Jun 13, 2008 | Research, Travel, Writing |
Aside from hot alpha males with attitude and heroines who whip them into shape? Travel. Exotic locations.
Finally, all that time in Europe is paying dividends! (Although it paid plenty of dividends when I lived and traveled there — priceless experience.) But now, I get to revisit those places I loved while I create the world of my Harlequin Presents story.
I didn't stay in the Gritti Palace in Venice, but it's the inspiration for one of my hero's hotels. The Gritti Palace starts around 500 Euros a night. Can you imagine?
There was a time, when I lived there, when that would have cost about $350. Today, it's nearly $800. I don't think I'll be staying there anytime soon. 🙂
But I can imagine it! I can view the pictures and see my hotel come to life. I can imagine the luxury of that place, the service, the gorgeous views from that terrace. I'm doing armchair traveling to write this story and I LOVE IT! Why didn't I do this sooner?
I always wanted to write for Presents. But I stubbornly kept putting it off. Until the Instant Seduction contest. I can't thank HM&B enough for having the contest. I'd still be saying someday, and I wouldn't be armchair traveling through my old guidebooks and getting inspired by pictures of sumptuous rooms and table settings.
What do you write and why do you love it? Do you love to armchair travel? What's the best vacation you ever had? The coolest place you ever lived?
**Best Vacation: Venice
**Coolest Place I lived: Toss up between Europe and Hawaii
Jun 12, 2008 | General, Life, Writing |
If it's summer break, I'm not having any of it. I'm working. I have a book to finish, and it's rolling along pretty good — so far.
I totally love it when a book starts to write itself. I love sitting down at the keyboard and knowing the only impediment will be how fast my fingers can keep up with what my mind creates. That's not to say it's all easy. No indeed. I still have those stretches where one set of ideas reaches a conclusion (at the end of a scene or chapter, maybe) and I need to figure out which direction to go for the next set.
Yes, I know, if I were a plotter who outlined extensively, I'd know where I was going. But chugging along is part of the process for me. I really love that enjoyment of discovery along the way. It's like getting on a train and going for a trip to a place you've never been. If I bought a video of the trip before I went, and then watched it through, it wouldn't be as exciting for me.
I love this part of being a writer. What I don't love is the pain of self-doubt, the misery of waiting for responses to submissions, the sheer terror of going to the mailbox. I could do without those bits, thank you.
Right now, I'm on the downhill slide. My goal is to be done before 1 July. Then I have a trip to New Orleans over the 4th, back home for shopping for National, then the National conference at the end of the month. Once I get home again and recover from that, it'll be September. Whew, this is a busy summer! Where's the break?
How about you? Any big plans this summer? Any writing plans?
Jun 11, 2008 | Books, Promotion |
Video book trailers are the hot thing now, it seems. Everyone is doing one. Some are great (no, I have no examples because I really, really pay very little attention to them) and some are downright corny (no examples because my mama said if you can't say anything nice, etc). Apparently, according to the Wall Street Journal, it's turning into quite the cottage industry:
Circle of Seven Productions, a Brentwood, Calif.-based production company specializing in book trailers, had more than 100 clients last year, up from about a dozen in 2005. TurnHere, a two-year-old Emeryville, Calif.-based production company, has deals with Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group, Hachette and Chronicle Books. And HarperCollins has cut out the middleman; the publisher just built a book-trailer studio in its offices and says it hopes to churn out 500 author videos this year.
The article also says that book trailers can cost a lot of money to produce. Obviously, this puts them out of reach of the average author, which is why the homemade ones crop up a lot. Nothing wrong with homemade and, again, some of them are pretty good.
But do they work?
There is scant evidence, however, that the average book trailer actually has much impact on book sales. Despite Doubleday's recent video upload for the self-help book “We Plan, God Laughs,” by Sherre Hirsch, the book has sold only about 3,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70% of U.S. book sales. And even though Jami Attenberg's trailer for her novel “The Kept Man” is reminiscent of Miranda July's short films, only 3,000 copies of Ms. Attenberg's recent book have sold. Most trailers cost about $2,000 to produce.
I think romance writers have embraced the idea of trailers and many work hard to make them. But what do I do when I click over to a site that has a trailer? I skip it. Unless you're a friend, or you've specifically asked me to look at it, I skip. Why?
Dunno, guess I'm in a hurry. And that, to me, is the crux of the trailer issue. If you want to do a trailer, make it short, sweet, and to the point. Just my opinion, of course!
What do you think about trailers? Like them, hate them, want to do one? What are your criteria for good trailers? What makes you watch or not?
**The WSJ article is here.
**Wow, here's a site where you can go watch book trailers! In the interest of research, I watched. Okay, there are some good ones here. Hmm… 🙂
Jun 10, 2008 | Business, Promotion, Websites |
Some women change their hair when they're in a new mood. Me? I change my website. 🙂 No, it's not changed yet, so clicking over will produce the same pages as always. But, I can't ever settle down with a look. (Notice my blog changes from time to time — like today.) I visit other sites and I want to change mine.
Lately, I've been worried about how strongly my site is geared to my romantic suspenses. I have a dual writing personality now! I need to reflect the classic romance/Harlequin Presents side of me, and so I've been working on something that combines the two in a plain (for now) way.
I plan to pay someone to develop a site (or sites), but I can't do it yet. There's the issue of name, for one thing. What name will I write under? I am very flexible about this. I am open to the idea my name may not be the best for selling books, but it's a bridge I plan to cross when I reach it.
Bottom line for me is that this is a career and I plan to do everything necessary to succeed at it. If separate names are the ticket, I'm there. If a completely different name from my own is best, I'm there. If I need to pay a web designer, I'm there. (Hubby, if you're reading, quick, look over there! Is that a naked woman/iPhone/new TV — or something equally interesting to you I see? Quick, better click over!)
So, what are the best writer sites for you? Is there a site you like, either for the colors or the ease of use or the graphics? If you have a website, did you pay someone? Do you plan to pay someone eventually? What do you think about homemade sites with popular site builders? Does flash bug you (it does me)? What about music (ditto)? Anything I missed? Give me your thoughts! 🙂
Jun 9, 2008 | Life, Rants |
I'm tired of the medical profession in some respects. Going to the clinic when there's no one else waiting to be seen, and then waiting for 45 minutes in the exam room without anyone coming to say anything — sorry, Dr. X is running behind, he's on the 15th hole and expects to finish the course soon — is ridiculous. And we pay for this privilege.
I applaud medical people, and I thank them for taking care of us. I really do. It's not an easy job. But why does it take so blasted long for the doctor to see you when no one else is ahead of you? When there are about 10 nurses running around and no patients — or maybe one or two in an exam room somewhere? Why can't anyone come and tell you when to expect Dr. X? Am I wrong in thinking it'd be nice to know when to expect this vaunted and necessary person's appearance?
And is it just me, but do you start to think because they've put you in an exam room and closed the door that perhaps they forgot you were there? I truly am a patient person. But 45 minutes alone in a freezing, silent room is a bit much, I think. TELL me Dr. X is busy. Tell me he's running behind, we're sorry, etc. I am patient and understanding. But sheesh, my time is worth something too! Thank heavens for the iPod Touch. And books.
Yeah, so that's what I did over the weekend. How about you?
