I've talked about this before and some of you have joined me on my other site, but others have clung to this site or maybe you're following me on both. No matter. In case you haven't figured this out, I've been trying to get you over to my other blog through the author spotlights. Well, now it's time to close this blog. I've been blogging at both sites (using the same material) for over a year now and I'm not sure why... Obviously, it makes more sense to keep my blog on my website and get rid of this one, so that's what I'm doing.
Please follow me at my "new" blog: http://lynnettelabelle.com/chatterbox-chit-chat-blog/ on my writing website: www.lynnettelabelle.com
You can also check out my editorial services at: www.labelleseditorialservices.com
See you over there. :)
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
www.lynnettelabelle.com
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Author Shannon Mayer
I’d like to welcome urban fantasy writer Shannon Mayer, author of Dark Waters. Shannon has also published Sundered, Bound, and Dauntless. We’ll learn more about Dark Waters, but first, let’s see what Shannon has to say…
To learn more about Shannon and her books, visit: http://lynnettelabelle.com/blog/author-spotlight-shannon-mayer/
I’m still looking to fill some author spotlight slots. I’m booking for April. If you write romance, thriller, mystery, urban fantasy, paranormal, horror or true crime, and you have a book you’d like to promote, send me an email: lynnette_labelle at yahoo dot com. Make sure to have “Author Spotlight” in the subject line or I won’t open the message. Let me know when your release date will be (if the book isn’t already available) and what genre you write.
Lynnette Labelle
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Before THE Call: Ten Tasks to Complete Before an Agent Calls
Do you know what to expect after you get THE call and sign with an agent? A lot more work. Why not complete some of those tasks either before you query or while you're waiting for a response from agents?
Here are ten projects you can tackle before an agent offers representation:
1. Write an author bio of yourself. You'll need this for your website, and your agent will require this information when pitching to publishers.
2. Have a professional headshot taken. This will also be required for the same reasons as #1.
3. Create a website. A website is a must. Don't think that because you're not published you don't have anything to share on your website. Use your bio and headshot. Set up a "books" page to list blurbs for the novels you're querying or writing. This will change once you've sold, but it's something to catch a reader's eye until then. Showcase contests and writing awards you've won. If you've had any articles published, have a page with links to them. Don't forget to list writing related organizations you belong to like Romance Writers of America, or others. Your website might not look like much yet, but it shows an agent and editor you're serious about the business. They want their authors to have a web presence. Plus, once you sell, you won't have to worry about starting a website, just updating it.
4. Start blogging and join social networks. While some agents are fine with you doing this after you sign with them (and others don’t mind if you don’t do this at all), more and more agents refuse to sign anyone who hasn’t already built a following either through blogging or social networks. You need to prove to them that you’re serious about self-promotion and that you’re able to do it. Don’t forget they get a percentage of your sales, so it’s in their best interest if you sell a lot of books. If they don’t feel you’ll promote your books (and since publishers don’t do much marketing, if any), the agent feels you’re too much of a risk. Translation: too much work for very little money. She’d much rather sign with someone who appears eager and able to self-promote.
5. Set up a dependable email account. Free email accounts are great, but have limits. Some aren't stable and you can lose everything in your inbox. What if you had a request from your favorite agent in your box but never knew because that message was lost in cyberspace? The other problem with a lot of the free email accounts is they tend to limit your storage space. Most often edits are done electronically. What if your editor or agent sent you your manuscript with editorial suggestions? Will your email account allow a large file, the size of your full manuscript, to be sent to you or will it bounce back to your editor? What about your fans? At some point, after you sell, you should expect to receive fan mail. Do you have a different account for that?
Make sure your email address reflects your professionalism. This is not the time to be cute with an address like: imthebest@freeaccount.com or buymybook@freeaccount.com. You want your name to reach people, so use it in your email address. Better yet, use the email through your website server and double up on free advertising. For example: yourname@yourname.com. This tells the recipients your name AND your website address. Clever, huh?
If you have a name that can easily be misspelled, like mine, you might want to have two email addresses with one forwarding to the other. I could’ve had lynnette@labelleseditorialservices.com and lynette@labelleseditorialservices.com However, my hosting package only came with one email address. Rather than pay for a second, I used my last name instead: labelle@labelleseditorialservices.com Every once in a while, I receive an email from someone who thinks Labelle is my first name, so they address me like this, “Dear Labelle”. :)
Every email you send can be a source of advertising for you. Simply craft your signature tag with your full name (or pen name if you're using one), website URL, and blog URL. Just don't go overboard with this list because a long signature can turn people off.
6. Grow a marketing list. This way, when your novel is released, you can contact people who might want to buy your book. They've already shown interested in your writing or they wouldn't have given you their email address. Be careful with this. Only contact people who’ve given you permission to do so. Setting up a form on your website or blog to “catch” email addresses is not the best way to form a list. If someone hasn’t specifically given you their email address so you can contact them when your book sells or is released, then they’ll probably consider your message spam. And nobody likes spam. You’ll be lucky if all the person does is delete your message. The reader may report you or refuse to ever buy your books. Not the best way to start off your career.
If you set up an email capture system on your website or blog, make sure people know what they’re signing up for. (This is the little box where people who visit your sites can sign up for a newsletter, enter a contest, request a free bookmark, or whatever you have in place.) You want your reader to have a reason to trust you with their email address. Don't ever betray them by selling that list.
7. Have a marketing plan in place. More and more publishers expect the author to do a majority (if not all) of the marketing for their book. If you sign the contract without a marketing plan, you'll have to come up with one fast. Why not take the time to create a well-thought-out plan right now?
8. Write the synopsis for your next two books. Yes, you read that right. Often, agents like to sell a new author as a three book deal, but that doesn't mean you need to have three books ready to go. A synopsis for your next couple of novels will show the publisher you're not a one-book-wonder.
9. Brainstorm titles for the novel you're querying. More times than not, your editor (and possibly your agent) won't like your title. This can be really crushing for some new authors, but if you have other titles to suggest, you have a better chance of ending up with something you created.
10. Write your next book. Don't sit by the computer waiting for a response from the agents you queried. Move on to the next project. This will help make the time go faster and set you up with Plan B in case an agent or editor likes your style but not your first book. As tempting as it may be, if the novel you’re shopping is the first in a series, don’t work on the second book right away. It’s too risky. What if an agent comes back and says she likes your writing but not the concept behind the series? All you have to offer her is a book in the same series. Instead, work on something else. If the agent likes the series, you can switch to book two once you’ve signed with her.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Here are ten projects you can tackle before an agent offers representation:
1. Write an author bio of yourself. You'll need this for your website, and your agent will require this information when pitching to publishers.
2. Have a professional headshot taken. This will also be required for the same reasons as #1.
3. Create a website. A website is a must. Don't think that because you're not published you don't have anything to share on your website. Use your bio and headshot. Set up a "books" page to list blurbs for the novels you're querying or writing. This will change once you've sold, but it's something to catch a reader's eye until then. Showcase contests and writing awards you've won. If you've had any articles published, have a page with links to them. Don't forget to list writing related organizations you belong to like Romance Writers of America, or others. Your website might not look like much yet, but it shows an agent and editor you're serious about the business. They want their authors to have a web presence. Plus, once you sell, you won't have to worry about starting a website, just updating it.
4. Start blogging and join social networks. While some agents are fine with you doing this after you sign with them (and others don’t mind if you don’t do this at all), more and more agents refuse to sign anyone who hasn’t already built a following either through blogging or social networks. You need to prove to them that you’re serious about self-promotion and that you’re able to do it. Don’t forget they get a percentage of your sales, so it’s in their best interest if you sell a lot of books. If they don’t feel you’ll promote your books (and since publishers don’t do much marketing, if any), the agent feels you’re too much of a risk. Translation: too much work for very little money. She’d much rather sign with someone who appears eager and able to self-promote.
5. Set up a dependable email account. Free email accounts are great, but have limits. Some aren't stable and you can lose everything in your inbox. What if you had a request from your favorite agent in your box but never knew because that message was lost in cyberspace? The other problem with a lot of the free email accounts is they tend to limit your storage space. Most often edits are done electronically. What if your editor or agent sent you your manuscript with editorial suggestions? Will your email account allow a large file, the size of your full manuscript, to be sent to you or will it bounce back to your editor? What about your fans? At some point, after you sell, you should expect to receive fan mail. Do you have a different account for that?
Make sure your email address reflects your professionalism. This is not the time to be cute with an address like: imthebest@freeaccount.com or buymybook@freeaccount.com. You want your name to reach people, so use it in your email address. Better yet, use the email through your website server and double up on free advertising. For example: yourname@yourname.com. This tells the recipients your name AND your website address. Clever, huh?
If you have a name that can easily be misspelled, like mine, you might want to have two email addresses with one forwarding to the other. I could’ve had lynnette@labelleseditorialservices.com and lynette@labelleseditorialservices.com However, my hosting package only came with one email address. Rather than pay for a second, I used my last name instead: labelle@labelleseditorialservices.com Every once in a while, I receive an email from someone who thinks Labelle is my first name, so they address me like this, “Dear Labelle”. :)
Every email you send can be a source of advertising for you. Simply craft your signature tag with your full name (or pen name if you're using one), website URL, and blog URL. Just don't go overboard with this list because a long signature can turn people off.
6. Grow a marketing list. This way, when your novel is released, you can contact people who might want to buy your book. They've already shown interested in your writing or they wouldn't have given you their email address. Be careful with this. Only contact people who’ve given you permission to do so. Setting up a form on your website or blog to “catch” email addresses is not the best way to form a list. If someone hasn’t specifically given you their email address so you can contact them when your book sells or is released, then they’ll probably consider your message spam. And nobody likes spam. You’ll be lucky if all the person does is delete your message. The reader may report you or refuse to ever buy your books. Not the best way to start off your career.
If you set up an email capture system on your website or blog, make sure people know what they’re signing up for. (This is the little box where people who visit your sites can sign up for a newsletter, enter a contest, request a free bookmark, or whatever you have in place.) You want your reader to have a reason to trust you with their email address. Don't ever betray them by selling that list.
7. Have a marketing plan in place. More and more publishers expect the author to do a majority (if not all) of the marketing for their book. If you sign the contract without a marketing plan, you'll have to come up with one fast. Why not take the time to create a well-thought-out plan right now?
8. Write the synopsis for your next two books. Yes, you read that right. Often, agents like to sell a new author as a three book deal, but that doesn't mean you need to have three books ready to go. A synopsis for your next couple of novels will show the publisher you're not a one-book-wonder.
9. Brainstorm titles for the novel you're querying. More times than not, your editor (and possibly your agent) won't like your title. This can be really crushing for some new authors, but if you have other titles to suggest, you have a better chance of ending up with something you created.
10. Write your next book. Don't sit by the computer waiting for a response from the agents you queried. Move on to the next project. This will help make the time go faster and set you up with Plan B in case an agent or editor likes your style but not your first book. As tempting as it may be, if the novel you’re shopping is the first in a series, don’t work on the second book right away. It’s too risky. What if an agent comes back and says she likes your writing but not the concept behind the series? All you have to offer her is a book in the same series. Instead, work on something else. If the agent likes the series, you can switch to book two once you’ve signed with her.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Author Spotlight: M. Pax
I’d like to welcome science fiction/fantasy writer M. Pax, author of Semper Audacia. We’ll learn more about this space opera novel—including a giveaway—but first, let’s see what M. Pax has to say…
To learn more about M. Pax, her book, and the giveaway, check out my writing website: http://lynnettelabelle.com/blog/author-spotlight-m-pax/
I’m still looking to fill some author spotlight slots. I’m booking for April. If you write romance, thriller, mystery, urban fantasy, paranormal, horror or true crime, and you have a book you’d like to promote, send me an email: lynnette_labelle at yahoo dot com. Make sure to have “Author Spotlight” in the subject line or I won’t open the message. Let me know when your release date will be (if the book isn’t already available) and what genre you write.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tomorrow: Author M. Pax
Tomorrow, science fiction/fantasy author M. Pax will join us at www.lynnettelabelle.com. Here’s a little teaser for you.
Alone. Leda is the last living member of the brigade, the sole defender of her world. War took everyone she knew, leaving her in the company of memories and ghosts. Or is it madness? The siren blares. The enemy is coming. Or is it? The approaching vessel isn’t a friendly design, but it answers with the correct code. Leda must figure out whether the arrival is reinforcements or the final assault. In an aging flyer, she ventures out to meet her world’s fate, the last stand.
Come back tomorrow for an excerpt and interview with author M. Pax. I’ll have a link to my other blog to make it easy for you to find.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Alone. Leda is the last living member of the brigade, the sole defender of her world. War took everyone she knew, leaving her in the company of memories and ghosts. Or is it madness? The siren blares. The enemy is coming. Or is it? The approaching vessel isn’t a friendly design, but it answers with the correct code. Leda must figure out whether the arrival is reinforcements or the final assault. In an aging flyer, she ventures out to meet her world’s fate, the last stand.
Come back tomorrow for an excerpt and interview with author M. Pax. I’ll have a link to my other blog to make it easy for you to find.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Indie Authors Beware
Technically, this post isn’t just for indie authors, but since I’ve heard so much about a certain issue on the indie loops, I’m going to focus on those authors.
More and more people are telling you that you need to have your work edited before you publish it on Amazon, Smashwords, or other sites. I agree and not just because I’m a freelance editor. The problem is even hiring an editor doesn’t guarantee your work will be error-free.
We’ll assume the editor you hire is capable of doing the job. That’s not what this post is about. The problem is that once you have the edited version of your manuscript, you still have to make changes. Sometimes, that means accepting the changes made through Track Changes, but more often, it means rewriting certain parts. Unfortunately, many writers don’t bother to send their revised manuscript back to the editor for one last look. Oh, I see you cringing. Stop it. I know editors aren’t cheap and you’re not made out of money, but your reputation is at stake. Do you really want to put out a book with typos or grammatical errors just because you didn’t have your polished version double-checked by an industry professional?
I can’t speak for all editors, but I can tell you how I operate. For novellas and novels, I offer a free sample upfront. This allows you to see what I can do for you and it shows me how much work is involved so I can give you a quote. Let’s say you hire me, I edit your work, and return it to you. Maybe you struggled with the first fifty pages and then everything pretty much smoothed out. In that case, you could revise and resubmit those fifty pages and since this is the second time around, there wouldn’t be as much editing involved, so I could charge you less. Or maybe you’re really only concerned about a certain chapter or a few scenes here and there. That’s fine. Send them to me and I’ll take a second look. I don’t need to edit the whole manuscript again, unless that’s what you want. The important thing is that you have the weaker scenes reviewed after you’ve made changes.
My point is that you don’t have to pay an editor the same fee when you resubmit, unless you’ve added scenes or fresh material, so the cost isn’t necessarily as high as you might think. If you don’t want to spend the money on having your full manuscript edited a second time, then pick and choose the scenes or chapters that gave you the most grief when revising and submit those.
If you don’t, that’s up to you. Just don’t go blaming your editor if reviewers find typos and grammatical errors in your published book. If you made any revisions after the editor saw the work, she can’t be responsible for the changes you made.
One last bit of advice, before you send your manuscript to an editor, try to make it as polished as possible. Have your critique group and beta readers go over your story until you’re all sick of it. The closer your manuscript is to publishable work, the less you’ll have to spend on editorial services.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
More and more people are telling you that you need to have your work edited before you publish it on Amazon, Smashwords, or other sites. I agree and not just because I’m a freelance editor. The problem is even hiring an editor doesn’t guarantee your work will be error-free.
We’ll assume the editor you hire is capable of doing the job. That’s not what this post is about. The problem is that once you have the edited version of your manuscript, you still have to make changes. Sometimes, that means accepting the changes made through Track Changes, but more often, it means rewriting certain parts. Unfortunately, many writers don’t bother to send their revised manuscript back to the editor for one last look. Oh, I see you cringing. Stop it. I know editors aren’t cheap and you’re not made out of money, but your reputation is at stake. Do you really want to put out a book with typos or grammatical errors just because you didn’t have your polished version double-checked by an industry professional?
I can’t speak for all editors, but I can tell you how I operate. For novellas and novels, I offer a free sample upfront. This allows you to see what I can do for you and it shows me how much work is involved so I can give you a quote. Let’s say you hire me, I edit your work, and return it to you. Maybe you struggled with the first fifty pages and then everything pretty much smoothed out. In that case, you could revise and resubmit those fifty pages and since this is the second time around, there wouldn’t be as much editing involved, so I could charge you less. Or maybe you’re really only concerned about a certain chapter or a few scenes here and there. That’s fine. Send them to me and I’ll take a second look. I don’t need to edit the whole manuscript again, unless that’s what you want. The important thing is that you have the weaker scenes reviewed after you’ve made changes.
My point is that you don’t have to pay an editor the same fee when you resubmit, unless you’ve added scenes or fresh material, so the cost isn’t necessarily as high as you might think. If you don’t want to spend the money on having your full manuscript edited a second time, then pick and choose the scenes or chapters that gave you the most grief when revising and submit those.
If you don’t, that’s up to you. Just don’t go blaming your editor if reviewers find typos and grammatical errors in your published book. If you made any revisions after the editor saw the work, she can’t be responsible for the changes you made.
One last bit of advice, before you send your manuscript to an editor, try to make it as polished as possible. Have your critique group and beta readers go over your story until you’re all sick of it. The closer your manuscript is to publishable work, the less you’ll have to spend on editorial services.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Author Spotlight: Jonathan D. Allen
I’d like to welcome dark fantasy writer Jonathan D. Allen, author of The Corridors of the Dead. He has also released a short story, The Kayson Cycle.
We’ll learn more about The Corridors of the Dead, but first, let’s see what Jonathan has to say...
To learn more about Jonathan, go to my writing website: http://lynnettelabelle.com/blog/author-spotlight-jonathan-d-allen/
I’m still looking to fill some author spotlight slots. I need someone for Feb. 9th and I’m booking for March. If you write romance, thriller, mystery, urban fantasy, paranormal, horror or true crime, and you have a book you’d like to promote, send me an email: lynnette_labelle at yahoo dot com. Make sure to have “Author Spotlight” in the subject line or I won’t open the message. Let me know when your release date will be (if the book isn’t already available) and what genre you write.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
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