MY NEW TEAMMATE, VELLUM.PUB
June 5, 2016 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as 12 Titles in 12 months, Tracy Reed, vwellum.pub
I was searching for a subject to post about this month and sort of drew a blank. In my last post, I gave you an update of my 12 Titles in 12 Months project. I no longer refer to it a challenge, because it’s a fun project.
In the past five months of this project, I’ve learned I can make deadlines and stick to them a lot better than in the past. I’ll be honest, there were a couple of times I didn’t think I was going to make my deadline.
Here’s my process and why using Vellum is good for me. When I complete a book, I do a read through and then pass it on to my number one Critic, my mom. Once she’s done, I make the corrections and then forward the book to my Beta Readers. When they’re done, I review their comments and make the necessary corrections. Then forward the book to my Editor. Depending on how long the book is, it could take her a couple of weeks to edit it. Then I review her edits, do another review and prep the file for the formatter. Depending on how long my book it, this step can take me a while.
Once I’ve done my reviews, it’s on to the formatter. Again, depending on the length and her schedule, this can take as much as five days. Then I review the file and if there are typos or glitches, I carefully log them and send the file back to her. There have been times I’ve over thought things, or missed something as simple as a line I forgot to move up. That simple error means I have to send the file back to the formatter. She’s really good about turning around the file for something so small quickly. All of these steps eats away at my time.
Now that I’ve added VELLUM.PUB to my team, I’ve also bought myself some time and breathing room. I don’t feel as pressured. I think some of the typos or glitches were a result of trying to make those deadlines and scared to have to go back and make changes. I am in love with this software.
As an indie or self-pub author, I’m always looking for ways to save time and money. I was introduced to Vellum.pub, by my friend Kitty Bucholtz. When I took it for a test drive, I couldn’t believe how easy it was. In less than an hour, I had a fully formatted book. That hour includes set up and launching to the various outlets. It happened so quickly, that I thought I had missed or forgotten something.
After playing with it a week, I finally released my first Vellum.pub formatted book. My new release, INTENTIONAL CURSE. Once I reviewed the Kindle file, I was very impressed. It looked just like what my formatter was doing for me. Now, this doesn’t mean I won’t every use a formatter again, it just means I have another option.
My formatter is amazing and very patient with me. However, because I use a MAC and she uses a PC, there would be slight challenges when it came to fixing typos or glitches on my part. I always felt bad having to go back and tie up her time for small typos [a letter or period in the wrong place.] For ease, I would give her a detailed list of typos and their location so she could find them quickly.
My formatter is cool about making the corrections and turning the file around quickly. I don’t know about anyone else, but even now when I go back and read some of my earlier releases, I’ve stumbled across an errant typo. I have a couple of books I found typos in that I have to send back to her for changes.
However, with Vellum.pub, there’s no charge to go back and make a change or correct a typo.
Another added advantage to using Vellum.pub, I’m able to add fancy chapter headings, first paragraph design, section breaks and one of my favorites, images. In INTENTIONAL CURSE, I included the covers of the books I excerpted. Vellum.pub, also allows you to add purchase links for each format or outlet you use.
So far, there’s nothing about this software I don’t like. It’s easy and painless to use. With my formatter, I get one free set of corrections and I’m charged for any additional corrections. The cost is also amazing and is based on title, not word count or outlets. One title, is $29.99, Ten titles, $99.99 and unlimited is $199.99. To be on the safe side, I bought the ten titles to start.
I also, found their response to customer service emails to be fairy quick. One of my concerns or questions, was if I liked it could I upgrade. I was told that I could. Another plus. [I will be going back and upgrading to the unlimited plan.]
This tool is perfect for me, because I like knowing I can go back at anytime and make changes without an additional cost. It also gives me an extra week in prep time. In the past, I would book my editor at least a month before sending the file to the formatter. And book the formatter, about two to three weeks before release day. Once the formatter completed my files, I took a week to ten days, to review the file and make any corrections. Then if it was clean, I set it up for release. Now, I’m able to breathe a little before formatting. I don’t feel as stressed as in the past.
I formatted my recent release, the night before and then I reviewed it the following morning. This delay was because I was sleepy, otherwise, I may have released it immediately. For the record, instant release is an option now, because if needed, I can go back, make the necessary changes and get the revised file up immediately.
If you haven’t tried VELLUM.pub, I recommend you give it a try.
12 TITLES IN 12 MONTHS…update
Okay, so I didn’t think I was going to do an update on my project. Last month I didn’t include a cover tease for the August release, because I wasn’t sure about the cover. Up until a couple of days ago, I was going to change the cover. But something amazing happened, I finished the title. YEAH!!! And when I played around with the cover, the proposed new cover one, became the cover for part two in the series.
I was a little nervous about this title because it seemed like I had gotten stuck. When I started writing this, I new it was going to be either a novelette, less than 20,000 words. But around 14,000 words, while I was praying one morning, I got a revelation that I should switch from first person to third person POV. I wrestled with this for a couple of days. Finally, last Thursday, while sitting in the salon, I started re-writing my book. By late Friday night, I had re-written the 14,000 words. In fact, by the time, I finished re-working the original pages, I ended up with an additional 1,000 words and renewed excitement about the story.
I’m so excited because, a week later, I finished the novella. And when I did, it left the door open for a novella series and a new set of characters for me to love. YEAH!!!
I’ll check in with you next month.
Tracy
Tracy Reed
www.readtracyreed.com
Fiction for Women Who Love God, Couture and Cute Guys
Criticism…
May 24, 2016 by A Slice of Orange in category Columns tagged as Isabel SwiftI just read Anthony Lane’s 5/16/16 review of “Captain America: Civil War” and “The Lobster” in The New Yorker. And, to semi-quote Peter Finch in Network, I really just can’t take it anymore!
Clearly, Mr Lane has not gotten the excellent advice a friend gave me in college when I asked him (a little desperately): “What do you say when a friend asks you to read something they wrote and tell them what you think? What if you didn’t like it? Do you risk the truth? Or lie for the sake of the friendship?”
I’m not comfortable with a polite lie; it seems to denigrate the friendship. Yet very few really want to hear the unvarnished truth about something they have created, labored over and are taking the risk of sharing with you.
What do you say?
The advice, which I have internalized in assessing all creative work was: “Liking or not liking is not at issue. When you read something, think about what the creator was trying to accomplish. Did they achieve their goal?”
This opened a door to looking at any material and considering it in its own right. Not against my personal opinion, but against itself, and if I have the background, in its context.
I would always laugh (quietly) when people would comment on series romances and say: “Well, it’s hardly literature!” And I would think Why are you making this absurd comparison? Neither is The New York Times, but you probably read it every day. Assess something in its own right, or against its peers, in its own context.
Of course everyone is entitled to their personal taste: I like this, I don’t like that. I don’t even have to have a reason. But that doesn’t require any critical faculties or judgment, really. It’s just your feeling, your opinion.
True criticism, in my opinion, is to put aside your personal tastes, your possibly narrow and judgmental vision of what is ‘proper’ or ‘acceptable’ or ‘intellectually validated’ and open your mind and heart to what the work itself is trying to achieve, how it relates to the history of material trying to achieve similar goals, and how it may succeed, fail, or break new ground.
Mr Lane seems deeply respectful of the surreal, science fiction and absurdist vision of “The Lobster,” but childishly, rudely dismissive and disrespectful of an comic-book based action adventure film (which, full disclosure, I very much enjoyed).
I realize that many critics and their readers delight in creating a polarized world of Good and Bad, but it lacks humanity, offers little insight, and seems…well, small.
0 0 Read moreTwilight Zone Day, Time Travel, and Me by Jina Bacarr
May 11, 2016 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as Civil War, Confederate, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, history, medical drama, medicine, rebel, Rod Serling, romance, time travel, Twilight Zone, Union
Twilight Zone.
Did you hear the eerie music when you read the title?
Two of my favorite TZ episodes dealt with time travel.
Civil War.
And medicine.
Cliff Robertson in “A Hundred Years Over the Rim” (a father time travels to the future to save his ill son with modern medicine) and Kevin McCarthy in “Long Live Walter Jameson.” (check out an interesting filming note on this one). A professor knows history better than he should because “he was there.”
When I set out to write my Civil War romance, LOVE ME FOREVER, these two TZ episodes crept into my story line in a fun and interesting way: my time traveling heroine is a part time EMT and history teacher; she helps the Union Army physician hero in his fight against “germs” and how to combat disease back in 1862.
And yes, she knows exactly when the battles take place and does her best to save lives. But can she change history? If she does, will she lose the man she loves?
How do TV shows affect your writing?
Do shows we loved as kids have an even more powerful effect on our writing?
I think so.
LOVE ME FOREVER is proof of that.
What TV shows have affected your writing?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Till next time…
Jina
Civil War time traveler, belle…and spy: Love Me Forever from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
She was an imposter – a time traveler back to the Civil War in 1862 from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
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Looking Forward to Romance
May 6, 2016 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as A Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Linda O. Johnston
by Linda O. Johnston
The conferences I’ve attended this year have all related to mysteries, which I write in addition to romances. One was the Sisters in Crime meets Hollywood event, where speakers taught us how to pitch our mysteries to those who might be interested in making them into movies or TV shows. It was fun, but I’ll be surprised if any of my stories even get optioned.
Another event was the Dog Writers Association of America annual meeting in New York City. Most of the writers there write nonfiction–about dogs, of course. I was there because one of my mysteries was a finalist in the fiction category of their Maxwell Awards. It was fun, plus it was right next door to the Westminster Dog Show. I even saw some of my favorite pups: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
I also attended Left Coast Crime in Phoenix in February this year. And last weekend I was at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland. It’s for cozy mystery writers and fans. And I’m glad to say that my next cozy, TO CATCH A TREAT, the second in my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, is officially available in a couple of days, on May 8.
Hope to see you at OCC this month–and RWA National in July!
12 Titles in 12 Months [Pt Three]
May 5, 2016 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as 12 Titles in 12 months, Edgy Christian Fiction, Tracy ReedHappy Cinco de Mayo!
It’s time for an update on my exciting challenge, 12 TITLES IN 12 MONTHS. When I started this challenge I know it seemed like the rantings of a crazed New Indie Self-Pub Writer. Wow, that’s a mouthful.
I’m having a lot of fun on this journey experimenting with new genres and formats. When I started this, I was going to primarily do a mix of full-length and novellas. But I have to admit, in a brief moment, I sort of thought I was taking on too much. Then I read the article in the RWA magazine about story lengths. Honestly, it never occurred to me to do a short story. Funny thing, my first two published pieces were short stories. In my mind, I thought I would be doing my challenge an injustice if I didn’t commit to either a full-length or novella. So, I did a little digging in my files and found several starter pieces. I printed them and did a lot of reading.
I woke up one morning and remembered I had rewritten my next full-length book. Thank God, I kept the old manuscript. I had this really cool scene, that I thought would make a great novelette. I read the chapters and discovered, they weren’t right as a novelette, but will be great for the third installment of THE GOOD GIRL…which is on the schedule for next year. I was a little bummed and then went into a blank mode. This freaked me out. It seemed like the words were gone. I won’t say it was Writer’s Block, but more like Brain Jumble. Words were there but when I started to write, it seemed force. I had almost two thousand words on a piece, but it just didn’t click. But while I was writing, I got an idea, which I turned into THE FLING. As for the other starter pieces, I like them, but I’m not quite sure the time is right to bring those stories to life. The good thing about this challenge is that I can basically write whatever I want. YEAH!
I finished out the first quarter with some pretty good sales. Here’s a funny sales story. My mother and I were at the doctor’s office waiting to get our annual blood workup. I was teasing her about something while she was proofing one of my books. I kept bothering her and she replied, “How am I supposed to finish your book, if you keep bothering me?†A woman sitting across from us heard my mother’s comment and started laughing. Then my mother went into sales mode and told her that I was a writer. The woman asked where she could find my books. I opened my iPad and showed her my Amazon page. She called it up on her phone, read the summary and bought the book.
Last week, I released my April Title, THE FIX UP. This cute short is my first RomCom. Thank you to everyone that posted the link on their social media.
For this title, I didn’t do any advertising or paid promoting. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m trying different promotion options. For THE FIX UP, I sent an email to my mailing list, posted it on my blog, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest. I wanted to give my followers first dibs. This little tactic paid off on the release day. This was the first time I landed in the top 100 in one of my Amazon categories on release day. Double YEAH!! I was shocked. THE FIX UP, also aided my other books. My perma free book, THE ALEX CHRONICLES: GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS, hit the top 100 in two categories. All this activity without me doing any paid promotions.
So what’s on tap for the next quarter? I have a full-length and what I think will be a couple of novelettes. The reason I say could be, is because I haven’t finished writing them. I already created the covers which I’ll share later in the post. but I’m not quite sure if I’ll keep the titles. Title duplication is something that really can’t be helped. But I was a little shaken when I saw a book on several sites this week with the same title as my proposed August release. Now I’m wondering if I should keep it, or rename it. If you have any thoughts on this, please post them below or send them to me…readtracyreed [at] me [dot] com.
On with the 3rd Quarter update…
Title: WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW
Length: Full-length
Status: Completed
Release Date: July
This is the second installment in The Alex Chronicles Series. It’s also the second book I wrote. But like it’s predecessor, I held it back and I am so glad I did. The characters are more mature and the issues they deal with seem a little more realistic. This story focuses on what happened after Alex said yes to Moses’ proposal. It’s no secret they got engaged. What is a secret is if they get married. Following the rest of the girls in this series is fun as well. There’s the return of someone’s first love, a surprise break up and a so much more.
Sales Outlets: eBook – KDP Select
Print – Amazon, Createspace, B&N and my website
Marketing Campaign: Posting on my blog and social media outlets [Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest], blast to my mailing list, GoodReads Giveaway and possibly a mini blog tour or Cover Release Blast tour. And miscellaneous blogs.
Title: MISS MATCH
Length: Novella or Novelette
Status: Still writing
Release Date: August
The reason you don’t see a cover image, is because there’s a slight possibility I might change the cover. I don’t purchase images until I’m convinced I want the image. With this story having a common title, I’m a little on the fence. Even though I like it a lot. As you may have guessed, this story is about a matchmaker. She’s polished, beautiful, and very good at what she does. But her evenings are spent alone. I see this possibly becoming a cute series.
Sales Outlets: eBook – KDP Select
Print – Amazon, Createspace, B&N and my website
Marketing Campaign: Posting on my blog and social media outlets [Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest], blast to my mailing list, GoodReads Giveaway and possibly a Cover Release Blast tour. And miscellaneous blogs.
Title: MY FIRST HUSBAND
Length: Novella or Novelette
Status: Still Writing
Release Date: September
This will probably finish out as a novelette length. It started out as the beginning of a series, but I have since changed my mind. I don’t think the characters are ready for a series or more than a few thousand words. Only time will tell. Hey, I didn’t think THE GOOD GIRL would go beyond book one. This is a complicated love hate story.
Sales Outlets: eBook – KDP Select
Print – Amazon, Createspace, B&N and my website
Marketing Campaign: Posting on my blog and social media outlets [Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest], blast to my mailing list, GoodReads Giveaway and possibly a Cover Release Blast tour. And miscellaneous blogs.
Writing update. Technically, I have every month completed or partially finished. I have something special for my December release. I was going to do a novelette, but I saw something that really intrigued me. A Sampler. I saw Beth Yarnell’s romance sampler and asked her if she minded me copying her idea. She was cool with it, because she’d gotten it from someone else. I thought about releasing the sampler this summer, but decided against it. Part of this challenge has been to experiment with writing and marketing/promotion styles. Seeing I have nothing lined up for the holiday, I thought that would be the best to release my sampler in the fourth quarter. I’m going to make it a free download, just in time for all those new to the world of eReaders. I’ll share more on this title later in the year.
God has answered my prayer and those three titles I was concerned about, are coming to life. In addition to my 12 Titles challenge, I’m almost done with my first non-fiction book. Let me just say this, I commend anyone writing non-fiction. I had no idea how difficult it would be. I thought since I write fiction, it would be easy. No. Non-fiction requires a lot of person reflection and sharing. At least for the book I’m working on. Because this book is part of a larger project, I’ve elected not to release it until January.
Why the rush to finish everything a head of schedule? I would like to take a little time off and relax. But we’re writers. Do we ever really stop writing?
Have a good month and I’ll check in with you next month.
Tracy
Tracy Reed
www.readtracyreed.com
Fiction for Women Who Love God, Couture and Cute Guys=
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