Life after Five Star, by Susan Oleksiw

 On January 19, 2016, I posted a piece entitled The End of the Five Star Mystery Line. Over fifteen hundred people read it, and even now I get comments about it. Well, it's almost two years later, and I was wondering how my fellow Stars have fared over the previous months. So I asked. And they responded. I hope reading their replies will be inspiring (and edifying) for everyone.

Two things struck me. First, the writers have been busy and productive, finding ways to continue a beloved series or begin a new one.  Second, several mentioned how much they enjoyed being part of the Five Star family, and staying in touch with other Five Star authors. I hope that will continue also. The publishing world is indeed chaotic, but we seem to have survived the upheaval. I have trimmed the responses for the sake of space.

From Marilyn Clay

Since my final Five Star novel was published in 2012, I sold two
novels to Mayfair Mysteries (a now defunct publisher) titled: BETSY
ROSS: ACCIDENTAL SPY and STALKING A KILLER. Then, The Regency Plume
Press imprint published a new Regency Romance novel of mine titled:
THE WRONG MISS FAIRFAX. In addition, I started the Juliette Abbott Regency-set Mystery Series: MURDER AT MORLAND MANOR, MURDER IN MAYFAIR, and MURDER AT MARGATE. All titles are available everywhere online in both trade
paperback and E-book formats. I am currently writing Book 4 in my Juliette Abbott Regency-set
Mystery series, MURDER AT MEDLEY PARK, scheduled for release in
mid-2018.

From Nancy Cohen

I am indie publishing my Bad Hair Day mysteries under my Orange Grove Press imprint. So far I’ve done HAUNTED HAIR NIGHTS, a novella, and HAIR BRAINED, #14 in the series. HAIR BRAINED was published in Sept. 2017 and is available in ebook formats at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Google Play. The trade paperback edition is available via CreateSpace and IngramSpark. I’ve already finished TRIMMED TO DEATH, the next book in this series. I’m also reissuing all my backlist titles in romance and mystery, and hope to expand my WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY instructional guide. Three of my Bad Hair Day mysteries are in audiobook, and I’m scheduled to start the fourth one with my narrator in January.

From Jen J. Danna

I'm still publishing with Kensington and the second book of the FBI K-9s series (BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE) has just come out, with the third, STORM RISING, due out next fall. I'm self publishing the next book in what was Five Star's Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries series, LAMENT THE COMMON BONES, on November 21 in trade paperback and ebook. I'm also reformatting all the previous Five Star hardcovers of Abbott and Lowell to release in trade paperback through CreateSpace. Then, as the ebook rights revert to me, I'll be releasing those too, starting next year. I've also got some new projects on the horizon, but that will become clearer next year.

From Alice Duncan

I’ve been publishing my most popular series (which means it isn’t awfully popular) with ePublishingWorks. They make you pay, but they’re the first publisher I’ve ever had who has actually made money for me. So it works for me. I’ve self-pubbed the rest of my backlist for Kindle and Nook via Smashwords.

From Lisa Lieberman

I had finished the second book in my series when Five Star pulled the plug on their mystery line. I LOVE this series and was not willing to let it go. I approached several agents, but none of them were optimistic. I decided to publish it myself, using the same cover designer and formatting team that Five Star used (Encircle). This enabled me to keep my brand. I set myself up as a publisher (DBA as Passport Press), sent out proper ARCS to various review outlets, and succeeded in getting reviewed by LIBRARY JOURNAL. I've been experimenting with various promotional activities but I'm launched and well into writing book three.  

From Carole Price

VINEYARD PREY, third in my Shakespeare in the Vineyard series, was released October 21 by Black Opal Books. Currently, I'm working on a new cozy series not yet named.

From Jacqueline Seewald

From 2007 to 2016, Five Star published seven of my novels in hardcover editions, some of which were also published in large print. Perfect Crime published the 4th novel in my Kim Reynolds mystery series, the first three having been published by Five Star. I recently wrote a sequel to another novel that was originally published by Five Star to excellent reviews--DEATH LEGACY. The sequel, DEATH PROMISE, will be published in April 2018 by Encircle, a publisher that is eager to work with former Five Star/Gale/Cengage authors. THE BURNING by J. P. Seewald is available for pre-order, publication date: November 8, 2017. I hope to interest new readers and keep the fans of my prior Five Star novels.

From Sheri Cobb South

I’m continuing with the John Pickett mystery series under the Sonatina Press imprint. (Which is actually, well, me.) Because the books are no longer with Five Star, they’re in a more affordable trade paperback edition instead of hardcover, and they’re available in all electronic formats, rather than Kindle only. The first of these, FOR DEADER OR WORSE (aka John Pickett Mystery #6) was released last spring, and Book 7, MYSTERY LOVES COMPANY, will be out in January.  Print rights to Book 3, FAMILY PLOT, just reverted back to me, so it will soon be available in paperback, too. I’m also releasing the John Pickett series in audio. Finally, I’m having new covers—featuring custom artwork!--designed for my Regency romance THE WEAVER TAKES A WIFE and its sequels. And they’re gorgeous!

From Patricia Stoltey

I just happened to have an old manuscript that fit Five Star's Frontier Fiction line so I polished it up and sent it in. WISHING CASWELL DEAD will be released December 20, 2017. It's set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. My current WIP is a suspense standalone. One of these days I'll be submitting it to agents and editors to see if I can find a new home for contemporary crime. I'm too lazy to indie publish.

From Maggie Toussaint

Right away I scrambled and found a new publisher, Camel Press. They picked up my ongoing Dreamwalker Mystery Series, with a two-book contract with an option for the next book. DADGUMMIT, book 4 in the series came out in August, and CONFOUND IT is due out June 2018. I’m very grateful to them for their belief in my storytelling and look forward to a continuing association with them. As a way to expand my readership, I’ve embarked on writing anthology novellas to fill in the space between yearly book releases. This effort has put me in contact with like-minded authors and I’m reaping benefits in backlist sales.

From Leslie Wheeler

Encircle will publish my new mystery RATTLESNAKE HILL, the first in a new series set in a Berkshire hilltown.

And what about me? I wrote and rewrote and rewrote again the first in a new series, and today I sign and return the contract. Midnight Ink will publish three books in a series set in the Pioneer Valley, featuring Felicity O'Brien.  The first, BELOW THE TREE LINE, is scheduled for fall 2018.

Publishing and Its Vagaries by Susan Oleksiw

About a year ago those of us who publish with Five Star learned that things were changing. I thought this meant the end of the Anita Ray series, and wasn’t sure if I could continue it with another publisher. To my surprise, I sold the two books in the series to Harlequin, for their worldwide mystery club. The Wrath of Shiva came out in mass market paperback on November 1.

The Anita Ray series is an object lesson in the vagaries and subjectivity of publishing. When I began writing the series, I struggled with defining the lead character, Anita, and her setting, Hotel Delite. I wanted the mix of Indian and non-Indian people because even in villages I encountered variety and extremes in population. Anita emerged in a short story I sold to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. “A Murder Made in India” appeared in October 2003.

I had trouble selling the first book, wrote another, and after a while sent that to Tekno/Five Star. Then came the fireworks. Marty Greenberg, co-founder with Ed Gorman, had medical problems, and his wife, Roz, took over. She bought the manuscript. Then he died and she fought for control of the company.

Through changes in editors, Five Star took three more Anita Ray mss. Harlequin bought the first, Under the Eye of Kali, for their worldwide mystery line but turned down the second one. I kept writing, and then as editors changed again and again at Harlequin, I decided to try another Anita Ray. I sent in the third book in the series, For the Love of Parvati. The editor inquired politely, “It looks like there’s another one in the series before this. Can we see that one too?” I sent in The Wrath of Shiva. Yes, the one turned down earlier. The editor bought both titles.

I don’t yet have a pub date for the third book, but I look forward to another gorgeous cover. And in a few months, I hope to interest Harlequin in the fourth Anita Ray, When Krishna Calls.

The point of all this is to remind myself and other writers that there is no order or sense or logic to publishing. Editors make subjective decisions every day over every manuscript even when they think they’re being rational and logical and calculating the odds on sales. Whenever I think about this I could feel better or worse, but mostly I feel the door is still open. I don’t know what will happen to the Anita Ray series, but I know there is still opportunity out there.

The fourth Anita Ray story, When Krishna Calls, has drawn a few four and five star reviews and seems to be doing well. It is the only book I've written that has not received a review or mention in the big reviewers: PW, Kirkus, or Library Journal. Despite that, readers and librarians manage to find it.

You can find the Anita Ray books here  and the lovely new paperback of The Wrath of Shiva here.

Pick a Peck o' Posts by Susan Oleksiw

When I began writing a blog, I had no idea what I was doing, or that I was making choices in how to approach a regular (or, more often, irregular) blog. I have been writing on my own website and here, on Author Expressions, since 2010, and have made choices without realizing I was making them. There are many ways to write a blog, and if you're like me, you gravitate to one form or another.

First, and most obvious, is the ongoing series of posts on writing and related topics. As published authors, we have struggled with the numerous aspects of finishing a manuscript, and our blogs cover developing and working with ideas, crafting a first draft, plots and subplots, developing characters, editing, choosing the perfect title, and working with editors as well as writing and vocabulary. These posts are most often discussions by the experienced for the benefit of the less experienced, or those curious about how their colleagues are coping with the same problems. Here I might include a link to a longer discussion, one that makes me look intelligent for even knowing about it (like this one http://www.dailywritingtips.com).

Second, and equally popular, is the blog on the publishing world today. Gone is the dream of finding a Maxwell Perkins to mentor us, and ever present is the vivid reminder of the power of Amazon in all its permutations. Self-publishing has changed the landscape as much as any earthquake or crashing meteor could. We all learn from these posts because the experience of publishing today is new and jarring and totally unpredictable. Once again, these posts can be discussions by the experienced to the less experienced, but are also just as likely to be one author describing a discovery for the benefit of others. In today's publishing world, we are all less experienced. But whatever they purport to be, they give us the opportunity to talk about our books. (See, like this paragraph, where I point you, the reader, to the cover of my most recent book.)

Third, and sometimes overwhelming in it appeal, is the more intimate post about the personal experience of writing--the angst, the stumbles, the surprises, and the wonderful friends and writing groups who see us through the worst. We are all human, and these posts are sometimes the most comforting because they help me, at least, feel less stupid and inept as I make my way through a career with no clear footpath through the forest of publishing. I don't write these often, but I'm grateful to those who do. But when I do write them, I get to post photos of me and my friends talking about books, like this one with me and Lea Wait.

Fourth, and surprisingly tempting, are the posts that are mostly about our personal lives, and these are

little more than letters to friends with photos and gossip. These can be fun if we can make our lives interesting. But since I've never been a fan of Trader Joe's (yes, I know, there's something wrong with me), and get bored sitting in Starbucks watching other people typing furiously or staring out the window chewing on a muffin, I leave these posts to others. I actually find the posts interesting, even if I can't tolerate the experiences myself. Interesting. When I do write one, I usually veer off into a bit of history or someone else's hobby, like this photo from a man who likes to visit post offices throughout the United States.

I've tried focusing on one type of post but learned early on that my mind (and tastes) wander, so my blogs tend to be full of whatever has captured my imagination at the time, including today's topic, categories of posts for writers.

And while you are pondering this, my best wishes to all for a happy Fourth of July.

How do we contain the excitement of a new book?

Personally, I can't contain my excitement. It's like Christmas and giving birth all rolled together. Yes, it's painful and takes a long time, but when the book comes out it's a wonderful gift.

Last week I was given a copy of the new cover. I think it's beautiful. For those of you that read Feisty Family Values you know just how important the kitchen table is to the Morgan's story. All the best conversations happen there. It's that way in a lot of families, especially with my generation, my parents, grandparents and way back.

Sadly now days, meals are often eaten on the run, in the car on the way to a sports event or school, in front of the television or with everyone poking buttons on their tablets. (But I digress...)

Patchwork Family is the second book in the feisty family series and the story picks up a year after Feisty Family Values ends.

• A year after Annabelle became guardian of two teens and a tween, she is feeling more than her age. (Grandkids can wear you out and she can’t send them home.)
  • Regina is comfortably housed with Sam, but has yet to say “yes” when he asks her to marry him. (Silly woman.)
  • Peggy, the oldest granddaughter is growing up way too fast and madly in love with a boy at school. (She has the whisker burns to prove it.)
  • Tilly is happily married to Joe and enjoying being on hand whenever someone in the family needs her, whether it’s to cook a gourmet meal or referee a case of sibling rivalry.
  • Tad’s on the basketball team and the assistant coach seems to like his ladies full bodied like our dear Annabelle.
  • And after a decade Tom returns and wants to see the kids. This sets off a chain reaction that might just destroy them all. 
  
  Now comes another fun part. In a couple of weeks the book will be out and I'll be able to hold it in my hands, smell it, and feel the breeze as I flip the pages. My eReader friends (I have a Kindle Fire) will be able to get it and read all about what happens next. Readings and signings will begin at bookstores, book clubs, women's clubs,  libraries, anywhere where people enjoy reading--I plan to be there. (To set something up just send me an email at bd@bdtharp.com.)
  
  Another big plus of the huge migration to eBooks, we authors will be able to have our books in print practically forever.  The digital world has simplified the publishing process (no more typesetting required) and no need for a huge warehouse of inventory.
  
  The first book in the series came out in 2010 in a beautiful hardback. It went out of print two years after it was published, however. I bought up all available stock and there are still books available for you to buy if you want one. The second book, Patchwork Family will be in eBook and paperback (print on demand), so it'll be just as lovely and a wee bit cheaper.
  
  All the sweat, lack of sleep, eye twitches and achy wrists from hammering the keyboard have come to fruition. Patchwork Family is coming the end of March. Stay tuned. (See, dreams really do come true.)
  
  
  • How do you feel when your book is complete? 
  • How do you feel when you see your book available for purchase? 
  • Which is more satisfying seeing your eBook for sale or holding a traditional book (paper or hardback) in your hand?
  
  

Just How Crazy Is the Marketplace Today? by Susan Oleksiw

I was casting around for an idea for my monthly contribution to Author Expressions when I thought I’d settled on something timely—the topic of whether or not writers should give away their work. An article in the New York Times by Tim Kreider on just this issue had sparked a lot of debate on various lists. The topic appealed to me because when a friend, Ann Perrott, and I founded The Larcom Review I insisted that we pay every contributor, even if it was only a nominal amount.

Those who write well enough to be published deserve to be treated as professionals; they should be paid. Ann agreed, and we paid every contributor (writer, poet, interviewer, reviewer, photographer, artist) a modest $25 plus one contributor’s complimentary copy. The amount is pathetic but it’s better than nothing.

Today thousands of writers blog for free (like me, right here), put their novels and short stories on line for free (I haven’t done that), and contribute stories and articles to anthologies for no money at all (I haven’t done that either) and no free copy. It is so much the norm now that fewer and fewer people are arguing that writers should never write for free. It is argued that this is unrealistic—there are simply too many writers willing to fill the screens with their ideas and beautifully wrought sentences, hoping someone will offer them a paying gig.

This isn’t just a problem for midlist writers like me and most other mystery writers. It’s common knowledge that the writers who made Huffington Post worth purchasing were paid nothing for their contributions. They got nothing from the sale of the online newspaper. That doesn’t make anyone feel any better, but it does remind us just how widespread this problem is—writers should write for free and be glad of the opportunity to have their work disseminated. The marketplace for writing is out of whack.

So, how out of whack is the marketplace today?

While I was searching for a book by Mavis Gallant I decided to take a vanity detour and check out my own list, to see if the new covers were now on the Amazon site. They were. I scrolled down to admire them, and noticed that various issues of The Larcom Review were mixed in with the book titles. And then I took a better look.

I’m used to seeing paperbacks at $0.01, with the total cost being the shipping plus a few pennies. But I was not ready for the price I saw on one issue of The Larcom Review. The spring/summer 2001 issue was priced at $2,350.70. (Seventy cents?) The cover price is $10.

I remember that issue. In fact, I had just given a copy of it to a friend as a hostess gift when she invited me to dinner. The issue contains 61 works in prose or poetry and 15 artworks, including photographs, line drawings, and prints. The issue includes an interview with Andre Dubus III by Rae Francoeur, a poem by Erika Funkhauser, one by Rhina P. Espaillat, two prints by John Martin, and a cover photo by Robin Paris, among other items. Is all this worth $2,350.70?

I’ve emailed the bookseller to find out what is so special about this issue that he’s charging over $2,000. After all, I still have several copies in storage I’d be glad to sell. I have't heard anything from him yet, but I'll let you know if I do.

And now you can see how out of whack the publishing business is right now. I’ve forgotten my topic and where I was going with it. The ludicrous amount of money being offered for one issue of The Larcom Review has completely thrown my brain off kilter. What more do you need to know?

To purchase copies of The Larcom Review at a normal price, email me. To read Tim Kreider’s article, click on the link below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/slaves-of-the-internet-unite.html?hp&_r=1&>

Susan Oleksiw is the author of the Mellingham/Joe Silva series and the Anita Ray series. Her books can be found on Amazon, Nook Press, and Smashwords. For more information, go to www.susanoleksiw.com

Self-Publishing versus Traditional Publishing? Good Question.

Each has it’s pro’s and con’s. With self-publishing: you pay for it all, the set up, the printing, the distribution, the marketing & promotion, you buy all your copies to sell or give away. If you have a non-fiction platform, then self-publishing is probably a good way to go. You can control the content, it’s printed faster than traditional publishing (which can take 18-24 months), and you already have a built in audience.

For fiction, I’m torn. Personally, I prefer traditional publishing. They pay you, you don’t pay them. But to get national or world-wide distribution you need an agent to get into the big publishing houses. That’s easier said than done. Another option, is to use smaller publishers that don’t require agents. The advance is smaller, but they do the printing and distribution. You still have to market and promote regardless if it is fiction or non-fiction, small publisher or large, self published or traditional.

Here is what I experienced when my first novel was ready to sell. I couldn’t find an agent for FEISTY FAMILY VALUES after exhaustive attempts. So, I went with a smaller publisher. My advance was small but they put together a wonderful product and distributed it to all the big booksellers (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon). They also shared the book with big reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, etc. Unfortunately, my novel wasn’t reviewed by the biggies, but I did get several good reviews from the smaller reviewers they notified. If you self-publish you have to do the digging for reviewers yourself and pay for the books you send them. My publisher gave me a dozen books free just for that purpose.

Another option would be e-publishing, like Kindle and Nook, etc. If you have a contract with a publisher and they have the electronic rights, they’ll get your e-pub book done for you. My contract was for print only, so I did my own e-publishing, through Kindle and Nook. It’s not hard and I don’t have to share as much of the profits as I would with a traditional publisher. That’s another thing. Self-publishing is on your dime, but all the profits are yours. With a traditional publisher you share with everyone and their dog, getting as little as 8-10% of the retail list.

If you self publish, the editing is also on you (you can always pay a freelance editor), whereas a traditional publisher will have editors who will review it multiple times to make it the cleanest, best product it can be for no additional cost to the author.

MY ADVICE: Do your homework before you make a decision on whether to self-publish or traditionally publish. Your skill level, available time and budget are key.
To read more about B.D. Tharp, her novel and other writing, visit http://bdtharp.com.

A Book is like an Elephant

I'm excited about my new release, WHERE DANGER HIDES. Technically, the release date is May 18th, but since stores don't stock the book, that date represents when the publisher will start filling orders. Also, the book has been available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for some time.

Marketing for this system is a different game. It's not a matter of trying to get people into the bookstore on release day. The reality is, the publisher sells to libraries. Everything else is gravy.
Not to say it's not exciting to find that carton of author copies on your doorstep. I got mine last Saturday, and it's a thrill like no other to see the fruition of what amounts to close to two years of gestation and labor--much like an elephant. And, I confess, I don't even want to open the book for fear I'll find that I might have missed a typo, or that the publisher didn't fix everything I requested. It's a done deal, and the baby is mine, warts and all.

With sales targeting the library market, it's reviews that help sell the books. And not the reader reviews on Amazon or other web-based review sites with "volunteer" reviewers. Libraries prefer sites and publications with professional reviewers, and often the lack of a review in one of those means your book won't be considered.

Normally, I don't like posting pure promo here, but since I won't have another new book from Five Star for another year, I decided to go for it. If you want to get some glimpses of how the book came to be, and see parts that never made it past the first draft of the first chapters, I've put them up on my website, under the 'behind the scenes' tab and 'from the cutting room floor.'

Needless to say, I was delighted to get a positive review from one of the biggies—Publishers Weekly.

Odell follows 2010's When Dangers Calls with this sizzling suspense tale. Dalton, "just Dalton," is a sweet-talking Texas black ops contractor equipped with a sharp mind, big muscles, an intriguing background tragedy that makes him cry over babies, and boatloads of sex appeal. Miri Chambers, manager of a shelter for wayward teens, is just his type: "proud, strong, intelligent, compassionate, and one hundred percent female," with a past she'd rather not reveal. … the real action is in Miri and Dalton's passionate mutual attraction, and not even his cold showers and her idealistic do-gooding can douse its uncontrollable flames. Romance fans will drool over Dalton and his fellow camo-clad helicopter-riding commandos as they look for runaways and love.

I've also had positive feedback from several other reviewers, so I'm pleased that people like my baby—warts and all.

The ARC calls it Contemporary Romance. With all due deference to the press's editors, that's incorrect. Sure, there are some hot romance scenes and some highly emotional connections come and go and arrive again, but there's a gritty, powerful pulse-pounding narrative platform here that drives the novel plainly into the thriller category …With little time out for deep breathing, the plot quickly picks up a palpable sense of menace and slackening of control. Readers will be swept along to a final breathless conclusion that is eminently satisfying. Carl Brookins

Talented author Terry Odell quickly grabs our attention in her suspenseful romance, WHERE DANGER HIDES, the much awaited second novel in her Blackthorne, Inc series. The hero, Dalton, is the kind of man that any reader could easily fall for: strong, confident, and yet compassionate and sexy. His perfect match is the heroine, Miri, who is loyal, nurturing and resourceful. Ms. Odell builds the sexual tension between these two characters as skillfully as she ramps up the anticipation in her story. Readers hang on every word reaching for the climax to WHERE DANGER HIDES and are not left disappointed but eager to learn more about the fascinating group of Blackthorne, Inc. men. Thrills, romance, danger and mystery fill the pages of WHERE DANGER HIDES and thoroughly entertains. Donna, Single Titles

Odell provides a lot of sexual tension and enough hot sex to please avid romance readers. It takes front and center in the novel, but eventually the mystery of the missing people leads to a major crime operation. An exciting climax should satisfy the most demanding thriller readers. Mel Jacob, Gumshoe Reviews

For more information Terry, visit her website. She can also be found at Terry's Place blogging about writing and life in general.