New member post: novelist and children's book author

[k-writerly.livejournal.com]

Greetings, everyone at crowdfunding!  (^__^)  (Wow, it feels so weird to be introducing myself without excessive gesturing... which is my modus operandi here in Japan, where I'm an ESL instructor.)

My name is Keru.  I have a great love for sarcasm and the word "Yo!"  I'm a writer and I write under the name "K. Writerly."

My main works are historical fiction (14th century Ireland), and supernatural suspense (modern day), and I'm working with a pair of spectacular illustrators on some children's books.  More information about all of this is on my LiveJournal profile here: k-writerly.livejournal.com/profile

I'm just beginning to look at how to self-publish my works (so, yes, I am currently unpublished although I have Plans... Plans, I tell you!  PLANS!  Bwhahaha!!!  *ahem*  Sorry...)  At the moment, my goal is to self-publish at least three novels (one is done and awaiting the final edit in the publishing template and another is about 75% complete and the third is all outlined... it just has to be written, proofread, edited, etc. - Hah... I make that sound as if it's easy!) this year via blurb.com and (possibly) www.createspace.com.

I'm very new to the concept of Crowdfunding, but I hope to learn more as I watch this community!  (^__^)/

Comments

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Welcome! Feel free to holler with any questions; the great thing about it is that most of the places you'll run into questions, /someone's/ already been through it. And we're a friendly bunch.

I'm Lyn; I self-publish a serial online and a whole bunch of fiction on my LJ.

[k-writerly.livejournal.com]

Hi, Lyn! It's great to meet you!

That's fantastic that you're self-publishing and even on LJ! I've taken a quick peek at your LJ and I will have to return later (when I have more time) to check out the communities you're involved with. I'm thinking that getting involved with a wider writing community where I can write short works for prompts would be a good move for me.

Thank you for welcoming me to Crowdfunding!

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of great prompting sites out there; I write (semi-)regularly for four - 3 word wednesday, carry on tuesday, 15-minute ficlets, and a prompt circle, Daughters of Clio.

Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

We're happy to have you here.

>> (Wow, it feels so weird to be introducing myself without excessive gesturing... which is my modus operandi here in Japan, where I'm an ESL instructor.) <<

That's cool. One of my friends translates filk songs into sign language: judifilksign. I'm a fan of languages so I keep an eye out for stuff like this. Also, you might enjoy looking at the Torn World shared world project run by ellenmillion -- we have a deaf character there who uses home signs to communicate:
http://www.tornworld.net/members/cisdisplay.php?id=22

>> I'm just beginning to look at how to self-publish my works <<

Check out the Memories for this community. Several of those posts deal with networking, building your audience, and other things you might find helpful.

Createspace seems pretty popular. Smashwords is another that many writers like for self-publishing or crowdfunding projects.

Re: Welcome!

[k-writerly.livejournal.com]

Hello! Thank you so much for the warm welcome!

And thank you for the link and recommendations for sign language projects and sites. It sounds terribly interesting! (A friend of mine studied sign language briefly in college... I will pass this along to her!) As for me, I'm afraid I don't know much sign language at all. What I meant to say above is that I teach English as a Second Language. Silly me to forget about all the acronyms floating around in the world these days. I'm sure "ESL" has multiple meanings. I should Goggle it just out of curiosity!

I will check out the community Memories for networking recommendations and take a look at the Smashwords site! I'm considering posting a significant portion of my novels (say, the first 25,000 words) to HarperCollins' www.authonomy.com as well. (Works posted there don't have to be finished, although they do have to have a word count of at least 10,000 words.) I realize that Blurb.com - while offering on-demand printing services - is NOT a place to build an audience. Hence, I thought perhaps Authonomy might be the way to go. I shall have to investigate the fine print, however: if, by using their site to promote my work, I'm obligated to acquiesce to a contract (should the work be chosen for mass publication by HarperCollins) then I will have to re-think that strategy... I am not sure if I want my novels to go mainstream. Now or ever. (I cannot imagine the Stress. And I'm allergic, you know. To Stress.) (^__~)

Thanks again!

Re: Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> As for me, I'm afraid I don't know much sign language at all. What I meant to say above is that I teach English as a Second Language. Silly me to forget about all the acronyms floating around in the world these days. I'm sure "ESL" has multiple meanings. I should Goggle it just out of curiosity! <<

Sorry about that. It was the reference to moving your hands that made me jump in that direction. Otherwise Japan would've clued "English as a Second Language" instead of "English as a SIGNED Language" (which is sometimes used, ESL, for Signed English -- not the same as American Sign Language).

>>I'm considering posting a significant portion of my novels (say, the first 25,000 words) to HarperCollins' www.authonomy.com as well.<<

Good idea. I'm on there as a reader. It's a good place to get feedback. The slush pile curve is fascinating: it's heavily weighted toward average, rather than mostly crummy.

>> I shall have to investigate the fine print, however: if, by using their site to promote my work, I'm obligated to acquiesce to a contract <<

Double-check, but as far as I know, there is no obligation for a contract.

>> I am not sure if I want my novels to go mainstream. Now or ever. (I cannot imagine the Stress. And I'm allergic, you know. To Stress.) <<

Before you release your writing, it's a very good idea to decide WHY you are writing and WHAT your writer goals are. If you want to avoid the mainstream, that will have a big impact on your choices -- and it means that much advice aimed at writers will be wrong for you, because maximizing market share is the prevailing goal. If avoiding stress is a prime goal for you, that's fine, but you'll need to make it a fundamental part of your business plan. *ponder* Maybe check out FictionPress, they seem to discourage monetizing methods so are probably not attracting people interested in mainstream publishing.

Re: Welcome!

[k-writerly.livejournal.com]

Ah... FictionPress. Thanks! I will look there as well.

My goals are clear (to me) but I'm not sure how realistic they are. I enjoy having an audience with which I can interact: a community where we can give feedback and encouragement on each other's works. However, having offered some writing up on the Internet for free before, I know I don't want that. I've had the experience where many, many people treat my writing like it's disposable. That always riles me. After someone reads a 50-page story, they either don't comment or they say "Thnx ur writting great! More plz" *headdesk* So, yes, I would like to put a price tag on my work... not because I expect to get rich and want to go on book-signing tours or anything (*shudders*) but because I just want people to stop throwing my stuff in the proverbial bin after reading it. A lot of time and effort goes into writing (as we all Know) and I simply want that to be recognized. (Does that makes sense?)

Having said all that, it's possible that my concept of mainstream publishing is uber skewed, and perhaps it's really not the big, bad monster that will EAT MY HAPPY WRITING TIMES. Still, for now, I'd like to keep things personal. Having a readership that feels comfortable chatting with me and having author friends from whom I can buy books and chat about them... yeah, that's the Ideal I'm aiming for at the moment. (^__~)

P.S. Goodness, the process of teaching English in Japan is such that I think it nearly is a Signed Language! Maybe I know more sign language (intuitively) than I give myself credit for! Ha-ha!!

Re: Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>My goals are clear (to me) but I'm not sure how realistic they are.<<

That depends largely on how much money you hope to make, how large of an audience you want to attract, and how good your writing is. If your goals are modest, you have a good chance of making them.

>> I enjoy having an audience with which I can interact: a community where we can give feedback and encouragement on each other's works. However, having offered some writing up on the Internet for free before, I know I don't want that. <<

Then you will probably enjoy cyberfunded creativity. Browse some other people's projects -- there are examples in the Links section of the sidebar -- and look at the different ways those authors handle their monetizing and audience interaction.

>> Having said all that, it's possible that my concept of mainstream publishing is uber skewed, and perhaps it's really not the big, bad monster that will EAT MY HAPPY WRITING TIMES. <<

Mainstream publishing does a variety of things quite well and is great for some writers. But low-stress? No. Especially not now when it's full of angst over the rapidly changing marketplace.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Historical fiction sounds like fun! :)

[k-writerly.livejournal.com]

When the research is cooperating with your goals and ideas, it is very fun! And when the data you want is running away from you as fast as its little legs can manage... er, yeah. Writing historical fiction is less so... (^__~)