April 6, 2016 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Piracy

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

A few days ago I received a Google Alert e-mail message alerting me that the title of my book and/or my name had popped up somewhere on the web. I followed the link and ended up at a site called TzarMedia.com. According to the site, if I signed up for an account, I could download my book for free. Completely unauthorized, with no compensation to the author or publisher.

Yes, I’ve been pirated.

When I clicked on the link again to go back and send a take-down notice, I ended up at a different site, LipsMedia.com. Then it was LilPlay.com, then DonnaPlay.com. I sent take-down notices all around, though I know it’s an exercise in futility.

It’s really infuriating to know that your hard work can be stolen so easily. With all the advanced technology out there today, it seems like there should be a way to eradicate these sites.

Has anyone out there had any luck dealing with pirate sites? What did you do?

*****

On a happier note, I’m planning on doing a cover reveal for my second book, Trouble By Any Other Name, on May 2nd, which is a Monday.

If anyone would like to help me out with the cover reveal, I’d really appreciate it! Please let me know in the comments. Thank you!!!

March 2, 2016 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — My 2 Year Blogiversary!

On this date two years ago, I posted my first blog post. I was embarking on a new journey, the pursuit of my dream of becoming a published author, and I wanted to document that journey in hopes that it might help someone else who had the same dream.

I went back and read that first post and couldn’t help but smile at how far I’ve come. Not only did I achieve my dream, I’m on the verge of accomplishing it a second time. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Book II: Trouble By Any Other Name will be published this spring.

To celebrate the revelation that dreams can indeed come true, I’m reblogging that first post. Never stop believing in your dreams.

*****

March 2^nd, 2014 — It’s Time

Writing has always been a part of my life. It began with creating stories in my head for fun when I was young. Or rather, creating characters who wrote their own stories. I never told them what to do. My characters took care of that themselves. They lived their adventures, fought, loved, and sometimes died, in my mind. It was like watching a movie in my head, seeing and hearing the characters as if I stood beside them, holding my breath, along for the ride.

As I grew older, my mother suggested I write my stories down. Such euphoria ensued, sparking a dream of one day being a published author. To hold in my hand a book of my own making would be the greatest nirvana. But life being what it is, with the necessities of having a steady income to pay the bills, and later the beloved obligations of family, the dream stayed just that — a dream. Writing remained a hobby, though in my head my characters’ stories still clamored for release.

Until now. Now, circumstances are such that my dream might actually be within reach. I am going to self-publish my novel. There… I said it. I’m going to self-publish my novel and set my characters free. Wow. Just writing the words and putting them out there is enough to make me laugh and cry at the same time.

I know this will be a huge learning experience, and there will be bumps along the road, but I will persevere until I hold my book in my hand. It may not be the best book ever written, but that’s okay. It will still be nirvana to me.

This is my journey. I invite anyone who wishes to share it with me.

*****

Originally, I was planning to release my second book in April, but with A to Z coming up, I chickened out and decided on the first week of May. I hope to do a blog tour soon afterward.

If anyone would like to help me out by doing a release day post or hosting me during the blog tour, that would be wonderful! Please let me know in the comments. Thanks so much!!

February 3, 2016 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — To Raise Or Not To Raise…

The print version of my book, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, is printed on demand by the distributors Lightning Source/IngramSpark (LSI), so I don’t have to keep cases of books as backstock in my basement. Recently, I received notice from LSI that their printing costs would be increasing to cover their rising costs. I was given a window of time in which I could raise the retail price of my book and submit a new cover file reflecting this increased price without having to pay for the file update. The deadline is the end of February.

So I have to decide — do I raise the price of my print book, or leave it as is?

I had originally set the price at $16.99, which was about as low as I could go without selling at a loss. I figured if I priced my first book too high, no one would buy it. But with the 55% wholesale discount the big retailers get, the margin of profit is miniscule.

If I leave the price as is, I’ll still be in the black, but just barely. I tell myself, it’s okay, I’m not in it for the money. And yet I have to say it would be nice to make at least a little profit. But I’m concerned that if I raise the price a dollar or two, I’ll lose sales, and that would defeat the purpose of getting my book out there into readers’ hands. What to do?

Has anyone else ever run into this problem? What did you decide?

November 4, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Back Cover Blurb Blues

I’ve been working on the back cover blurb for Book 2: Trouble By Any Other Name. The problem is that there are so many important elements to the story — how do you include them all and still keep it short, yet interesting enough to entice readers to take a chance on the book? Obviously, some of the elements have to be left out, because there’s just not room enough on the back of the book. Therein, lies my frustration.

I craft a blurb and think, wow, this is great. Then something else occurs to me that really should be included. Back to the drawing board. Okay, now I’ve got it… but, wait, I need to include this other detail. Back to the drawing board. Okay, this one is really good… oh, wait… You get the idea.

Trying to condense a complex 600-page book into a couple of paragraphs is an exercise in hair pulling and teeth gnashing. But if it’s not right, no one will buy the book, even though it might be something they’d like.

I know every writer goes through this, but man, it can sure drive you nuts. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board…

October 7, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — How Do You Get a Bestselling Author to Review Your Self-Published Book?

Recently, I was looking through the listings of newly published fantasy books. One in particular caught my eye. It was written by a new author, and what got my attention was the review quote posted along with the blurb — or rather, not so much the quote itself, but the fact that it was from a NYT bestselling author. I didn’t look to see if both were published by the same house, but I did wonder who secured the bestselling author’s review. The new author’s agent? Editor? Publisher?

Then I wondered how a self-published author would go about getting a prominent author to review his/her book? Do you go to their website or wherever, find contact info, and just ask?

Has anyone who has self-published done this? If you did, what kind of response did you get? Were you taken seriously, or were you shot down because of the stigma associated with self-publishing? I’d love to hear about anyone’s experiences with this!

September 11, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

I never thought I’d say this, but this week I’m celebrating book promotion!

I signed up for the Burlington (VT) Book Festival at the end of this month. I’ll be manning the League of VT Writers table again and hopefully doing some selling.

I’ve also signed up to have my book displayed at the Independent Publishers of New England table at the Boston Book Festival in October. As a member of the IPNE, I get to have my book listed in their catalog as well as having it on their table for thousands of people to see. It’s a great opportunity to get the book out there, even if I’m not there in person.

In November, I’m scheduled to participate in my local artists’ guild’s craft show, and in two weeks I’ll be back at the local Farmer’s Market for their craft day. All the towns around me have Farmer’s Markets, so I’ve been checking out the possibilities there, too.

This morning I signed an agreement with the book distributor of my local Kinney Drugs to display my books in the Milton store. I had noticed in the past that they’ve had VT author books on their counter and asked if they would stock mine. They said yes!

And best of all — thanks to Cherie Reich’s September IWSG post, I learned about the Readers’ Favorite book review site. I submitted my book for review the next day and received my review yesterday. Now I get to display this on my site!

Link to Review

Whoo, hoo! I’m still happy dancing around the house!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

September 2, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Book Two Blues

I’ve been trying to finish the final edits on Book 2: Trouble By Any Other Name, but the past month or two, I haven’t accomplished nearly as much as I wanted to. Summer was just too busy. Now that the kids are back in school, I’m hoping I can pick up the pace.

Sometimes I worry if I’ll lose the small audience I have if this second book is delayed beyond the six-month time frame in which I’d hoped to publish it. I’m hoping readers will still be interested when it finally does come out.

But then I worry, what if they read it and don’t like it? What if they think it’s not as good as the first one? I know it’s pointless to worry, but sometimes I can’t help it.

How many others out there worry about these things?

August 5, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Books Over Breakfast!

My insecurities were in full force this morning as I was driving to the local WCAX TV station to do the Books Over Breakfast interview. I didn’t know what questions the news host would ask, so I’d spent some time the night before coming up with answers to possible questions and kept running them through my head. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

I’d been told to arrive at the station by 6:30 for make-up and to talk a little bit about the interview, which was scheduled for 6:55. I arrived at 6:25 and went in to find the station deserted. It looked like no one was there. Then Gary Sadowsky, the weatherman, came out from the studio where they were filming the early morning newscast. I told him why I was there, and he said to just wait where we were (my kids were with me), and someone would come get me. We sat in the waiting area, and he went back into the studio.

I got more nervous as the minutes ticked by and no one came out. I wondered if they had forgotten about the interview. (It had originally been scheduled for next Wednesday, then changed to today.) We could see on the TV screen the newscast being filmed live. Around 6:40, a cameraman came out and brought me into the studio. He gave me a microphone to attach to my shirt and said the newscaster who would be doing the interview would be over to talk during a break in the broadcast. I asked about the make-up session. He said he didn’t know anything about that and didn’t think there was anyone there in that department.

At 6:45 or so, Eva and Ali, the newscasters introduced themselves, and Eva took about 30 seconds to run her intro and a couple of questions she’d planned to ask by me. Then they had to hurry back in front of the camera for their news wrap-up. A few minutes later, Eva led me to a nearby set with two comfortable chairs facing each other, we sat down, and were on the air live at 6:55. She did her intro and asked her questions, most of which I was prepared for.

In three minutes, we were done. She thanked me again for coming and went on to her next gig. I took off the microphone and gave it back to the cameraman. We exited through the empty lobby and drove away.

The whole thing was such a whirlwind experience. As I was driving home, I tried to replay it in my mind, but found I couldn’t remember what I’d said. The kids had watched from backstage, so I asked them how they thought it went, i.e. did I look okay, did I sound intelligent, etc. They assured me everything looked and sounded fine to them. They were happy it went well and thought it was cool to be in a TV studio.

I couldn’t wait to get home and watch the broadcast for myself. I was glad to see I didn’t look as nervous as I felt, and I was happy not to have stumbled over my words, though I did say “um” a few times. Next time won’t be nearly as hard.

But just the same — whew, I’m glad it’s over with!

Here’s a link to the interview:

WCAX Books Over Breakfast!

March 4, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — I Did It!

After so many years of working on my book, it’s finally published! There’ve been snags and setbacks along the way, including a major formatting snafu with the e-book on release day, but I’m not focusing on that today. Nor am I thinking about all the insecurities that have increased a hundredfold now that my book is actually out there for all to see.

Right now, I just want to say Whoo, hoo! and Yes!! and dance around the house with glee.

On Friday, the print proof should arrive in my mailbox. I’ll get to hold the actual book in my hand, and it will finally start to sink in. I am a published author!!! Whoo, hoo! (More dancing around the house…)

And all aspiring authors take note — if I can do it, so can you. Just take that dream and make it happen. 🙂

January 7, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

IWSG — Less Than A Month Away — Aaaaaaaah!

We were asked to introduce ourselves today, so here goes. I’m a writer of fantasy adventure who lives in Vermont with my kids, two of the best teenagers ever. I’m working my way up the self-publishing mountain, and I’ve almost reached the summit, which makes me giddy — or maybe it’s just the thin air up here…

I’m planning an early February release date (my target date is the 3^rd) for my fantasy adventure novel, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, providing I can accomplish the rest of what needs to be done by that time. All the usual first-time-author insecurities are plaguing me more than ever. Sometimes I feel like I’m sitting on an over-stuffed suitcase, trying to close it, while the monsters of insecurity are trying to force their way out. I know all aspiring authors go through this, and I just need to persevere. I’ve been waiting so long for this dream to become a reality. I’m not going to let my insecurities stop me from reaching my goal of becoming a published author.

On that note, if anyone would like to help by reading e-ARCs for reviews, posting about my book on the release date, hosting me on your site with an author interview or whatever format you like, and/or sharing the news of the book’s release in other ways — Facebook, Twitter, or whooping and shouting to the rooftops (sorry, that’s what I’ll be doing 🙂 ), I’d be super grateful! Just let me know either in the comments or through the contact form, and I’ll send you whatever materials you need.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me on this journey! I know 2015 is going to be awesome!