kathrynloch
New member
Hey guys!
So sorry I've gone underground for so long. I have been absolutely swamped with this new venture and it has been taking up all my time. So I thought I'd share it with you guys.
As many of you know, I'm a published author.
View attachment 15335
I published Primal Entities: Chaos with Ravensyard, a small press publisher back in 2001. I have not been thrilled with their marketing strategies (which is to offer the book for sale on their website and Amazon - that's it) and the short blurb on the book on Amazon is wrong. But hey, I got published and it's out there available for purchase.
But from the late 90's to early '04 I was very active in the publishing world. I held various offices in my local writers guild (which was very respected in the New York publishing scene) and I had a respected NY agent I submitted manuscript after manuscript to. Unfortunately it was not to be as all of my manuscripts were rejected by the major publishing houses. I got to the point where my life was such I no longer had the mental fortitude to handle rejection after rejection so I packed my manuscripts into a box and concentrated on painting miniatures.
After my disastrous trip to Chicago, a friend here on CMON suggested I take a new look at my writing. Not long ago, I read up on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program. I must say I was intrigued. They pay royalties equal to or better than the NY publishing houses - the only thing missing is the upfront advance against future sales (which publishers are moving away from anyway - because if your book doesn't reach their sales estimations, the author has to pay back the advance). Their TOS does not lock an author into an exclusive contract unless you go with a special feature they offer - and then it's only 90 days. And readers don't have to have a Kindle to read the books. You can download it and read on your computer, phone, or tablet - and they have free apps to make everything easier if you want.
I decided why not - Amazon has already established the market - millions of readers are sitting there waiting for new books for their Kindles and computers. Plus, you can't beat the price of an e-book and I'm the one who sets it for my novels. Because I was submitting to an agent, I have about 5 completed novel length manuscripts just sitting here collecting dust. So I figured, if they're going to sit here and collect dust, they can do the exact same thing (electronically speaking) on Amazon's e-book marketplace. The only thing I have to do is format them correctly.
That's where the work comes in. The NY publishing industry is still very much a creature of the 19th century. I have to submit a manuscript that looks like it was typed on an old typewriter - font has to be Courier New 12, 1 inch margins, double-spaced, and any italics are indicated with an underline. With an e-book, I have to submit the manuscript ready for publishing to the readers and computers - a long with certain headings so folks can use their readers to jump to specific chapters. And since I don't have the second pair of eyes of my agent catching mistakes, I'm also doing an intensive line edit with each one. Wow! Talk about work. I always submit manuscripts as correct as possible but like I've always said, it's practically impossible for a writer to catch ALL of their own mistakes.
Plus, in order to have a cover other than the generic one Amazon has for their e-books, I have to find artwork (usually I find stuff using Wiki's creative commons) and make up a book cover in photoshop.
Anyway, I've made it through two complete manuscripts and they are now up for sale on Amazon! Whoo hoo!
View attachment 15336
Heart's Ransom is a medieval historical and is as accurate as I can make it. The hero, Earl Talon Montgomery is fictional but all of the battles and the political wrangling he is involved with really happened. Most people are familiar with the Magna Carta and its impact on history but many do not realize it was the Provisions of Oxford that reinforced the Magna Carta because King Henry and his son Edward Longshanks chose to ignore the earlier mandates. Without the Provisions, the Magna Carta probably would have ended up nothing more than a footnote in history.
The book for today (Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012) is offered for free as a special promotion - so get it now while you can. It's always free for Amazon prime members and $1.99 normally. When I submit these manuscripts to Amazon, they have to be approved to make sure the formatting is correct. As soon as Amazon released it, it garnered two sales right out the gate and more quickly followed. So I have been very pleased with it's performance thus far.
View attachment 15337
Whisper to a Scream is a contemporary crime novel but one with paranormal overtones. NYPD Homicide Detective Noah O'Banyon is placed as lead investigator on his first serial murder case - but good police work leads Noah to the murderer. Unfortunately an error on the search warrant allows the killer to walk and Noah is forced to resign from NYPD. Knowing more women are going to be murdered and he can do nothing to stop it, Noah moves to Petersburg, VA. But his memories of the vicious crime scenes do not fade and one night Noah is visited by apparitions of the victims demanding justice. Noah does not believe in the paranormal and fears he is going insane. He seeks out the assistance of a young professor at a the University of Virginia - one of the few university that offers classes for credit on the paranormal. But Dr. Cassandra Morgan is unwilling to investigate the case. When a local woman is found viciously murdered, Noah is horrified to learn the serial killer has followed him to Petersburg.
This is also free for Amazon Prime members and $0.99 for purchase (shorter novel, lower price).
Okay a quick note about genre - these are primarily romance novels and may not be to the taste of my guy friends on CMON. When I was writing, 60% of the mass paperback market was romance. It was (and probably still is) the largest single genre for books. Sci-fi/Fantasy, which I also love writing, was only a tiny sliver of the market and extremely difficult to get published in if you did not have a history of previous works. Because the romance industry is so huge, they are constantly screaming for new authors. So I concentrated on romance in order to hopefully get a publishing record and then move over to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. So these manuscripts are completed and ready to go except for the formatting. I wanted to get these up for sale and then I can go back and finish the fantasy novels - which are about halfway through - so not too much longer I hope!
So guys, if romance isn't your thing, I completely understand but if you would be so kind as to tell the ladies in your lives - wife, GF, mom, aunt, etc. or even buy it for them, I would really appreciate it.
The faster I can get these formatted and up for sale, the faster I can work and complete the SF/Fantasy novels you guys are going to like.
And don't worry, I'm still painting. I've got my commissions going and other projects are moving right along. So I hope you can see why I haven't been able to post a whole lot.
One last thing. I have been active on Google+ Hangouts because that doesn't take any time away from my projects. I can chat via vid/audio while I write or paint. This is a lot of fun! So if anyone wants to jump in, I'd love to hear from you guys. You don't need a webcam to chat, audio works just fine by itself - think of it like a Ventrillo chanel. If you want me to send you a hang out invite, first get a Gmail account if you don't already have one then send a message to Kathryn Loch (or PM me here, or email warhorseminiatures AT gmail DOT com) and I'll add you to my miniature painters list. That way when I'm in a Hangout, I can send you an invitation to join).
Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately!!! Thanks guys! I hope to see y'all in our mini painters hangouts!!!
So sorry I've gone underground for so long. I have been absolutely swamped with this new venture and it has been taking up all my time. So I thought I'd share it with you guys.
As many of you know, I'm a published author.
View attachment 15335
I published Primal Entities: Chaos with Ravensyard, a small press publisher back in 2001. I have not been thrilled with their marketing strategies (which is to offer the book for sale on their website and Amazon - that's it) and the short blurb on the book on Amazon is wrong. But hey, I got published and it's out there available for purchase.
But from the late 90's to early '04 I was very active in the publishing world. I held various offices in my local writers guild (which was very respected in the New York publishing scene) and I had a respected NY agent I submitted manuscript after manuscript to. Unfortunately it was not to be as all of my manuscripts were rejected by the major publishing houses. I got to the point where my life was such I no longer had the mental fortitude to handle rejection after rejection so I packed my manuscripts into a box and concentrated on painting miniatures.
After my disastrous trip to Chicago, a friend here on CMON suggested I take a new look at my writing. Not long ago, I read up on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program. I must say I was intrigued. They pay royalties equal to or better than the NY publishing houses - the only thing missing is the upfront advance against future sales (which publishers are moving away from anyway - because if your book doesn't reach their sales estimations, the author has to pay back the advance). Their TOS does not lock an author into an exclusive contract unless you go with a special feature they offer - and then it's only 90 days. And readers don't have to have a Kindle to read the books. You can download it and read on your computer, phone, or tablet - and they have free apps to make everything easier if you want.
I decided why not - Amazon has already established the market - millions of readers are sitting there waiting for new books for their Kindles and computers. Plus, you can't beat the price of an e-book and I'm the one who sets it for my novels. Because I was submitting to an agent, I have about 5 completed novel length manuscripts just sitting here collecting dust. So I figured, if they're going to sit here and collect dust, they can do the exact same thing (electronically speaking) on Amazon's e-book marketplace. The only thing I have to do is format them correctly.
That's where the work comes in. The NY publishing industry is still very much a creature of the 19th century. I have to submit a manuscript that looks like it was typed on an old typewriter - font has to be Courier New 12, 1 inch margins, double-spaced, and any italics are indicated with an underline. With an e-book, I have to submit the manuscript ready for publishing to the readers and computers - a long with certain headings so folks can use their readers to jump to specific chapters. And since I don't have the second pair of eyes of my agent catching mistakes, I'm also doing an intensive line edit with each one. Wow! Talk about work. I always submit manuscripts as correct as possible but like I've always said, it's practically impossible for a writer to catch ALL of their own mistakes.
Plus, in order to have a cover other than the generic one Amazon has for their e-books, I have to find artwork (usually I find stuff using Wiki's creative commons) and make up a book cover in photoshop.
Anyway, I've made it through two complete manuscripts and they are now up for sale on Amazon! Whoo hoo!
View attachment 15336
Heart's Ransom is a medieval historical and is as accurate as I can make it. The hero, Earl Talon Montgomery is fictional but all of the battles and the political wrangling he is involved with really happened. Most people are familiar with the Magna Carta and its impact on history but many do not realize it was the Provisions of Oxford that reinforced the Magna Carta because King Henry and his son Edward Longshanks chose to ignore the earlier mandates. Without the Provisions, the Magna Carta probably would have ended up nothing more than a footnote in history.
The book for today (Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012) is offered for free as a special promotion - so get it now while you can. It's always free for Amazon prime members and $1.99 normally. When I submit these manuscripts to Amazon, they have to be approved to make sure the formatting is correct. As soon as Amazon released it, it garnered two sales right out the gate and more quickly followed. So I have been very pleased with it's performance thus far.
View attachment 15337
Whisper to a Scream is a contemporary crime novel but one with paranormal overtones. NYPD Homicide Detective Noah O'Banyon is placed as lead investigator on his first serial murder case - but good police work leads Noah to the murderer. Unfortunately an error on the search warrant allows the killer to walk and Noah is forced to resign from NYPD. Knowing more women are going to be murdered and he can do nothing to stop it, Noah moves to Petersburg, VA. But his memories of the vicious crime scenes do not fade and one night Noah is visited by apparitions of the victims demanding justice. Noah does not believe in the paranormal and fears he is going insane. He seeks out the assistance of a young professor at a the University of Virginia - one of the few university that offers classes for credit on the paranormal. But Dr. Cassandra Morgan is unwilling to investigate the case. When a local woman is found viciously murdered, Noah is horrified to learn the serial killer has followed him to Petersburg.
This is also free for Amazon Prime members and $0.99 for purchase (shorter novel, lower price).
Okay a quick note about genre - these are primarily romance novels and may not be to the taste of my guy friends on CMON. When I was writing, 60% of the mass paperback market was romance. It was (and probably still is) the largest single genre for books. Sci-fi/Fantasy, which I also love writing, was only a tiny sliver of the market and extremely difficult to get published in if you did not have a history of previous works. Because the romance industry is so huge, they are constantly screaming for new authors. So I concentrated on romance in order to hopefully get a publishing record and then move over to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. So these manuscripts are completed and ready to go except for the formatting. I wanted to get these up for sale and then I can go back and finish the fantasy novels - which are about halfway through - so not too much longer I hope!
So guys, if romance isn't your thing, I completely understand but if you would be so kind as to tell the ladies in your lives - wife, GF, mom, aunt, etc. or even buy it for them, I would really appreciate it.
The faster I can get these formatted and up for sale, the faster I can work and complete the SF/Fantasy novels you guys are going to like.
And don't worry, I'm still painting. I've got my commissions going and other projects are moving right along. So I hope you can see why I haven't been able to post a whole lot.One last thing. I have been active on Google+ Hangouts because that doesn't take any time away from my projects. I can chat via vid/audio while I write or paint. This is a lot of fun! So if anyone wants to jump in, I'd love to hear from you guys. You don't need a webcam to chat, audio works just fine by itself - think of it like a Ventrillo chanel. If you want me to send you a hang out invite, first get a Gmail account if you don't already have one then send a message to Kathryn Loch (or PM me here, or email warhorseminiatures AT gmail DOT com) and I'll add you to my miniature painters list. That way when I'm in a Hangout, I can send you an invitation to join).
Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately!!! Thanks guys! I hope to see y'all in our mini painters hangouts!!!
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