Well, there seems to be some whispers that epublishing is on the decline, and that a bad trend is emerging in the epublishing industry. I have to disagree. I mean, yeah, a good number of epublishers have closed this year alone, but do you realize how many are still out there and in operation? To use a phrase I've used quite frequently lately, the number will make your eyes cross.

Despite the string of recent closings, epublishing is going strong. Why else would the big NY houses be jumping on the bandwagon? Because it's a hot business and it's the wave of the future. Don't let a few mishandled "businesses" ruin your view on an entire industry.

I am proud to be an epublished author. I will continue to write ebooks for the remainder of my career. It's how I started, and it's most likely how I'll go out. Will I do print? I have one print book now, and I hope to have more. But that doesn't mean that I plan to abandon my epublishing roots.

Another thing to keep in mind. Yes, there are bad epublishers, but what gets more and more frequently overlooked since the epubs began to grow in number is that there are bad  print publishers too. As I said in yesterday's post, how do you protect yourself from falling in with a bad publisher be it ebook or print? Research. Pull up Google, type the name of the publisher in question in and hit enter. It's that simple. Go to their website, check it out thoroughly, email the authors--several of the authors--and ask how they like the publisher.

What does yet another publisher that I was with closing mean for me? Nothing much to be honest about it. I will continue on with business as usual. I will continue writing and submitting to my primary publisher, Ellora's Cave, and I might even try a few other publishers--which I have spent the last year watching and looking into. My next move will be a carefully thought out one, that I can promise you. Live and learn. Don't let a bad experience, or even a string of bad experiences, ruin you on an entire industry. It's not fair to the good publishers to get lumped into the same group as the bad ones.

Why are there more bad epublishers than bad print publishers? Because it's a great deal easier to set up an epublisher. The ease and low upfront investment lulls in those with starry eyes looking to break out into a booming business and make big bucks. A few months later, reality sinks in and they are in over their heads due to poor planning and (here's that word again) research. It's not as easy as one might think. It's time consuming to make a business, ANY BUSINESS, work and turn a profit. It's not something to look at as a hobby or part time job. It needs full, undivided attention. Yes, Ellora's Cave is now a rather large and successful entity, but they worked their tails off for quite some time before they got there. It wasn't an overnight success. There are ups and there are downs. There will be growing pains, and some of the smaller epubs are not prepared to accommodate such events.

But then again, what do I know? I'm just an author with enough sense to know better than to tackle such a project. I'm not business running material. I'm perfectly happy typing away at my books. There is no way I could run an epublisher AND write the books that I need to write. It just ain't gonna happen. How an author can open an epublisher and continue to crank out books is beyond me.

How do you know an epublisher is about to fail or is at least in trouble? There are warning signs.

Lack of communication from the people in charge. If emails and questions go unanswered, start wondering what the hell is going on. If the people in charge bad mouth you or another author for asking questions, in my opinion it's time to cut and run because that is not professional behavior and generally if they are prone to emotional outbursts over standard business practices (trying to keep the line of communications open) then they aren't someone I want to work with.

Authors leaving. However, this one is to be used with caution, because sometimes an author/publisher pairing just isn't right. Sometimes a parting of ways between an author and his/her publisher is a good thing for a number of reasons. If several are leaving, then there's a good chance something could be wrong. Talk to them--all--and get their side of the story without being judgmental or accusing them of upsetting the cart. They had their reasons for leaving and shouldn't have to defend that reason. This is a business, and each author is entitled to run his/her business as he/she sees fit.

Poor website or lack of updating. This can be a sign that the ones in charge just aren't that dedicated to the publishing house.

Missed dates and appointments. If the publisher says books are due out on X date and then that date arrives with no books or explanations, something fishy is afoot.

Some debate has been had over cover art. Is bad cover art really a sign of a bad publisher? And what makes a bad cover bad? I think the subject of cover art is subjective. What one person thinks is a horrendous cover, I might actually like. So, I don't really feel this is a justifiable "cautionary sign" or "red flag". Use this one at your own discretion.

Confusing location. If one contract says the publisher is in X location. The next they are in Y location, and the website, MySpace page, and blog all say something different. Stop and ask yourself why. What would be the purpose in having different locations listed?

And one last sign that should send up warning flags. The publisher's inability to spell book titles or names correctly on a contract. If they can't spell the names correctly on the contract, a most vital piece of the puzzle, what will the rest of their services be like? All they had to do was copy it down from the query letter an author sent in. It's not like they have to recall the spelling from memory. So, if a simple, mundane task is that challenging for a publisher, something is seriously off kilter. Granted, once might just be a mistake because mistakes happen, but if a trend begins to emerge, don't let the thrill of getting the contract cloud your judgment. Stop and think. If deep down, you feel something is wrong. Don't sign.

Of course, others might have other things to add, but those are all I can think of right now. It's earlier, I'm not feeling well, and I've got a ton of other things to do today before my cohorts have me dragged off to the funny farm for taking so much onto myself.

Heather
http://heather-holland.com
*by the way, the song title is We're Not Gonna Take It*

I posted about this earlier today on my other blog, but thought I'd go ahead and repost it here for anyone wondering.

* * *

I'm sure this has been whispered about online for weeks now, though a thorough internet check didn't turn up much. Perhaps all the whispering was done in IM and email. I announced to my yahoo group a few weeks back that I have severed ties with one of my publishers (and it wasn't Ellora's Cave that I pulled from {very happy at EC, I am}).

It is now official. After the second episode of a website gone down in less than a month, Nov.3, 2007 Twilight Fantasies Publication management sent out an email to select authors (I didn't get one, personally) that they are closing their doors–for good. This comes only six months after they first opened their electronic doors (May 2007 for those wondering). I can't honestly say that this surprises me since I've suspected this was coming for the last month now. What does this mean for the authors involved? I have no idea. It's too new to really know what's going on. Communication with the publisher has been severely lacking for a few months now. The reason stated for the closing? "Personal and health reasons." My personal opinion on that? Hogwash!

No matter how bad one feels, when in the position of running a business, keeping the lines of communication open between you and your employees, or in this case authors, is key. You cannot abandon those who trusted you enough to invest in your company, and that's what an author does when she/he signs a contract with a publisher–invests in that company with her/his time and work. This is yet another in a long line of epublisher closings. Will more fall? I can hope not, but I imagine that yes, there will be more.

Epublishing, contrary to popular belief, is NOT the quick and easy road to lots of money. It takes time, dedication, and lots of hard work to make a publishing house, ebook or print, successful. This isn't a hobby. It's not a part time gig that you can play with on the side whenever you feel like messing with it. It's a full time job and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. Nor is opening a publishing house a way to break your own writing into the publishing game. Sadly, I think that's how many view it and thus that is why so many fail.

Insufficient knowledge of the game, lack of dedication to the project, and poor planning. But what do I know? I'm just an author who has enough sense to know that I am not equipped to take on such a project. I'm not ashamed to admit that I lack the knowledge to run a publishing company. Would I like to own one? Sure, but I'm not going to because it's beyond my abilities.

Did I make a mistake in signing with this company? Yes. Did I make a mistake in signing on with Trisk? Oh yeah. But we live and we learn. It's a mistake that I will not be making again. Lesson learned. Did I get out with my rights intact? It's too early to say, though I did get out. I severed ties with them several weeks back, but sadly, that will not save me from the fall out of bankruptcy should things go that way. Thankfully, I have another wonderful publisher and the books tied up with this company are only two shorts. I have plenty of other things to write on and keep myself busy while I wait for the dust to settle.

What about those with only one book that happens to be tied up in this? I hate that brand new authors are getting caught in the middle of these publisher closing scandals. It sours them on epublishing as a whole and that's not fair to them or the rest of us that make a living in the epublishing world. To those newbies out there caught in this or other similar circumstances, don't let this cloud your opinion on epublishing. There are plenty of wonderful epublishers out there that are actively seeking submissions.

How do you know a good pub from a bad pub? Research. Look them up online, find every bit of information on them that you can. Talk to authors with that company, and not just one or two, several. The more opinions you get, the more information you have to base your own decision on. What if they are brand new? Then proceed with caution and at your own risk. Though in truth, signing on with any publisher is a risk. Not all editors and authors are good matches. What is golden to one can be totally crappy to another. But that's just how life goes.

What did I get out of this? I made some truly incredible friends. Is the closing of yet another publisher a pain in the ass? Most certainly, but I'm not going to let it drag me down. I have new friends to converse with, more books to write, and the Hunters project to keep me busy. Life shall go on and so shall I. I wish everyone luck, no matter if you're tied up with Trisk, Twilight, or any of the other pubs that have closed this year. Take care and try not to let it get you down. Keep your chin up and your fingers to the keyboard. Here's to many, many great new books from the lot of you.

Heather
Heather Holland
http://heather-holland.com

I mean house. I got out of the house some this weekend. The days didn't go quite as planned, but how often DO things go as planned?

Yesterday, not so much to speak of because the child was way out of control, and after a while, I just said forget it, let's go home. I did manage to get a few flower pictures--love using those in my puzzle program. And the hubby bought me a heart shaped rose quartz pendant and a large piece of clear quartz, so that was a definite plus.

Today--today was more productive, sort of. We went out in search of crystals. Oooh. Did we find any? What did we find? Yep, we found some. Got some rose and clear quartz crystals. Oh so pretty. Now I just have to figure out where to put the things. The whole house is getting redecorated and we're going with whimsical and more natural decorations--dragons, fairies, gemstones, tumbled stones, and crystals. It makes me happy and looks pretty at the same time, so I can't complain. And it did get me out of the house for a while to "treasure hunt" as the kiddo calls it. He's so cute! lol

Take care and happy reading/writing,
Heather
http://heather-holland.com

Change is hard. But then, most things worth having are. Right?

So what changes am I in the process of making? I'm changing the way I look at things, the way I approach new obstacles, and the way I go about new things. I'm more organized. My attitude is changing, morphing into something that I believe is better. And I believe my writing will be better for it.

I bring that "w" word into what I'm talking about a lot, but it's a big part of who I am. I live to write. I write to live. It's who and what I am. If I can't write, I'm not happy. It's as simple as that, so yes, most everything I do is done with writing in mind. If it hurts my writing, I'm most likely NOT going to do it. If it helps my writing, hey, I'm all for it. That's just how I work.

Anyhow, I'm making changes. Positive changes. And thus far, they are really working for me. :)

Heather
http://heather-holland.com

Being in the public eye, a person has certain expectations imposed upon him or her. Temper tantrums are out. Screaming hissy fits are out. Calm, cool, and polite no matter what one is up against is all the rage.

But, we're human. We feel the normal range of emotions just like everyone else. We experience hurt and heartache, joy and anger. Being human is something we can't change, but being in the position we are, I think it's important to learn how to separate oneself from the emotion and see the calmer side of things. There is definitely an art to it. One must learn to recognize when it's wise to open the mouth and let it fly and when it's best to step back and keep the trap shut. All too often, we see people in the public eye behave badly and make a very public ass of themselves. It is avoidable...well, for some.

It's taken me quite a bit of time to learn when to curb what I say and how I react. There are times, when this is more difficult to accomplish than others, but I continue to strive for that professional demeanor. Sometimes I'm a bit more successful at it than at others. It's perfectly fine to think someone is a complete idiot--it's not okay to TELL that person he or she is an idiot, especially in the day and age of technology because it WILL get out that you lowered yourself to that level. It's entirely possible to get your point across without actually saying the words. Words are our friends, not our enemies and the meaning is all in the usage.

Sadly, it's the scandals that get the good buzz, but you have to ask yourself is being cast in a negative light really worth it? Not for me. I prefer to stay obscure than to go down in history as the author who made an utter fool of herself because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

What does this have to do with? Nothing and yet everything. This has been the year of publishers going under and authors behaving badly. I will not name names, because I refuse to go there. I've had some issues of my own to deal with, and yet I have done my very best to remain cool headed in the face of adversary. Maybe I haven't always remained as calm as I should have, but that goes back to that I'm only human bit I wrote about further up in this blog entry. My point is, there is a way to behave and conduct yourself in the public forum and there is a way NOT to behave and conduct yourself in the public forum.

Only you can make that choice--only you can make yourself look the fool. Don't let others provoke you. Be the better person. I'm not saying that you shouldn't stand up for yourself, because you should, just think it out calmly and carefully before putting yourself out there. Time passes but memories last--and on the internet, the juicy bits don't go away--they merely blend in with the numerous Google pages--but if one is persistent enough, it can be found again.

And that's my daily ramble.
Heather
http://heather-holland.com

*note* I don't reread the things I type on here, so please excuse any typos. :)

1) Music on a MySpace page, because that horrid shit always loads BEFORE the page and you can't turn it off before it drills holes in your head and causes blood to seep from your eyes. I hate it, it should be outlawed, if I want to listen to music, I will turn on iTunes or Media Player--not visit your page to hear it.

2) Music on websites. See the above listing. It's annoying; don't do it.

3) fancy, smancy cursor tails...you know, cute little bunnies, flowers, rainbow colors. Again I say, it's annoying, don't do it.

4) backgrounds with text you cannot read. If your background is red, make your text black, not another shade of red. If the background is blue, make the text black...do we see a pattern developing here? If I cannot read it, I ain't looking at it. If I have to highlight the text to see it, again, I ain't wasting my time.

5) Graphics heavy pages. Yes, this is the world of high speed internet, but when even the high speed takes a bit to load because there are so many pictures on there, it's overkill. Not only that, too many graphics makes it hard to see the text--or rather to even locate the text. I will not waste time combing through oftentimes goofy pictures just to read something.

And that's my list of the top 5 things on the net that annoy me right now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it in later. If your webpage falls under any of these categories, this is not a personal attack, just my personal opinion. The music one annoys me the most--do you know what a headache it is to have the dueling songs going on at a loud level of volume? I listen to music THROUGH my computer and loudly, so it's like mind blowing on a whole new level and not in a good way.

Heather
http://heather-holland.com

I thought this was over. I was wrong. Today it begins a new, but after today, there will be no more.

There are times when it seems that no matter what you do, you just can't win for losing. I know, you can't please everyone, but when someone purposely makes it more difficult that necessary you have to wonder why you ever tried to begin with.

I'm rambling and anyone reading this will have no idea what I'm talking about, but I'd rather keep it that way. I need to vent, but I do not (no matter how wronged I feel) wish to bring light to the person who has me in a tizzy. Lack of communication is the primary cause for this "falling out" and quite frankly, that lack of communication came from the other end--not me. I made my expectations of this person clear from the beginning and rather than stepping up to the plate and saying I can't fulfill this--it was allowed to drag on for quite some time with constant avoidance of the questions placed upon this person. Is it too much to ask for a straight answer? This could have all been avoided by a simple statement of "I can't do this" or even a "I won't do this." It made no difference to me. Be honest and an adult for crying out loud. Show me, as a person, some respect. That is not too much to ask, in my opinion.

So what happens now? Well, a friendship of sorts will suffer. Ties have been severed and the damage has been done and cannot be mended. Not even if this person decides to admit to being wrong--it's gone beyond the point of being fixed. The trust has been lost and once that happens, I do not forgive easily. I am human. That's all that can be expected of me, and that's all I'm required to be. Mistakes happen. What was my mistake in all of this? Relying on the person in the first place. It won't happen again, that I can promise you. But, when you put yourself out there, you are setting yourself up for all sorts of reactions--some good and some bad. You have to take what lands in your lap and make the most of it, no matter what it is to begin with.

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. Right? And that's exactly what I plan to do. Anyone want a cup? It's a bit sour, but I'm sure a good heaping of sugar will take care of that right fast.

This is costing me time--time I will never get back. So, it's time to put this behind me, since I can't change it anyhow, and move on. I have a lot of work to do and it's not getting done while I sit here venting on a blog. Though it is making me feel better to let it all out--even if the wording and the meaning is opaque. See, no matter how wronged I feel, I am still protecting this person--even if I shouldn't be. Why? Because it's not my place to out this person--it's not my place to bring attention to the lack of common courtesy. It's just not my place. I can only hope that the person in question will give me that same level of courtesy and not try to vilify me in public or to those who matter--because that's playing dirty and unfair to everyone involved. As I said before, we're adults and thus I expect everyone involved to act as such. Is that too much to ask? I think not, though I'm sure some will disagree.

And I've rambled enough for  today.

Heather
http://heather-holland.com

Another day in which I have not done much of anything. I'll start soon. At least I'm far calmer now than I was the last time I blogged.

I think I've hit a crossroads. A point in my life where the way things were going are not necessarily the way I want them to go any longer. It's a time for change, but change is good. We can't grow as people otherwise. This is week one, day three of the new me. The changes will be gradual over a period of time, but that's okay. There's only so much that can be done at any given time. The important thing is that I feel better. LESS things are bothering, which is always a good thing, and I'm eating better--which is great. I've found something new to believe in and it's doing wonders for me already.

What does this mean for the writing? With luck, it will mean MORE writing which will lead to MORE books. That's always a good thing, right? I've been down and having a very difficult time of it over the last year and a half, but that is soon to be behind me--for the most part at least. Some things will never change, but I am about to control it rather than it controlling me. Enough is enough. A person can only take so much before they snapped--and I was very close to that point.

Okay, I've got a scifi series to get in order and books to write. Take care and happy reading/writing,

Heather
http://heather-holland.com
The Hunters are coming soon to Ellora's Cave.

Okay, I admit it. I'm a pushover. Or rather, I was until recently when I finally decided I was tired of living like that. What is it about me that makes others think they can walk all over me?

I ask very little of other people. I'm all of the "want to do it myself," way of thinking, so when I do ask someone else to help, I mean that I truly expect them to help--especially when they say they will. That's why it pisses me off so badly when they don't follow through on their promises.

So, me in my new assertive boots let this person know about it. Could I have gone about it differently? Yeah, but I'm pretty pissed off at the moment, too. If you have no intention of following through with a promise, then for the love of sanity, please don't promise it. It's that simple. Is it really too much to expect someone to hold to their word? Was I naive in expecting this person to honor his/her promise? I don't think so, though in retrospect, I guess I was naive to believe it since it turned out the way it did.

I know, no one but me knows what I'm ranting about, but I'd prefer to keep it that way. No need to out this person publicly. He or she (like the way I don't give you a gender to go on there?) knows who he or she is and what he or she did or rather in this case didn't do. So why am I ranting here? Because I really need to vent and my husband isn't here to listen to it...and the dogs won't come inside (is that a bad sign?).

Okay, I'm done. My creativity/writing mood for the day is shot--at least for the next several hours that it takes for me to calm down. *sigh* So is the way life goes...or at least the way MY life goes.

Thanks for letting me vent,
Heather
http://heather-holland.com

It's that time of the year again. Time for spooks, spirits, demons and goblins (along with several other critters of the night). I grew up with a fondness for all things paranormal. I loved ghost stories and devoured them at every opportunity. So, I'm sending out a call for ghost stories. Anyone got one to share? Come on, I know there are some somewhere. Spill it...we won't laugh at you or shun you, in fact, I'll be in awe.

Doesn't even have to be a true story. Make it up if you want...but I adore the real ghost stories--the ones you've experienced yourself or know someone who did.

Me? Well, when we moved into this house, I thought it was a nice quiet spook free environment--boy was I ever wrong. The kid is mischievous as well...if you don't pay attention to him when he wants you to, in true kid fashion, he throws a hissy fit. Yep, smacked me in the back of the head with a glass early one morning because I was ignoring him as I lost myself in a book that I was reading. After the lecture he got for that stunt, he's not pulled it again. He does tug on the covers at random intervals and I have seen him--once. He's been rather quiet lately...makes me wonder what he's planning.

Now, it's your turn. Share your ghostly experiences. I'm waiting to read them. :) If you don't want post them here, hop on over to my website and email it to me. *grin*

Heather
Heather Holland
http://heather-holland.com