The Year Ahead

Our subject for this week: 

 Tell us your future: What does your writing life look like for the upcoming year? (Book releases, WIP’s, retreats, cons, signings, etc.)

  Well,  as always, the future looks busy and bright. I have many, many plans, or as I have always liked to say, i'm spinning a lot of plates. The catch is to keep them all going. 

On the novel fro t I have to finish THE warbORN, which is the last scheduled SEVEN FORGES novel. I'm already at work on a collaborative novel with my co-writing companion, Charles Rutledge, and I have three novellas scheduled to finish this year, plus at least five short stories. You can add into that plans for at least  two anthologies that I am editing or co-editing, 

I like to stay busy.

Did I mention I have a day job with a one-hour commute each way?

I'm not sure if I'll be going to any actual conventions in these times of plague, but there are plans for at least a couple of virtual cons to keep me busy, I'll be attending Boskone via the internet in February and others are at various stages of finalization.

Times are weird and that's all I can do for now, but, as always, I  have a hard time saying "No" to anything, so there are endless possibilities.

The Year Ahead

 

This week's topic is Tell Us Your Future: What does your writing life look like for the upcoming year? (Events, signings, releases, etc.)

Book Releases: I have a new novel coming in August: book two in the Witch Walker trilogy, City of Ruin. I'm really excited for readers to continue Raina and Alexus's story. I also feel like I know more of what to expect this time with release frenzy, and to not schedule ANYTHING but promotional duties in August ;)

I'm also hoping to publish Silver Heart, my historical paranormal romance novella soon (2/15). It has a gorgeous new cover, and I'm expanding the story a little. This novella will act as a free lead magnet for The Witch Collector.

WIP's: I would LOVE to find time to work on a couple passion projects in 2022, though I still have A Gods' War (book three in the Witch Walker trilogy) to write. Still, I have three stories I'm itching to delve into. Two already have many chapters written, while the other is still stewing in my head, but I'm excited about all three.

Events/Signings/Cons/Writing Retreats: Honestly, I haven't gotten into the swing of things with public events yet. I have one book signing slated in Nashville for 2022, in June. That's UTOPiA Con. I'm still a little wary thanks to Covid. But, I might end up booking a few more signings, so we'll see. I think I'd like to focus more on 2023 events/signings/cons since I'll have the first two books of the trilogy out and the third will be on the way.

As for retreats, I sometimes head to the Smoky Mountains with a writing friend in the fall, and that might happen again this year. I also found a local retreat location, The Rockvale Writer's Colony here in Middle TN. They take applications for residencies, and it's a very affordable week or two away. I went there last year to finish The Witch Collector, and it was absolutely amazing. Having nothing else to think about except for writing was a game changer. It's a huge farm, with hiking trails and a big old house, along with separate cabins like The Granary. I hope to return this year. 

Author Endeavors:  I didn't expect, as an author, to need an Etsy store, but here we are ;) I get so many requests for signed books and swag, so I'm currently creating my store and hoping to have it stocked soon. It will be a work-in-progress as more items come in to the shop like art prints, magnetic bookmarks, candles, etc. And I'm excited. I love book swag so much, and knowing that readers want The Witch Collector swag is pretty epic.

Editor Projects: I've slowed down on editing tasks. I'm currently finishing the edit for On These Wicked Shores by Katherine Quinn, which releases in May. I have a couple other clients scheduled to turn in drafts for edits this year too, so we'll see how that goes!

I think that's it! It isn't much, but it will undoubtedly keep me extremely busy.

Are you attending any fun reader/bookish events this year? If you know of any in the Tennessee/mid-south area that I need to attend, let me know :)

For now, happy reading!

~ Charissa

Persistence On My Mind

On my mind today: this gal on the right who turned 19 on Thursday. She is the picture of persistence. She ached to be the queen of the household for so many years of her life. I honestly didn't know if she'd ever get to rule the roost. Erie held the position for most of Cuillean's life. When Erie died, Hatshepsut inherited the crown. Then Hatshepsut ceded her rulership to Cuillean just before dying unexpectedly. Cuillean is the undisputed queen of her domain at long last. Even if she's deaf as a post and drags one fore leg when she walks. Hobbles. Whatever. She keeps on. 

I'm doing my best to learn from her example. 

The other thing occupying my mind is a meme someone posted to a Facebook group. It hits kinda hard and I haven't gotten it out of my head for a few days, so I'm going to install it in yours and you can ponder (or wonder why humans are so intrinsically broken - whatever works) with me.

 

On My Mind: A Fork in the Publishing Road

It's 2022, year of the tiger, it's—well. It's that time I've earmarked for stepping back into the publishing game. Which means...it's time to make a spreadsheet! 

When I started writing, my goal was traditional publishing due to time constraints from the day job. Then my chronic disease showed up and I traded in the lab career for my health and continued to pursue traditional publishing due to health constraints. But now that things are settling down, and I’m easing myself back into a writing routine, things are different. 

I read a lot last year and for once I paid attention to who published the books AND how had I found out about the book. 

68% of my reading list was published by the Big 5 (Penguin/Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan). Mostly via their imprints which produce certain genres, like Orbit who is a Sci-fi Fantasy imprint that’s owned by Hachette. I read 9 books from Orbit. 32% of last years’ reads were from small presses or self-published. 

Spreadsheets are fun! But what I found even more interesting was how I found these books. 

• Middle Grade Book (I read to my kids at night—audiobook style): 6
• Found Following the Author: 11
• Part of a Series: 22
• Goodreads: 26
• Library (either on the shelf or from their newsletter): 32
• Instagram: 35

Along with reading a lot I paid attention to various authors marketing strategies and what readers responded with the most enthusiasm. Because everything boils down to what Charissa posted about: know thy readers. If you can find the readers, your book will be seen. 

Armed with spreadsheet info I now come to a fork in the road…one of life’s decisions. Which way do I go? Traditional publishing or Non-trad? It’s like playing the board-game Life and having to decide to go to college or get a job! To add to the conundrum, I write science fiction and fantasy. Do I go the same route with both works?

Things look different now, both in my capabilities and the publishing landscape. A debut author at one of the Big 5 isn’t as likely to get the marketing dollars, so I need to determine what they do bring to the table and is it worth the gamble that my work would earn enough to be considered a successful ROI in their books. A debut with a smaller press would bring different expectations, both with what they provide and what they consider a success. And again, it all comes down to where are the readers.

It’s time to weigh the pros and cons of trad publishing against non-trad. I need to determine what I want to control, how much I can handle, and what I want someone else to tackle. And it might end up being different paths for sci-fi and fantasy.

Are any of you writers debating which path to take with your work? Are any of you writers out there happy with the road you did travel?

Learning to Love the Winter Garden

 

Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is, verbatim, On Your Mind (Winter).

So, I'm posting a photo I took this morning from the winter garden. We've had a mild winter, and the secret garden is walled and makes a protected microclimate, so I actually have a winter garden. 

Some of you may know that I love to garden. I mention it in interviews when I'm asked what I do that isn't reading or writing. Gardening is a big piece. It sounds like a small thing when I say it, but nurturing a garden, planning it, spending time in it, all shape how I live. 

I became interested in the concept of a winter garden back when I lived in Wyoming and winters were so very bleak. The idea is to plan a garden with the entire season in mind. It's easier to envision the spring flowers, the midsummer lushness, adding in the plants that bloom in the autumn, but thinking toward the largely leafless winter is a different kind of vision. What plants bring visual interest in their starker, hibernating states? What offers spots of color in a more monochromatic landscape? 

Part of the trick is loving the winter garden for what it is, not trying to replicate the garden of warmer seasons.

I think this is a metaphor for a great deal in our lives, as gardens tend to be.

On My Mind: Incorporating Accessibility Challenges into World Building

On my mind this week: the real-world challenges for people with declining physical ability and how to incorporate that into fictional-world and character building to enhance stories while planting seeds in readers' minds that may carry outside the story to make small gains in the real world. Representation matters, right?

There's nothing quite as heart-wrenching as living with someone whose body is steadily declining--far faster than normal aging--and witnessing society slamming doors in the person's face. As a relatively able-bodied person, there are so many things about accessibility and product design that never cross my mind. Now that my loved one's muscular degeneration disease has passed a certain threshold, their limitations can no longer be masked/hidden. Many small-to-medium modifications/adaptions would allow my loved one to continue to engage with society if adopted. Some would be (sadly) costly, while others are merely a matter of consideration. There are improvements beyond ADA building codes and standards (and yes, my voice joins the chorus already demanding that ADA minimums be required for all new builds including residential, nationwide) just waiting to happen. Here are three minor examples:

1. Restaurants, Lounges, & Waiting Rooms: Have some chairs with arms. Provide a few pub-height tables with corresponding seats 24-28inches from the floor and arms on the seats. Folks whose knees, hips, or leg muscles have gone to crap need chairs from which they can lever themselves into an upright position. That starts with seats that place their ass above their knees. 
2. Drinkware & Wherever Drinks are Served: Lightweight cups with large handles. Some folks need the added stability of a handle on their drinkware, aka a mug. Standard mugs have handles for average-sized hands that are often too small for average-sized people, much less larger-than-average folks, while oversized mugs tend to be unbalanced and heavy. "Light and large" applies to disposable cups too.
3. Slippery Surfaces: If a product is meant to be held or grabbed, stop making its surfaces slippery. From body washes to takeout containers to doorknobs, "sleek" is an exclusionary design choice. A firm grip is relative, and even the firmest hold can result in dropsies.

There are many more examples and many an article/tweet/post about accessibility challenges. A character stubbing a toe on an interior threshold built too high reads like a comedy setup, but if that character has a drop left foot and the extra beat is taken to show the emotional toll of a seemingly minor inconvenience, then...then a seed is planted. That seed might just grow into a vine of consideration that bridges fantasy and reality. 

Deadlines

 As I sit here recovering from a fall down the stairs what is on my mind are two things. first, despite a few bruises, I am damned lucky. It was a serious fall. 

Second, I have too many pending deadlines t write a proper essay today.

Have a great day!

Know Thy Reader

This week's topic is What's On Our Mind. As I sit here tonight, wondering if we'll be buried beneath snow come morning, I'm thinking about the last couple of weeks and how thankful I am for the readers who have found me over the last several months. The Witch Collector is currently approaching 700 reviews on Goodreads, and reviews sit at 200 on Amazon, with 4.13 and 4.5 ratings respectively. In just over two months. That's nothing wildly spectacular, I know, but for a small-press book from a nobody author, it's pretty damn good. I'm proud of this little-book-that-could, and so thrilled that readers are finding and loving it.

When TWC released on November 2nd, I already had a spreadsheet with goals and dates in place. I listed my current follower counts for each social media platform I use, or hoped to use (like TikTok). I included my Goodreads and Bookbub followers too, and then added Goodreads Reviews, Amazon Reviews, Newsletter Subscribers, Rebel Readers (my FB group), and Goodreads Adds (how many people add TWC to their Want to Read list). I wanted to track this growth because I planned to promote my book, and I wanted to see if my plan actually worked. 

I learned a long time ago that people can't consider purchasing/enjoying a product unless they know it exists, and unfortunately, books don't jump into readers' paths on their own. If a trad deal has been scored and the book is on the shelf at bookstores, AWESOME. If an author has a platform from being published for many years, AWESOME. If they have a platform for some other reason, that's awesome too! But if not--and sometimes even if so!--it takes some work to get a book in readers' hands and in bookish circles on social media.

I gave myself attainable goals back in October, but possibly still tough for a debut author with a small platform. It takes some consideration for a reader to invest in an author with little buzz, someone they know nothing about, and especially when their book is the first in an incomplete trilogy (ME). And yet, the goals I set have been smashed by readers, and I can see the growth of my reach and what things I did/do that equate to good sales. Data is good.

So...what did I do? Someone asked me that today, and I've been asked before. Yes, I did a couple Instagram book tours around release day, and yes I keep two to three very low-cost ads running. I also did a Goodreads Giveaway which was great visibility, and I'm now doing book giveaways on my own, paperback and ebook, because if any of those readers like my book, they might just tell someone else. I also focus on Instagram posts because that's where my readers are, and I automatically share those posts to Facebook. I'm now venturing into TikTok, so we'll see how that goes. I've been consistent with my newsletter as well, which has a solid response rate, and I connected my blog to Goodreads and Amazon.

But the main thing I've done that I feel has been crucial for me is...I know my readers. I communicate with them, and I thank them. I share their posts and comment, because I truly am thankful for them taking the time to create a reel or a TikTok or an Instagram photo or story, or to write a review. Time is invaluable, and not only did they give up some of that time to read my book but to also shout about it to their friends and followers.

I also offer them a place to come chat with me, my Rebel Readers group, and I give them special access to exclusive news and sneak peeks. They're getting a huge sneak peek in February! They also get first dibs at my books, because I offer them the opportunity to be early readers/reviewers. 

My readers have been the most amazing support system I could've asked for, shouting about The Witch Collector all over the place. They are absolute rockstars!

So that's what's on my mind tonight. From now on, when writers ask me what the trick to getting reader interest is, I'll tell them the truth:

I don't really know any tricks, but I do know my readers.

And I love them <3