Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week

Bellagio Fountains

So it's that time of the week. I missed it last week because I was on my mini Vegas vacation (hence the photos), so this will include links from the last two weeks.

Also, you may have noticed (if you're particularly observant) that I've been a bit quieter on the blog and on Twitter lately. This has been by design because I'm under a tight deadline right now and have to put most of my time into that. BUT, it's working. I just tallied last month's word count and I wrote 40k in September. Woot! That's definitely a record for me. Now I have 35k to write by Nov. 1. *breathes into paper bag* So posting may be continue to be a little less regular for a little while longer. 

Alright, on to the links...

*First, I've posted an exclusive snippet of FALL INTO YOU on facebook if you'd like to check that out. (And if you want to follow me there, this is the place I focus on more reader-oriented vs. writer stuff.)

On Writing/Publishing:

What a Concept! Plotting Your Novel Conceptually via Janice Hardy

real actual hilary: Why writing with a book deal is a whole different game

delilah s. dawson: 10 Tips for Barfing a Book

Penguin, 3M E-Book Pilot 3M Goes Live <--Penguin working with a new library ebook service

How to write a bad review - Salon.com

Book Piracy – An Insiders Perspective - Stacey O'Neale's Site

Comparison Doesn’t Work - Books & Such Literary Agency : Books & Such Literary Agency

Co-Authoring: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly via Rachelle Gardner

Our hotel bed looked like it should be at The Ranch

Calls for Submissions:

Submissions opportunity: one week only…feedback & 6 week response time via Carina Press -- Great opportunity to get feedback

Now acquiring: Contemporary crack at Carina Press <--after reading Angela James' discussion of contemporary crack, I'm starting to think this is what I write, lol. The drama! The angst! The smex! :)

Now acquiring: New Adult at Carina Press <--I just talked about this genre in a post last week (linked below) and here you go, a publisher actively looking for it

 

On Social Media/Promotion/Marketing:

Is Your Author Website Helping You or Holding You Back? | BookBaby Blog

Why Content Marketing is the New Branding | Copyblogger

Does Social Media Sell Books? « Writerland

 

For Gits and Shiggles (and a little panting):

Channing Tatum opens his New Orleans bar “Saints and Sinners” this weekend - NYPOST.com <--why oh why didn't I plan a trip home to New Orleans this weekend??? I'm tempted to send my mother out to the opening with a camera. ;)

Ten Tips for Bringing BDSM Into Your Bedroom by Joey Hill | TheCelebrityCafe.com <--I get asked about this privately pretty often since my books make some readers curious about how BDSM can work in real life. These are some great, practical tips on getting started.

 

At the Marilyn Manson (and Buckcherry) concert

What You May Have Missed Here:

The New Adult Genre: Here To Stay This Time?

Natalie Bahm and Agent Sara Megibow On Self-Pubbing For a Good Cause

7 Things That Make the Chronic Finisher Put Down a Book

Book Deal Squee-ing: More Loving on the Edge On the Way! <--in case you haven't seen me squaking about it all over the interwebs. :)

 

 

That's all I have for you this week. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Book Deal Squee-ing: More Loving on the Edge On the Way!

 

My awesome new stamp for bookplates

 

Every day I realize how lucky I am to do this whole writing thing for a living. But it's one of those jobs that's always a bit of a crap shoot. You never know how people are going to receive your stories or if they're going to be successful or if you're going to keep getting to do it.

Therefore, each time I get to sign on the dotted line to write more books, I don't take it for granted. So thank you to each and every one of you who have bought my books and enjoyed them. You're the reason I'm going to be writing more stories from The Ranch all the way through 2014. : )

Books five and six have sold! 

October 3, 2012
   
   Fiction:
Women's/Romance 		   Roni Loren's next two books in her LOVING ON THE EDGE series, revolving around The Ranch - a private BDSM club in Texas, again to Kate Seaver at Berkley Heat, for publication in 2014, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency (World).

 

This means that 2014 will bring you the stories of both Kade Vandergriff (who you meet in STILL INTO YOU and get to see more of in FALL INTO YOU in January) and Colby Wilkes (who shows up subtly in almost every book and has a bigger role in FALL INTO YOU). I can't wait to write the stories for these two. Dates are still floating around but Kade's story will be first, most likely in the Spring of 2014 and Colby's story will be in the fall. (And to see what celebrities I imagine for Kade and Colby inspiration, check out the bottom of my Ranch page.)

AND for those of you who may not be in the States or Canada, rights to CRASH INTO YOU and MELT INTO YOU have sold in the UK and CRASH has sold in France. Woot! So hopefully those editions will be on shelves in the next year or two. : )

Also, big cover news is on the way. I've been talking about it on Twitter, but I'm hoping to share the new covers with y'all in the next few weeks!

That's all for now! 

Natalie Bahm and Agent Sara Megibow On Self-Pubbing For a Good Cause

So, today I have a special treat for you guys. My agency-mate Natalie Bahm is here, along with our agent Sara Megibow to talk about the amazing project Natalie is launching this week.

Just to give you a bit of background, I met Natalie through blogging a few years ago. She is one of the nicest people you could meet (finally got to meet her in person this summer), and I totally credit her with having a hand in my own publishing journey. Because if you've ever read my "how I got my agent" story, you know I originally got to Sara through a client referral. Well, that client was Natalie. So I'm forever indebted to her. ;)

And now I'm more than thrilled to share her debut book with you guys. And here's the deal--she's giving all of the money she makes on this book to a family with a sick child. ALL of it. How amazing is that?

So read about her journey with Sara to self-pub this book and then go pre-order the book. Not only will you get a fantastic story, but you'll be lending a helping hand as well.

Now, over to Natalie and Sara...

 

Natalie Bahm

Natalie:

In two short days my very first book, The Secret Underground, will debut. Last spring I decided to self-publish it as a fundraiser for the family of sick baby named Jayden.  Only, I didn’t self-publish the normal way.  My agent, Sara Megibow, and agency, Nelson Literary, helped make it happen. It’s been a pretty unconventional journey and Sara and I wanted to share some of it with you.

 

 

 

Sara:

There are lots of great reasons to self-publish. There are bad reasons too (like giving the middle finger to NewSara Megibow York or because an author doesn't want to wade through the rejection process). 

Natalie didn't ask me, "can I self publish this book?" Instead, she asked, "how do I create a book that can be used as a fundraiser for a charity that I believe in with all my heart?" Since raising money for Jayden was our number one goal, we had to make a career choice based on that end result. And, I am so proud of this team because that's exactly what is happening. With each purchase of The Secret Underground - whether in ebook format, print format or audio book, whether from amazon or Kobo or Nook or iBookstore -  Jayden's family receives money for their much-needed health care costs. What greater success is there? We're helping a baby and his family and self-publishing is allowing us to do that.

 

Natalie: 

I honestly never imagined stepping into the self-publishing world.  I’m the kind of person who struggles to make decisions and gets really stressed over details.  And, as some of you know, self-publishing is all about the details. 

When I heard about how Jayden’s family was struggling, I knew I had to do something to help them. I talked to Sara about doing a book for Jayden and she and I discussed options. We decided that the only way we could get a book out quickly and send all of the profits to Jayden’s family was to self-publish. 

To be honest, the idea terrified me.  Luckily, I didn’t have to do it alone.

  

Sara:

At Nelson Literary Agency, we pride ourselves on operating in an educated and holistic publishing environment. As an agency, we keep up to date on what's going on in publishing and communicate any and all opportunities to our clients as they present themselves. 

This is a fancy way of saying that two years ago it became very apparent some clients were interested in self-publishing as opposed to traditional publishing and some were interested in doing a bit of both. So, the agency set out to create a system in-house to offer these options to our clients. The idea is that each client can handcraft an author career - combining traditional publishing deals with self-publishing opportunities as they see fit (with agent advice and feedback). Just to be clear - clients can self-publish on their own without us if they want to - we don't own their rights as a publisher would.

In short, the NLA Digital Platform was created just for cases like Natalie's - to offer NLA authors more options for their books. Like I said above, the number one goal in creating The Secret Underground was to have a book that could operate as a fundraiser for charity. So, we really had to be creative when coming up with our business plan. I'm glad that my boss and our excellent staff paved the way so Natalie and I could really benefit from everything self-publishing has to offer.

 

Natalie:

There were several major benefits to having the agency’s support.  The biggest thing for me was I didn’t have to do anything alone.  Sara and the NLA Digital Liaison, Lori, helped with every single thing—from selecting editors and a cover artist, to formatting files for the different distributers, to developing a marketing plan.

Another perk was having access to things that aren’t available to most self-published writers—like having ARCs on NetGalley and getting the book distributed to booksellers (like Overdrive) who don’t usually work with self publishing authors.

But, I’ll be honest, even with all the help it was still A TON of work.  Now that it’s done though, I wouldn’t change a thing.  I know it will make a difference to Jayden’s family and in the end, that’s all that matters.

 

Thank you so much for letting us visit, Roni!

 

The eBook version of The Secret Underground is available for preorder through Amazon and iTunes.  On Friday you’ll be able to order it from most other online booksellers (including Kobo, Sony, B&N, Google, Overdrive, etc).

 

The print version will be available Friday on Amazon. 

The audiobook should be available shortly from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.

For more information about Jayden visit http://helpbabyjayden.wordpress.com/

Click HERE for details about The Secret Underground

Blurb:

Twelve-year-old Ally is the only witness to a bank robbery in her small town. Unable to block out the memory of the robbers, a notorious gang known as the Gauze Men, Ally joins her little brother and a bunch of neighborhood boys digging a hole in her backyard.

Only the hole isn't just a hole - it's a massive set of tunnels snaking beneath the neighborhood and heading for an abandoned steel mill. Ally is old enough to know the danger, but she reasons spending time with sixth-grade heartthrob Paul is more fun than sitting at home with her worries. And dangerous it is - none of the kids' parents realize the tunnels exist, but the Gauze Men might.

 

You can visit Natalie and Sara on Twitter @NatalieBahm and @SaraMegibow

Here's a video to learn more about Jayden: 

Now, (Roni here again), everyone go forth and purchase! Buy for your family or friends if you're not into middle grade. It will be the best money you spend all week. And I'm sure his family thanks you.

The New Adult Genre: Here To Stay This Time?

Image via CollegeDegrees360 (flickr cc)A while back, I think in late 2009, there were rumblings of this new genre called New Adult. This genre would cover an age group often ignored in fiction--the 18-25 year old protagonist. In theory, it was supposed to fill in the gap between Young Adult fiction and Adult fiction. St. Martin's even came out with a call for that type of book. It felt like it was going to be a "thing". I remember all this distinctly because my friend, Julie Cross, had written a book that had college-aged protags (Tempest) and ended up publishing with St. Martin's.

But after that initial buzz about the genre, I didn't hear too much more about it for a while. Personally, I was kind of disappointed because I really like the idea of stories about that age group. So much happens to us in those years--it's rife with the drama of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, figuring out who you are, who you want to be, etc. All the good angsty things that can create good fiction. Plus, you can be a little more flexible with your characters because you don't have to worry as much about the rules that apply to YA fiction. So I was hoping it would get more traction than it did at the time.

Then, just when I thought the idea has faded into the background, 50 Shades happened. 

Yes, most of the buzz about 50 Shades is about the "erotic" parts. But honestly, that part was nothing new. Erotic romance, and specifically BDSM erotic romance, has been around for a long, long time. And has been a thriving sub genre for at least a decade. What was different about 50 Shades was that it was basically erotic YA. Yes, yes, the heroine is in her 20s but it READS like a teen character. (And that makes sense considering it was originally Twilight fan fiction.)

So back in March when I was chatting with agent Sara and YA author Mari Mancusi about 50 Shades at a conference, I jokingly predicted that the next big thing was going to be erotic YA. That's what I thought the book was tapping into.

And holy crap, you know what? I was kind of right. (That never happens.) Except it's not YA, it's New Adult. In the past, it's kind of been a touchy area--18-20 somethings having smexy times in a book, but now it's everywhere. It's a "thing". Look at the books that have done really well post-50 Shades: Bared to You by Sylvia Day (heroine is fresh out of college, starting her first job), Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (college student I believe), Beth Kery's Because You Are Mine (heroine is right out of college), On Dublin Street  by Samantha Young which I'm reading right now (heroine fresh out of college.) I also read Sheltered by Charlotte Stein earlier this year and it was in the same vein. I know there are many more, but that's just the ones off the top of my head.

Of course, these also have another theme in common--the older, more experienced guy. But that's nothing new to the romance genre. Most historical romances have that dynamic. And even in my books, I usually have a more experienced guy (usually meaning more experienced in BDSM) even if the age difference between the hero and the heroine may not be big. 

AND by total coincidence (seriously, I pitched this idea before this trend started rolling), my e-serial tentatively titled NOT UNTIL YOU falls into this category. The story starts on the day my heroine graduates from veterinary school. And my hero, her neighbor, definitely didn't plan to get involved with some "kid". : ) Of course, his plan doesn't go so well.

So I, for one, am excited about this trend. I always say that erotic romance and YA are my two favorite genres to read. I even started out writing YA. And it's one of the reasons I did a dual timeline in Crash Into You. Half the story is ten years earlier when she's in college, so it's actually half new adult, lol.

So this genre kind of blends what I love most about both adult romance and YA together. When it's well written, I really enjoy that coming-into-adulthood story where we get to see the insecurity and angst of being young and unsure mixed in with the ability to explore and take some risks, to act like an adult.

And with all this momentum, I'm hoping the genre is here to stay. Not just in the erotic subset but in general. Bring on the new adult!

So how do you feel about this genre? Have you read anything you'd consider New Adult? If so, what's been your favorite so far?

Fill-Me-In Friday - Best Writing Links of the Week

 

Fave photo of the week: Taking kidlet on a miniature train ride in Fort Worth yesterday. Kidlet declared, "It's just like the Dinosaur train! But no dinosaurs." :)

Alright, we've made it to Friday, everyone. Congrats. :) And since I had to skip last Friday's round-up, we have an extra long one today. Hope you find something worth reading.

 

On Writing/Publishing: 

 

On Social Media/Marketing:

 

For Gits and Shiggles:

 

What You May Have Missed Here: 

 

So that's what I have for the week. How was your week? What are you reading?