New Review for Love’s Reflection

Carol North has done a wonderful job with Love’s Reflection.  Despite the plethora of robot-as-people novels and movies that now abound in the science fiction and romance genres, Carol North has managed something new, something fresh.  Not since the 1964 television series, “My Living Doll,” starring Julie Newmar and Bob Cummings, has there been anything so innovative, so lively, and so much fun!  Watching the robot, Alpha, learn to become a real woman is a real treat.  Love’s Reflection gives us the same joy in this regard as a young Julie Newmar did in “My Living Doll,” and that’s no mean feat!

 

In Love’s Reflection, Carol North even takes us a step further than just an enjoyable read.  Ms. North poses thoughtful questions on what it is that makes us human, what really constitutes humanity.  We travel along with Alpha as she learns the world about her.  And, we see how humans react.  We see them change, and in some cases grow from their interaction with Alpha.  Carol North not only provides us with marvelous entertainment in Love’s Reflection, she makes us reflect deeply about the meaning of things, like life, love, and compassion. 

 

If you want a fun read (yes — I know I use the word “fun” a lot here, but what can I say — it’s a  fun book!), then I advise you to buy Ms. Carol North’s, Love’s Reflection.  I found it to be a very enjoyable and absorbing read.  I finished Love’s Reflection in just one day, because I couldn’t bring myself to put it down.  I wanted to know what happened next that much! 

 

Carol North has a winner with Love’s Reflection.  If Ms. North can maintain this high level of writing with her future novels, we have a wonderful new author in our midst.  I look forward to reading more by her.  Mind you, I’d quickly exchange all that for just one robot like Alpha…

 

Review by Rob Shelsky© for Novelspot

To purchase Love’s Reflection, visit http://carolnorth.com/books.htm

Join the E-Publishing Revolution

I went straight to an electronic-publisher (e-publisher). Never even submitted my first two novels to a print publisher. Both were quickly accepted. I am currently completing a third novel that will also go to an e-publisher.

 

Submissions

You save time by submitting to e-publishers. They accept electronic submissions, thereby, reducing the time to present the submission and receive the answer to just seconds in cyberspace. Of course, you need to add the amount of time it takes for the e-publisher to read your submission and decide if the house wants or doesn’t want to present an offer to publish. It can take a print publisher or agent a year or more to decide whether to publish or represent you. In that same period of time, your e-book can be accepted, published, and for sale all over the worldwide Internet.

 

You save money by submitting to e-publishers. It’s all electronic–no paper, no postage, no self-addressed, stamped envelopes (SASEs).

 

Royalties and Advances

Print publishers pay an advance against earned royalties, although they seem to be moving toward no advance or smaller advances. For instance, selling a first novel to a category romance publisher will get you a $500 advance, according to “first sales” figures published in the Romance Writers of America magazine. Print publishers typically don’t pay royalties until they know the number of returns on your book. They then subtract the advance paid from the royalties earned and pay you the balance, if any. It can easily take 18-24 months after the release of your book to receive the first royalty statement, which may or may not show a profit and a payment to you.

 

The royalty you receive from the e-publisher ranges from 35 to 50 percent of the selling price of the book or of the e-publisher’s net earnings when distributors are involved.

 

According to WritersServices.com, royalties paid by print publishers range from

• 10 to 12.5 percent for hardcover books.
• Up to 15 percent for hardcover books by bestselling authors.
• 7.5 to 10 percent for softbound books.
• Up to 12.5 percent for softbound books by bestselling authors.

 

Print royalties are based on either the price for which the book sells or on the net amount the publisher receives after providing discounts to bookstores and distributors or some combination of both.

 

E-publishers pay royalties monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. Most often payments are made quarterly or monthly. So the speed with which the e-publisher pays its authors tends to cancel out the benefits of the print publisher paying an advance against your royalties.

 

Many e-publishers post copies of their contracts on their websites for the world to see. The contracts are written in conversational English, not legalese. The Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) posts a sample contract on its site: http://epicauthors.com.

 

Creative Freedom

A print publisher has “rules” for each genre and line it publishes. For example, one print publisher wants 80,000-100,000-word horror genre novels with dark atmosphere, chilling plots, contemporary settings, and supernatural horrors. No science fiction, fantasy, or mystery elements are allowed. The house’s rigid rules preclude horror novels with sci-fi elements like Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers.

 

E-publishers typically don’t have hard and fast rules. They’re open to mixed genre novellas and novels from 20,000 to 100,000 words and more. Some even publish short stories of about 10,000 words. E-publishers are also less strict about point of view (from whose viewpoint the story is told) and person (first–the story is told by a character, or third–it is told by an unidentified narrator).

 

You are also allowed to write outside your original genre, even if your earlier books sold well. Print publishers like to see you crank out more and more books that are similar to your bestselling books. With e-publishers, you can write for new markets like the up and coming “urban fantasy” market.

 

All genres are accepted for e-publication, including fiction, business, technical, self-help, reference, inspirational, and general nonfiction. To see the genre opportunities provided by e-publication, peruse ebookwise.com.

 

Marketing Support

If you think your print publisher will provide marketing support–dream on. Only authors of proven or anticipated bestselling success are provided significant help with the marketing.

 

My e-publisher has an internet “loop” devoted to its authors. We send emails to the loop for group feedback and support. The owners of our e-publishing company participate and mentor. It feels like a family. Some e-publishers also provide marketing support. Mine sends out advance review copies (ARCs) of my book and provides other support and information.

 

E-book authors can become members of Internet loops devoted to helping them develop marketing campaigns and web sites. I have two web sites: carolnorth.com and carol-north.com.

 

Distribution

Typically, distribution is worldwide in the English language. In addition, your e-publisher might want to negotiate foreign language rights. My e-books are available on Awe-Struck E-Books, Amazon, e-reader, efictionwise, ebookwise, and other distributors. They are available in multiple formats, including HTML, PDF, Kindle, Sony, RocketBook, and MS-reader with audio functionality.

 

Creditability

Being published by an established e-publisher is a valid writing credit and can prove your marketability to other e-publishers, print publishers, and literary agents. Self-publication is not considered a valid credit.

 

Print

E-publishers also produce books in print, audio, and on compact disk. Many e-book authors are also published by the major New York houses.

 

E-Books are Hot

According to International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), trade e-book sales for June 2008 are up 87 percent as compared to June 2007. During this same period, print book sales experienced a single digit increase. E-book sales for the entire second quarter of 2008 are up 47 percent compared to Q2 of 2007.

The big publishing houses are jumping on the e-book bandwagon. Most, if not all, are offering electronic editions of their new releases and of many backlist titles.

 

It’s Love

My last reason for going electronic is emotional–I love my e-reader. It’s about the size and weight of a small hardbound book, yet it holds 100 e-books. I read from it at the beach, at home, and while waiting for my turn at the doctor’s or dentist’s office.

 

I highly recommend you join the e-publishing revolution. See you in cyberspace.

 

Note: This article was published under my byline in The Savannah Business Report & Journal on September 15-21, 2008.

Mining Experience for Story Ideas

At five, I already loved reading and the written word. I recall making the decision to become a writer while walking atop a stack of books I’d made into a “fort.” “When I grow up, I’m gonna be a writer,” I said, and let that intention direct the rest of my life.

 

Becoming a writer happened many (I’m not telling how many) years after the life-defining decision made as a five-year-old. Though not obvious to me at the time, life experiences were preparing me to assume the role of writer. Or was I subconsciously choosing the experiences I would need in the future? You be the judge.

 

When other responsibilities lessened, I was able to change my life style to support becoming a writer. I returned to school and took language and speech courses. To support myself, I worked in a part-time sales job paying more per hour and requiring fewer hours than many other jobs.  My plan was to earn a degree in English and then look for a job as a writer.

 

Between semesters, I took a temporary job in the Chicago Loop. While traveling home on the commuter train, I had a conversation with a woman who knew a woman who wanted to leave her job as a magazine editor and was looking for a replacement. After several phone conversations, the appointment was made. We met the publisher in his building at South 16th and State Streets in Chicago. It was one scary neighborhood.

 

The location was the least of the problems. Phil, the publisher, informed me that the magazine was going belly-up and with his current editor finding another job, he thought this a good time to bail out. I wasn’t giving up that easily. We chatted. I mentioned my successful sales experience.

  

He grew attentive. “Will you sell advertising in addition to editing the magazine?”

  

“Yes.” I replied.

 

We shook hands on a one-month trial period. I worked 60-hour weeks selling advertising, writing two columns and assorted features, and editing. The first month we broke even. the second month we made a profit. I stayed two years, and never returned to school. When I last checked, about five years ago, Transport Fleet News was still viable. 

 

I broke into writing because I had the right experience at the right time for the position.

  

Writing around life experiences enriches the story, cuts down on research time, and encourages the suspension of disbelief by the reader.

 

My first romance, Love’s Reflection, is the story of a love-besotted scientist who creates a robot in the exact image of his unrequited love interest, a film superstar. The inspiration for the story came from a training program I wrote for a Fortune 50 corporation, “Introduction to Programming Robots.” The robot in my story is a hot, red-head with legs up to…. The robot who inspired her creation is an 18-in. tall, one-armed, headless machine. The lone arm seemed little better than useless to me. It moved in slow and jerky increments. When I learned the mathematical equation that turned the robotic movement into a smooth motion, I knew I had to write the story of the highest evolution of that sorry-looking machine.

 

My second romance, Eternally His, will be released in February 2009. It tells the story of a Ghost dressed in a Victorian bridal gown who is haunting a bridal salon. It also is a product of a life experience. I worked part-time as a bridal consultant when I returned to school to study language and speech. 

 

Writing about difficult life experiences can help relieve angst and anger. It worked for me. A lawyer ripped me off. I realized it was futile to fight the lawyer on his own turf–the courtroom, so I wrote a story in which I achieved revenge. It was purchased by the first literary magazine to which I offered it. I got rid of my anger and made a sale.  The story, “Of One Stem,” can be downloaded free at http://carolnorth.com/stories.htm.

 

All experiences are valuable. Sometimes the difficult ones are there to “kick” you into another place in life. J.K. Rowling was a destitute, single mother until she wrote the first book in the Harry Potter series. Today she is a billionaire.

 

What are your experiences? How can you turn them into publishable stories? 

Note: This post originally appeared in NovelSpot.com during August 2008 when I was a guest blogger.