Talking with Tawdra and a critique giveaway

I first met Tawdra Kandle last summer, when she graciously invited me to participate in an online critique group. I quickly picked up on Tawdra's encouraging nature. She's also a brave, ambitious writer who's not afraid to put herself out there and try something new. Fearless is her debut fantasy YA ebook she's published via Amazon; it's to be the first of four in the King series.

Because she's a generous soul (and has a ton of experience critiquing) she's offering up a free, full MS critique to one lucky commentor! Just include your email address below so I can contact you if Melvin the Magic Sorting Hat coughs up your name Sunday night. A winner will be announced Monday...along with some REALLY exciting news!!! *hyperventilation followed by chocolate intake*


1. Your MC in Fearless can hear thoughts. Agents have said this characteristic is very common in their query box, so how does your MC stand out from the crowd?

 First of all, this ability is not really the point in the book; it is just one aspect of the main character, and it informs some of her decisions and choices. I think that may be part of what makes her stand out.  Also, Tasmyn was born with this particular gift; it's not a recent acquisition, as it is in some books, where the character has to adjust to a new and possibly frightening talent.  In some ways, her ability is representative of any of a thousand other traits that might serve to isolate a teenage girl.

2. How did you get this MS ready for publication? Did you hire an editor or just depend on your critique partners?

I re-tooled this work several times, based on advice from my critique group, from certain key agents and editors and from a few beta readers.  My most critical readers were my own three daughters, who are now 16, 20 and 23.  They are all discerning readers and were able to point out any weak or questionable areas of the story.

3. You mention the pros and cons of e-publishing in your blog. What made you decide the pros outweighed the cons?

 It wasn't an easy decision.  Of course, I think every writer dreams of a traditional publishing contract, of seeing her work in print and of having the backing of a publishing house.  That was certainly my hope and goal.  I began re-examining that goal after I attended a writers' conference.  I came away from the weekend with a renewed sense that the traditional publishing world is a state of major flux.  I also realized just how subjective the whole process is.  We were in a group setting, and we saw one group of agents in the morning and another in the afternoon.  Our entire group was astounded by how completely contrary one set of agents' advice was to the others.  Not long after, I had the opportunity to chat on-line with a few well-known published authors who told me that if they were selling their initial works today, they would go with independent publishing.  That really pushed me over the edge.  I like the idea of having more creative and financial control over my work and of being able to make it available to a larger audience. 

4. What kind of promotion are you going to try for Fearless? So far, what's your favorite option?

 Well, that can definitely be the down side of independent publishing--no publishing house to help an author with PR.  Of course, nowadays even traditional publishers have scaled back significantly on the promotion they offer first time authors.  I am open to any and all kind of promotion! I am doing a blog tour, several interviews and guest posts.  I am working hard on my author and series Facebook pages, Twitter and my author website. It is a steep learning curve, but I am blessed to have gifted people to help me at about every turn.  Social media is something I really enjoy, and I think the possibilities there are limitless.

5. What's your ultimate goal with the publication of this book?

I would definitely like to cultivate name recognition and a following, since I have a lot of other works in process.  But my main goal for writing this book was just the telling of the story, and it is definitely gratifying to hear from people who have read and loved it.

6. What advice would you give an author considering epublishing? Any must-know tips?

Find someone who knows their way around the process.  Put yourself in her hands and do whatever she advises! Seriously, there is so much more to epublishing than what is presented on most websites.  From book covers to blurbs to formatting. . .unless you are very well-versed in all of this, it's a good idea to solicit help from someone who is. The best way to find such a person, other than hiring her, is to spend a lot of time on good writing sites.  There are some wonderfully supportive groups out there, and women writers in particular (in my opinion!) tend to be very nurturing to each other. Most are willing to help each other with PR and some of the technical aspects of epublishing.  I know I have amazing fellow writers in my corner, and I am excited to be able to return the favor!

7. You also head up a monthly critique group over at A Writer's Block's Facebook page. Talk about guidelines for a good critique.

I've learned so much in my years with A Writer's Block!  I think the most important part of critiquing is knowing what the writer needs.  We frequently encounter writers who have amazing stories and yet their form, grammar and spelling are so lacking that it undermines that story. It can be hard to give them the advice they're seeking--the worthiness of the plot, development of characters--without addressing the more glaring flaws.  But we've found that pointing out repetitive errors can be discouraging.  So it's a balance.  Mention the issues once and then move on.  And we've also found that it's important to ask the writer what she wants from her critique and giving it to her. That doesn't mean only giving glowing reviews--that would be worthless--but it does mean being sensitive to where she is as a writer. I also think that it's vital to give a balanced critique; it's easier to accept the hard words when there are also some that are encouraging.


8. How has being the author of Fearless changed the way you draft other works? Do you write more quickly, have tighter plotting, etc.?

I definitely think my writing is tighter.  There are three other books in the King series, and they were far easier to write.  Some of that is because the characters were already established, but it was also just an easier process.  I don't know about the faster part!  When I wrote the first book, my life was in a much quieter place.  The other books have had to be written around editing Fearless, dealing with the query process, learning about publishing (both traditional and independent) and just plain life stuff. While I was able to write Fearless at home, late at night and in free afternoons, for the subsequent books I've had to get away on my own in order to get in some good solid days of writing.

9. Will you go for epublishing for your next book, or do you continue to query even as you branch out?

My plan is to independently publish the rest of the King series.  I would love to see the books in solid print as well, and that might happen, one way or another.  The next series I'm working on is very different from the King series, and so I'll probably query the initial book, but I won't spend as much time doing that as I did with Fearless.  I'd love to someday have at least one book go through the traditional publishing process, but it's not as important to me as it once was.

10. What's your next project?

My next project is an adult book with tremendous series potential; it's much lighter than the King books, and although it has a supernatural element, it's not an urban fantasy book per se. At the same time that I'm working on that, I'm mapping out two other books related to the King series.  One is a very pre prequel--it is the history of Gravis King, the founder of the town of King, and it tells the story of how he gathered his carnival together and eventually established King.  I love the relationship between Gravis and Sarah, a Romany witch he rescues from a burning stake in Europe. I'm looking forward to that one.  The other is Nell's story; what happens to her after Tas and Michael's story is over.  I'm excited about this one, as well.  Nell is one of my favorite characters!

Thanks for stopping by, Tawdra! She's always willing to answer questions so fire away - and don't forget to include your email address if you'd like a full MS critique!

Rebecca Hamilton and The Forever Girl

This week, I'm featuring aspiring author/editor Rebecca Hamilton, whose debut The Forever Girl comes out this month.  Today, we're discussing how this story evolved, along with the experiences that convinced Rebecca to launch it herself. Stop by tomorrow to learn how Rebecca co-founded Immortal Ink Publishing, which will open to queries in May.

Either day, you can sign up here to get a .99 release copy of The Forever Girl. For every ten who sign up, Rebecca will give away one free e-book. So get your ereaders ready or dust off your bookshelves and sign up today for this exciting paranormal fantasy.


1. Your blog states you're a mom of three, including one child with autism spectrum disorder. Talk about how you organize your writing day - are you a scheduled or on-the-fly writer?

I try to have a schedule, but it’s really not working out so well. Mostly I write at nights, and use daytime for social media and editing, as I don’t mind being interrupted when doing those things. A lot of days, however, there’s so much to do with the kids that I don’t really get anything done. Maybe that will change once they’re all in school .

 2.  2011 has been a big(ger) year for you. You've started Immortal Ink Publishing and are getting ready to launch The Forever Girl - first in the FG series. What made you decide to go into publishing in the first place?

         The seed first planted itself before I started writing. I have always loved reading, but not only that, I was also amazing at picking out books that me and all my friends would like, no matter how different we were.
         This feeling intensified some time after I started writing, when I got into editing. I used to do paid editing for very cheap, but only for novels that I was personally interested in. Many of the books I edited later went on to agents and/or publishers. I knew I had a knack for editing, but I also knew I had a knack for finding the right stories to edit.
         Meanwhile, my closest writing partner and I had been discussing some kind of literary venue. We didn’t know what at the time—literary magazine? A website to feature authors? Something else? We were always discussing, but no idea ever stuck. In the end, with some additional experiences coming into play, we decided to open Immortal Ink Publishing.

 3.  I've read the first chapter of The Forever Girl on your blog and have to say, I was hooked. You've discussed the impact your MC's religion has had on some readers (Sophia is Wiccan) - talk about how this story grown from its first draft.

            Thanks ! The final draft is completely different from the original. There’s not much the same except for the characters and the very bones of the story. The religion has been the biggest hurdle, especially being an American author. A lot of people now assume I’m Wiccan. (I’m not; I’m agnostic, though I’ve studied many religions including Wicca and Christianity.) It wasn’t until I started writing this novel that I realized there was still such a judgment against the Wiccan religion. Some were upset also that there are some not-so-great characters who call themselves Christians in the novel, but I also have flawed Wiccan characters in my story and Christian characters who are kind-hearted, so I think the balance is there to anyone open to see it.Hopefully the free sample I provide has enough there to convey that the good and bad in my characters come from the characters themselves and not the religions they associate with. 

4. What made you decide to go the epubbing route instead of traditional - snagging an agent, going on sub, etc.?
          This goes back to why Rudy and I started Immortal Ink Publishing. Over the course of the last year, several publishers and agents approached me regarding my book after reading a sample online. I knew my book wasn’t ready, but in several of those cases I was persuaded to send anyway because “things can always be revised”.
           Ultimately, both agents and 2 of the 3 publishers passed, all asking to see future projects. They said I had a great writing style and “voice”, but all had different reasons why they didn’t have room on their list for The Forever Girl. Some hated parts others loved, and vice versa.
         I figured I might be onto something but knew the book needed more work. I hired some well-regarded editors, two of whom mentioned the idea of resubmitting. I’m not Stephenie Meyers or Amanda Hocking, but I had enough that I worried I might I start LOSING interest instead of gaining it if I didn’t make my book available, so I decided it’d be wiser if I didn’t put my book in limbo for another 6-12 months.
          Getting my novel ready meant I had a lot to learn. I figured…what a waste for me to learn all this just for me. As Rudy was also looking to self publish, I suggested we start our own publishing house. We agreed to use our own books as guinea pigs for the publishing house to show what we can offer. I still suspect self-pub will be the preferred option for many, but we hope to be a small publisher that is a good option for authors who don’t want to do the behind-the-scene work themselves or can’t afford to invest in themselves but still want to give their readers a high quality product.

5.  What are some technical details behind epubbing you didn't know before you started the process - the cover, the ISBN number - etc? How hard is it to get it all done these days? How expensive is it?
           I knew a fair bit since I’d seen it talked about so often online. The biggest hurdle for me has been more on the business end—registering a business, for example. The next has been formatting. Sure, there’s some fast and easy ways to do it, but I want to put out the best quality I can. I don’t think it’s really hard (aside from getting formatting done the right way). It’s just time consuming. And, in some cases, it can be expensive to some people. For me, paying what I did for my book covers was no big deal. A few of the covers in The Forever Girl series are done by the same person who designed the overseas covers for the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.

6.  Now that you're familiar with the process, what advice do you have to other authors thinking about epubbing?

           Get a great cover artist. Get opinions on your cover from people you can trust to be honest with you. Get an excellent editor. Be sure they provide quality editing, and remember you will need to do several edits on your manuscript from large scale to small, preferable in that order ;) Do your research and don’t be in a rush.

Other epublishing authors have told me that the importance of a great cover can't be overstated. And the one for TFG is really great.

Thanks, Rebecca. Join us tomorrow for part two to find out more about submitting to Immortal Ink Publishing.

An e-dialogue with Elisa Ludwig and book giveaway

I'm excited to introduce you to Elisa Ludwig, an upcoming debut novelist of Pretty Crooked, and co-blogger on the brand new YA/MG mystery blog, Sleuths, Spies & Alibis. When she's not plotting fictional mayhem, Elisa writes about food for a daily paper in Philadelphia. As someone who used to write about local eats for a Seattle-area paper, I can tell you food writing is a sweet gig. (pun intended) Not great for the waist line but super-de-duper for snagging a great table...and the desserts are *must say it* usually to die for.

*chocolate break*

Elisa's mystery comes out in March (obviously a HUGE month for debuts!), joining an e-book, June of Rock. She's experienced traditional and epub in one year, giving her lots of insight in our ever changing publishing world. Two cool things about her right off the bat: she went to high school with Bradley Cooper (drooolll); AND she snagged a professional film crew to shoot the book trailer for her mystery. Check out her blog to get the deets on that adventure.

Speaking of deets, read below for a chance to win a free book!

1. Your debut, Pretty Crooked, comes out in March. Tell us a little about your publishing journey - how you landed your agent and the process of going on sub.


I landed my agent, Leigh Feldman, for June of Rock back in 2009. We submitted that book for about a year. The feedback was good, but almost every editor agreed that it was "too quiet." The last editor we submitted it to was Claudia Gabel, who, based on that book, offered me the opportunity to write the Pretty Crooked series. So it was an unconventional story, but as a good writer friend told me, things never happen the way you think they will, and that's for the best!

2. You published epubbed June of Rock. Why did you decide to go this route with this story?

June of Rock just didn't hit with traditional publishers but both my agent and I still felt it was good enough to send out into the world, so I decided to try the ebook route to see if I could connect with readers that way.

3. Describe the surprising ways the ebook process has been different than traditional publishing.
For me, the ebook is somewhat of an experiment, but I felt that with my official debut coming out, it would be good to get it out there and see what happens. It has been a more vulnerable experience in the sense that it's just me, with no team of people behind it. On the other hand, it has been very laid back, because I'm not putting too much pressure on myself. In the end I will devote much more time to marketing Pretty Crooked. I'd love for June to find readers and I am just sort of trusting that it will, one way or another.

4. What are your favorite promotional tools for your ebook?
So far, it's been bloggers! A few of them stumbled on the book on their own and I sent a few copies to others to review. The response has been amazing. I really think bloggers are the most generous people ever!

5. You're a journalist too! You get to write about food which, back when I was an A&E writer in Seattle, was one of my favorite gigs. Talk about that - are you a critic, a foodie or report the trends?
I used to be a critic and I would review restaurants in Philly but I gave that up about three years ago—I was tired of being the messenger for bad news all the time and it was starting to become increasingly difficult to stay healthy with so many meals out. These days I write features on food trends, nutrition issues and I test a lot of recipes. I love food writing, and I someday hope to integrate it with my YA writing—just not sure how yet.

6. Where do you find the energy to write fiction after working at nonfiction all day? Or how do you stay creative?
Good question! It can be challenging. Since I got a contract and have gone professional with the fiction side of things, I try to put in my hours drafting my manuscripts early in the day when I'm the most energetic (and the least self-critical). Then I block out time for for my other work, according to deadlines. On weekends and some evenings I will work on edits. The energy issue is probably why it has taken me as long as it has to break into publishing, but on the other hand, I think having to write on deadline all of those years has made me much less precious about my writing and much more disciplined. I don't do anything in particular to stay creative except try to take in as much reading, film, music, art, etc. as I can in my day-to-day life.

7. You've written both YA contemp. and mystery. In your experience, is plotting for mystery different than for other genres?

Considering I was a full-on pantser before I wrote Pretty Crooked, yes! But Pretty Crooked and its sequel Pretty Sly, which I'm working on now, fall somewhere in between the contemporary and mystery genres, so I would say that it's not all that different ultimately. You still need to think through all the possibilities, you still need to create drama and raise the stakes and parcel out information very selectively.

8. Talk about the formation of Sleuths, Spies & Alibis. How did you all meet? And what was the reason for starting this YA/MG mystery blog?
Most of us met in the Apocalypsies, the group of childrens' authors who will be debuting in 2012. The blog was Diana Renn's brainchild, so she would have to give you more of the specific insight into how she decided to start it. But the general idea was that there really wasn't much like it out there, and we wanted to provide resources to readers, writers and educators.

9. How often will you be posting on that blog?
Right now, about once a month on open topics, but contributing regularly to our ongoing features like DNA and Mystery Mondays.

BTW, there's a great interview up now featuring Ben Winters, who writes MG mysteries as well as the Jane Austen parody, Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters.

10. Any fun posts/contests coming up you'd like to share?
We just had a giveaway for readers to guess our first Interrogation Room (interview) Suspect (author), and I think that contest will be ongoing with future interviews.

Fast five:

Your favorite candy.
Aero bars, but I never see them in the States!

Ah yes, the airy version of Three Musketeers found in *ahem* countries that tax American candy. *cough* CanadaandUK


Age when you got your first kiss.
12

Best song on your playlist.
Right now, I'm really into "Bizness" by tUnE-yArDs.


Fictional hero after whom you lust most.
Drawing a blank! I tend to like my lust objects in three dimensions.

What?! No Mr. Darcy or Rhett Butler (dating myself here) or Aragorn or Luke Skywalker...*minor hyperventilation followed by chocolate intake*

Best read in the last six months.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Thanks Elisa!

And to increase her awesome quotient, she's giving away, Don't Murder Your Mystery, a helpful handbook for anyone who wants to avoid WIP death. Comment below with your email to have your name added to Melvin the Magic Sorting Hat.