Click on the link below to get to the A BLOODY GOOD CRUISE trailer. Many thanks to my good friend, producer Brian Porter!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYkLAZUDKXA
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Article About Small Presses vs. Big Houses in Cape Cod Women Magazine
Here is the actual link, but the article is below:
http://www.capewomenonline.com/Fall_2010/Fall_2010Articles/SmallPressHouses.html
Small Presses vs. the "Big Houses" – Something for Everybody by Diana Rubino
Writing for a small press can be a stepping stone to a career leap – or it can be your entire career. Since no author can plan on a best-selling career with a big house, pitching to the small presses can be your ticket to publication.
The small independent publishers are much more willing to take chances on new writers and cultivate their talents. Sure, their bottom line is important, as it is to any for-profit business, but they don't have the time constraints the big houses have.
This gives their editors the luxury of taking more time to work with authors, and spend much more one-on-one time with them on technical details such as point of view, character consistency, and basic grammatical and style issues.
Small presses also accept unagented material, so authors can avoid the Catch-22 of not being able to land an agent because they've not yet established a track record.
Most likely, your small press book will be POD (print on demand), which means copies will be printed only when a customer orders one. It's up to the author to visit her local bookstores, and some stores will order a few dozen copies, arrange for a signing, have posters designed and give your books a valuable promotional push.
Since small presses run on tight budgets, the author must take the necessary time and funds to finance most promotion; i.e., costs of designing a website and keeping it current, ads in magazines such as Romantic Times, business cards, bookmarks and other giveaways, travel expenses to various conventions, etc.
I always like to inspire aspiring authors by telling my unique story: I received my first publishing contract 18 years after writing my first novel.
I believe it was my ninth written novel that became my "first novel" (the first that got published) with British publisher Domhan Books. At the time I signed my first contract, it was the fastest-growing publisher in the U.S.
My five-year tenure there earned me many rave reviews and a Romantic Times Top Pick award. Unfortunately, the owner suffered health problems and could no longer actively run the company.
I never gave up on my dream of that "big house" contract, but continued submitting to more small presses, eventually landing contracts with Dreams Unlimited, Stardust Press, Eternal Press, the Wild Rose Press, and Moongypsy Press, where I'm now Acquisitions Editor.
The small houses have been very good to me. I've cultivated a following, and the ads I run in Romantic Times and their reviews have brought me sales that I'm happy with. My editor at The Wild Rose Press, Laura Hogg, is the best editor I've ever worked with, and we've become friends and critique partners. She makes my work sparkle.
There's a lot of talent out there in the small press world, and I advise any aspiring author to submit to them, because they offer great opportunities to start your writing career on the right path.
A few caveats to look out for are the vanity presses, which require that authors pay to have their books published. Some writers decide to go this route and self-publish. Of course, some of these books eventually become best sellers. But make sure you choose a royalty-paying publisher if you don't wish to go the self-published route.
Moongypsy Press accepts nearly all genres, and we consider unagented material. Our guidelines are on the website. We're open to new and established authors, and have a very talented staff of editors. We pay royalties based on net sales, and do not ask authors to pay any publishing expenses.
Small presses have always been around, but with the miracle of the internet, many more are thriving, and authors have the choice of a great variety of outlets for their work, something for every taste. Some publishers specialize in certain genres. You need to do your research to find the best fit for your work.
Now that the Kindle and e-book readers have come down in price and their sales are increasing, e-book sales are exploding. E-books have been around since the 1990s, but never before have they been so popular. Look around on a commuter train and you'll see many passengers absorbed in their e-book readers.
With the outlets that small presses have to offer, so many more writers than ever before can now share their talents with the world, a world that seems to be shrinking more and more every day!
http://www.capewomenonline.com/Fall_2010/Fall_2010Articles/SmallPressHouses.html
Small Presses vs. the "Big Houses" – Something for Everybody by Diana Rubino
Writing for a small press can be a stepping stone to a career leap – or it can be your entire career. Since no author can plan on a best-selling career with a big house, pitching to the small presses can be your ticket to publication.
The small independent publishers are much more willing to take chances on new writers and cultivate their talents. Sure, their bottom line is important, as it is to any for-profit business, but they don't have the time constraints the big houses have.
This gives their editors the luxury of taking more time to work with authors, and spend much more one-on-one time with them on technical details such as point of view, character consistency, and basic grammatical and style issues.
Small presses also accept unagented material, so authors can avoid the Catch-22 of not being able to land an agent because they've not yet established a track record.
Most likely, your small press book will be POD (print on demand), which means copies will be printed only when a customer orders one. It's up to the author to visit her local bookstores, and some stores will order a few dozen copies, arrange for a signing, have posters designed and give your books a valuable promotional push.
Since small presses run on tight budgets, the author must take the necessary time and funds to finance most promotion; i.e., costs of designing a website and keeping it current, ads in magazines such as Romantic Times, business cards, bookmarks and other giveaways, travel expenses to various conventions, etc.
I always like to inspire aspiring authors by telling my unique story: I received my first publishing contract 18 years after writing my first novel.
I believe it was my ninth written novel that became my "first novel" (the first that got published) with British publisher Domhan Books. At the time I signed my first contract, it was the fastest-growing publisher in the U.S.
My five-year tenure there earned me many rave reviews and a Romantic Times Top Pick award. Unfortunately, the owner suffered health problems and could no longer actively run the company.
I never gave up on my dream of that "big house" contract, but continued submitting to more small presses, eventually landing contracts with Dreams Unlimited, Stardust Press, Eternal Press, the Wild Rose Press, and Moongypsy Press, where I'm now Acquisitions Editor.
The small houses have been very good to me. I've cultivated a following, and the ads I run in Romantic Times and their reviews have brought me sales that I'm happy with. My editor at The Wild Rose Press, Laura Hogg, is the best editor I've ever worked with, and we've become friends and critique partners. She makes my work sparkle.
There's a lot of talent out there in the small press world, and I advise any aspiring author to submit to them, because they offer great opportunities to start your writing career on the right path.
A few caveats to look out for are the vanity presses, which require that authors pay to have their books published. Some writers decide to go this route and self-publish. Of course, some of these books eventually become best sellers. But make sure you choose a royalty-paying publisher if you don't wish to go the self-published route.
Moongypsy Press accepts nearly all genres, and we consider unagented material. Our guidelines are on the website. We're open to new and established authors, and have a very talented staff of editors. We pay royalties based on net sales, and do not ask authors to pay any publishing expenses.
Small presses have always been around, but with the miracle of the internet, many more are thriving, and authors have the choice of a great variety of outlets for their work, something for every taste. Some publishers specialize in certain genres. You need to do your research to find the best fit for your work.
Now that the Kindle and e-book readers have come down in price and their sales are increasing, e-book sales are exploding. E-books have been around since the 1990s, but never before have they been so popular. Look around on a commuter train and you'll see many passengers absorbed in their e-book readers.
With the outlets that small presses have to offer, so many more writers than ever before can now share their talents with the world, a world that seems to be shrinking more and more every day!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Glowing Review of my Raunchy--er, Earthy Time Travel Comedy
Glowing review of One Too Many Times, my romantic comedy time travel set in Yorkshire, from The Romance Studio.
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/onetoomanytimerubino.htm
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/onetoomanytimerubino.htm
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First Drafts Should be FUN!
My favorite quote about first drafts:
“Let it be imperfect, messy, absurd, and insignificant. At the very beginning, the creative process requires lowered expectations, spiked with fun, in very tiny increments of time, in fractions of steps.”
“Let it be imperfect, messy, absurd, and insignificant. At the very beginning, the creative process requires lowered expectations, spiked with fun, in very tiny increments of time, in fractions of steps.”
My Agent's New Blog!
My agent Jewelann Cone of the Cascade Literary Agency, http://www.cascadeliteraryagency.com/, has a new blog: http://www.cascadeliteraryagency.blogspot.com/.
I'll be blogging there on Tuesday, and plan to engage in lively chat about writing, history, and anything else that jumps up and hits me! Join in and say hi!
I'll be blogging there on Tuesday, and plan to engage in lively chat about writing, history, and anything else that jumps up and hits me! Join in and say hi!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Play Word Play today at The Blood-Red Pencil
Play Word Play today at The Blood-Red Pencil. Today, use 'sleigh' 'slay' 'sleight' and 'slate' as many times as possible in a paragraph. Mine is below.
Leave an interactive comment at a blog which now has 900 followers - great for promo -
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2010/07/word-play-by-morgan-mandel.html
Short url: http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
Morgan Mandel
Strange coincidence, because I’m including a true life murder mystery in my work in progress, my novel about Aaron Burr.
In 1800, a young man named Levi Weeks, the brother of one of New York City’s most successful builders, took his fiancé, Elma Sands, for a sleigh ride. She was never seen again. A few days later, a few boys found her body in a well located in today’s Soho. Levi was the accused. Through his brother’s connections, he hired the ‘dream team’ of the time as his defense lawyers—Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The jury deliberated for five minutes and acquitted Weeks. But did he actually slay her? And if so, why? Rumor had it that she was pregnant. Instead of facing the scandal in New York, Weeks fled south, to begin life with a clean slate.
Leave an interactive comment at a blog which now has 900 followers - great for promo -
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2010/07/word-play-by-morgan-mandel.html
Short url: http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
Morgan Mandel
Strange coincidence, because I’m including a true life murder mystery in my work in progress, my novel about Aaron Burr.
In 1800, a young man named Levi Weeks, the brother of one of New York City’s most successful builders, took his fiancé, Elma Sands, for a sleigh ride. She was never seen again. A few days later, a few boys found her body in a well located in today’s Soho. Levi was the accused. Through his brother’s connections, he hired the ‘dream team’ of the time as his defense lawyers—Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The jury deliberated for five minutes and acquitted Weeks. But did he actually slay her? And if so, why? Rumor had it that she was pregnant. Instead of facing the scandal in New York, Weeks fled south, to begin life with a clean slate.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
"Book Swap Cafe" TV Show Appearance
I recently appeared on the Comcast Channel's Book Swap Cafe and will run it on YT, because I don't get the channel in my area!
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