A2A Chat: Lisa Tiffin and the THEFT OF THE STAR TRACKER

Tip of the Day: If you get requests for partials and fulls but no offers of rep from the first couple dozen agents you query, keep going for a few dozen more! It only takes one.

Today I would like to welcome Lisa Tiffin, independent publisher of Apple Cart Books and author of the Eagle Ridge Prep middle-grade novels, starting with her first release, THEFT OF THE STAR TRACKER! And yes, this book is available now through Amazon.com!

(Isn't this cover fabulous?)

What is THEFT OF THE STAR TRACKER about, you may ask?

When their highly technical science project is stolen, brothers Drew and Alex Richfield are thrown into an action-filled battle with bully, Brett Larson, who always seems to be just one step ahead of them.

Drew and Alex must learn to work together to stop Brett from registering their GPS Star Tracker as his own in the Annual Science Fair. At stake are the brothers’ reputations, their relationship and the Grand Prize!

Full disclosure: Lisa is one of my critique partners and a reason I have grown so much as a writer these past few years. I read THEFT OF THE STAR TRACKER as a draft and knew it would have an audience. Now that it is available as an ebook, I am thrilled to see it find its readers!

And onto our A2A chat!

1. Tell us a little about yourself. An About the Author if you will.

Sure, start with the hardest question! I think story was always part of my life. When my siblings and I were young, instead of reading to us our dad would make up stories to tell us. Later, I got involved with theater. I loved to bring a story to life through a character to entertain an audience. I suppose writing is similar though hearing and seeing the reactions are a bit delayed. In my work as a freelance writer, I often have to get a message or a brand across, but when I write fiction, I can focus more on entertaining readers. And that all ties back to what our dad did for us – entertain!

2. What was your initial idea for THEFT OF THE STAR TRACKER?

It all started with a conversation with my older brother. He was frustrated with the lack of great books for his boys. As a mother of twin boys, I knew my own sons would soon be in the same position as their older cousins were. Somehow that conversation ended up with my brother challenging me to write the kind of books that we both wanted for our sons: entertaining, smart adventures capable of holding a boy’s interest.

I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, but I outlined and wrote and wrote. I actually sent each section to my nephews with questions for them to answer about the characters, plot and interest level. I paid them with Legos, if you can believe it! After that, the book went through a revision workshop, my critique group, and several industry professionals before it was ready for prime time.

3. What made you decide to self-epub?

This book is really close to my heart. Maybe because my family was the catalyst that propelled me into writing it, maybe because it is the book that taught me I really do love science (as long as that science is technology related!) or maybe because it was the book that really sealed the deal for me as a children’s author.

The book has come really close to traditional publication (it was once under contract with a small publisher) and has had a lot of good reviews, so I just felt like it was time to get it out there into the world. I’m hoping lots of kids will enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

4. What else do you write?

I’ve written a few picture books, other middle grade novels and short stories for adults. In fact, I love short stories and am working right now on a YA book of short stories about Haiti. I’m not sure how that will ultimately play out, but I like what I have so far. In my day job I write newspaper articles, essays, magazine articles and lots of business copy like Websites, brochures and newsletters. So pretty much everything. J

5. What are your thoughts on self-epubbing and traditional publishing?

Great question! With our economy in tenuous shape and the ever-changing landscape of traditional publishing, I feel like agents and editors are all looking for that one, breakout, NYT best-selling novel. Unfortunately, a lot of competent and even brilliant writers are penning good quality, midlist, dependable novels. I think self publishing and e-publishing open the field for authors to get their books into the public’s hands. Most readers don’t care who published the book if it’s something they want to read, something of quality and something that will entertain and enlighten them.

6. Any last thoughts for our readers?

Thanks for having me and thanks to all the readers out there who care about books and what they represent. Our culture thrives on stories, and I love the interdependence between writers and readers. I’d love to hear your comments or answer questions about that relationship, e-pubbing vs. traditional pubbing, my book or anything else!

Thank you, Lisa! And you heard her, readers: What questions do you have about the various types of publishing?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Things Are Happening (or "Is It Really Happening?")

*with apologies to Marky Mark and M. Night Shyamalan

Tip of the Day: Another reminder that WriteOnCon is happening August 13-14. Don't miss this free online kidlit writing conference! Thanks, WriteOnCon team!

Readers! Things are Happening!

Wanna know what? OK. Keep reading.

1. You may remember that in April I decided to self-epub my YA novel, BLACKOUT. This plan is moving forward and I am set to release my first novel on August 1st! It will be available through Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Smashwords. Here is the cover, designed by the talented Shana Norris.

 

I love the artwork and can't wait for it to be out in the world! I plan to epub the sequel, DESERTED, in 2014 and can already picture the companion cover.

 

2. To go along with my book release, I have a website. I've owned www.DeenaLipomi.com for years. I mean, I had to reserve it early since I could tell people would be fighting over that domain name one day. Now it is finally live! The site still needs some embelishments, but you can learn more about BLACKOUT there.

3. Four out of five of the A2A Misses are meeting up later this month for gossip and writing and let's face it, more gossip! We invited Megg, but since she just closed on a new house, she can't make it but we'll send her love from Ohio. This will be the first time that Tina and Em are meeting Kate. This will be a fun union and reunion.

4. I have some good buzz on the agent front and hope to be able to make something official later this month! This had made me want to spend days revising my next MG novel and dive into another idea. Writing mojo is kicking in!

What summer writerly things are happening for you?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

A Decision Is Made (or Time To Publish)

Tip of the Day: Check out my husband's new music by his band Blue Falcon! I am biased but I highly recommend his tunes, particularly the humorous "Internet Celebrity."

So, I'm going to do it.

I'm going to self e-pub a YA novel.

Ahhhhh!

This is a huge step for me -- actually getting my work Out There for real readers to read -- but I'm excited! I've hired a cover artist, and just picturing my book with professional art and my name on it makes me very happy.

Why did I decide to go this route? For a few reasons:

1. Some of you may recall my post from last month where I listed all of my MG, YA, and NA works. I know some of these books need to remain in the trunk, but I also know that others are really good and I can't keep fiddling with them -- not when I have so many other ideas I want to write. In order for me to be able to move forward, I need to publish some of my "back list" and call them DONE. And if publishing companies aren't asking for them, it's up to me to pub them myself. So I will -- and I am!

1a. I have to add that I'm glad self epubbing was NOT a viable option when my first, second, oh heck first 7 manuscripts were completed because they were NOT ready for the world and I might've put books out that, well, sucked. But I'm so glad that it IS a solid option now.

2. I love writing YA, but the market is so tight that it feels extra hard to break in. Recently, I found myself shying away from new YA ideas because of this. While I've loved working on my MG novels instead, I didn't want to give up on my YAs -- and I have to say it has been so nice and freeing and fun to polish up my YA without worrying if it is "good enough" to sell to a publisher. Instead I know that I WILL get it out there for consumers to buy and read and enjoy or hate, but the power to publish is mine and the choice to read it will be in the buyers' hands.

3. I'm not getting any younger.

I am in no way giving up on traditional publishing; I'm actively working on getting my MG novel out to agents, and I have another MG waiting for revisions in the wings.

I'm also sure my passion for writing kidlit will only grow as I get my books out there for ebook readers.

Stay tuned for my first YA novel to be published in late summer...details will be coming!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Do Sales Totals Matter?

You see it everywhere in the indie community. It's like a headline news story.

I SOLD 5,000 eBOOKS!

I SOLD 10,000 eBOOKS!!

I SOLD 20,000 eBOOKS!!!

I SOLD 100,000 eBOOKS!!!!!!!!!

In the traditionally published community, total sales numbers are very hush hush. No one wants to talk about them. There's a few reasons for this:

(1) It can tank your career if you don't sell "enough."

I'm pretty sure the definition of "enough" changes based on genre.

(2) Publishers don't want everyone knowing their most intimate stats.

I can understand this from a business perspective.

(3) There's too much judgement without the proper framing.

Not everyone understands the economics of publishing and releasing such basic stats can skew understanding of what's successful and what's not.

(4) It takes away from the mystique.

We all know there's a bit of magic surrounding the industry.

(5) It's uncouth.

Yes, I was actually told this once by another author who shall remain nameless.

So why do self-pubs go around screaming their sales numbers from the rooftop?

(1) They've achieved something big.

Authors worry all the time about sales, so it's exciting when you've done it on your own.

(2) We want people to know.

If you know how much I've sold, then maybe it gives me some validation.

(3) Judge me, go for it!

People who've been rejected a million times or told they are failing by self-publishing want to prove the naysayers wrong.

(4) It adds to the mystique.

It's true. When you hear I've sold (not given away freebies) over 50,000 ebooks, I bet it makes you look at me a little differently.

(5) It's totally wicked.

Screw uncouth. Sales numbers are a validation that self-publishing is a viable business option.

Look, some people will always be uncomfortable discussing money. That's okay. No one HAS to divulge their numbers. I know my husband would ignore you if you ask him how much he makes as an electrical engineer.

But a lot of indie authors are loud and proud about their accomplishments. They should be! Many of them have achieved something unheard of five years ago.

Here's the rub (isn't there always one): Sales numbers don't indicate quality. I have friends who've self-published some really incredible novels. Literary quality, profound, the kind of books that never leave your soul. And yet where are their astronomical sales? They aren't there. Not even close.

Take everything with a grain of salt. High sales numbers don't indicate a particular novel is the best book ever written. What it means is a lot of people bought it. It doesn't even mean a lot of people have read it (unless they have a really high number of reviews). I don't know about you, but I have tons of unread books sitting on my bookshelves and in my iPad's Kindle app.

It also means nothing toward income. 100,000 sales of 99 cent ebooks is $35,000. I've sold around 50,000 and made more than double that amount. Don't equate high sales to high income.

So what do sales numbers mean? Nothing. Unless you're the author, then they mean everything.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Need Your Help in a Literary Tug of War

Tip of the Day: Want to make cool pictures, but don't understand how to use Photoshop? Check out PicMonkey, it's my favorite! :)

I don't make resolutions. Partly because I like going with the flow, but also because I really don't like to set myself up for failure. Unfortunately, that strategy is backfiring on me this year.

I currently have two works-in-progress begging for my attention - and I honestly don't know which one to work on.

First, there's Hidden, my next YA high fantasy. I'm really, really excited about this. I'm also going to pub it under my Megg Jensen pen name. Megg needs a little love. She hasn't had a new release since last fall, which is practically an eternity in the ebook world.

But, there's this YA contemporary adventure I started three years ago. I abandoned it then because I wanted a career as a fantasy author - not contemporary. Every conference, article, tweet told me to pick a genre and stick with it. Publishers didn't like authors jumping genres.

But I'm e-pubbing now. I can do anything I want! So, the contemporary is whispering in my ear, begging me to pay attention to it - while my fantasy won't leave my imagination!

What I need are two brains, four arms, and another computer. Then I could do everything I want. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure none of those are an option right now.

How do I choose? I honestly don't know. Has this ever happened to any of you? How did you decide which story to work on when you're equally passionate about both???? HELP!!!!!

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber