You Write This Great Book, and Then...

...you have to let people know about it.
Honestly? Yuck.
I'd rather people see the title (A LETHAL TIME AND PLACE--now, isn't that compelling?) and say to themselves, "The '60s? Murder? Plot twists? I have to own that book!"
But no. There are thousands of books and authors out there, clamoring for readers' attention.
So authors do stuff--promotion stuff.
*We do pre-release buzz: Little blurbs all over the place that say, "Hey, this book is cool and unique and you've heard of this woman if you're a mystery fan. She's gotten awards. She's gotten great reviews from all the big guys."
*We do specials. Amazon has a new thing: Kindle Countdown, and A Lethal Time and Place is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. The idea is that you get the book for 99 cents for the first few days of the sale, then the price starts to slide upward to its original amount. I guess the message is "HURRY! BUY IT NOW!"
*We do more. Announcements. Blogs. We beg for reviews (Please, just 20 words! You can do that!). We Facebook, Tweet, Goodreads, and onward. We get our name out there. We get our book's name out there.
But honestly? Yuck. I'd rather be working on the sequel.

Writing Gear

I got my first contract in 2008, and since then I’ve published nine books, including three different series for two different publishers. I don’t expect you to be impressed. I’m just telling you that for background.

Those first few novels were like a fever in my blood. I had no idea what was going to happen in the next chapter or even on the next page. I didn’t know if what I wrote was good, bad, or in between. I just knew I had to get it out of my head.

These days things are a little different. Fans ask, “When’s the next Loser novel coming out?” and I know they have questions they want answered about her. Publishers ask, “How many books will the Simon and Elizabeth series contain?” and I know they’re looking at the bottom line. And editors ask, “When can you get the changes for the next Dead Detective book done?” and I know they have schedules to meet.

It’s not just my eager fingers making me write these days.

Published authors know that writing really is work. It becomes a little less of a Great Adventure and more of a Project. There are people out there with expectations, which is different from the days when we used to write as much as we felt like writing, any way we wanted to.

That said, I still look forward to the next book. It’s exciting to turn the ideas in my head into a full novel that people are out there waiting to buy. As I write, things come to mind that add meat to the story’s backbone or flesh to a character’s frame. I’m likely to laugh out loud or do a little celebratory dance when a particularly good idea hits.

And there’s a point where the writing becomes a fever again, when I begin to live inside the book. My characters matter to me—a lot. I forget about publishing houses and editors and even fans. It’s my story. I want to tell it. I know what has to happen, and I know how it has to be told.

When I finish, I emerge from my cloud of fiction to face the real world again. I listen to my editors’ suggestions, do what my publishers request for promotion, and let the fans know that Another One is available. At that point, though, the book isn’t mine anymore. It belongs to the readers, but yes, thank you, I did have fun with it during the brief period when it was only mine.

COVERS and covers

I am totally unaware of why I like or don't like a book's cover. When my publishers send me a cover proposal, I immediately show it to my husband, my daughter-in-law, or my website designer, all of whom have a WAY better sense of what makes a good cover than I do.


That said, I am smart enough to see when a book cover attracts people and when it doesn't. I've published books that people merely glance at and books that "call out" to readers. I watch their hands reach out for them subconsciously. KILLING SILENCE is in the latter category.

"That looks good," readers tell me when I hand out bookmarks. "Ooh, what's this about?" they ask, taking the book into their hands.

Exactly the kind of thing a writer wants to hear.

Amazon and other on-line bookstores have changed cover art, because a lot of detail is lost when a book is shrunk to the size readers see when they get little hints like "People who bought this book also bought..." Print books might still have beautiful colors and images, but they fade into blurs in those tiny squares.

Simpler is the trend, but a cover shouldn't look naked. I've set up at book fairs next to people who so obviously designed their own covers that it's almost painful. Yeah, they think it's "stark" and "evocative." Too often, it looks cheap.

I tried the less expensive route once, hiring an art student to design a cover. It turned out that "student" was a relative term. This one had no sense of perspective, no real interest in making a cover that popped. Luckily for me, my web guy saw it (he almost choked) and offered to work on it. Using the same images, he made the cover you see below, a vast improvement on the flat offering from the student.

I recently recovered the rights to a book published with a cover that always made me a little uncomfortable. At the time, I thought, "The publisher knows what will sell," but it turned out that particular publisher didn't know much at all. I've contracted with a professional artist to do a new cover for the book, one whose work I saw through a fellow author's website. She's been wonderful, and I'll post her cover here as soon as it's finalized, early next week.

So what's my cover recommendation for those planning to publish their backlists and more? Unless you've got experience in graphic arts AND an artist's eye, pay someone to design your covers.

Today I'm stopping here on my blog tour, which is winding down, but there are still chances to win prizes and see what's going on with Seamus.

Schedule: Peg Herring’s Blog Tour for May (and one post in June) consists of a mix of interviews with Seamus, the Dead Detective, and posts on writing. The previous stop was on May 16 at http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.comThe next stop on the tour will be on May 25^th at http://www.preciousmonsters.com/ A complete schedule is posted at Peg’s blog, http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com/ When the tour is over (June 11^th) the complete Seamus interview will be posted there.

Prizes: People who comment on any blog post on the tour will be entered in drawings for several prizes: Dead Detective T-shirts, copies of THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY and DEAD FOR THE MONEY (paperback or e-books available), and the chance to be a character in the third of the series DEAD FOR THE SHOW. Multiple winners will be drawn.

Links: DEAD FOR THE MONEY (e-book) http://tinyurl.com/c6pzz5z

THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY (paperback) http://tinyurl.com/7f6yc2r

Peg’s website: http://pegherring.com

Taking Stock

There’s a line of commercials lately that traces minor events in life that snowball and lead to disaster. In one, a guy frustrated by his cable service ends up beaten bloody in a ditch. I’m not sure that’s true for mystery writing, but the life of a mystery writer goes a little like this.

When you start writing a mystery novel, you want to know more about crime. When you want to know more about crime, you begin paying too much attention to television. When you pay too much attention to television, you begin to think that every action has a secret motive. When you think every action has a secret motive, you suspect everyone. When you suspect everyone, scenarios form in your brain. When scenarios form in your brain, you write them down. When you write them down, you have a mystery novel!

When I take stock of who I am today and who I was before I started writing, I see major growth in the area of in-brain storytelling. Passing a person on the street who’s fumbling through his clothes brings up the idea that he’s the victim of pickpockets, when it’s likely he just forgot where he stashed his keys. A sighting of an armored car brings up visions of armed gunmen pulling the driver to the ground and driving it away before anyone can stop them. A story in a newspaper of an unidentified body found in the woods of northern Michigan creates a whole list of possibilities, none of them as mundane as the truth, that it’s some pitiful Alzheimer’s victim who wandered away from home and couldn’t get back.

It isn’t life that’s changed; it’s me. Mystery writing is an addiction, and like all addictions, we can recognize it, admit to it, and struggle against it, but it’s always there. It’s partly the fault of others, those who say, “Oh, that was such a clever twist in your last book!”

“Oh,” I say to myself, “they think THAT was clever—wait till they see what I do next time!”

Friends in the mystery-writing community confess to the same thoughts. We start viewing the world in terms of plot-lines, people in terms of character possibilities, and even aspects of nature in terms of a great line for the next book. We don’t look at the world the way others do, or maybe even the way we used to: it isn’t just life anymore: it’s all fodder for the next book or the one after that.

I sometimes feel that I should warn my friends. Like a karate expert who must register his hands as lethal weapons, maybe all mystery writers should be made to wear that T-shirt you see at conventions that says: Be careful or you’ll end up in my next novel.

Did I Tell You About My New Book?

Writers are worse than grandparents sometimes at extolling the virtues of their newest addition. I am often surprised at how many authors NEED to tell me the plot of their book, from page one to the end. Um, why should I buy the book when you just told me the WHOLE THING???? Anyway.

I have a new suspense novel out this month called SHAKESPEARE'S BLOOD. Here's what you need to know about it:

While touring Britain, Mercedes Maxwell finds a handwritten notebook that claims William Shakespeare had a brother named John who was an agent for James I of England. Captured by outlaws, John died rather than reveal the location of a trove of Spanish gold. When someone is willing to kill for the notebook, Mercedes realizes that the story might be true.
In a reign of terror, those who know about the notebook are murdered and left posed as characters from Shakespearean tragedy. Solving the book’s clues is the only way to stop the killing, but although Mercedes can call on several people for help, she fears that none of them can be trusted where treasure is concerned.
The unraveling of the clues becomes even more critical as the killer turns his sights on Mercedes. The message from the man who called himself John Shakespeare leads her across Britain in a terrifying race to find the treasure, to stay alive, and to learn the secrets of Shakespeare’s blood.
You can buy it for Kindle now. Nook, although slower, is working on it.

Intrigued? Oh, I hope so. Here's the buy link to Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Blood-ebook/dp/B0053GCTLE/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1307965956&sr=1-6#sfmsg_-7890@@

"Did You Write These Books?"

It's almost summer, which is my most active promotion time. Michigan gets lots of tourists from June to August, so bookstores and other venues are willing to give me a shot at selling my books. What I find funny is a question I get a lot. I'm standing behind a table. There's a sign that says, "Author Peg Herring: Book Signing Today". And about once an hour someone asks me, "Did you write these books?"
I know, I shouldn't snicker at people who might spend money to own my work. But I would like to ask them why I'd be standing behind a table of Peg Herring's books if I was not Peg Herring. (A rabid fan, determined to make Peg a best-selling author, maybe?)
Other great questions writers get include "Where are the bathrooms in this place?" "Will you sign this book if I buy it?" and, of course, "Where do they keep the James Patterson books?"
Still, it's fun to meet readers, talk about books, and maybe, just maybe, meet someone who says, "Oh, I heard about this book! Someone said it was really good!"
Yay! And the bathrooms are just down that hallway.

If Publishing a Mystery Were Only as Easy as They Think!

People other than published authors tend to see writing as a life of ease rewarded by huge paychecks, the adulation of millions, and one’s name on the NYT best-seller list every other year. Let’s talk about the life of ease part.
All my life I was told I had writing talent. I went to a good college and studied writing with excellent instructors. Then I spent three decades teaching others about writing. Despite all that apparent talent and actual experience, writing a book--at least a good book--is hard, very hard. It takes a long time, a lot of effort, a sense of organization, and a dedications to one’s readers that is hard to describe. They say everyone has a book in his/her head. Yeah, well, come and see me when you’ve got something on paper, and not just the first three chapters!
My April 1 release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, took months to write and self-edit. (I have a system that is fairly complex, but it works for me: reading for a single facet, like characterization, and then reading again for a different facet, like sensory detail). When I had done what I could for the time being, I had a couple of friends read the story. They loved the premise, the fun I had mixing life with afterlife. That was good, but they had suggestions, too, so I read it again, taking my friends’ comments into serious consideration. Then I asked my son to read the manuscript, because the setting is an investments firm and he is in that business. I wanted to make sure I didn’t say something dumb about a business I don’t have much experience with. That meant more changes, reading through the whole thing again, and fixing areas he commented on.
Once the book was accepted by a publisher, it went through several more editions. The first editor and I haggled over terms (are they “slacks” or “pants” nowadays?) At her suggestion I expanded some characters and minimized others. She wanted more information on the setting, Grand Rapids, Michigan, so I had to do more research to make sure the details I added were correct. She helped me clarify my portrayal of the afterlife at the beginning of the book so the reader would not be confused later about what can and can’t happen there. All in all, that was three more edits, three more times through the story with a pen and a microscope.
Then the “big” editor took a turn through the book. She made suggestions to further clarify details. She asked questions about what my intentions were in certain spots. In short, she fine-tuned the book so that the humor comes through better and the reader doesn't feel left behind.
Finally, the copy editor had me take a last look through to find the itsy-bitsy things that drive readers crazy: punctuation/spelling errors, extra spaces, etc.
Now the book is ready for release. My publisher, who has been very supportive, arranged a Cyber-Launch on Author Island (authorisland.com: stop by and ask a question or make a comment!) for April 1. She also found a respected reviewer willing to read a book by a fairly unknown author, and the review is positive (YAY!). My part is to tell the world I have contact with about the book, hence a Blog Tour, a Facebook ad, and lots of trips/mailings to bookstores, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
So where is this life of ease? Writing is work, real work, and promoting is work piled on top of the original work. Authors do not have it easy, although I don’t know a single one who doesn’t feel that it’s all worth it when just one person says, “I loved your book.”
People often ask me what it takes to get published. Unless you already have a platform (some sort of fame attached to your name), it takes persistence: persistence to write the best book you are capable of, persistence to get it published professionally, and persistence in spreading the word that, among the million others out there, there’s this great little mystery called THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY.

THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY is available in print or e-book form at
http://www.ll-publications.com/deaddetectiveagency.html and will soon be at most e-book retailers.

Teaser: Tori Van Camp awakens one morning on a cruise ship. She seems to be a welcome guest, and the ships offers anything she might require or request. But why does she have a clear memory of being murdered, and how can she find out why someone wanted her dead?

“The Dead Detective Agency combines belief in the afterlife with the paradoxical uncertainty of survival in the present, and is full of wickedly dark humor combined with regular laugh-out-loud moments.” —Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books

Peg's Blog Crawl

Today (Jan.31) starts my Blog Crawl (a pub crawl mixed with a blog tour). There are prizes to be had by commenting on the posts as I travel from blog to blog during the month of February. You can find the details at
itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com

As you follow the crawl, you'll be entertained with uses and abuses of the English language. Each week some lucky reader will win a copy of my February release, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY
(either print or e-book format, your choice).

So get over there and get started!

My Own Criminal Mind

I'm new to this blog, so I'll introduce myself in a sort of roundabout way.
After reading my books, friends sometimes confess to being shocked at how my mind works. At church yesterday (yup, I'm the choir director at the local Methodist church) a man came up to me and said without preface, "GO HOME AND DIE?"
He'd found my newest book on Amazon, an e-book from Red Rose Publishing. He thought it sounded quite violent, but he liked the idea of a Vietnam-era mystery once I explained it.
My historical series, which began in January with HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER (Five Star)describes murders on the streets of Tudor London. One friend who read the galley to look for errors claimed she had trouble getting to sleep afterward. To me, it just made sense to combine my decades of teaching English and history and my love of mystery. Tudors and headless corpses? Makes sense to me.
I just contracted with LL Publishing on a paranormal, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY. Sure, it sounds, well, deadly, but what else do we read mysteries for?
My books are not grisly, dark or noir-ish. They are the best plot, characters, setting, and writing that I can devise. If after reading them you believe I have a criminal mind, just remember, we write murders so we don't really have to do them.