Tag Archives | Laura Pauling

Humongous stupendous giveaway!

By on May 13, 2013 in book reviews

Have you heard about Elle Casey’s Massive Springtime Indie Book Giveaway? Please share the link to this page with anyone you know who might like free books. There are 190 titles and 1,554 copies to give away!!  Woo hooo!

A Spy Like Me is included!

Click over to Elle’s blog to fill out a Google form for every book you’d like to win!













Thanks Elle for organizing this fantastic giveaway!

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Indie Life – Be encouraged!

By on May 8, 2013 in publishing industry

Indie Life was started and is hosted by the Indelibles. This is a chance to talk about any aspect of publishing or writing you want: to encourage, share news, offer tips. It takes place the second Wednesday of every month. Feel free to join us!

Indie Life

I want to talk about the hedges in the front of my house because they take some major abuse over the winter.

The hedges lie not only underneath my roof but next to the driveway where my hubbie snow blows. These hedges are piled with heaping mounds of snow every year.

Plus, these hedges are shielded from the sun by a small screened in porch, so quite often, the snow turns hard and icy.

Company often comments that these hedges are just going to shrivel up and die one of these years…and I wouldn’t be surprised.

But they don’t. Year after year, they spring back to form, the perfectly trimmed square hedges they should be (almost always perfectly trimmed.)

Right now, gazing out my window, they look great. It didn’t happen right away, but it happened.

Never let the ups and downs of the publishing industry keep you down for long. Be patient. Give yourself time. Just like my hedges.

On a side note, this Saturday I’ll be at the Cape May Author Fest from 2-5 p.m. selling and signing A Spy Like Me and Heart of an Assassin! If you live in the area come by and visit! There will be close to thirty fantastic authors of picture books, middle grade, and young adult.

Visit the Indelibles blog for another Indie Life post and the list of links! A great chance to meet new people!

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Ups and Downs of Publishing.

By on May 1, 2013 in publishing industry

As most of you know I published a middle grade novel with Pugalicious Press last November. I barely got to marketing. I have a companion novella written and edited, ready to self publish.

It’s called How To Survive Pirate Curses and Tainted Treasure. I hadn’t written these characters in a couple years, so I loved returning to them. Especially as a writer with more experience. I had a blast.

Sadly, Pugalicious Press recently closed with my novel barely even out.

I’m not as disappointed as I thought I’d be. Self-publishing definitely has taught me that in this industry, as with life, stuff happens. We can’t control what works, what doesn’t work, what sells and what doesn’t sell.

So I shouldered this news with a shrug. From what I can tell this kind of thing happens all the time in the traditional industry. Books are orphaned, never picked up, or go out of print.

The good thing is that I know I can re-release them in the future. But I’m going to wait. There’s too much on my plate right now, but I loved these stories, so I see it happening at some point.

As with any news: good or bad, it’s important to MOVE FORWARD, even changing course at times if needed.

Do you have good news? In what ways have you had to adapt to the industry?

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What I’ve been reading.

By on April 17, 2013 in book reviews

 

I’ve blogged about the fact that since my Kindle, I’ve been reading a lot more than usual. I especially love picking up a novella for 99 cents because I know I can read it fast and still enjoy it! Especially since my pile of books to read is out of control. As I know all of yours are too!

Here are some books I’ve really enjoyed lately and will soon be reviewing on Goodreads.

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen. (The Kindle version is only 3.99 right now!)

 

I’d been hearing so much about The False Prince! Finally, with the release of the sequel, The Runaway King, my library got it in. I loved it. I figured out the plot twist early on. My daughter figured it out just by reading the synopsis. But that just added to the dramatic irony. I don’t think readers weren’t supposed to figure it out. This is an upper middle grade, but one adults will enjoy too.

Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

 

I snagged this book when it was on sale for 99 cents. In fact, it still might be. This is definitely YA, not to be confused with New Adult. This thrilling type story had everything I love: secrets and mystery. A great read.

Cinderella on Skates by Carly Syms

 

This caught my eye when it shot up the ranks after publication. Great cover, and I was curious. This is a sweet, romantic read. It could have used a little more tension, but in some ways, this was refreshing.

One Day More by Aprilynn Pike

 

This is the first book I’ve read of this author’s. How could I not want to read this when the novel is called: Life After Theft? This novella, released for marketing purposes, did its job well. In Life After Theft a girl dies and Jeff (his pov) must help her return everything she stole. This novella read really easily. I’ll warn you, the girl is not a likeable character – as in she’s spoiled with attitude. But I don’t mind those types of characters and I’m looking forward to Life After Theft.

What have you read lately that you really liked?

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Indie Life – publishing will look different, possibly forever.

By on April 10, 2013 in publishing industry, Writing

 

Though I’d share a couple links for Indie Life today.

In the future, will everyone be a publisher? by Nathan Bransford

Go ahead and read it.

Interesting, huh?

This quote jumped out at me.

 For now, publishers can still rely on those services and their print distribution to attract authors. In the future, they won’t have that. And as those services become the central differentiator, you have to wonder if the adversarial approach publishers occasionally take with authors (slow payments, lack of transparency) will give way to a true service-oriented approach.

What about you? Can you already see the industry changing and not being quite what it used to be? I look at all the digitals imprint and contracts being offered that are ebook only until the sales warrant a print version.

I hope big publishing, self publishing and everything in between sticks around for a while. But there’s no arguing the publishing world will look different, possibly forever.

For further reading, here’s a Hugh Howey post that should be a must read for any writer. (If you haven’t already read it.)

Click back to the Indelibles blog for a list of all the links!

 

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