin is the newest editor with Kensington. She comes to Kensington after a long career with Harlequin. She spoke about how to submit to Kensington. Kensington accepts queries from both agented and unagented authors. She advised authors to study the market and think about where they fit in best. Read a lot and become familiar with what each publisher publishes. Send your query electronically and in your query let the editor know you have a complete manuscript. Compare your work to books that are already in the marketplace. This helps the editor understand the type of book you are writing and where it fits in the market. Summarize the story in a few paragraphs. Include a synopsis of a couple of pages with your query letter. Submit to only one editor at Kensington, but if the manuscript is not right for that editor and he or she believes another editor would like it, he or she will pass the submission on to them. Tara is actively acquiring and building an author base.

Alex Nicolajsen is the associate director of digital at Kensington. She works with Lyrical. She talked about marketing and Kensington. Vida Engstrom is director of marketing at Kensington. They develop a marketing plan for each book and have a dedicated communications person for each genre and imprint. They brainstorm ways to promote books.

The next section of the Spotlight was devoted to each editor revealing what is on their wish list.

Alicia Condon is looking for a “fantastic Amish romance” with a fresh theme or a fresh setting. She noted they have an Amish series that is set in Appalachia, which is the type of unusual setting they are looking for. She is looking for a mystery romance with a humorous, off-beat voice. She would love some “feel-good fiction” exploring the themes of friendship and family, on the sweeter side, verging on inspirational but not inspirational.

Tara Gavin loves historical mysteries. She would love to find some new cozy mystery series. She loves series and readers do too. She wants women’s fiction that focuses on community.

Alex would love to see a sexy cozy mystery for Lyrical, as well as contemporary romance with different settings, such as the French countryside.

Martin Biro said he’s looking for more mysteries for Lyrical. Personally, he loves historical romance from different settings and cultures. He also said if anyone wants to write “Dexter meets Murder She Wrote” he would probably buy it.

Esi Sogah is also very interested in sexy cozy mysteries. She would love to see more historicals with unique settings. She would also like an American romance set in the earlier part of the 20th century – roaring 20s or turn-of-the-century.

Alica Condon announced that Wendy McCurdy is joining Kensington as of August 3rd. McCurdy is a former senior editor at Bantam Dell and the former executive editor at Berkley. She is acquiring women’s fiction and romance.

You can find out more about what specific Kensington editors are looking for at their website .

The editors present briefly talked about their pet peeves. Do your research and confirm the editor you are submitting to actually works on the kind of book you are writing – don’t send your YA to an editor who doesn’t work on YA. Spell the editor’s name correctly, and verify their gender (Alex doesn’t want to be addressed as ‘Mr.’).

You can reach any editor at Kensington via email by addressing your email to them using the address of their first initial last name @kensingtonbooks.com

Thanks for visiting my new site. Hope to see you here often! And please, leave a comment!

Updated – Outdated

By Leave a Comment

Awhile back I took a class from an editor who explained the ins and outs of digital publishing, compared digital to traditional, and explained the advantages and disadvantages of both. It was a great course–very informative and encouraging.  I learned a lot and I’m still mulling over things she told us.

This instructor/editor who is also an author said we should use every publishing option available to us. She said that the most “successful” author is the one who understands how to make his writing work to his advantage. She did not say to throw traditional publishing by the wayside and pursue digital; she advised us to use both.

She said, “I highly recommend that while you’re writing stories for the Big 6 to consider, that you schedule a block of time to write something you can digitally publish. Shoot for a novella. Why? Because you aren’t sitting and waiting, letting perfectly viable opportunities slip past you.”

When I asked her for a career plan for me, she said:

So Jess, my advice in a nutshell:  Get yourself in a small, respectable e-house, and continue to work the traditional end. Keep fresh titles out in the e-house, but don’t shrug off traditional in favor of digital. You need them both. There may come a time when that’s not true, but today, you need the marketing that traditional printing does for an author, simply by nature of the beast.

Do you purchase digital books? Do you read their reviews? I do and today I came across a reviewer who complained that a character in the book I was purchasing was packing lots of film and flashbulbs into a bag. The reviewer said, “I can remember them from way back but then I’m not that young … This must be a VERY old story. Just hope she doesn’t pull out a cell phone.”

Do you think old novels should be updated before digitally publishing? If a character ducks into a phone booth, are you yanked out of the story?  Should authors label with a specific year or can your imagination transport you to pre-cell phone/pre-digital camera days? I have to admit I’m a little hesitant about putting my 1996 Silhouette Romance out there when it was a little out-dated in 1996 since it’s about Elvis look-alikes and fanatics. The reader will absolutely have to let her imagination shake, rattle and roll with the story.

Teach me something about updated/outdated books.