New Shiny Idea Must Wait by Paty Jager

There is no better feeling for a writer than to come up with an exciting premise or idea for a book. It swirls in your mind constantly and makes your fingers itch to start scoping out the main characters. I'm at that spot right now.

After sending a survey to my western romance readers and receiving their feedback, the Letters of Fate book coming out next month will be my last book in that series. My readers told me in the survey they prefer series with family or community as the connecting series factor. Which saddened me a bit because I had three more Letters of Fate books planned, but I can use the heroes in the new series that will come out late summer.

That is one of the best parts of writing. Keeping track of hero and heroine and story ideas. You can always incorporate them into another series or book if something doesn't pan out.

Aside from being excited about the new historical western romance series, which I've already started fleshing out characters and story ideas, I'm excited about the next two Shandra Higheagle mysteries I'll be writing. Another fun thing happening with the mystery series are the audio books coming out. You can get the first book Double Duplicity, in audio at Audible, Amazon or iTunes.  The second book, Tarnished Remains, is in production and will be available next month.

While I spent the end of last year and first of this year actively building my newsletter list, the rest of this year will be spent on keeping them and making my newsletters something they look forward to receiving. I'm not a person who likes to flood inboxes with constant newsletters, but I want my newsletters opened so my fans read the content. I'm borrowing an idea from another author, whose fan told me about this author's method of getting his fans excited about his newsletters. He writes short stories that are on his website but hidden and only accessible by his newsletter peeps. As soon as I get caught up from my travels, I'm implementing this in my newsletters.

Right now, I'm excited because I'm just about to write "The End" on the latest and last Letters of Fate book. I know this sounds weird, but I'm itching to write the next mystery and get on to the new historical western series. AND I'm excited to see how my readers respond to Henrí: Letters of Fate. This book has required intense research and bringing in an expert. That may sound unusual but I was dealing with a religion I didn't know, which as I look back was not a good idea. However, being a stickler for historical accuracy, once I discovered the mission, it fit all my criteria for the book I wanted to write. I'll have more about this next month on  my post here. So stay tuned!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 30+ novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

 

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photo: © Can Stock Photo / elder

DOABLE RESOLUTIONS.....

I can’t believe it. Seems like only yesterday I posted a similar heading, yet it was a year ago. I hope 2015 was a good year for you. As for me, I’ve had better. But on the other hand, I’ve had worse. All in all, I have a lot to be grateful for.

So do you make resolutions? And do you stick to them?

I don’t make resolutions so much as I make plans. And I’ve already got 2016 pretty much planned. Of course you know that old saying : Life is what happens while you’re making other plans. (That quote really did not originate with John Lennon. It originated with a guy named Allen Saunders.)

 

Number One on my list is to finish the Dixie Cash book I’ve got underway, YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART, BUT DON’T TOUCH MY DOG. It’s full of the usual madness and mayhem only Debbie Sue and Edwina and their friends can generate. I had planned on releasing it before the end of 2015; however, my day job took over my life for about six weeks and I didn’t get it done. If I’ve made a resolution at all, I have resolved to not let that happen again. 

Now I’m shooting for a release date in February or March.  This was quite an undertaking for me. My sister threw in the towel at around 50 or 60 pages, so I’ve written it on my own. People who have read it tell me it’s funny, but I’m nervous. I’m the first to acknowledge that she’s the funny one. 

Second on my list is to finish THE HORSEMAN, Book #3 in the Sons of Texas trilogy. It isn’t acomedy. This will be Troy Rattigan’s story, plus it will tie up all of the loose ends and reveal the villain who’s got it in for the whole Lockhart family.
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Along with these two projects, I’m going to attempt to narrate my own audio book. I know. Don’t laugh.  …..  I’ve already bought the equipment I need and am ready to roll. I don’t know how my Texas twang will sound trying to narrate an audio book. A person should have good elocution and be a half-assed actress for it to work. In fact, most of the audio book narrators *are* actresses or actors. My advantage, if I have one, is that I know how I mean for the dialogue I wrote to sound. We’ll see how it goes. Believe me, the money I’ve invested in the equipment is a drop in the bucket compared to paying for a professional narrator. They are very expensive.

Another project on the drawing board is to write Book #2 of Miranda’s Chronicles, a sequel to DESIRED,  the  40,000-word steamy  novella I released in 2015. Book #2 will not be a novella. Writing a novella is harder than it looks. I will never do it again. My home is in 100,000-word tomes. The title will be CLAIMED and I’ve already bought the image for the cover. That way, with money invested, I’ll be motivated to get it done.

I’m also still trying to get my copyright back from my former New York publisher on MAN OF THE WEST, a book I wrote under the pseudonym, Sadie Callahan. I so want to re-write that book and re-release it as an Anna Jeffrey book. It’s Book #2 of The Strayhorns series and a sequel to LONE STAR WOMAN. It's also a loose end I would like to get tied up. I had originally planned to write Book #3 in this series and that story is still sort of floating around in my head. I might go ahead and work on it whether I get my copyright back or not.

So those are my plans for 2016. I think my day job is definitely going to have to take a backseat. Still, don’t bet any money that I’ll get all of this done.

How about your resolutions? Are they doable?

WANT TO KNOW ABOUT BIRTHING . . . AN AUDIOBOOK?

By Caroline Clemmons

Dear Readers, have you been curious about the process an indie author undergoes to turn an ebook and/or print book into an audiobook? Please say yes. ☺ I have a giveaway to offer for a commenter.

The authors at this blog diligently try to keep up with the latest trends in publishing. We love writing, but we want readers to actually read our work. Although they’ve been around for years, audiobooks are increasing in popularity. So, we are educating ourselves and dipping our toes into the audio pool.

Several companies are in the business of audiobooks, but the most visible is Audible, which is owned by Amazon. Audible is also known as ACX. They are easy to navigate and indie-author friendly. Important also, Audible is easy for customers who wish to purchase an audiobook.

 

There are two ways for authors to dive into audiobooks. The first is on a 50/25/25 % share of royalties with Amazon/Audible/ACX receiving the 50% share while the narrator and the author receive 25% each. Under this program, the author releases rights for heirs to Amazon. This program is easiest for those of us who have moderate royalties because it requires no cash outlay. One still needs a cover, but those can be purchased or the author can make one. In my case, my Hero created one from the print cover.

 

The second method is more lucrative, but requires greater investment. The author pays the narrator around $200 to $250 an hour to record the book. BRAZOS BRIDE required eight hours of narration. HIGH STAKES BRIDE will come in at approximately seven hours. That’s a large investment for me, especially considering we just moved into a home that requires a lot of repairs and upgrades. Like many things in life, it’s a gamble. Who knows if anyone will even buy the audiobook? Will enough audiobooks sell to recover the outlay? If they do, how long will it take to earn back the precious cash spent on creating the audiobook?

ACX contacted me and offered to add $700 to the narrator for the first split if I let them record BRAZOS BRIDE. Here I have to explain about Amazon algorithims. Ha! That’s a trick statement, because I cannot explain! No one understands them. Supposedly, for every five book increment an author publishes, he or she rises in the mysterious system. Then, for books that are on the Amazon bestseller top 100 list in that genre, you rise in the algorithims. How those really work and intermesh, only Amazon’s statisticians know.

However, this offer is why I contracted to record BRAZOS BRIDE as an audiobook using the first method. When the author decides to have the book recorded, he or she posts to Audible’s “board” and interested narrators submit readings of the book’s first few pages. The author chooses the voice that most suits the book and then negotiates a contract.   

Valerie Gilbert agreed to accept the split royalty only because of the Amazon bonus. She has an excellent voice and interpreted the book as I visualized it. BRAZOS BRIDE is now completed and available at Audible (free with any 30-day trial membership) and Amazon and iTunes. You can hear a sample at http://www.carolineclemmons.com/brazosbride Whew! Now if only listeners will purchase it. (hint, hint)

After the book is recorded, the author or his or her minion listens to the narration while following the book text. Errors or oversights are then emailed to the narrator, who corrects them. An error we encountered was pronunciation of Brazos. Regional pronunciations vary. Although Brazos is a Spanish word, in Texas the pronunciation is "brahhzus" with a soft a drawn out drawl. Occasionally, the narrator loses place and omits a sentence or paragraph or repeats a sentence. With the magic of a recording studio, those errors are seamlessly corrected for the finished audiobook.

After the narration has been approved by the author, Audible takes two to three weeks to approve the final product via whatever magical process they use. Then, the book is sent to their website, Amazon, and iTunes, etc. for sale.

Several of my friends listen to audiobooks while they commute, while they do crafts, and while they clean house.

Do you ever listen to them? If so, and you would like an audio copy of BRAZOS BRIDE, please leave your email with your comment to be entered in my drawing.