Find Free & 99 Cent eBooks You'll LOVE!

Tip of the Day: Today is the last day to enter my Big Bash on my blog!

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I hear it over and over and over and over again: "Free ebooks suck! I wouldn't ever buy an ebook for 99 cents because, clearly, a cheap book is terrible and a waste of money!"

I'd venture to say this isn't true.

I can tell you exactly how to find a free and/or cheap ebook you'll have a great chance at loving.

1. Don't download an ebook that has mostly 1-star ratings. It's a logical statement, but you'd be surprised how many people see the word "free" and can't stop themselves from taking it anyway. Imagine you were at a food fest and some random dude walked up to you and said, "Would you like to try this deep-fried goat tongue, sprinkled with the essence of eel farts?" Would you take it? Doubtful. So don't download the ebook with all 1-star ratings.

2. But if you like deep-friend goat tongue, sprinkled with the essence of eel farts, then go ahead. Look, here's the thing - not everyone is going to like everything. Read the reviews. They are there for a reason. If everyone hates goat tongue, but you have an affinity for essence of eel farts, then give it a try.

3. Don't blame the author if you don't like the subject. I write YA fantasy. It's a little bit of romance, a little bit of snark, a little bit of silly, a little bit of mystery, and a little bit of adventure. It's NOT Lord of the Rings. It's NOT classical literature. It's NOT for everyone on the planet. I want my books to find their audience, but that target audience isn't every breathing human who knows how to read. Only download ebooks with decent reviews that speak to the topics you like. Don't blame me if you wanted erotica - you're not getting it from my books. ;)

4. Ask your friends for a recommendation. Want a new book to read on the cheap? Ask your friends what cheap books they've read and enjoyed lately. Word of mouth is the BEST way to figure out what to read next. Just ask on Facebook. Trust me, you'll get a ton of responses.

5. Sample, sample, sample. Before downloading an ebook, sample it. Yes, most ebooks (at least the cheap ones, which are quite likely self-published or from small presses) allow you to sample the beginning for free. Read the first chapter or two. See if you connect with the writing and voice. If you hate it, don't download the ebook even if it's free. I think I'm back to that whole goat tongue/eel fart concept here.

So, there you go. A simple, but succinct, guide to navigating free and cheap ebooks. Are some of them terrible? Probably. But I'd wager the majority of them ARE NOT. Take a risk on a new author. You never know what you'll find!

*If you like romance, adventure, and magic with a teen protagonist, then try my first novel, Anathema. You got it, Anathema's free. ;) If, however, you enjoy high-brow, sophisticated, or contemporary romances or intense fantasy with a journey and many weird, magical creatures, then Anathema is not for you!

Want a free book from another genre? Take a look at this list on my blog and enter to win a $10 Amazon.com gift card while you're there.


Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

How to Break Up with Your Agent

Tip of the Day: Check out this funny list of common break-up lines and their agent rejection equivalent.

A friend recently asked me how to go about breaking up with her agent. I broke up with an agent once a couple of years ago. It's not fun. Even though technically your literary agent "works for you" and dropping an agent shouldn't be any harder than say, getting rid of your Realtor who hasn't sold your house in six months, it is. Breaking up with your agent sometimes feels like breaking up with a friend or a boyfriend. You're nervous, you don't know how to break the news, you have to give back his CDs and Varsity jacket. :-) It can be awful. But if you really feel like your author-agent relationship isn't working (lack of communication, lack of sales/or publisher contacts, or maybe the passion is gone for your work), then it's time to break up.

So how do you go about breaking up? Well, I can tell you, don't tweet, facebook, or text the news. The best thing to do is first check your agent-author agreement and see what it says as far as terminating the relationship. There may be a clause in there that says you have to give 30-day notice. And if it says that, be sure that you don't start querying new agents before that time period expires. (And note: NEVER query a new agent while still in a relationship with your old agent. Like with boyfriends, that's not cool!). Then the next best thing to do is call your agent and have a talk. Again, like boyfriends, there's a chance your agent is already feeling the same way. After that, put it in writing. Some people like to send a registered letter to have a paper trail. Some like to send a simple e-mail and get confirmation that it was received.

And regarding the termination wording? Keep it short and simple. Don't go off on a tirade on what isn't working in the relationship. Thank your agent for the work they've done for you. Even if you're not happy at the moment, your agent has worked hard for you and if there hasn't been any sales well then all that work has been for free so far. Thank him or her. Then, tell the agent that your relationship isn't working out and briefly mention why if you'd like. But I'm serious when I say be brief. Something like, "due to the communication issues we've had I feel it's time that we part ways." After that be crystal clear in your letter's intent. Something like, "This letter serves as termination of our agreement." would work. And then end the letter simply after that. Wish your agent well and sign off.

Hope this has been helpful! If you have questions put them in the comments and I'll answer as best as I can.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Summer in the Library (or YAY! My Shelves are Empty!)

Tip of the Day: Emily may have said yesterday that Wendy's summer beverages are delish, but for those lucky enough to live near a Wegmans, their organic lemonades are addicting!

I love summer time in the library! Let me count the ways:

1. Kids and teens are exciting about reading! Yes, we also bribe them with Summer Reading prizes and parties, but they love talking about the books they've read.

2. Teens are done with exams and have time to read so my YA shelves are nearly bare. YAY! I love it when stuff is checked out, especially my new book shelves! Not kidding. Probably 100 new books checked out. Sweet!

3. It is so busy that the time on the reference desk flies by.

4. It is air-conditioned.

5. I can sit outside in the shade during my lunch breaks and write without shivering.

6. Natural vitamin-D for better patron/staff moods.

What are you favorite things about summer at your local library?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Can authors live like characters?

Tip of the Day: the berry lemonade at Wendy's is delicious!

People say reality is stranger than fiction. Even so, fiction is much more fun to write!

As I've been writing fiction for longer and longer, it feels like it's starting to sink into my everyday life. Not only with the stories and characters themselves, but with how I write in general.

Working in public relations, I write many articles for the newspaper or a newsletter on a weekly basis, but more often than not now I just want to make up a quote that someone said; infuse a deep murder mystery into the most mundane of topics, like the color of the wallpaper chosen for the new library; or make all my stories take place in Europe-which would be much more exciting then writing about events at my library in Indiana, even though those are pretty cool too.

Being able to make up characters and general exaggerations of reality would make my articles much more exciting to read. Blog entries included.

I have a feeling this is why some people have resorted to using pen names: it feels much more freeing to not-be-yourself. I wouldn't feel bad if I assigned myself fake friends and went into detail about them on a blog entry: because I'm a "fake" author to begin with. I wouldn't feel like I'd have to be truthful about how I spent my day: because the person I’m pretending to be doesn’t even exist.

Do you think authors with pen names actually do this? Make up real life too?

Just curious, because I would wager that many snippets of information that celebrities put out into the universe is partially made up to fit their "persona." So I'm not sure if authors could get away with that too. Or even if readers would care.

Just something to ponder if you are considering having a pen name: it could be good for you on more than one level. It's either that, or the con artist book I’ve been revising right now is making me think of strange things. It's possible my character that enjoys changing her identify and personality every time she moves has been seeping into my mind so much that I'm starting to think it’s real and want my real life to reflect it.

Either way, I still think fiction is much more enjoyable to write, and I think I'd have a ton of fun if I decided to make up an author pen name with a completely unique life. And I'd imagine my readers would have more fun with it too. It's seemed to work for people like Lemony Snicket just fine.

Outline Madness #1: The Three-Act Structure

Tip of the Day: Check out Megg's Big Freebie Bash to win free Amazon gift cards and get free ebooks.

Yay, it's another writing series! I haven't done one of these in a long time. This series is all about outlining. This is my summer of Outlining Madness--I'm outlining a trilogy and a few other books to decide what to work on next and learn the craft of pre-plotting. So come, pull up a comfy chair and learn about Outline Madness on Mondays.

What's the Three-Act Structure?

It took me years to get a Kate definition of this in my head. I went way off-outline in my last novel. As I printed it out, though, I found that the first third all took place in one location; then there was a plot twist. The two-thirds point of the novel brought my characters to a huge crisis. Have I absorbed the three-act structure without really trying?

As I develop a novel idea in my head, before I write a word, I have a succession of images: exciting things that could happen to my main characters. The meaty scenes I really want to write. They may not connect together perfectly yet. The three-act structure is about connecting them together. Something exciting is going to happen one-third of the way through the novel. Something else exciting is going to happen two-thirds of the way through the novel, something that will lead to the exciting climax in the third act. And if you're like me, you've probably figured out how the novel ends before you've figured out most of the rest.

So basically:
-- Something happens to kick off the novel
-- 1/3 of the way through, here's an awesome scene I really want to write
-- At around the midpoint, I'd better plan out something else to keep you interested
-- 2/3 of the way through, here's another awesome scene. After this, it's all downhill to the climax.
-- Toward the end, the climax scene resolves the main conflict

And then, you know, just fill in the gaps between the scenes so they happen in logical order.

So what's one-third of the way through? Depends on what you're writing. A 60K word novel, you've got 20K words to work with. How many scenes or chapters that breaks down to depends on your writing style.

Yeah, But That's Not a Plot, Is It?

No, it's not. It's a structure. I still have to figure out what the plot is. What does the main character want? How would I describe this novel in a sentence or two? Actually, it helps to figure out the plot before you try to plug it into a structure.

So, my main character wants a pony, but she's opposed by the fact that ponies have been crossed with lions and are now bloodthirsty predators.
-- Kick-off: My MC meets the pony of her dreams
-- 1/3 of the way through, pony of her dreams kills her neighbor's dog
-- At around the midpoint, MC and pony run away to the Outerbanks
-- 2/3 of the way through, the Federal Board Against Ponies comes to flush them out
-- Toward the end, the MC rallies the ponies to fight back
-- The climax is resolved when MC goes to live in a protected pony habitat she founds

See, I wasn't even really trying there.

Okay, But That's Not Necessarily a Great Novel, Is It?

In other words, just because I have an outline doesn't mean I'm not going to come up with a better plot as I write. How do I know that my outline is the best possible outcome for the bloodthirsty pony world? Or two months from now, will I realize that the book would be immeasurably better if, instead of a Federal Board Against Ponies, there were hunters killing the ponies for sport? And now I have to rewrite the damn novel. How does my outlining method prevent this?

And that will be the topic of my post next week!

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

Technology & Writing

Tip of the Day: My birthday is next week! I'm going to give away a whole bunch 'o' stuff on my blog. It should go live sometime on Sunday. Check it out!

When I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I pulled out my parents' 900 lb. typewriter. I found some really old blank paper that was browning nicely around the edges (my mom hoards paper and pens - it is any wonder I'm a writer?), I measured and cut it to be the same size as a page in a paperback book. I carefully rolled it into the typewriter and pounded out my latest masterpiece.

http://www.spinetinglermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/typewriter.jpg

Once I was a little older, like 9 or so, I realized that wasn't how books were made. Instead of wasting my time cutting (I really sucked at using scissors and had to be taught separate from the other kids, using specialized scissors - true story), I filled up page after page after page in notebooks. My parents were pretty tech-forward and I graduated to an Apple IIe soon enough. I printed out pages upon pages of my stories.

(I don't remember my parents even once telling me I was using too much paper - thanks Mom & Dad!)

After high school graduation, I bought my first computer with help from my dad. The rest is history. It couldn't get any better, right? That's what I thought.

Now my writing arsenal is filled with tons of great technology. It's a dream come true.

Today I own an iMac. It's my main hub. I was a PC lover my entire life. While I have to say that I do love my iMac, I really don't find it any more useful than my old PCs. Probably because I was very good with computers (my ex was a computer science engineer - I could build a PC from scratch if I needed to). There wasn't much I didn't know about PCs. But, the iMac makes my integration a tad easier.

I also have an iPad. I convinced my husband I needed it to write. Little did I know how handy it has become. I can write on my iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard. I can easily sync files between my iPad and my iMac.

I also have a Time Capsule, that serves not only as a backup to my computer, but also a wifi router in my house. Now I don't have to worry about losing my work if the iMac dies.

It's so easy for me to write anytime/anyplace with pretty much any of my devices - including my iPhone which I use to take notes (text & voice) when I'm away from home.

Now before you start whining that this sounds like a commercial for Apple, trust me, there are PLENTY of ways to do the same thing with PC devices. I just don't own them and am speaking from personal experience.

Bottom line - There is always a way for me to write, whether I'm at home, on the go, or hanging out in my car waiting for my children. There's no excuses. Now Apple just needs to invent a device that helps me block all of this out so I can have a break once in a while. ;)

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Warning: Your Life Will Not Drastically Change

Tip of the Day: Looking for a job in editing in the Chicagoland area? Albert Whitman just announced an opening for a children's book acquisitions editor.

A facebook friend's post made me think of this week's topic. In it he said that he was writing a book and that if you (his friends reading this post I assume) aren't there for him now during this initial writing process then you sure as heck better not ring him up when he's published and rich and famous.  

Published and rich and famous. Hmm.

Well, I guess I've got to break the news. Getting published isn't going to change your life. Much. Sure it's fun and exciting and book covers are shiny and all that. But unless someone just bought your book for a million dollars and you're going to be getting the top marketing treatment that only very very few authors ever see, then you're still going to have to cut the grass tomorrow, lug the kids to soccer, and clean the toilets.

I met a debut author at a reception not to long ago and he asked me too-- is my whole life going to change after this? And I told him the truth. Nope, not really.

At the last book club event I did with 4th and 5th graders they asked me questions like, are you a millionaire? Do you live in a mansion? Do paparazzi follow you around everywhere you go? I thought their questions were awfully cute but yeah, it's really not that different than before my first book came out.

I think people hear you're an author and assume you're making Snooki book money but that just isn't the case. The majority of the time advances on books are pretty low-- maybe $10,000 to $30,000 per book. $100,000 if they really want the book. But even if it's the $100k, break that down-- take out agent fees, taxes, and split it up over the years that it takes the book to come out (for me it took almost a year to write and revise the book and then another 2 1/2 years from the date I sold the book until it published) and you're making what your local part-time crossing guard is making. Agent Mandy Hubbard does a brilliant job breaking down how an author gets paid in this 2011 post.

After saying all this, I have to tell you that I DO love being an author. It's the best job I've ever had (and I've tried lots of jobs!). But the reason is because I love writing. I love telling stories. And I think that's the key, loving what you do. If you're looking at being an author because you want to be rich and famous, well maybe try out for a reality show instead because the chances are slim. But if writing makes you happy then stick with it. But don't quit your day job. :-)

Kristina, Miss Author in Action