Just Ginger

The phrase self-publishing has a lot of baggage which is why more and more writers refer to it as Indie, or Independent publishing. We’re putting ourselves into the same category as independent film makers. It means we don’t have huge corporations footing the bill. We have to do more on less. We have to work harder to prove ourselves. We have to write well enough to capture readers without the backing of a large company. As I said in part one, I shelved plans to self-publish because I’d SOLD! I was too busy basking in my success to think about taking the much maligned path of publishing my own works. I was a bonafide author, an editor and publishing company in New York thought so. And best of all, I had an agent who would help me make more sales. It would take me five years to realize success wasn’t guaranteed because you had a contract and agent. Nor was it guaranteed if you poured your heart and soul and advances into promotion or into writing more stories. Orphaned, Ca...

Before I continue on the journey to indie publishing, my first ebook has hit the Internet book stores. I'll be writing more about  A Dash of Ginger, Sassy Southern Essays  as my journey continues, but for now, here's the cover–which I love!

I’ve been immersed in the writing industry for decades and I’m tainted by all the old rules. For example, I’m late to the self-publishing game due to the stigma attached to self-publishing when I started this journey. Way back when, a talented writer didn’t need to take the self-publishing route. In those days, there were plenty of outlets for print publishing. All you had to do was link up with the right editor at the right publishing house. In addition, I wrote romance fiction, a category that has over 50% of the paperback market. If you believed the romance experts, anybody could get published in romance. Except me.  I am a historian. Majored in it in college. Taught it there, too. Big reader of historical fiction in my younger years before the historical romance category was invented. Seemed a good fit as a writer to meld history, fiction, and romance. Not that I knew a thing about writing a historical novel, but hey, why let that hold one back? Along the b...

Welcome to the latest rendition of my blog. It started out several years ago as a tie-in to my website and promotion for my fiction writing. I didn’t even visit it very often. You know how it is, good intentions and all. Imagine my surprise when I realized people were visiting here! (According to the Google stats.)  I’m not sure how or why people end up here, but it's nice to know you are. That knowledge convinced me to update the blog. I’m still a little hazy on the exact mission of this blog, but  as I mentioned last year, I decided to dive into self-publishing.  Hmmm, more like get my toes wet gradually since it’s taking me so long!! Anyway, for now I'm going to use self-publishing as my focus for this blog. I hope the journey, however long it lasts, proves enlightening for readers. When I obtained the rights to my first two historical romances about two years ago, my plan was to put them into ebooks. I still plan to do that, but I decided to publish so...

Life temporarily sidetracked me for the past few months, but I’m hoping to get back into the grove. I managed to wrestle the rights back to my historical romances and hope to get these award winning stories into the various ebook formats. With that goal in mind, I’m in the early stages of establishing my own small publishing company. Which means I’m learning how to self-publish! And while popping the manuscript into an online self-publishing program is one choice, I’m trying to retain as much control as possible. This time I want covers that snap for those two books. And although I’ve been more fortunate with the small publishers I have contracts with than the larger company who first published me, there was still the need to satisfy their desires over mine because they were, after all, paying the bills. I’m looking forward to being the one who has to be pleased even if that does mean paying the bills. And I look forward to my cover artist coming up with those lovely covers. I also wri...

We didn’t know October was Adopt A Shelter Dog Month last year when we took in Sadie, our seventh homeless pet. We’d gone the purebred route when we were younger, but once we learned how many pets never find a home, we decided to adopt whenever we added a dog to our family. Oddly enough, once we stopped buying dogs, we still ended up with purebreds. Our mixed to pure bred ratio is about even, with a Westie, Great Dane, Beagle and probable Rhodesian Ridgeback vying with a Cocker Spaniel mix, a German Shepherd mix, and a Louisiana Catahula Leopard hound mix in our adoptee line-up. Adopting a stray or shelter dog is all about second chances for the dog, which marries up well with my writing. One day I realized I wrote about second chances in love. I think my fondness for this theme stems from personal experience. My husband and I met when we were nineteen, dated seriously, broke up, and went our separate ways. Four months after we reunited, we got married. Our second chance ...

My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn: The Power of Dialogue If you have a hankering to learn more about writing, don't miss the 2012 Muse Online Writers Conference. Especially don't miss my workshop October 8 - 14, 2012 Geared for the new and intermediate writer, My Dear, I Don’t Give A Damn: The Power of Dialogue will focus on ways to incorporate dialogue into scenes to make your story sparkle. Using examples from books and movies, we’ll explore the many purposes of dialogue in storytelling. Check it out at    Muse Online Writers Conference There's only a week left of the Twilight Times Books contest. Lots of neat prizes are being offered. Get the details at  http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com/contest2012.html