About Ladyhawk Baggins, as suggested by SE Updated...

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Since Strange Elf suggested it, I thought I'd start it.

What I'm up to now, as of 22 July 2014:

Latest book was published in eformat, yesterday. Paperbacks will be available as of next month, some time. Woohoo!

I've signed up to be a featured author, 1 of 27, at the Arizona Dreamin' Conference, in 2015. Announcing here, first, with my family.

[Strange Elf]

Fantastic!

Congratulations on the book front. Your talent will spread aborad. I am so happy for you.

I look forward to your updates.

[bregotamer]

Congratulations, Ladyhawk!!!

[daughter_of_kings]

Congrats, Ladyhawk!

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Thanks Strange Elf, bregotamer, and DoK!

[yaralindi]

Well done, Ladyhawk!!

I once thought of becoming a published author, but kept running into road blocks that eventually stopped me from trying. I used to send out 2-3 short stories per month. I even got a couple of them into print, but the effort really didn't seem to be worth the rewards. I'm very glad you are finding success in following that dream.

Any thoughts on how electronic publishing is changing the industry? When I was doing it, you got stories published in magazines until one of the big name publishers was satisfied and agreed to publish one of your books. Is electronic publishing just another type of "magazine" that gets you noticed by publishers or is the industry evolving away from print publishers controlling everything?

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Yaralindi, it's a whole new world.

Financially, I'm not particularly successful. I'm endeavoring to not beat myself up over that. I remind myself that my first book was published only 2 years ago, this coming August. I'm a virtual unknown.

I'll share briefly what I know as an author published through a small publisher and self-published through Kindle.

Ebooks are 40% of the market and seems to be holding there. Not too long ago, everyone was saying that ebooks would push paper out of the market. They're learning that isn't true. All my books will be published in paperback, next month. Some people prefer paperback, still. I'm one of them.

I queried first with Harlequin. I'm very grateful it didn't work out. An indie author friend steered me toward Desert Breeze Publishing, which is a small publisher. Their overall company mission suited me much better. They handle my full-length novels, Endless Possibilities and The Silver Locket Sisterhood.

Last year, I developed an idea for a series of novellas, Holiday, USA. They were too short for my publisher, so I decided to do it myself through Kindle. It's easy to do, which doesn't mean everyone should do it. I have my own editor and cover artist. I'm not looking forward to putting the novellas out as a single paperback at the end of the year only because I hate the nitpicking formatting.

A few indie authors are noticed by the Big 6, but that's only because they sell a lot of books, like millions. It's reached the point where the only advantage to being published by a Big 6 is being able to have your book in a brick and mortar bookstore. Some independent bookstores also work with indie authors.

The problem evolving for the Big 6 is that they're only willing to go with a "sure" thing, which means they have set formulas. This excludes anything fresh. The authors still have to do their own advertising, unless you're one of their big names.

Many of my writing friends advise acquiring an agent. Most of the Big 6 will not accept manuscripts from anyone but an agent. I knew my novels didn't fit the expected formula, so never considered an agent.

Hope that helps.

[yaralindi]

Thanks for the info, Ladyhawk. I'm getting pretty much the same information from some of the big names but their experiences are tinged by being able to pick up the phone and get one of the Big6 to hand them an advance for another book. When I was trying to break into the game, I went to a lot of classes and seminars put on by the big names in Science Fiction. I also sent a lot of stories to the Writers of the Future contest, which got me invites to the awards ceremonies where I met many more. I still swap emails with several of them, including Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven.

Jerry, with the help of some technical types, has published most of his old stuff in eformat on Amazon and is enjoying the uptick in revenues from things he thought long past the point of making him money. He's one of those who thinks ebooks can only get bigger and will eventually close the Big6. Like you, I'm not so sure.

I read everything in ebook format today because it's simply easier for me. I prefer paper, but with my left side still partially paralyzed I can't hold a book and turn the pages at the same time. My iPad lets me prop up the "book" in front of me and flip the pages with one hand. It also remembers where I am when I go to my room to read on my computer monitor. Dee still won't read ebooks. She buys everything in paperback and if she likes it enough, in hardback for our library.

Maybe its time to pull out my word processor and try my hand at story telling again. That's one reason I turned to painting. I can tell a story in my art on canvas. I still jot down scenes from stories I'd like to write, but not being able to publish kind of took the steam out of my desire to see my stories on a sheet of paper. I'll have to think on both since doing either is tough with 1.5 hands.

I look forward to seeing what you put in this thread. I'm still thinking about what I'd like to put in a thread of my own. I just don't think I'm that interesting that folks would want to know how many canvases I messed up today or how many times I restarted chapter 3 of a new book.

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Several of my writing friends use digital records that will download to their computer. Others use Dragon Speak or a variation thereof. There are also companies popping up that will format your manuscript for you.

I love my Kindle for trying new authors. ebooks are less expensive and often free. When I find an author I love, then I buy in paperback. My complaint with Kindle is my paperback has never "frozen" and never needs recharging.

Of course, I'm also speaking from the Romance genre. I have friends who have self-published or used a small publisher in Sci-Fi and admit the community is different.

I've watched the battle between those who use the Big6 and indie authors. The Big6 does have the advantage of being established and of having vetted editors. However, I've seen a lot more errors in the Big6 books, so I'm not so sure how that's much of an advantage. The Big6 is actually down to 5, I believe, as of last month. Amazon (Kindle - ebook and CreateSpace - paperback) is giving them a serious run for their money.

[DoctorGamgee]

I am currently re-reading Game of Thrones series (to remind myself of the written story--armed with the faces of the show). But afterward, I shall be checking yours out!!!

Yay! Congratulations!

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Thanks, Doc! Though I should probably mention I write Christian Romance. I have a free short story available at Desert Breeze Publishing as a pdf you can download to your computer. I like being able to test the waters for free.

http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/e ... ities-pdf/

Yes, you have to go through the steps of buying it, but there's no charge for it.

[DoctorGamgee]

I found Blackbirch Woods interesting. If it has a good story, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

What an intriguing idea that book explores.

[DoctorGamgee]

So which will I enjoy more? Silver Locket series or Possibilities series?

And I thought so too. A friend of mine on a fantasy series board wrote it. I'll have to remember to tell her I enjoyed it.

[Ladyhawk Baggins]

Possibilities is sort of inspired by Frodo and Lily and my love for Regency romance. A few people have said it's Jane Austen-ish. The series starts, in 1816, with Elizabeth Thorn, a young woman who is "sold" to the new neighbor, Jonathan Silverton, as a wife. The following books are the stories of her brothers, Matthew, James, and Benjamin. The free short story "Impossibilities" is tied to this series. I never planned the series to be longer than three, maybe four, books. Secondary characters showed up, who needed their own stories, so four more are coming.

Silver Locket is vintage. It starts in 1983, with "Luck in Love," which is the first book I started writing separate from Frodo and Lily's story. Sara Budge goes to Yellowstone to work for the summer and meets photographer Luck Williams. The next book is about Luck's sister, Grace. The third is about one of Sara's friends, Lisa. The fourth follows Becki's story, who makes a brief appearance in the first book and is friends with Lisa. The Silver Locket series has five books in it. I'm writing the last one now. I actually took pivotal points in my life and asked "What if?" What if things had turned out differently.

I've endeavored to write each book as a stand alone read, but the books share characters.