Heidi Nicole Bird, Author: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Today I'd like you all to welcome author Caitlin Hensley, as she celebrates the release of book two of her Inhuman Chronicles series!

Hi Caitlin, and welcome back to my blog! It's been a while, but it is always a pleasure to have you here! Before we give our readers all the details they need to get your new book, let's help them get to know you a bit, shall we?

How does your real life interact/play a role in/interfere with your writing life?

Real life often interferes with the time I have set aside for my writing, which can be a pain, but at the same time, the events in my life sometimes provide inspiration. Also, I’ve found that when my life is busy, I have a lot more creativity to unleash in my books.

What genres have you written?

I’ve written fantasy, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, and a retold fairytale for teens. For adults, I’ve started working on a paranormal mystery.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I think I’m a loose plotter. I don’t like to write out every single thing that’s going to happen in a book, because to me, that feels like telling the story twice. Before I start working on a new project, I type a vague outline, and then go from there, expanding the plot.

How many books have you written?

I’ve finished thirteen books since I started writing seriously a couple of years ago, and I’ve also started several projects that I haven’t finished yet.

What are a few interesting things you’ve studied/researched for your latest novel?

Right now I’m working on edits for a YA book that takes place after a nuclear war that ended life as we know it. While I was writing it, I had to read up on radiation, Geiger counters, frostbite, how to help someone give birth, and different types of guns.

You just released the second book in The Inhuman Chronicles, Untold Promise. Who is your favorite character in that book? Why?

That’s a tough one, but I think Jake’s probably my favorite. He banters a lot with Haily (the main character), which is a lot of fun for me to write. And in this book, a lot more of Jake’s backstory is revealed, so I can’t wait for people to read about that.

Is there any part of writing that you don’t like?

At times, I’ll hate both writing and editing, but that’s just when I’ve reached a tricky part.

When you read, what is your favorite genre?

I’ll read just about anything, actually.

Indie publishing or traditional publishing?

I used to want to be traditionally published, but I’m really glad I chose to publish on my own. Indie all the way!

I 100% agree with you! If you could have time travel abilities and could meet anyone from any time, who would you like to meet?

I’d like to travel back to meet relatives of mine and explore the past. Checking out the future would be pretty cool, too.

What's the weirdest thing you've Googled?

Well, recently I Googled the embalming process, which I’d say qualifies as weird.

Haha, the things we authors research! Do you have any advice for other writers?

Keep writing, and never give up. ♥

Couldn't have said it better myself :) And now, Where can readers stalk you?

Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page

Fantastic. Well there you have it people! You now know a bit about Miss Caitlin Hensley, young author extraordinaire! And now, what you've all been waiting for, just click on the image below to get your copy of Untold Promise! Click here for book one of the Inhuman Chronicles, free right now!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Audiobook Creation Exchange

Hi there everybody! To start off another week I wanted to share with you a guest post that I wrote back in May. Author Karen Magill asked me to write about my experience using Audiobook Creation Exchange, a program run by Amazon that allows authors and voice artists to get together and create audio books. It's much like Createspace, Amazon's site for helping authors self publish paperback copies of their books. It's simple and convenient, and I am definitely a fan. Now that my first project has been finalized I will be posting my follow up thoughts later this week. Enjoy!

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As a child I fell madly in love with audio books. I had always loved reading, but there was, and still is, something about audio books that just gets to me. I love to hear different narrators and experience how they imagine the characters are and how they would react to the story. Considering my love for audio books, naturally when I began to publish my own books I wondered how I might go about getting them recorded so that people all over the world could listen to them, including me.

One day while I was online, I came across a post in one of my writing groups about audio books. They were talking about something called ACX. Out of curiosity I checked it out, and I am so glad I did. ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) is a fantastic website owned by Amazon, much like Createspace. The site allows you to create audio versions of your books, and is accessible to self published authors and publishers alike.

I am now in the process of producing the audio version of my first book Through the Paper Wall, which was released everywhere in paperback and ebook formats in February. Most authors or publishers would probably wait longer than I did to pursue an audio version, but I couldn’t help myself.

Here is a little bit about the site and what you can do there:

First, you sign up, and it is completely free. Once you accept the terms you can get going. You enter the ISBN of your book and claim the book as yours and state that you have the rights, etc. Next you fill out information about your book and upload an excerpt for narrators to use as their audition. Then you have some choices:

· Produce the book yourself – If you have the recording equipment and would like to narrate your book yourself, you are more than welcome to.

· Enter the information about your book and wait for narrators to audition for you

· Search the hundreds, probably thousands, of narrators on the site. You have so many options when doing this. You can select voice type, accents, age, etc. It’s really quite fantastic.

I ended up doing a combination of the bottom two bullet points. In all honesty, I would love to narrate my second book, Ontario, on my own, but I don’t have the equipment, plus, while searching for a narrator for Through the Paper Wall I came across the most perfect person for Ontario! You really never know what you will find. My mind was certainly opened as I searched through the numerous, and very talented narrators.

A word about the narrators that are available: Most of them are professionals. That’s the amazing thing to me. There is such a pool of talent available for you, depending on what you are willing to put out, and by that, I mean what you are willing to pay for.

So, let’s talk about payment. Surely this great of a thing can’t be free, right? Well, yes, and no. There are two options you can choose when it comes to payment.

· Pay the narrator per finished audio hour. Depending on the narrator, you could have a pretty varying cost here. I’ve seen anywhere from $50 per finished hour to several hundred dollars. Again, it depends on how badly you want someone in particular. Many of these narrators are in high demand, thus they are able to charge more.

· Pay nothing out of pocket and simply split the royalties of your audio book 50/50 (after ACX takes out their portion, of course).

I chose the second option, mostly because I don’t have any money to speak of at the moment, and also because I am not too worried about getting a ton of money from this. Creating this audio book is more of . . . a bit of indulging for me, I guess you could say.

Alright, so you’ve decided how you want to fund your project, and you find a narrator you like. Now what? Well, you can send an offer to any narrator you would like. The offer includes how you are willing to pay, your timetable, etc. Narrators can then accept your offer or reject it. I sent an offer to a narrator and we ended up talking a bit back and forth before I realized it wasn’t going to happen, because clearly this guy was top of the line and lots of people wanted him. He had little time for close to no-name projects like mine because he had so many more prominent ones that were paying him the big bucks.

Cool. I was a little bummed, but it worked out because I really liked the second guy who sent me an audition. He pronounced some things in weird ways, and made some characters sound different than I would like, but that didn’t matter. I sent him an offer, and he accepted. I have since sent him character and pronunciation notes, and he’s ready to go.

So what happens now? Well, my narrator, Andy Mack, will record the first 15 minutes of the book and then send them to me. Before anything else can happen, I have to accept and approve the first recorded 15 minutes. I can request changes and suggest things. Once I have approved that, my narrator will finish recording the entire book. I will then have the chance to listen to it all and approve it or request revisions up to two times.

I have yet to hear the first 15 minutes, since production is just starting, but I am very excited for when that time comes. Karen has requested that once the process is finished I write a follow-up post, which I am happy to do. I have found little about this site outside of trying it myself, so I hope this helps anyone who is interested in using the site!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Please Welcome G. Mitchell Baker!

Today I am happy to have author G. Mitchell Baker here on my site! Baker is an accomplished writer of paranormal mystery and contemporary fiction, and guess what? I have a little secret for you . . . his newest book, Lethal Believers: The Innocents, is now available for the special price of $.99! So, jump right in and have some fun getting to know this great author, then head on over and get your discounted e-book!

Good morning, and welcome to my site! Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy cycling, music, chasing around after good garage sales and flea markets. I find some of my best research in used bookstores…

I find that used things have so much more life to them. Definitely a great way to get ideas! What is your all-time favorite movie?

‘Taken’

Nice choice. And now, one of my favorite things to ask: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

There are many who would suggest that there are hard and fast rules to everything you attempt in the publishing industry… These absolutists intrigue me because my experience has been that there are few, if any hard and fast rules. Rather, to be flexible in the publishing industry, and to be prepared for anything and everything has been the reality and in recognizing as much, my experience has very much improved in most if not all relationships and project developments.

I completely agreed! Are there any tips you could give that you learned along your path of picking up the pen to having a published novel?

Write every day and be prepared to work hard on every level. There are a lot of people out there to listen to, but only listen to those who speak to you from your own page and who would listen to you as much as you would listen to them. Finding respect on the many levels of consideration within the writing industry is difficult, but I believe can be done if you remain true to the reasons you started writing and the reasons you want to be in place with you finish writing. The publishing of a novel comes in between somewhere and will Have a lot to do with how much of the beginning motivations remain in the end game.

Do you plan on being a full time writer, or do you have other career plans?

How long have you been writing?

For all intents and purpose, I am a full time writer who structures other activities around creating original and interesting stories, working with my publishing teams and promoting my work to the best of my abilities.

Is music part of your writing process? If so, what do you listen to?

Yes, but probably not what you think… I tend to use music, mostly played in the car to take a break from the storytelling… The music displaces the writing for a while and I think as much is good for balancing my attention…

Is your glass half full or half empty?

Sure ;-) Is that kind of like ‘could be worse could be better’ scenario…? ;-)

Haha, I guess that will do for an answer! Do you have any advice for the editing process?

Yes… expect anything … And when you are assigned a good editor you will know it … immediately be thankful and keep an open mind.

Great advice! Now, last question: Describe yourself in one word –

Resilient

And there you have it people, now you know a bit about G. Mitchell Baker! Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the info below on how to stay in contact with the author and how to purchase his great pieces of work!

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G. Mitchell Baker enjoys living out west, from the southwest United States to western Canada. Having practiced law for more than twenty years, Baker enjoys researching and writing projects that draw him into the many genres, to include contemporary fiction, science fiction, and paranormal works of fiction. Also a writer of feature length screenplays, G. Mitchell Baker enjoys adapting his novels to screenplay and, adapting his screenplays to novels.

Baker has been fortunate to compete at the highest levels in sports to include baseball and karate. This spirit leads to his also striving to compete at the highest levels to entertain his readership. Moreover, it is in this spirit Baker invites you to visit and re-visit his ‘Anything But a Tired Barn', and, to become familiar with his current and ongoing projects. Please take the time to learn more about G. Mitchell Baker, his projects, and any reasonable offer for original and interesting conversation … as much will not be refused.

VISIT THESE AUTHOR WEBSITES AND FACEBOOK FAN PAGES FOR NOVELS BY G. MITCHELL BAKER AND BOOK RELEASE AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION ALSO BY G. MITCHELL BAKER -

WEBSITE

G. MITCHELL BAKER, AUTHOR

http://gmitchellbakerauthor.com

LINKEDIN

http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/g-mitchell-baker/44/357/bb1

TWITTER

https://twitter.com/G_MitchellBaker

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/pages/G-Mitchell-Baker-Author/244572638951700

MASTER KODA SELECT PUBLISHING

http://masterkodaselectpublishing.com/

LETHAL BELIEVERS: DVM