Promotion and Purple Prose

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier

Let's see... first off, Tickle Fights and Barbecues isn't available yet, but I'll certainly keep you posted! Next, my most recently contracted story, "Magic", is up on the "coming soon" page!

Now, on to the real reason for my blog this morning. Yesterday, I decided to hit all of the author's pages at The Wild Rose Press. I only made it through about half of them, but one thing I did notice? Only about half of the ones I hit had dedicated websites or blogs. Of those, several had blogs listed that hadn't been updated since sometime last year and a few had websites on Tripod or other free servers that look rather unprofessional.

Color me shocked.

I don't understand how the folks who had neither (not even old or unprofessional ones) are able to promote their work effectively. I recently read an article (thanks to Sara Freeze, one Wild Rose author who DOES update her blog regularly) on Dear Author called "What Every Author’s Website Should Contain" and it was very interesting.

What about you? When you find an author you enjoy, do you look for a website or blog? Do you think having (or not having) a site or blog impacts a newer author's ability to self-promote?

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So, I started another romance yesterday. Different line this time. Gah. I don't understand how these things are getting published.

Let's have some rules and how they got around them:

"Show, don't tell" -- this doesn't count when it's done in dialogue, like having the best friend say something like, "But Sally, you've always been free-spirited and independent."

"Don't have a bunch of backstory at the beginning" - this doesn't count when it's part of the heroine's dialogue, even if she's talking to her best friend who already knows the whole story. Something like, "Remember, Mary, when I got involved with my boss who promised to leave his wife, but then reconciled and forced me to resign?" to which Mary will reply, "Yes, Sally, but you always bounce back, and you have that fantastic college education and wonderful contacts, so surely you'll have a job again soon so you won't be stuck here in this tiny town that you always swore you'd leave."

The worse thing was how incredibly turned on she was by the hero from the moment she saw him. I'm surprised she didn't rip open her shirt and say, "Take me now!". Of course, she mentions that it's been a "whole month" since the last time she had sex, so she's horny. And he would have taken her up on her offer, because shortly after their meeting, he's thinking about the fact that he's totally into meaningless relationships that are only sexual in nature.

All this in the first chapter.

No, I'm not going to be able to read any further.

I read an article yesterday that explained why many authors are submitting their work to non-RWA approved presses like Samhain and The Wild Rose Press. No, it's not that they're giving up on the big leagues. Most of the authors they interviewed state that it's because what they've written won't be pigeonholed.

Thank heavens. At least I didn't pay for that novel. The one I mentioned a couple of days ago is one I purchased. What a waste of money.

I know, I know, I shouldn't complain. They got published at novel length and I'm not but... sheesh...

How's your day?