So, My Novel is in My State Libraries

 

 

Yes, I'm famous. I generally don't like to brag about that, but sometimes it must be done. My novel, Running From Herself, the literary phenomenon of 2025, is now featured in libraries all across my state.

 

How is that possible, you may ask. Well, I may not possess as much talent as other authors, but I have a lot of persistence (and spare time). As I was researching writing competitions, I ran across something called the Indie Author Project. In a nutshell, what it does is partner with libraries across the country to offer indie books, and if you're lucky enough to live in a partnering state, you can get your book offered by your home state libraries, regardless of whether you win a competition or not. (Win-win for me.) Oh, and entering is FREE.

 

Let's face it; I don't get many wins, so I need to celebrate even the tiny ones. I'm still blushing because AI told me I had written a great story! (Sure, it tells everyone that, but no human has said it to me without wanting something in return.)

 

I kind of hate running out of things to do to promote my work (as much as I hate running out of promotion money), and social media, while free, presents its own issues, like constantly being bothered by someone who asks me question after question about my work and won't get to the point ~ that they want to sell me some kind of service. Right now on X I'm dealing with two of those people simultaneously. I feel like telling them, hey, buy one of my books and then we'll talk. But no. Heaven forbid that I would come across as rude.

 

I do think I'll post something about being in my state's libraries, though. What the heck? I'm running out of ideas for posts. In the meantime, I can submit more of my books to the IAP, which will kill some time, something I have far too much of.

 

 

 

What Have I Been Doing?

Somehow I fell down this rabbit hole of book awards, and I've spent the last couple of days mostly trying to figure out which ones are legit and which are scams. Sometimes, but not always, it's easy to tell the difference from viewing their websites, so I'm now relying on trusted sources to tell me, such as ALLI and Reedsy.

Naturally, scammers loves to prey on creative types; we are ripe for believing in impossible dreams. In fact, we practically beg to be scammed (really). That happened to me with music, and though I'm much savvier now, I still have to hold myself back from jumping into a situation that is just too good to be true, with its promises of renown and (negligible) riches.

So, whether by luck or by scouring websites (I didn't run across any recommendation lists until later), I managed to enter five contests that are legitimate, and the good news is, two of them were free. I doubt that I'll be continuing, mainly because most of the legitimate ones' entry fees are outside my price range. The silly thing about this whole process is that my book won't win anything or even be shortlisted, but I suppose just putting it out there is a baby step forward. It makes me feel like a real author. 

There's also a site called Book Award Pro, which I found via a post on Fussy Librarian's site (I find everything in a roundabout way, it seems). This service has three tiers, one of them free. You enter your book details and it will find competitions and reviewers that match. The free tier, which I chose, requires an author to do her own research, but I was doing that anyway. I wasn't offered any relevant competitions this month, but I did find a book reviewer. 

Other than obsessing over this topic, I did a couple of useless things: I reduced my novel's price to ninety-nine cents for three days in order to run a BookBub ad, which was COMPLETELY USELESS. I didn't get one single click. And this is the site that is supposedly the gold standard. 

While I had my price reduced, I purchased an eReader Cafe ad for April 2. And that's the end of the promo cycle. I'm done. 

I'm doing better at social media marketing (sort of). I've been doing a post a day, for some unknown reason, resulting in the usual engagement by people who want to sell their services, but I just want to feel like I'm still in the game, I suppose.

So, even though I'm no longer writing, I haven't completely given up. The thing is, though, is that I'm running out of disposable income, so it's gonna be social media marketing or nothing from now on. (Probably all the better. I've really wasted my money.)

At some point, I'll detail the things that actually work to move a book. It'll be a very short post. If you want to know what doesn't work, click here. 

Regardless of my multitude of failures, I'll keep on keeping on.

 

 

 

 
 

Not Sure About This Whole Synopsis Thing

 

"A novel synopsis should include: your premise/hook, the overall plot (all of the major plot points), an introduction to your main characters, plot twists and spoilers, and character development arcs." (source)

But it should be no more than 800 words, preferably no more than 500. 

Great. Now, how do I do that?

I know I wrote synopses for the three novels I queried (years ago). but they're gone from my hard drive and any competency I once had has vanished, too. I've started my query for Running From Herself and the word count (so far, mind you) is 1,229 words, and I've barely scratched the surface. 

Clearly, drastic measures need to be taken. I'm not above asking AI to summarize it ~ the words are still mine, after all. My issue is, if I simply cut to the chase, my story is going to come across as nuts.

Here are the bullet points I managed to glom from somewhere when I began writing a synopsis for one of my novellas (for some reason I can't recall; maybe for a book reviewer for asked for one); and if one can adhere to these, a synopsis should theoretically be a piece of cake:

• Status quo
• Inciting incident
• Rising action/Developments
• Crisis
• Resolution

I imagine most stories follow this plot structure; I almost wish mine did. My first inciting incident actually happened before the story begins; then there are a few more incitements and (I suppose) one true crisis, then a long and winding road to get to the resolution. Yikes. I wrote yesterday about kicking back ~ this isn't what I had in mind.

I'll get there. Again, there's no rush. Just my own rush to get it over with. 

 

 

 

Sitting Back

 

I can't say that I miss being part of the game. I'm enjoying my retirement from writing, at least right now. I can sit back and browse Reddit self-pub posts and smile about the issues I used to obsess over ~ formatting a paperback, which promo sites to use, why isn't my book selling? How can it be that some authors sell a thousand copies the first day? (still not sure I believe that one).

It's not just that I'm not writing, but that I am confident I did all I could to sell my final novel, and the fact that it didn't work out doesn't mean I didn't try. Sometimes things just don't work out. I'm in the acceptance phase. 

Now I can work on some peripheral things...or not. I'm still thinking about making a book trailer, and my synopsis for the novel contest is yet to be finished. Really, if I fail to complete either of those things, it doesn't matter.

My author email is busier than ever. I think the promo sites are getting desperate to hear from me, but whatever "special" they're pushing this week means nothing to me, because only one promo site managed to move any copies of my novel, so I'm sure not going to throw more money away. Still, it's nice to have pen pals.  

I no longer feel any self-imposed pressure. No "have-to's". I could post on social media or not, I could check my sales report (but likely not ~ it never changes); there are lots of things I could do, but only if I feel like it.

Freedom can be boring, but it can also be good for my psychic health. 

Synopses are the Devil's Handiwork

A book synopsis has a purpose ~ it's a way for the agent/contest judge/gatekeeper to avoid reading your book. That's it. That's its only purpose.

An author sure doesn't need one; she already knows how her plot flows; what happens first, next, and last. If she doesn't, well, that's a whole different problem. I would posit that I gave up on querying literary agents because of the dreaded synopsis, but that's not why. A synopsis is definitely dreaded, though. 

This issue has arisen because I want to enter a novel competition. The entry fee is only $15.00, and it's a reputable contest with many genres represented. All the criteria fit quite well for me. Except they want a synopsis. 

Generally, a synopsis should be no longer than one or two single-spaced pages, or 500 to 800 words. I really hate word counts, and for the synopsis I'm currently pulling my hair out over, I'm going to ignore them. I have enough trouble writing the damn thing. Besides, sorry, but two single-spaced pages are way more than 800 words.

I'm fine with the specs ~ when introducing a new character, their name needs to be bolded; don't mention too many characters; two to three are best; write it in present tense and third person. Again, single spacing, 12-point font. 

It's the composition of the thing that's a real pain in the ass. A synopsis is essentially a dry recitation of the plot, but don't make it too dry! Add character! Motivation! Show your writing flair, but not too much! And don't meander; you want to touch on the important points only.

Well, here's the thing about Running From Herself ~ it does meander. The novel doesn't start at Point A, then moves to B and finally to C. It starts at Point A, goes to B, dips back into Point A, then to C, then back to B, and (skipping a bunch of other stuff) finally lands on D. That requires some synopsis detail! Why does the story happen this way? Sorry, I can't explain that in 500 or even 800 words and have it still make sense.

Sure, I'll only be spending fifteen dollars to enter this competition, but if all the judges do is read my very dry synopsis, I'm wasting both my time and my money. I understand they can't possibly read every book submitted, but try as one may, a synopsis rarely has any pizzazz. I'm glad the entry deadline isn't coming up soon, because writing and honing this stupid synopsis is going to take a while.

I was going to enter one of my novellas, too, for an add-on cost of ten dollars, but I don't know if I can stand to write two synopses. Maybe that's their devious way of limiting submissions.

 

 

Revisiting the Book Trailer Idea

In making a book trailer, a penniless author is limited. Everything needs to be free, which means free (and royalty-free) music, free pics, free video clips; obviously free software. I'm not a novice in video creation; I've made dozens of music videos for our band's music, but a book trailer isn't the same. Let's put it this way: a song conveys a mood; it rarely tells a complete story (unless, I guess, it's Ode to Billie Joe, which even then didn't have an ending). 

It may not be a terrible idea, though, to approach a book trailer as one would a music video. The biggest difference for me is that I like our music, whereas the music clips I'm finding online are really corny. (None of our songs would match the mood of my book, in case you're wondering.) It's also true that still photos don't have the same impact as video, but finding usable video clips is daunting. 

I haven't yet viewed random book trailers online, so I don't have a feel for what works and what doesn't, other than my own common sense. Because a book trailer doesn't drive sales, I certainly wouldn't pay someone to create one for me, and anyone I hired wouldn't get it anyway. Nobody knows how to portray my book better than me, and even I don't know (yet).

I've thought about doing a trailer for Running From Herself before, but I didn't pursue it, and the only reason it's come up again is because I joined a professional organization that allows for trailers to be included with the author's profile. Plus it would be more content for my website, which is constantly nagging me for more content. It's really becoming a pain in the ass in that regard, to be honest. 

If I decide to proceed, I'll need to write a two-minute storyboard for it, then probably go on instinct, like I tend to do with everything. If I can't find music, though, I'm screwed, especially since this is a book about a singer. (Seriously, do the people creating music clips for libraries not know what country music is? Hint: it's not hoedown music.)

Time will tell, and I have nothing but time.

 

My Latest Pastime

Not that I ever even thought about it, but I had no idea just how many writing competitions exist in the world. Granted, the majority of them appear to be for poetry, but really, poetry has to have some purpose, right? 

Aside from poetry, there are writing competitions for practically every demographic. Shoot, there's even one for older writers, although obtaining an entry form is proving to be difficult. (I was told to email a particular person, when it would have been simpler to just have an online entry.) Maybe the competition's administrator is so old she doesn't believe in the internet.

Digging deeper into the specifics of some of these contests, I unfortunately (or fortunately?) had to rule a lot of them out. Some only want unpublished works, some are for flash fiction, Some are for kids or a specific ethnic group; and the juiciest contests' entry deadlines have already passed.

No, I haven't entered any contests yet, aside from the Rubery (which I think I'll let trip off my tongue, as if I'm a snobby expert. "Oh, the Rubery? Ah, yes, I tried it once. It wasn't for me.") And I'm not sure if I'll enter any of them, but it was fun just perusing the various lists of competitions and making note of the ones I'd like to try. (I'm not going to spend more than ten or twenty dollars on this new pastime; I'm not crazy.)

One important point regarding all of these competitions is that they're haughty. I'm pretty certain they're not looking for entertaining books as much as they are books that no one would buy or read. In other words, the competitions' gatekeepers are snobs about writing. Any submission guideline that includes the word "metaphysical" is not the contest for me. That's why I'm not taking this exercise seriously. I'd definitely enter a competition called "A Plain Ol' Book Contest", but I guess that wouldn't hold the same cachet as The Burburry Burrber Prize.

Why I'm even doing this, I have no idea. I fell into it by accident, found it intriguing in a way, and kept reading. It's a short-lived fad, which I'll be over in a couple of days, and hopefully I'll find something else to occupy my time.