Kindle Contest Starts Monday!

Yup, that’s right. =) You didn’t forget, did you? The schedule is a little bit different than “normal” due to the holidays.

I wanted to make it convenient for people and make it easier for people to participate, soooo…. we will not be doing the contest on Saturdays and Sundays, and we will not being doing the contest on Thanksgiving (US), or Black Friday (the day after US Thanksgiving). Monday through Fridays only. =) I think not doing it on the weekends is a given this time of year…we all have a lot of holiday things going on, like parties and shopping. Woo hoo!

Now, remember, in order to participate, you’ll have to post a relevant comment (No, “Hi! That’s great.”, etc.), and you’ll have to answer the scavenger hunt question. Do not post your answer in the comments! There will be a link to a form to answer the scavenger hunt question and to give me your name and address. After, I’ll need to know where to ship the preloaded Kindle, right? =) Posting you answer in the comments will cause the comment to be deleted and the commenter to be disqualified. Not just from that day, but from the entire contest. So, yeah, you don’t want to do that. =)

So without further ado, here is the schedule:

Day 1, November 16 = Leslie Dicken

Day 2, November 17 = Nicole Austin

Day 3, November 18 = Denise Belinda McDonald

Day 4, November  19 = Avery Beck

Day 5, November 20 = P.G. Forte

Day 6, November 23 = Kelly Jamieson

Day 7, November 24 = Angelle Trieste

Day 8, November 25 = Dawn Brown

Day 9, November 30 = J.K. Coi

Day 10, December 1 = Cheryel Hutton

Day 11, December 2 = Rita Oberlies

Day 12, December 3 = Kate Johnson

Day 13, December 4 = Leah Braemel

Day 14, December 7 = Deidre Knight

Day 15, December 8 = Cooper Davis

Day 16, December 9 = Kimberly Nee

Day 17, December 10 = Joely Sue Burkhart

Day 18, December 11 = T.A. Chase

Day 19, December 14 =Samantha Sommersby

Note on the Kindle Contest

In case you didn’t see my responses to the blog comments regarding this, the contest is open to those outside the US as well. =)

NaNoWriMo Time!

Now, I know you’re all busy bees this month, working on getting those 50,000 words out, right? =) And I know you’re all going to be submitting those stories in hopes your NaNoWriMo baby will be published, right? Here’s something to think about when you’re done…

After you’ve written it, gotten your story and all those words out, I know you’re going to be anxious to share it with the world. One word: DON’T!

That’s right, I said don’t. Don’t share it, don’t send it to a publisher. Let it sit for a little bit and then go over it again with a fresh eye. You should do this with everything you write, but especially with your NaNo story, since those are written so fast and you don’t have the time to plot and characterize. And then, once you’ve gone over it with a fresh eye, send it to your critique partner or beta reader.

Just like with anything else, it’s important that you put your best foot forward when you submit to a publisher and attempt to share your story with the world. You always want to send it the most polished, perfect manuscript you can. We editors like to see that. There’s nothing that will get you rejected faster than sending in a sloppy manuscript. You can have the best story in the world, but presentation is always very important. Always. Remember, you’re not the only one out there with a great story to share. =)

Beat the cold and curl up with a Kindle!

Well, it’s pretty much time to officially say good bye to warmer weather and hello to the cold, wind and snow. Yuck! I’d much rather say hello to my pajamas, a fire, my comfy fleece blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book to read. Kind of like hibernation, only for bookworms. Well, we’re giving you the opportunity to do just that! Some of my authors and I have gotten together to coordinate a Kindle giveaway for you guys. That’s right, we’re giving away a Kindle, preloaded with a book from each participating author. How awesome is that!
 
Each day, starting November 16, I’ll be posting Holiday themed interviews with the authors, where you’ll get to learn interesting little tidbits about some of your favorites. And if you have any questions you’d like answered, feel free to post them in the comments for this post! I’ll be collecting your comments and questions until October 30, when I’ll then write up my questions for the authors.

In order to enter, all you’ll have to do is post a comment regarding that day’s author, and answer a scavenger hunt question for that author. All answers must be sent to tera@samhainpublishing.com and all post comments must be relevant. Which means, no comments of “Hi, So-and-so. Great post!” will be accepted. You must put forth the effort. =)

Stay tuned for a list of authors and the dates they’ll be on here!

Busy busy busy

Yes, once again, I’ve been a bad bad blogger. But I’ve been soooo busy lately. My EDJ is changing, so I’ve had a lot on my mind with all of the new things I’ve had to learn, and I’ve been working on pulling ahead in editing. Plus, I’ve been arranging a special promo contest I’ll be holding here on my blog with a bunch of my authors in November. So keep an eye out for that one, because it’s got a great big awesome prize that we’re giving away. Trust me, you won’t want to miss out on it. =)

Things I learned…

At the Samhain Editor Retreat in Hilton Head Island, SC.

1. I’ve always thought that everyone at Samhain was awesome, but now that I’ve met everyone in person, I think everyone is even more awesome. =)

2. Hilton Head Island is gorgeous.

3. Savannah is the most beautiful city I think I’ve been to, and River Walk is the coolest place ever.

4. Jimmy is freakin’ hilarious!!

5. Jacob wears barrettes in his bears. No, really.

6. Never leave two foreigners (Heidi Moore and Imogen Howsen) alone in Savannah when you go on a ghost tour. They can and will get horribly lost.

7. Sitting the middle of the very back seat of a Jeep Commander for an hour is miserable. Just ask Amanda Brashear. She understands.

8. When you still all the the Samhain editors, Crissy, Marty and Amanda in a room, sex is sure to come up and be discussed many many times.

9. Crissy is THE greatest boss EVER.

10. I don’t think I like the cockroaches everywhere on the streets and such. LOL

Form rejections

I’ve heard a lot of grumbling in general regarding form letters. And it’s one of those grumbles that’s pretty constant and I think it always will be. It’s just “one of those things”. I see agents, authors, aspiring authors and publishers alike talk about it. (No, you’re not pre-published. Someone please make this term go away.)

The problem I run into, when I see these things, is that the author grumbles about a form letter on a blog or forum, and then grumbles about the feedback they do get. Hmmm… anyone see where I’m going with this? Anyone? Many publishers, such as Samhain, have been forced to move to using form rejection letters for that exact reason.

When I first started with Samhain a few years ago, it was a no-no to use a form rejection. Yes, we were able to every once in a while, but that was usually because we really had no feedback to give. Sometimes there really isn’t anything wrong with a book, per se, it just isn’t our cup of tea. And you’ll have that EVERYWHERE. It’s just part of this business. But it was expected of us to fairly evaluate a submission and give the author feedback as to why the manuscript didn’t work for us and what we suggested they work on.

There have been authors who have posted rejection letters and then picked them apart to point out how wrong the publisher is. (An aside…posting a rejection letter at all is pretty unprofessional. And yes, we look at potential authors websites and blogs. Unprofessionalism can and will cost you a contract. There’s always another book down the line just as good as yours, if not better.)

And after all of this, people grumble about getting a form rejection. Do I need to spell this one out? Publishers give form rejections because authors force us to. It’s really as simple as that. When we get negative feedback about our feedback on a manuscript, that means we’re not going to put the effort into a detailed rejection. Contrary to what many may think, a detailed rejection letter isn’t a snap to sit down and do. It takes a lot of time, thought and effort. And if we’re getting negative feedback in return, it’s a lot easier and quicker for us to send off a form letter.

Just some food for thought.

And no, I had no particular authors or publishers in my mind when writing this. It’s just a general post.

Writing Erotic/Red Hot Romance

1. Just because you put a bunch of sex in a manuscript does not make it Red Hot. Not even close. There are so many things that go into this, I’m not even going to go there at this moment.

2. Having your heroine getting herself off in the first chapter, with in hours of meeting the hero for the first time….usually a big turn off for the editor. I’ve only seen this done successfully once or twice…and never in a  book that I have contracted, and usually in novellas. And even then, she’s normally previously known the hero and has always had a thing for him…or something like that.

3. Wanting erotic and red hot material does not mean we want a story all about sex. As a matter of fact, it never means we want a story all about sex. Some publishers may go for that, but Samhain doesn’t. Yes, we’re all about the story, but a bunch of sex does not a story make. We still need the passion, the chemistry, the great plot and characters… We need the whole shebang.

4. No, it’s not porn. ‘Nuff said.

5. For the love of God and all that is holy…do not ever put “MMMMmrrrrppphhhhhhhh,” she moaned…or anything even remotely like that in your book. I read a book like this from another epub that had that all over it. Maybe a couple of Hmmm and Mmms…A COUPLE…but seeing ones like my first example makes me want to utter many expletives and unless the rest of your sotry wowed me a million percent, you won’t be a getting an offer of a contract.

6. I think I am going back to the porn thing. Everytime I hear someone use that word and my mss/authors in the same sentence, I get flamed. Some of the best manuscripts I’ve contracted have had little sex in them, and aren’t even close to being Red Hot.

7. Erotic romance and Red Hot romance aren’t the same things. Erotic doesn’t have an HEA between the main characters. Think more like sexual exploration. Most people label their work as erotic and it’s really not.

I’m going away!!

You guys have heard me mention Hilton Head Island once or twice, right? Well, I leave Saturday morning, and I won’t be back in boring old Indiana until Thursday evening. I’m going to try and post some blogs while I’m out, since I’m taking my laptop with me, and I just may even have some pictures, but if I don’t get around to it, I guess you’ll just have to deal with it. =) I have some thoughts floating through my brain right now, so I just might type them up and set them to post while I’m gone in order to keep my loyal minions, I mean followers, from going through Tera withdrawls. I’ve seen firsthand just how horrific that can be, and the last thing I want to do is put any of you through that.

New Resolution

So, from now on, I’m going to be my normal, blunt self on here. =) Yep, that’s right. I’ve kept a pretty tight lid on my mouth, and no I’m not talking about swearing, and I think I’m going to let all of my abrasive opinions fly free. LMAO

So don’t be surprised if you see a lot of stuff in the same tone as my last post about screaming. =)