Jodie Leigh Murray

 

Deciding to publish your novel, short stories, poems, whatever you have written, is a big decision. Writing is the easy part, depending on what you're writing. The rest of it is hard. Formatting, uploading, all the stuff that you don't think about that goes into publishing that you have to do. That is difficult when you are not an expert at it.

 

Now that I've published four books, I'm getting good at the rest of the stuff that goes along with getting them published with my distributors, but that doesn't mean that I don't encounter issues.

 

The timing of this blog strikes me as funny. I've been helping a good friend publish her poems. I honestly can't wait until her book is available. Her poems are so good.

 

When I decided to write for publication

I made the decision to write for publication right out of high school, finishing a book and sending out dozens of query letters to literary agents. I got one back that requested the first three chapters, but it went nowhere. Looking back, my writing then was far too immature. I'm glad I waited. Fast forward X number of years (yeah, not going to admit how many years have actually passed), I've continued to write and never really finishing anything. Anytime I went somewhere, I would always bring writing stuff and my husband finally told me to publish my own work.

 

Why I decided to publish

As for the why I decided to publish, other than my husband's incessant badgering, I'd been looking into self-publishing and how difficult it would be to accomplish it. After filling in some gaps through my neighbor's cousin, I decided self-publishing would be the way to go instead of going back through the traditional publishing route by sending all those query letters out. So, I asked a few people to read the book I'd just finished. They loved it. And then I found out that I would need to hire at least a developmental editor, which could be at a cost of up to $6,000. I saw my dreams quickly spiraling back down. No way I could afford to hire an editor at that cost. But I researched more and sent out some requests for quotes and got some amazing responses. That's how I found my editor, Becky Wallace. I will never regret taking the self-publishing plunge, having Becky's expertise backing me up.

 

Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing

There are a good number of writers who go through traditional publishing because their books will get distributed in so many more places. That is true. It is still extremely hard to crack into it and get an agent. This market is tough. Extremely tough. It's so tough that there are a bigger number of writers like me who go the self-publishing route. Some have made it big, gotten signed on to a big publishing company, and good for them! I, however, don't know if I'd want to be swooped up by a big name. Yes, I want people to grab my books, read them, and love them. I want people to be waiting in anticipation for my next book to be published. But, and this is a big deal for me, there are two things that I do not want. I do not want someone telling me what to write or what to change in my books. I get that these big publishing houses and literary agents know what they are doing, and what sells, but these are mine. Offer suggestions, but don't say do it or else. That doesn't fly with me. The other is control. I control everything about my process, including how often I put out a new book. I average two books a year. Most self-published authors publish 2-3 books a year. I could probably eek out a third book if I didn't have a full-time job besides my writing career. Traditionally published books are a lot longer process with having to go through a large team of people.

 

I've given you the when and why I decided to publish, but I can honestly tell you it's rewarding for me to do this, even if I'm not profitable right now. As long as I have enough to pay each book's expense, which is around $2,500 per book, I'll keep writing. It can frustrate when things are not going my way, but I expect the issues in my schedule, and I work through them. There is nothing in the world like the feeling of getting your proof or author copy package delivered. It is a euphoric feeling that is out of this world and well worth the hard work you'll put into it, whether you traditional or self-publish.

 

Happy Writing!

Jodie

 

This is a sore spot for me. As a reader, I might read the reviews, but I don't put any stock into whether to get the book based on what the reviewer wrote. I read the book blurb and look at average star ratings the book has, but in the end I'm going to read it based on that book blurb. Especially if there are a lot of reviews that bash the book, ESPECIALLY those that have a DNF (did not finish). As a reader, it's very rare that I don't finish a book. I might set it aside for a later time when I can focus now, but I'm doing the writer a big injustice by not finishing it unless the writing is actually terrible.

 

There are books that are bad. Just bad. For someone who has been reading for a long time, probably their whole life like me, you know the story is going to suck by looking at the cover and reading the back blurb. It's rare that I've misjudged the book, and has happened only once or twice that I've hated a book.

 

Regardless, what I might like someone else may not. And the same goes for a book I might not like much. Someone else may love it. I picked up a book a couple of years ago based on a recommendation of this author and I can honestly say I didn't finish the book. Rare for me, like I said. If there was a plot to this book, I was quite a few chapters in and still didn't know what it was. And sex, sex, and more sex. That's all it was. At least give me a crappy plotline to go with that. Nope. That's all it was. I don't mind reading a racy book, but there has to be more than that. Please. I wrote a review for that book, an honest one with my opinion BUT I did also put in my review that what might not be for me, might be for someone else. And that is the truth.

 

As an author, reviews are extremely important. As an independent author, even more so. One person might love the book, another not so much. Giving me a horrible review because you didn't like it will hurt my sales. Someone will read that and not buy it. If the book is poorly written with a lot of errors (admittedly, my first one had quite a few), then yes–write that review. I deserve it if the book is all around bad. Reviews in Goodreads and Amazon will make my books, and other independent authors I know stand out. The more the reviews, the more we get to the recommended lists without actually having to pay to be there. As an independent author, money isn't in abundance, so having to pay to be noticed is tough when you have small margins, anyway.

 

Being two years into publishing my own books, I still have very few reviews and my third one that just came out earlier this year has only two. Two! Pretty sad, but I've asked for reviews, to no avail. That means either people really didn't like it, or people just don't want to write one. I don't even have hardly any star ratings for that one.

 

People don't like to write reviews. I am one of them, unless the book was a fantastic read and I want people to know that. Again, it's subjective. I might have thought the book was one of the best reads I'd read recently, while another person might not like it as much as I did. Movies, music . . . the same. I know many people who like country music. Me? Not my favorite. But I don't give it a poor reputation because I don't like it as much as I like hard rock.

 

So, there you have it. That is my opinion about writing a review or not writing a review. Do what is best for you. Just keep in mind that the author worked very hard on that piece of work, and like I said, if the writing is horrible along with a plethora of mistakes and make even a bad cover, I might make a few mentions but I would not under any circumstances give the author a bad review. It's just hurtful to someone who might try really hard. And what's more, anyone close to that person should be telling them honestly that the book needed more work to be put into it. Don't let friends publish bad stuff!

 

Happy Reading!

Jodie

 

Believe it or not, this is a tough question for an author. There are a lot of things that can be an inspiration for writing. Do you ever watch a television show or movie and think to yourself: why didn't I think of that? Well, someone did. I'm a daydreamer at heart. I always have been. And I will always be.

 

Movies

There are always going to be scenes where you are on the edge of your seat and BAM! a twist happens that you never thought coming. Those get my mind ticking. I get inspirations from movies, sometimes. As a writer, as most writers do, I'm always asking 'what if?'. What if a gangster only has one child, and it's a girl? What if she doesn't want to have anything to do with his business, wants to do her own thing in life, but he's got tight control of her? What if his lifestyle makes her a target? I don't want to give anything away for people who might not have read my books, but it's questions like these that helped me build The Gangster's Daughter. It started with that first question and kept building.

 

Music

I've said it before, and I will probably repeat it over and over until people are sick of it. I cannot live without music. That might be my biggest inspiration of all. Listening to music gives me vibes. Slow song, slow scene. Fast song, highly dramatic scene. I always get comments from people who tell me they feel like they are in my books. THIS IS WHY! Music.

 

Dreams

Sometimes I have dreams. Dreams that I'm in a scene, watching something unfold. Usually a character in a situation. It might go through transformations once I've got the finished book, but the premise is the same. When I have a dream and wake up, I have to write it down or it's gone forever. It might be in the middle of the night, or when I just wake up. I use my phone to note the gist of the dream, but transfer it to my notebook of ideas later on.

 

People are inspirations, too. Have you ever met someone who has the strangest quirk? My character in The Gangster's Mistake always forgets to put on her socks. Quirky yes, but it's just unimportant to her. Even when she finds herself in a situation where socks would have been good to put on. To me, that makes an excellent character. Real people are the same. What makes you quirky? Myself, I have lots of quirks. Maybe borderline OCD.

 

Another thing that writers do is eavesdrop. Yes, I admittedly do that. You can pick up on conversations that people have and get the greatest ideas. It sounds crazy, and rude to do, but these are people I will never see again in my life. Even if I did, I wouldn't remember them. What harm is a little eavesdropping?

 

While camping, I noticed a tree. A gnarly old tree with a gigantic trunk and a hole in the middle. I stared at that tree for a while, wondering what the story was about that tree. You might think I'm nuts. That's fine though. It can be the silliest things the inspirations come from. 

 

The best inspirations are all around, you just have to pay attention. They are everywhere.

 

Happy Reading!

Jodie

 

We've all heard the phrase 'Don't judge a book by a cover' meaning don't judge someone by the way they look. But you should judge a book by its cover. And here's why . . .

 

The book cover is the first thing a person sees when browsing for their next read. Whether online or in a store, the cover is going to draw that potential reader in or the opposite and they walk away. I can't stress how important it is that you get the book cover right. If you're traditionally published, or planning on going that way, you'll have experts to design it for you. Independent, you'll need to figure it out yourself. But the main thing is to realize that the reader is going to pick up your book or not based on that cover. It has to be perfect, all the way down to the fonts.

 

I've seen a rise in romance book covers with cartoonish characters lately, of books that have a high level of explicit sex. Misleading, yes, but a marketing genius idea? They're selling, so yes! Personally, I'm not sure what draws readers to those books. I only know from fellow readers that those books have a lot of spice. I have a preference for my own book covers not to show faces (except for The Gangster's Mistake, which fit my character perfectly). I want my readers to picture the characters in their own mind, not have a sneak peek, and possibly a wrong perception.

 

Regardless of whether landscape, cartoons, designs or people, that cover is a representation of the essence of your book and it should reach out and grab readers as much as the back blurb. A discussion for another day. I'm not an expert on book covers, but I am a reader and I will not pick up a book if the cover sucks.

 

How to Design a Book Cover

If you're an independent author, like I am, this is extremely important. I'm a writer, not an artist. There are many authors who are blessed to be able to do both. Not me. I can't draw to save my life unless we're playing a game of hangman and I'm drawing a stick figure. Not a big deal, there are plenty of options for getting a book cover. The most effective would be to hire an artist. Present them with the background on your book and they'll draw it up. You work with the artist to get it just right. Some are expensive, some are modestly sourced. You need to do your research there. There are pre-made covers, which I have done with mine. Covers where the background is available for purchase and I make the additions and changes to color and size, as well as the positioning of where I want things located. As I've said in previous blogs, you need to be careful with pre-made covers and do your research there, too. I go through Book Cover Zone, and as soon as I purchase the cover–it's marked as sold. It's mine. I'm able to name the artist in my copyright because I ask them for it after I purchase. And of course, if you're artistically able, you can design your own. I do not recommend that unless you have a background in art. I've seen many book covers that the author has done themselves without having a background in art, and um . . . no. Spend the money to get a cover elsewhere. Your job is to get your book into the hands of readers. If you aren't doing it, it might be the cover.

 

And don't forget about the inside! That's important, too!

 

Happy Reading!
Jodie

 

I'll prelude this blog by saying that I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. One fiction and a couple non-fiction. Reading non-fiction is difficult at best. It's dry reading for me, even if the subject is interesting. I need to alternate between reading non-fiction and fiction. I can only read one fiction book at a time, and I only want to read one at a time to give that author's story my undivided attention.

 

Fiction

So . . . what am I currently reading in fiction? When I knew this blog was coming up, I didn't know what I would be reading. It was toss up between five or six books that I'm eagerly awaiting reading. I'm reading A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, the third book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Originally, I didn't want to read this series. There was so much hype about it, I wasn't sure if it was a series I would like. I do not pay attention whatsoever to reviews posted on Goodreads and FOR GOOD REASON. While there are some people that write an honest review, most of the reviews are based on an opinion. And opinions on books will vary just like they do for music and movies. What someone else may thoroughly hate, I might really enjoy. Therefore, I will read the back blurb and judge a book by its cover before I ever put any stock into someone's bad review.

 

The first book in this series was actually fantastic and had me hooked. The story itself was good. So good that I had to read the next book, which wasn't until a few books later, but I did pick it up and finished it last week. The second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, was SUPER good and hooked me every further. There are two other books in this series, A Court of Frost and Starlight and A Court of Silver Flames. I'm looking forward to reading them, too.

 

I've been reading a lot of romantasy lately, but I've mixed it up, some having read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst recently. Though I'm not sure I would recommend The Starless Sea unless you want to be thoroughly confused, I would recommend The Spellshop. It was a delight.

 

I've not decided which fictional book I'll be picking up next. There are so so many to choose from right now. So many that I want to read. I might have to flip a coin to decide.

 

Non-Fiction

For my non-fiction selections, I'm reading Writing into The Dark by Dean Wesley Smith, which is about writing without an outline. For those of you who know me, or have read my blogs, you know that I heavily outline each book before I start the book. Well, my fifth book–the third in the Gangster series–has NO outline. You heard me right. I've done very little as far as outlining. Instead, I'm writing into the dark on it. I've had to pause to ensure The Aristocrat's Wife is published in time, but this book is helping me through unknown territory while I navigate without an outline. The other non-fiction book that I'm reading is How to Write a Successful Series by Helen Scheurer. Again, those who know me or who've talked to me at events know that I never intended for The Gangster's Daughter to turn into a series. It was by pure chance that I wrote the characters into The Gangster's Mistake as supporting characters, which turned it into a series. And if you don't know already, I have at least five more Gangster books coming. Those who have not purchased those books yet, I'll be adding a page to the inside of those books that will state: This series is best enjoyed in this order  . . . I'm not planning on changing the book covers to have Book One, Book Two, etc.

 

That's what I'm reading right now! If you need any recommendations, let me know!!

 

Happy reading!

Jodie