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The Terrors of Publication

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Today I sent a newsletter to over two thousand readers, telling them about the book that will release on December 4, DECEIVING ELVERA. I also bought an ad on Facebook, letting readers there know how to pre-order the book. Terror. I'm gripped with terror, I tell you! Why? Because it's a little like navigating a minefield, this publishing thing.  *The print cover looks great on Amazon, but it's wonky on Draft 2 Digital (see spine above), and I haven't yet figured out why. *I have a FINAL final review copy on the way, so I might find a few leftover errors that will now have to be fixed on several sites before December 4th arrives (actually it's earlier than that, because they need time to get the files changed. More like November 30, then.) *Over the past week, I've slated ads with a half-dozen sites like Great Books, Great Deals and Kindle Daily Nation, so their readers will see the cover and read a bit about the book. Each one is different, and I dread that I mig

What Are You Working on Now?

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 Many writers will agree that the Corona virus has been horrible but also helpful. Afraid to go out, unable to do what we once did, what can we do besides write? Since the virus hit big-time, I've published two books (one as Maggie Pill, one as myself) and worked on one that's been a couple of years in the works and is now with the copy editor for its final corrections. Hoping that will come out before the end of the year,  I teased you with the cover above. The downside to Corona for me is mental. With that and other national concerns, I've had trouble concentrating for any length of time, which means my work gets done in fits and starts. When I stop each day, I feel like the work is disjointed, but when I go back the next day and start reading, it's not. It's one of those, "it's not you, it's me" things. I'm writing the same as usual, but stress makes me feel like things aren't right. And what am I writing? A book called THE CUTEST LITTLE

The End of a Series

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      https://books2read.com/u/mqrOn6     I love the Kidnap Gang, so it's a little sad to see the end of the series. Why then, is it ending? First, the arc has...well...arced. We meet the characters in KIDNAP.org (which is free here: https://books2read.com/u/mZ58rl  We see them take down a really big bad guy in Pharma Con . ($2.99 here: https://books2read.com/u/mKEOVE)   And we see Robin deal with her past in The Trouble with Dad. (Link above) Second, I have other irons in the fire. Like a lot of authors, I love trying something new. While working with the same characters over and over can be rewarding and is less taxing on the brain, it can also result in stale plots and "jumping the shark," making things happen that are hard for the reader to believe. If you've ever stopped buying a series because things just got too crazy, you know what I mean. So I wish Robin and the gang well, but I'm done with them. I did leave an opening for more books in the future. SPOI

In Praise of Editors

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 Yes, I taught English for....many years. Yes, I'm good at commas and quotation marks and all their little friends. I know about story arcs and character development and figurative language. That does NOT mean I don't need a bunch of helpful friends and professionals to check my work. I start with a first reader . This person reads the manuscript in really rough form and gives me feedback on what she sees as its strengths and weaknesses. With her "outside" view (meaning outside my head), I begin to see where I spent too much time with unnecessary explanation or where I didn't "take the reader with me" on a plot point. I kind of feel sorry for my first reader, because she often has to piece things together and wade through a lot of junk that won't make the final cut. When I've reworked the story to my satisfaction, I hire a content editor. This is a professional who will comment on the story's development, strengths and weaknesses. I've h

Kidnap Capers Book #3 Is Up for Preorder

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Book #3, the final book of the Kidnap Capers Series, is now up for pre-order at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Dad-Kidnap-Capers-Book-ebook/dp/B08D3R4P5D This is when authors start worrying, and here are a few things on my list. Will the copy editor get her part done in time? Amazon is very strict about pre-orders. Authors must have the books out by the release date (in this case, September 1st) or they're in TROUBLE. This is a small worry, since my copy editor has never let me down before. Did I choose the right title/cover/blurb (etc.) Second-guessing is what we authors do, and today it hit me that using "Dad" in the title might make the book seem like YA. I don't think that's a big problem either, because most who buy this book have already read Books 1 and 2 and know differently. What kind of promotion should I be doing? Every author I know hates promo, but we also know we need to do it. The guy who edited my last book said the COVID cr