Interview with Tonya Kappes

Tonya Kappes, who lives in the US, is an indie author.  She has recently self-published the first in a new series of ebooks called 'A Charming Crime'.

You are an indie author.  Why did you choose that route?

        Originally I was with a small publisher, but I quickly realized that there was nothing I couldn’t   do that they were doing and keeping the money for myself. After I left the publisher, I tried my hand at it and haven’t looked back. BUT I’m a big believer in doing it all. I call it the Hybrid Author. I will always self publish and will entertain any deal my agent brings me.

How long did it take for your first ebook to become a success?  (I’ve read it can take up to three years).
       I’m a little different than the average. My first book hit Amazon’s movers and shakers list in under three months. I sold 52k books in three months which includes 5k print copies. With that said, I went without sleep and marketed until my eyes were popping out of my head! All of my novels have become best sellers within the first eight hours of release. But I contribute that to my marketing and promoting plans.
      Everyone continually asks me about how I did it, so I wrote a non-fiction book, The Tricked Out Toolbox ~ Marketing and Promoting Tools Every Writer Needs that has every tip and trick I use to market every single one of my books.

Tell us what ‘The Charming Crime’ is about?

Here is the blurb:

                                                 Bubble... Bubble...

June Heal has nothing to lose when she relocates her homeopathic cure shop, A Dose of Darla, from the flea market booth in her home town, to a quaint shop in the cozy but unusual little town of Whispering Falls, Kentucky. Or so it seems.

                                                  Cures and trouble...

Whispering Falls has a lot of secrets. From talking snow globes to whispering animals not to mention a few sprinkles of fairy dust, June realizes Whispering Falls is more magical than she thought. . .literally.
                                    

                                                      Magic stirs...

June discovers she was born into a family of psychics, and her homeopathic cures truly are magical. Unfortunately, they are not magical enough to save her from being the number one murder suspect when a member of the community that she had just had a disagreement with shows up face down in the lake with June’s lucky charm in the victim’s grasp.

                                                  And troubles double...

Add to that an attraction to her high school best friend, Sheriff Oscar Park and  Mr. Prince Charming, her cat, is stealing charms from Belle’s Baubles, June is forced to clear her name in more ways than murder. After all, they don’t have cauldrons in jail.

It was a really fun novel to write because everything in it is made up in my own little world. I’ve never made up a place before and this was really fun!

Have you thought of being a ‘hybrid’ author?  One that gets traditionally published and self-published.
    I sort of answered that above, but one of my biggest pet peeves are the writers who say, “Traditional publishing is a crime! I’ll never do it! I want to be in control of my career! I don’t need a gatekeeper!” Those writers drive me BONKERS!!! And vice versa with writers saying that about self-published authors. I’m a BIG believer into do it all! Why not? I was already with a small publisher and I won’t do that again, but I do want a traditional book because it was my original dream. I know there is a lot more money in self-publishing (most of the time) and I will never stop self publishing, but my goal was never to become a millionaire. My dream was to reach readers with my stories, help them escape the day-to-day grind. I love my readers. I cater to them on my STREET TEAM by hosting weekly prizes that range from gift cards to books. We have become a great group of friends.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an indie author?  And to someone who has just started out on their indie journey (like me)?
     Keep writing! Keep reading! AND start marketing yourself TODAY even if you don’t have a book out there. I started marketing myself three years before I put a book out.

The obvious question.  Where do you get your ideas from?
      I get my ideas from EVERYWHERE. I know every writer says that, but since I write a lot of mystery, I hear a quirky story and think, “hmmm. . .that would be a funny character in my book. What would happen if their quirk was related to a murder but they aren’t the killer?”

7. Are you a plotter or a pantser? I write an outline of each chapter first, then write the ms.

Planter....combo of both. I always know the beginning, middle, and end. Since I write mystery, I write backwards. You have to start with the murder and why they were murdered. I write and write until about halfway through, then I will start loosely outlining the final chapters so I don’t miss a clue or red-herring to solve the crime.

Thanks, Tonya, for your insight into being an indie author.  I shall certainly go and buy your ebook, it sounds like a fun read.

Thanks so much! I really enjoyed being here. Cheers!

Me and Asperger's - work 2000-2010

In 1999 the office moved from being a small office to a whole floor in another building. This was because the number of students that were being accepted on to the two courses had increased.  And this was when I feel now that my Asperger's (unknown at the time) started to kick in.  Up until then I was used to dealing with a fair number of students, but with a bigger office more students came in to be dealt with.  I thought that I was dealing with the students well, but it turned out that I wasn't.  I didn't know this until we had what was called staff appraisals.  Informal interviews with the team leader about your progress over the year.  It was in these appraisals that two main issues were brought up, time and time again.  They were: my tone of voice with the students and lack of eye contact with students - keep looking at the students when speaking to them.  (Two symptoms of Asperger's I know now).  Each year I said I would try my best to rectify these problems, but each year it was mentioned again. Some students I would speak to OK with, as they were nice people, esp if they were appreciative of our work we did for them.  (I mean giving us presents of biccies, choccies etc).

Then in 2010 when I found out I had failed the interview and had read the articles Mum had read, I had a reason for the above two problems.  After I read them, I took them into work, scanned them into my leader's machine, I will call her M for security reasons, and asked her to read them, taking in mind what had been said by her to me about the problems I had had communicating with students.  She did.  She said that it was possible that I did have Asperger's. 

Now that I have been diagnosed with Asperger's, I am relieved that there was a reason for my attitude towards students, and it wasn't my fault.

That was working with undiagnosed Asperger's and dealing with students.  Next time I might post about working with Asperger's and communicating with staff in the dept.

See you next time.

Book covers and why they are important

On Tuesday I went to the talk run by the SCBW-BI about book covers.  There was a panel of three people: David Fickling the publisher, Eleanor Updale the author and David Bean the cover designer. As usual I wrote pages of notes, so will try to condense it all into one post this time.

DF said there are no rules how to do it but important that the makers make it.  He wants books to be picked up.  Always think of the children.  How to show text so people want to pick it up.  He likes the texture and feel of covers.  Must have touching qualities that present the text.  He encourages the designer to put as much as themselves into the cover as possible so it draws you in.

EU said that sometimes readers take to books that authors and publishers think they won't.  One way to put off readers is to put the books in an age range too young.  Children don't like to been seen with books that are inappropriate for them.  Sometimes the book covers can have a bad knock-on effect on authors: example was a book for boys that had a purple cover and so it didn't sell well. 

DF then said that the tone of the story should be on front of book. Choose a good maker.  EU said have artist read the book.  Eu said that pb covers say a lot about the readers and can exclude some.  Eg her own book Johny Swanson. The hb was suitable for all ages, even adults, but the pb was more geared towards teens.  The hb cover reflects the whole book while the pb one is just a scene from the book.

It was mentioned about whitewashing characters on covers.  DF tries not to.  DB did his best with Candy's book.  DF said that most of his work is research.  The process is getting the brief, working on sketches to find the best one.  He says he listens.  Is open to what's coming in.

Spot varnish and embellishments were mentioned, and both David's don't get involved. EU says that it can be waste of time.  Then another major point was mentioned in decisions.  One change is decided by a committee.  Nobody is there in the meeting who thinks it's their baby.  DF said the change is done on research.  EU said not for readers.  And when it goes away for publication, it's like your child going away for a gap year and coming back and you see some good and some bad.

It came to relationships then. EU said the best ones are the ones you have face-to-face.  Their more common than thought.  Keep an eye on your book.  Writers can influence covers.  DF said it's a personal thing.  Find someone that you think recognises what you can do and you can work with, with you and the reader.  It is valuable to show the work and it thrills and amuses them.  Important that they have opinion or way or the other.  Some covers aren't recognised at the same time, and DF says that that time can come.  And - find someone who you can trust and not manipulate.  I agree with that, as I have found a good editor for my romance work, and a good designer for my YA work.  Both of whom I trust and have worked well with.

Me and Asperger's

While I am still working out my tag line and brand for writing non-fiction (I write about a few things), I am going to tell you about how I got to be diagnosed with Asperger's. It will be the first memory piece about living with it.

Two years ago, I was about to lose my job (in fact, it is two days ago this Wednesday which was my last day of work). I was going to have an interview for a part-time job, similar to the one I'd been doing for 20 years. Before the interview, my mum had read articles about children with Asperger's/Autism, and said 'Julie, why don't you read these?' I said no, too busy will read them later on. I had the interview and failed completely. They said my responses weren't quick enough for them, and I didn't answer the questions the correct way. In other words, I had misinterpreted what they asked. The weekend after that, I read the articles. And oh my, did I see myself and how I acted with people in these children mentioned.

Fast forward to Septemeber. I went to see my GP and asked to be referred for a diagnosis for Asperger's. He said no, the only hospital that did that was Maudsley. I was disappointed. But then a few days later, I had something wrong and went back and saw another GP. She was nice and said yes. Time went on. I got letters saying that my case had been stopped, and I thought that was it. No go. This was back in the February. I went to see my GP and asked her. No, it doesn't mean your case has stopped, just that they can't afford it. Still going ahead. Hurrah. Then sometime later, I got a long questionnaire to fill in for my interview. I filled it in and sent it off. Then in the March, I was at a talk in London, and when I got home, Mum said that she had got a call from them and they had a cancellation for the following week, and she had taken it for me. Hurrah.

The appointment was at Maudsley. We went into a small room with the psychologist and her assistant. I was asked about my health and personal background, and answered with the help of Mum. Then after a while, the assistant took Mum to another room, where Mum was asked questions about me and my childhood and growing up. I was asked the same, about my childhood at school, if I had friends, what I was like at secondary school and then work. Whilst answering these questions, it really brought home to me how I lived with undiagnosed Asperger's, esp when I was a child. I didn't make friends that easily, and usually tagged along with others that I thought were friends of mine. I had always thought I had been shy, but now I knew it was more than that. We had lunch, and then went back to see the two people. It turned out that Mum had answered more or less with the same replies to the same questions, and it was this that made them come to the decision I had Asperger's. We were both relieved, to say the least. Mum because she now knew what was wrong with me, having had suspicions since I was a child but not knowing what, and me because I had something to explain how I was with people, esp in groups and at work. When we got home, we told a few relatives and most of them said that they always thought something was wrong with me, and wasn't surprised with the result.

It was the light at the end of the tunnel. I will talk more at a later blog about some of my memories living with undiagnosed Asperger's, from childhood to working life.

What is your brand? How to work it out.

What is your brand?  Ie what do you write?  IMO there are two different lenghts to say this.  There is the one line for signatures eg (for me) Author of magical realism with gentle warm humour.  Nell Dixon writes warm hearted books with a touch of humour and a hinit of suspense.  These are the lines that describe the type of books you write. And then there is the paragrah, which includes description of your characters as well as your book.  Eg DD Scott is a writer of romcom with sexy, sassy smart women with men who complete them.  So how do you work out what sort of characters you write about?  I found an answer in DD's 'Muse Therapy' ebook, which I really loved and found v useful, esp to work out my brand and its characters.  The answer is to write down what sort of TV programmes you love watching.  So here is my list: Corrie, Home and Away, Embarrassing Bodies, Supersize V Superskinny, You Deserve this house, Jamie Oliver, The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, Junior Apprentice.  Those are just some of what I watch.  From this list, I tried to work out a common factor and realised what it was.  Apart from the first two, I thought the common factor in the rest of the programmes was that the people in them all have something to prove.  Bodies: the people want to find out what is troubling their bodies; Supersize: the candidates want to either lose weight or gain weight; You Deserve this house: the person gets their house made over because they have done good for their community; Jamie: he tries to prove that he can get people esp children to eat healthily; The Biggest Loseer: all want to lose weight and lose the most and have to prove they can with rigorous exercises and the Apprentice programmes: both the adults and children want to prove to Lord Sugar that they can be good business people and worth the investment of his money.  So that is: characters who want to prove themselves. 

In my first children's book Rosie and the Sick School (not a good title I now realise, so will change it when I come to rewrite it), Rosie wanted to prove that she could help her fellow pupils to eat and live a healthier lifestyle, with a touch of magic and gentle warm humour.  In my forthcoming adult romance series, Geraldine, who has died and gone to Heaven, has to prove that she is a worthy candidate of Heaven by getting her ex lover to be a nicer and happier man, and in doing so realises that she wants to be a nicer person herself.  She sets out to help her relatives prove that they don't have to live like they do and there is romance out there.  And in my current wip about a little boy who wears strange socks that make him clever, Billy, the boy, wants to prove that he can be as good or better in lessons than his older brother. (Having fun writing this book!)

So, here is my brand.  Julie Day is a writer of magical realism with warm gentle humour, and characters who have something to prove about themselves. 

Now all I need to do is work out my brand for non-fiction.  Maybe next post.

Writing YA fiction with issues - Part 2 Q&A

Here is the second part of the issues blog, where the panel were asked questions by the audience (didn't inc me!).  Panel was Miriam Halahmy, Bali Rai and Sara Grant.

Q: How do you stop your characters having your opinions?
A: Bali said that the protagonist is a young version of him.  Miriam saidk all are imperfect.  Hope that it reflects the young thinking in books.  She has a clear focus although feels that in the end the character does have her views.  Sara covers all angles of issue.  Let's issue evolve of the opinion and theme.  Be honest with readers in the breadth of issues.  She wants to read books with characters and plot not when it is all about the issue eg environment.
Q: Is said that YA doesn't have happy endings.
A: M: her book not true.  B: his don't.  You have to entertain readers not make them happy.  The characters have to be interesting to make them stay with you.  Teens/YA need to make their own minds up about it.  YA is diverse - can have happy ending and can't.
Q: Can you write different genres? (I think that was the gist of the question)
A: B: You can't write sci-fi stuff in modern books.  Sci-fi frees you up in the practical sense of writing.  He has set book in historic times where he had brain-washing mentioned.  M: enjoys what she's writing now.  B then said don't think of it as two professions.  Don't think that so many of a genre is out there that you can't write it, do.  Nobody sets trends except readers.  M: She writes her books, not who's it for.
Q: Did the gatekeepers say no to their books?
A: M: Hidden had different opinions as the issue was the barrier.  Her publisher was the only one to take it on.  S: Was told her book was either to be darker or lighter. Says to write book what you want.  Went with the editor whom she felt got her book and listened to her.  Do cover issues that agents out there are interested in.  Is interested in reviews.  Know what you are trying to do when writing an issue for when people challenge you.  B: has process with his publisher when he wants to write.  Be realistic with what happens in the industry.  Be aware what schools like.  People do read these books although gatekeepers don't want it. S: make sure agent and editor are with you are you going to be a collobaration.  M says that more editors asks her more than she thinks.
Q: Are they comfortable when younger readers pick up their books?
A:  M said that when a 7 y-o picked up her book she was careful.  Would discourage them, but is up to them.  B: Not bad if junior has an adult with them.  Up to maturity of their age.  S: readers censor themselves by only reading bits they want to.  B: hates writers who disrespect YA writers who say it's easy to write children's books.  Concentrate on books not on for what age it is for.  S: establish a good reading habit for the young.
Q: How do editors react to different genres?
A: B did it on his own.  Have a realistic action to publishers.  Wrote them cos got annoyed that was pigeon-holed as Brit Asian author but not the only one.  Writes for anyone to read.  Marketing side is important.  If want to change direction, do.  If you want to write for different ages, then write for different publishers.  S: didn't set out to write dystopian.  Also writes for 7-9 with sparkles. Do start to think of yourself as a brand.

Lastly: S wants to write satisfactory endings.  Won't write book without hope.  Not for teens. B: honesty to readers.  Honesty with plot and characters and you.  Be true to the story.  M: prefers things to end on some hope.  You can't tie things up cos of its lifestyle.  Don't leave too many questions.  S: helpful to teens to show that things can go this way. B thinks that if readers like your book is most important.  M says they like to feel they are represented.

And that is it.  Hope you all learned a lot from this. I did.  Esp Sara's comment about wanting to read a book that entertains and not just about the issue.

Writing YA fiction with issues - Part 1 Intro

On Tuesday evening I went to the British SCBWI Professional Series talk by Miriam Halahmy, Bali Rai and Sara Grant.  They were on panel about writing YA fiction with issues.  Miriam writes about immigration, asylum seekers in her Hidden cycle, Bali writes about racial issues and Sara writes Dystopian issues.  This is the first post all about the introduction part where they talked about why and how they write their books.

Miriam said that she has always been interested in social justice and issues so that is what she writes.  She said that with YA, you need to keep things moving.  She has been amazed at her talks that 11-12 y-os know so much about immigration.  Said that if characters don't stand out, then readers won't be interested.
  
Bali doesn't plan, anything.  He currently is in an argument with another author about issue novels.  The other authors says why not kill issue novels?  He later went on to say that teenagers are interested in today's issues, and if you don't write about these issues, then how are teenagers going to know about them.  Said that YA is more diverse now.  He wants everyone to be a reader, and feel that if YA isn't written then there won't be so many readers.  He feels that teenagers/YA should be let to read about the world they know.  He has found that teenagers are different.  For instance, a 13yo wanted to read what they wanted but an 18 yo wasn't bothered so much.  He thinks that YA authors are better storytellers than adult ones.  He likes to write about people around him and put them in a situation.

Sara: when she was writing her first book, she was pushed to write uncomfortable scenes, and now knows that it felt right to do so.  In the UK, her books are marketed at schools so her sexual scenes in the book were pulled back, but in the US, it wasn't so much so.  She says that if you write a topic or culture, then you have to be with it all the way and know where your boundaries are.  You have to stick with it even when you are challanged by others about it. Says than teens know a lot more than we think.  When you write YA with issues, you have to know what's at the heart of the story and ask yourself, why am I writing it?  Why is it important to me? 
    She writes bullet points about her novels, inc issues, when she plans it.  Then she can see what she can and can't write about.    She likes books that have layers, and not interested in levels that readers won't be interested in .

That was the introduction part.  It was interesting to hear what they write and why.  Next week will be part 2 Q&A.