Theft

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Jeeze, you guys. Did you hear about the latest (or maybe it's not so new) Amazon scam? I read from a site I can't link to here because of the +18 content that a person has been lifting whole books and posting them as her own on Amazon. These are mostly self-published books and books published by small e-book companies. 

Apparently this "author" has been "publishing" under several different names, but (s)he even has the audacity to use the same blurbs and everything. To steal like this in front of everyone in broad daylight is just unbelievable. I feel so sorry for the real authors. It must be horrible to be so powerless, to see your hard work being treated like this and no one will do anything.

It just plain sucks that people can do this and Amazon refuses to remove it because they say they're not responsible because of some clause they have in their contracts with the authors (saying that the person who is uploading is solely responsible for the content being their own). I personally think that since Amazon is getting a percentage of the sales, they should be held accountable. 

You know what? I have only ever ordered online books through Amazon (.com and .co.uk), but I'm not going to buy books from them anymore until they've corrected this injustice. I've found better places to shop at anyway, like Book Depository who ships free internationally. As for Kindle books, well I've learned to convert PDF files to Kindle format through Mobipocket Creator (it's soooo easy, just a few clicks), so I'll be just fine without Amazon for a while.

The Second Book

Image: www.bakeadogabone.com/dog-business/index.htm

Goodness! Having the boys at home for their summer vacation is draining every ounce of energy from my mind. I meant to blog more often, but whenever I get a break, I just want to sleep or lie on the sofa and stare at the ceiling. Three year olds are loud, energetic, and attention suckers. I do hope you'll forgive me if my blogs seem a bit detached. Two more weeks to go...which means a month to go for Uni. Yup, that's right: I'm leaving a well paid job to go back to University in hope of pursuing my dream of becoming an author.

Since I've already had a two week break from the querying and writing, I've been re-thinking things a little. When the boys go to kindergarten again, I'll have two weeks until Uni starts (majoring in English this time, already have a bachelor's in marketing and administration). I could do what I was doing two weeks before the boys had their vacation: sit at the computer and read articles etc. and keep dreaming, or I could start writing the second book of the series. I think I'll go with the latter.

I'm both curious to see how the second book unravels, and I also think it's important to start writing it so that a) I can say that I'm already well on my way with the second book if I do get an agent interested, b) writing is fun and it's important to use the little time I have left to cram in as much writing as I can (I wrote the first manuscript in a month, so I should be able to get at least half of the book done in two weeks), and c) if I can't get a deal, I will feel more optimistic about e-publishing, because I've already started on the second book.

There's one other thing I haven't considered much, and that is to query publishers. There are many writers who query publishers first and then find an agent if they find an interested publisher. The other way would be more ideal, since the agent can negotiate the deal, but I think it would probably be easier to find an agent if you already have a contract ready to be signed from a publisher. Once I'm back at Uni, I'll probably spend some time compiling a list of publishers -- ones who consider unsolicited material. There's the problem, really, and the main reason writers try to get an agent first: not all publishers will consider manuscripts if the writers have no agent. This has put some unfair shift of work on the agents. Now it is they who have to sieve through the query letters, which seems more logical work for the publishers.

Anyway, as soon as the boys are back at kindergarten, I'll sit down and draft the second book. I already have readers related to me who are waiting for the continuum.

Lord of the Rings meets Me

My twins are on a month’s vacation from their kindergarten and they’re wearing me out! Due to this fact, I won’t have as much time to blog (or write *whine*), but I’ll try to get in two-three blogs a week.

I‘ve been reading a lot of books in my genre (YA fantasy), and I‘m especially interested in the vampire series. It is important to read a lot in your genre to be able to compare your work and see what works and what doesn‘t. While I read, I also try to think about what makes the book interesting, what keeps me reading, how chapters end, the much important “voice” (which is something I hadn't heard of until two months ago), how each chapter is constructed, and I look out for hints throughout the book and then guess at the ending (which has spoiled books for me, since I can often guess at the ending in the middle of the book). I then compare these things to my novel. I can say this: I read books in a whole new way since I started writing.

It‘s hard for me to find exactly what I need to compare my books to, other than the technical factors. If I were writing a vampire book, it would be easy to explain how it is different from other vampire books. I’d like to be able to do the “meets” thing—you know: Lord of the Rings meets Ella Enchanted meets Morganville Vampires, but all I can come up with is the Lord of the Rings because my land is medieval and there are wizards. There aren’t even dwarves in the land or dragons (which is why I can't use Eragon as a “meets”).

I suppose I could say Lord of the Rings with a dash of humor, pinch of romance, two spoonfuls of mystery and three cups of sexy darkness. That’s still not a good way to give people an idea of what it is. I intend to do a lot of reading this month of exhaustion and maybe I’ll come across a book that I’ll be able to use as a “meets”.

I’m often disheartened when I read really interesting books and I think that I’ll never get there, but then I remind myself that a) Stephenie Meyer was a miracle case and most writers have been writing for years before getting published, b) their manuscripts go through serious changes and rewrites with the aid of the publisher’s editorial team before they are ready, and c) my manuscript is darn good, so there’s no reason to put myself down. Again, I wonder if I should change the first chapters, but I decided two weeks ago that it was good as it is and I’d just have to have some faith.

I’ve also been thinking more about e-books and Kindle. If I would publish the series that way, I could just write and write, and it would urge me onwards just to have the next book out there. I know myself and know that even if I only had one reader out there, I’d finish the series because I’d know that there’s a person out there who likes my story.

I figure that if I continue to write a lot and publish books on Kindle, eventually some people will like what I write and will want to read the other books as well. They’ll tell their friends and so on. Of course I’d try to market myself on the internet, but I’d have to promise myself to be patient and not to be worried about slow sales to begin with. I want writing to be my career and this is one way to start it. Who knows, maybe an agent/publisher would notice my work out there and offer me a deal. I know that’s a dream-case scenario, but it has happened and will happen again.

The rejection toll is up to 14 now. All polite form rejections (which I appreciate). I respect that those 14 had the courtesy to reply; I know that many won’t. I’ll also have to sort through which I’m allowed to re-query (a different agent within the agency). I already re-queried the very first one that I queried over a month ago, but I haven’t heard back from her since I sent the re-queried letter last week.

Task for the day: Read.

Fantasy Genre

Vampire Girl from the Dark Moon homepage

I'm a total sucker for vampires. Ever since I watched the movie Interview with a Vampire in my teen years, I've been hooked on those fang-bearers. I even love watching Angel! (The vampire, not a fallen angel). I absolutely adore Charleine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, and I read any YA vampire novel I can get my hands on.

I didn't choose to write about vampires when I was designing my story. I started creating my magical characters before Twilight hit the theaters (which was when I discovered the books), so YA vampires weren't big in my world at the time. I should be thankful for thinking outside the box when I decided to write a book, because now agents and publishers aren't taking in new vampire novels. At the time, I had no idea there were such things as trends in book publishing, and I thought that if someone wrote a good vampire novel, they'd get it published. As for me, I suppose I wanted to create something that was mine from the start.

I have also read books about fallen angels. I must admit that angels don't appeal to me as much. I don't know what it is. They're supposed to have the dark element, but they just don't do it for me. I'm now reading Fallen, by Lauren Kate, and we'll see how I feel after that. It's definitely something I wouldn't choose to write about.

Then I've read books about fairies, and I honestly don't know if I could ever write books about fairies. At least not the kind of fairies I've read recently. Elves are a different matter, and to me, they're not the same (although they sometimes seem to star in fairy books).

I can't bring myself to check out a werewolf book from the library. I've seen them in movies and read about them as vampires vs. werewolves, but I always cheer for the vampires. Edward was always the one I rooted for, and Jacob was just annoying at times. The same goes for the movie Underworld, which really wasn't a great movie, but it's about vampires, and so I watched it. Charleine Harris has werewolves and fairies, but I let that slide because I love her vampires so much.

I suppose that if I can't write about vampires (if I want to be published -- and I do), I'll have to continue creating my own race of fantasy creatures. I don't know if that'll ease my way into publishing or hinder, since it might be a risk for publishers to introduce new creatures. I have caught myself wondering if I should write a vampire series, I even have an idea for one, but reading the agent/publisher blogs I've decided not use my time on that and rather continue with my own creation.

Vampire books will always be the thing I love to read. I hope that although agents/publishers are rejecting such books today, they'll never stop completely so that suckers, such as I, can continue reading what we love.

What are your favorite creatures in fantasy novels?