Interview with Jo Linsdell on Lulu Publishing

This week I asked Jo Linsdell some questions about publishing with Lulu... I think you'll find her comments useful!

How easy was it for you to publish?
Lulu is very easy to use. They can even create the pdf of your book automatically for you so you don’t really have to worry about the technical side of things. They also have templates that you can use for free both for the format of the book and for the cover art. This means you don’t have to panic over margins and other issues that could affect the presentation of the book. There are guides on the website too full of information about ‘how to’ and an online help for assistance if needed.

How computer literate do you have to be?
Enough to be able to go to the website ;) Everything is so easy to use and the process is guided step by step so even the most computer illiterate person can publish a book.


Did you need support from Lulu at all, and in what areas?
I’ve never needed to contact Lulu for support because the site is very straight forward to use and my orders have always arrived on time and with good quality printing. Royalty payments have also always been on time and correct.

Are there any particular pitfalls a newbie could easily miss? What should I watch out for to make sure I get it right?
When designing your book make sure you consider the size before formatting. Some sizes e.g. pocket size books can only be ordered from the U.S. and the ‘standard’ size is different for the U.S (6 x9) and Europe (5 x 8). Think about who your market is and where you’re likely to sell more copies.

Overall: is it a positive thing for you to be using Lulu?
I’ve used Lulu to publish all my books so far and am happy with the results. I’m considering using a traditional publisher for my next book though so I can compare them and consider the differences between the two. I will however continue to use Lulu in the future esp. for ebooks.

Aside from Lulu, what marketing strategy has brought you the best results?
I do a lot of marketing for my books. I’ve sold books to people who have visited my website, myspace (where I have a page), PROMO DAY! (an online event I organise for people in the writers industry), my blogs, subscribers to my monthly newsletter and to members of writers groups that I belong to. There’s not really one strategy that has worked best. All of these plus interviews, leaving flyers in book shops etc…have helped sales.

Anything else you feel would be interesting for Lulu newbies?
I’m the moderator for two Lulu groups; Travel Literature and Italy and I strongly encourage lulu members to take part in the forum discussions. They can be a great way to learn more about lulu, meet other members, pick up some tips and advice and keep up with new developments on site.

Jo Linsdell-Feliciani
Visit Jo at the following websites:
http://jolinsdell.tripod.com
http://jolinsdell.tripod.com/promoday/
http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com
http://astheromansdo.blogspot.com
http://www.lulu.com/jolinsdell
http://www.myspace.com/jolinsdell

Of Germans and UFO's

The video below is in German so I'm going to try and explain it.
I wanted to interview all the mountain climbers, but I didn't know what to ask them. Then I opened up the ever-present writer's notebook and found a half-finished story. What could be better than asking them for help with my UFO story?

So I told them what happened already:
Two people are sitting in a restaurant, when suddenly a blue light hovers outside the window. What happens next?

Most explained that it wasn't really a UFO - it was an ambulance, or a bike tail-light, or a lamp. One girl said that little green men got out and served up cake from Mars, and one guy said that the spaceship's captain just got out and introduced himself. Perhaps you'll catch his mime if you watch carefully.

So the general consensus is... Germans don't believe in UFO's. But at least we had some fun finding out. Enjoy the scenery!

Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy

This is a rather unusual Western full of modern satire, girl power, and the supernatural. And no, Petticoat Ranch is not the name of the piece of land in question. It’s just an apt title for a story of a farm full of women – not one of them wishy-washy. A young widow and her girls get by in the wilderness, until her late husband’s brother shows up…

The tale begins with a dramatic night-time rescue of said brother-in-law, followed closely by a hurried wedding. The pace hardly lets up as the sudden newlyweds lock into a battle of wills. Sophie and Clay give each other plenty of reason to get mad, but they have to work together to outwit the killers after their ranch. Sophie’s four daughters confuse Clay mightily with their crying and shrieking while they hide from him the fact that their prowess with guns and horses is on a par with his own. Clay learns that it’s hurtful to call someone stupid, and Sophie learns to let Clay do the heavy work she’s been used to since Cliff died.

Clay does his best to protect his newly-acquired womenfolk, but in the end they take care of the problem themselves. It’s almost pure delight to observe the men rushing off on wild goose trails while the girls set traps, load their guns and tie up bad guys with a matter-of-fact skill.

The supernatural aspect is an underlying simple communication between Sophie and God, which is miraculously overheard by far distant friends who then set out to help her. The timing is always perfect, whether for Sophie’s booby-traps or the arrival of the troops.

The result is a highly spiritual Western adventure full of hilarious moments as well as serious Christian growth. In between Clay’s getting buried in petticoats, threatened with a soup ladle by his little wife, or spied on by gangsters, and Sophie praying, building booby-traps, or fighting off the desire for revenge, there’s never a dull moment.

The storyline is squeaky clean, to the extent that it surprised me when Sophie announces she’s pregnant. Yes, this is a romance, but a very practical one – men don’t like talking, women are smart, men yell and women cry, men want to be protectors and women wear long rustly dresses. Some of these things may almost seem clichéd, but the way it’s all told here, it sure sheds a humourous light on the gender battles that still go on today.

It is perhaps a little incongrous to see so many elements of modern thinking in the Wild West. However, it is certainly more than obvious that it’s the rigours of the West that force people to be innovative.

A sharp-eyed view of the world as seen by a tough Western woman is salted with occasional comments from her husband, only proving how very opposite their thinking is. Girls, don’t miss this one…

And don't forget to visit CFRB Central to see what the others are saying!

Sci-Fi Still Too Unpopular with Christians

A quick comment on a very prevalent prejudice among Christians...

The other day I came across a new Christian publisher (who shall remain unnamed) and read through their submission guidelines. Down the bottom was a list of genres they don't accept. There along with erotica and porn and violence they listed sci-fi!

I promptly wrote to them and asked why as nicely as I could, and stated that I was very saddened to see it in a list with porn etc. I also said I don't need them to bend the rules for me, but I do wonder why they exclude a genre with so much potential for touching people's hearts.

A very nice lady wrote back to me immediately and explained the quandary they find themselves in when deciding what is acceptable - the traditional Lost Genre/bridging-the-gap problem we're all too familiar with. After all, the LGG was founded as a support network precisely because most Christians find our genres unacceptable, and most mainstream genre writers/publishers/readers are not interested in God. This same problem pops up all over the place.

Anyway, because of what I said, they had a rethink and took sci-fi out of the no-no list. They still don't want aliens, but futuristic is okay. So those with alien stories will still have to go to Wayfarers' Journal or Raygun Revival.

Slowly, surely, the lost genre moves forward... :) It may seem like a small step, but I was encouraged at how easy it was to point out the prejudice to the publisher, and that they so graciously re-worded their guidelines, at least a little bit...

Catholic science fiction? Seeing is believing...

Review: Infinite Space, Infinite God
Karina and Robert Fabian, Editors

CFRB Tour for April

http://isigsf.tripod.com

Are you ready to have your imagination expanded beyond what you thought possible, while doing some serious thinking? Then this is the book for you. This extraordinary collection of fifteen science fiction short stories from a Catholic viewpoint will take you places you’ve never dreamed of. Hold on tight…

Walk beside a priest on a moonbase, then a soldier on Mars, as they each face the question of whether clones and reconstructed people have souls. In fact, the issue of cloning and genetic manipulation is handled from many different angles, shedding much light on the questions that must arise. Part-animal humans appear more than once and are sometimes discriminated against, sometimes beloved by children, and once even rescued by Saint Francis from the hatred of a Middle Ages community.

An unlikely evangelist is abducted by aliens, while in another place the mystical communion wafers are miraculously multiplied on an isolated asteroid. A hermit monk, seeking silence, acknowledges his call to a raucous moonport, and a young girl finds her destiny as a gun-toting bodyguard nun. A century of isolation causes the community on a lost ship to begin worshipping the earth, while two true believers help an unwitting visitor to escape the cult’s clutches. Appearances of Mary and the saints contribute here and there to the launch of a colony starship and the saving of a space station. The last two tales take up the rather more disturbing topics of deadly time-travel and the computer-aided confession of a Catholic terrorist.

These stories cover an immense breadth and depth of subject matter, locations on Earth, on the moon, and in far-off star systems. While I’m not a Catholic, many of the issues addressed are relevant for all Christians, and the things I found strange do provide some fascinating insights into Catholic thought and theology. In short, this anthology blows classic speculative fiction out of the water time and time again with amazing twists on the eternal question: “What if…” while giving you just enough time, in each longish short story, to ponder a little along these lines for yourself.

Each time I picked up this book to read a story, I came away enriched somehow by the multitude of new possibilities opening up around every corner. “What if” really is a much bigger question than I ever thought. The dark side of each new realm of possibility also plays a big part. Don’t expect a bunch of happy endings – rather, expect realistic results in a world that is every bit as tough as our present day, if not even tougher, as man penetrates the void of space. But hope also shines through in the midst of desperate circumstances.

I believe good science fiction should, among other things, always stretch your brain – and that’s just what this collection has done for me…fifteen times over. Watch out world – the Fabians are coming! And it looks like they're bringing their friends...

http://isigsf.tripod.com

The Mad Genius Writer's Website ......................... (Randy Ingermanson)

www.madgeniuswriter.com

Today I'd like to call your attention to this rather astonishing network of websites. I have visited this site many times, but it seems there is always something else I haven't seen. And all of it is fascinating. Be warned: you might get lost in cyberspace for a while...

www.advancedfictionwriting.com

There's a bunch of free stuff, e-zines on writing and marketing, and of course all the online material on how to write a novel. As I read about the Snowflake method, I was intrigued to find that I had already followed the Three-Act Novel Plan without knowing it existed. This stuff is priceless, and particularly so for those of us who've had a novel idea rattling around inside us for a while. Randy tells you how to get it on paper, how to build basic blurbs you'll be needing soon, how to develop characters and subplots, how to keep track of your overall structure, and loads of other stuff.

www.rsingermanson.com

You can also get a free e-copy of Randy's first novel Transgression if you promise to tell three people about it after you've finished reading. No kidding!

There are also free short courses on all sorts of things. You get them for subscribing to e-zines, which all have different freebies attached to them, so make sure you take a look at everything. The Subscribe box in the top corner is not always for the same e-zine, either!

The Mad Genius Writer's Manifesto is a surprising document, which you get for free after signing up for one of the e-zines. You may chuckle at the note on every page: For Writers Only, Non-Writers Go Away! Randy goes on to explain tactics for sideline internet business to run alongside your authoring career, boosting both in the process. He also explains how giving stuff away for free can make you money.

But it's not over yet. Randy offers courses on fiction writing, and you can listen to free samples online. I kept digging around and found articles on how to become an author, how to write the perfect scene, and the incredible story of a conference scam... all of it online.

Yep, this guy's got the right title. He certainly seems to be a mad genius... I'll be back for more!

PS. Don't miss out on seeing what Cynthia has to say about Randy's new novel Double Vision at the Lost Genre Guild blog!

And here are all the other CSFF participants:
Nissa Annakindt ........... Jim Black........... Jackie Castle........... Valerie Comer........... Karri Compton........... Frank Creed ........... CSFF Blog Tour........... D. G. D. Davidson ........... Janey DeMeo........... Tessa Edwards........... April Erwin........... Linda Gilmore........... Beth Goddard........... Marcus Goodyear........... Andrea Graham........... Leathel Grody ........... Katie Hart........... Sherrie Hibbs........... Sharon Hinck........... Christopher Hopper........... Jason Joyner........... Karen........... Tina Kulesa........... Lost Genre Guild ........... Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium........... Rachel Marks........... Shannon McNear........... Rebecca LuElla Miller........... Caleb Newell........... Nicole ........... Eve Nielsen........... John W. Otte........... Robin Parrish ........... Rachelle........... Cheryl Russel........... Hanna Sandvig........... Mirtika Schultz........... James Somers........... Tsaba House Authors ........... Steve Trower........... Speculative Faith........... Daniel I. Weaver

CSFF Blog Tour for February - wherethemapends.com

Review of Jefferson Scott’s ”Terminal Logic“ (1997)
for the CSFF Blog Tour

I hope you will all excuse me for reviewing another “old” book. Yet having just read it for the first time, I believe its contribution to the Lost Genre is significant. I came upon it at wherethemapends , where there’s a great list of Bib-spec-fic classics. Funnily enough, the author of this book happens to be the owner of wherethemapends too. He offers a lot of good tips for writers, and as I am getting towards publishing my novel Faith Awakened I would like to get Jeff to do an editorial review. So I thought it might be a good idea to read something he wrote before I hire him.

I’m not disappointed. This guy claims to be an expert, and I think that’s justified. He writes so well that he’s invisible; it felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. Okay, so it’s set in 2006 – old hat for something supposed to be in the future – but everything else is blockbuster quality. This is the second book of a trilogy, but it stands on its own as well.

The story is chillingly realistic. Programmable characters from multi-user online games are released into the Web and go about wreaking havoc in a world they are not equipped to understand. One particularly powerful character “decides” logically that it’s time to wipe out life on Earth and begin again, unaware of the difference between the virtual world and the real one. There is a lot of interaction with computers, edge-of-your-seat action both in VR and outside it, and a well-founded spiritual basis for the plot.

It starts getting scary when you realise the similarities to many games that exist today. The scenarios start sounding very familiar and distinctly possible. The Christian characters ask themselves if the devil could be behind this – but no one knows for sure. The reader is left to decide for himself, amidst disobedient appliances, skeptical army generals, undercover cowboys, and whiz kids. I find it better this way than if everything was pinned down too precisely. It leaves a pleasant sense of “what if”.

The ending is a little predictable – the heroes save the human race and get to meet the President of the USA. But to be honest, that’s the only way this plot could have ended. It’s nice how the President’s Christian values come through.

Well worth a read, if you haven’t come across this one yet. And do take a look at wherethemapends for all sorts of fascinating writing stuff.

Grace Bridges