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A Tale of Two How-Tos
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Sunday, April 3, 2011
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Kaily Hart
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About Me
- Kaily Hart
- Miami, FL, United States
- I write about unconventional (contemporary) heroes; knights in not so shiny armor and heroines who wouldn't choose to ask for help in a million years (maybe they don't even know they need help). Yeah…I write romance. Leaning more to the hot & scorching. Contemporary for now but I see myself heading towards paranormal as well at some point. I never would have thought I would end up doing this, but now that I am, it just feels…right. Kaily@kailyhart.com
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Hi Kaily! I guess I'll be the first to ask a question here. I'm an aspiring writer and would love to know what steps you went through when you began your first book. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHey, Cindy! I had to pause over your question because it's kinda hard to define 'first book'. The first book I wrote and completed, which will never ever see the light of day and which I'd rather forget LOL? The first book I sold (PICTURE THIS)? I'll assume the latter :). PICTURE THIS started with an idea, a premise - a man obsessed with a painting, a very sexy painting. It was out of character for him and so prompted a whole lot of 'what if' questions. The characters were born out of that process. It was the seed of a bigger idea that just wouldn't let go and I had to write that story. I hadn't planned to, it just wouldn't let go. I wrote a quick and dirty draft with some of the scenes written, some mere bullet points or summaries, some just with dialogue. That's how I write though. I then went back through and completed the second draft and it looked more like a book should. I revised and polished and sent it in to Ellora's Cave in response to a call for submissions for an art themed group. It never did get included in that and they released it separately, which I was more than happy with.
ReplyDeleteIs that kinda, sorta what you were looking for?
Yes Kaily! Thank you! That's how mine book developed. I had developed a character for a contest and the characters took up residence in my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I told their story. I wrote down scenes and dialogue as it came to me. I had an idea of the direction that I wanted it to go. Did you edit your own book or pass it on to a friend, to have a second set of eyes look at it? Thanks for answering all of my questions! As a newbie, I'm curious how other writers got their start.
ReplyDeleteNo problem! For each of my books so far, no-one has read them before I initially submit. I've relied on myself. I do think I need beta readers though. I could probably complete books a lot faster that way :) because I tend to want it to be perfect before I submit to my editor.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaily. My question is about the wait times for Harlequin. When you complete a book, how do you decide whether to try Harlequin first, knowing they can take six months to answer a query or partial, whereas an epub can publish in that amount of time? I'd lke the prestige of being pubbed by HQ but the wait times frustrate me. Do you have an answer? :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Serenity, wish I had all the answers on that one! It's really hard to generalize when it comes to writers, but I think most that target Harlequin write the story with that audience and imprint in mind. Requirements are very specific so you kinda have to. It is true that epubs and their turn around times can be much faster. As an in-house author, they can be lightening fast. I think you have to decide what you want out of your writing career long term and where you're at with it right now. That will help you target publishers. You can get very different things out of each route, but it can be very individual. Plus, they're not exclusive of course. Who said you can't be doing both and try to get the best of both worlds :)? I think it's perfectly doable.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaily, I'll ask you a few. First, how much money do you make with one book? Second, in deciding where to submit your work, excluding Harlequin and Carina, which publishing houses or epubs would you say are most in demand? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaily. Thank you for giving someone like the opportunity to ask this question. Ok, so, I submitted a book and it was rejected. For whatever reason, my crazy head wants to be published by this particular ePub. I'm finishing up a different book, and want to send it to them. In their rejection email, they stated I was welcome to submit in the future. Do they really mean that, or are they just being polite?
ReplyDeleteElece
Hi, Anon! OK, so it's difficult to talk about how much money you can make with one book. There are so many options for authors these days in terms of publishing models and publishers and so many different routes an author can take to be successful. It really does depend on just so many variables that it's impossible to generalize, but the range is vast. And it could be misleading. For most authors it takes many years before they can even think of supporting themselves with their writing, but there are always exceptions :).
ReplyDeleteGosh, the avenues for publishing are probably more varied then at anytime before and it's becoming hard to even categorize them. A lot of the labels for publishers just don't really fit. It's a little bit the 'depends' answer again, but which publisher is right for an author at any given time depends on that individual's long term goals for one thing and what you write exactly for another. Taking the HQ family out of the mix, the other 2 epubs that come to mind are Ellora's Cave and Samhain. After that there's a whole bunch of them. In terms of 'traditional print NY publishers' it depends on your content and length. If you're aiming for category romance for instance, the field is pretty narrow. If single title, it's broader but the competition is pretty fierce. I would suggest checking out some online forums and websites. There is a wealth of information and a lot of supportive people to give very detailed information. Sites such as Absolute Write and Romance Divas come to mind!!
Elece, ah rejections :). Anyone writing is probably very familiar with them. The short answer is YES. They meant it. More than likely. Don't ready anything else into it. It could have been a form rejection and it's put at the bottom of each rejection BUT publishers don't reject writers. They reject that particular book, at that particular time, for whatever reason. Agents too. Unless you had specific feedback it could have been because of things such as they just published a book with a similar plot, there was an element of the story that didn't fit for them, etc. Don't take it personally. They don't mean it to be personal. Keep writing and keep submitting. I think publishers also like to see consistency and perserverance. Qualities you'll need as an author :)!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how the cover art is chosen? I read so many books where the cover doesn't seem to have anything to do with the characters within and it's aggravating because that's the first impression for a reader. Do author's have any say or input in what the wrapping will look like on the finished product?
ReplyDeleteDreama, that's a really good question. I often wonder if a reader doesn't like my cover, will they lay the blame on me LOL? The process is different by publisher of course, but generally the author fills in a cover request form or an art fact sheet. They're called a bunch of different things but they all kick things off. The amount of detail one can include on these forms also varies. Usually, they're asking for the physical description of the couple/characters, the setting and genre of the story, the 'feel' of the book, what elements are important, the key theme and at a high level, what the book is about. For me at EC, I send off my form (providing as detailed information as I can), it gets assigned a cover artist, they create it and then my cover comes to me. At that point, I have no say unless there is an error on the cover, i.e. my name is spelled incorrectly or the title is wrong. There are other publishers where this process is a bit more interactive and there is more back and forth with the author, but generally, apart from providing that initial information, it is what it is! Authors who self-publish can pick their own art work and cover design.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wanted to add that covers that are inconsistent with the story are a pet peeve of mine, especially when it is so obvious. For instance different hair color, hair length/style, body type and look and feel not being consistent with the characterization of the book.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaily and Dreama, thought I'd add my experience to the pile re cover art for your info. I've recently had two novellas published with Noble and one soon to be released with Samhain. Both publishers provided a cover art sheet thing where you filled in details of the character and setting. With Samhain, I had a little say in the cover - I didn't like the original hero they portrayed and so they changed it, but even though I liked the second attempt, eventually they changed it again without asking me. Luckily I like the third attempt too! With Noble, I was so pleased with the first cover (a paranormal) that I didn't ask for it to be changed. With the second though, an historical, the story's set during the English Wars of the Roses, and the cover had a very modern looking woman and a Disney-style castle with turrets that didn't look English at all. I asked for it to be changed and she let me choose the pictures myself from a stock photo site. However, the hero was the only man available, it's like his own photo site, so there was a limited choice. But I was able to choose a more medieval-looking heroine, and a nicer castle.
ReplyDeleteGood to know, and I hope that didn't come across sounding as negative as it may have or that I was implying anything about one of your books. :-) I recently purchased a book that was actually a decent book, but halfway through reading it I realized the couple was black...and the couple on the cover was white. It really threw me for a loop and I suspect that the publisher had deliberately made the couple in the cover art appear ambiguous deliberately. The reviews caused an uproar as accusations of racism flew, but it would have been as awkward and misleading if the characters had been misrepresented physically in other ways. The cover helps the reader form a mental image of what the characters look like, and if done well, represents elements of the storyline. The question actually came to the forefront as I was looking at one of my favorite reads where the heroine appears in a skimpy piece of lingerie on the cover looking very hot and slutty. Nothing wrong with that - except she was a shy, very endearing virgin in the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Serenity for adding your experience with your publishers. I think from what I've heard, the degree authors are involved after the cover is created can vary from none to quite interactive. Personally, I think it's very important to get the cover right and make sure it's an accurate reflection of the story. So glad yours were flexible in that regard!
ReplyDeleteNo, Dreama I didn't think anything like that :). I've read a few books where the cover was nothing like the hero and heroine in the book. Not as blatant as your example, but it's annoying. I do like to form my own visuals about what characters look like from the author's writing though. I wish some books didn't have detailed faces because I usually picture something different and can't reconcile it in my mind. I think sometimes a cover is a product of a publisher trying to be more marketable, using photos/designs that are readily available or perhaps *gasp* an author's requirements weren't clear or complete enough!