From the Publisher's Desk - A Question for our Readers

There is a great article in the recent issue of Digital Book World written by the President, Managing Director of Osprey Books, Rebecca Smart, called "Publishers Need to Fail Better, Cheaper, Faster". There were a lot of great ideas, but what struck me most was this:
"If you put the consumer at the heart of your thinking you can consider instead each group of customers you serve and what they might want on top of what you already provide, how they might want you to serve them differently in the future. More to the point, you can ASK them, listen and respond."

Why did that speak to me? Because that is exactly what we are striving to do at Buddhapuss Ink. We look to you, our readers to tell us what we are doing right, or wrong, and what YOU want to read, HOW you want to read it and WHERE/WHEN you want it available.

So, that's the quest. You our readers hold all the answers. We're listening . . .



Read more at DigitalBookWorld.com: Publishers Need to Fail Better, Cheaper, Faster | Digital Book World

Some Tips for Wannabe Authors

Recently a panel of seven successful book authors and publishers presented their top tips for wannabe writers at two days of seminars in Atlanta.

Some of those tips to fledgling authors:

~ Remember that books are a product with a short shelf life.
~ The author must play a major role in marketing the book.
~ Be prepared to speak in a variety of forums about your book topics.
~ Test-market a sample of your book’s content and fix the problems found.
~ Punctuate for power and meaning.
~ Remember, rejection letters are not your enemy.
~ It’s unlikely that you can successfully, thoroughly, and accurately edit your own writing.
~ Appeal to all five of the reader’s senses.
~ Write in the appropriate “voice” and understand how voice is different from style.

The faculty for the two days of seminars included Peter Bowerman (mastering marketing), Ahmad Meradji (controlling manufacturing costs), David Fulmer (project funding ideas), Angela K. Durden (don’t aggravate your readers - hire an editor), Chris Roerden (secrets of surviving the manuscript submission process), Tony Burton (using conflict to keep readers interested) and Dr. David Ryback (publishing success in six steps).

*condensed and edited from an article in Bargain Book News

From the Marketing Desk - Discoverability - still an author's biggest problem

Great article - a must read for all authors!
"I didn’t get into ebooks and place myself on the cutting edge of new book technology because I thought ebooks were really cool and I wanted to be where the action was. No, I was essentially . . .

Read more at DigitalBookWorld.com: Discoverability: Still A Book’s Biggest Problem | Digital Book World

http://tinyurl.com/y5qgnkk

Latest Reviews!

"Fast moving mystery adventure thriller"
"The Last Track: A Mike Brody Novel by Sam Hilliard is a fast paced mystery action thriller that kept my interest from the very beginning right through to the end. I loved the way the author used the passage of time instead of typical chapters to chronicle the passing of the four suspense filled days. When Mike Brody sets out on a family vacation in Montana, little did he know he would soon be searching the wilderness for a missing young boy that had witnessed a murder. Brody's skills as a former Special Forces, master tracker, smoke jumper and outdoor adventure tour guide are all he can trust and rely on to save the boy, his family and himself. I found The Last Track a fun and exciting adventure and I'm sure you will too."
~Theresa Hurley, 5 star review, Amazon.com

"Suspense on every page"
"Mike Brody is a man's man, former Special Forces, former smoke jumper, outdoor adventurist, and master tracker. So, where does he go when it is time to unwind and spend some quality time with the family? Why a dude ranch in Montana, of course. However, this will be anything but a relaxing vacation. As soon as he arrives he is pulled into a murder mystery that will have him tracking across the great wide expanse of the Montana wilderness. Paired up with a local detective, Mike is forced to rely on his instinct and intuition to help solve the case and find the missing witness.
The Last Track by Sam Hilliard is an exciting adventure thriller. The author does a great job of developing a suspenseful atmosphere that will have readers on the edge of their seats. This is a must read."
~ Michael Harrison, 4 star review, Amazon.com

“A major goal of this blog is to introduce readers to new books and new authors. This is one of those times you’ve not heard of the book or the author, so take note.
This is Sam Hilliard’s first novel, and Sam, good start. This style of mystery is in my wheelhouse, right down the middle … and The Last Track hits a home run.
Mike Brody is a tracker, on the case of a missing teenager in the woods. A strong cast of characters surround him, and you’re left trying to find out who is good and who is bad, all while eagerly waiting to see if Mike succeeds.
Sam Hilliard has an ability to keep you guessing throughout, not knowing who you can trust as a reader, always keeping the pages turning . . . Like the best of Dan Brown and others, the action happens quickly in The Last Track. Start to finish of the mystery is four days, and a clever clock keeps ticking to let you know throughout. The lead character also has just a touch of supernatural ability, but not enough to be hokey.
I look forward to reading more about Mike Brody in future novels. He’s different than John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar and Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware. However, he’s got that same ’read me’ quality these others have and you’ll want to know more.
On a sidenote: In a minor part of the book, the teenager being tracked explains something about running, and Hilliard nails it for me. Talking about runners in races who realize they aren’t going to win, but continue running, he writes, “Sean knew why they kept on in spite of the odds. Win or lose, the journey offered its own reward. Runners ran for the feeling of getting somewhere on their own steam.” It’s a small part, used to explain Sean’s situation and attitude. But it described my new-found love for running exactly.
Like I said, great work Sam. I look forward to more from Mike Brody and more mystery from this new author.
YOU’LL LIKE THIS IF: You enjoy suspenseful mysteries, John Sandford novels, long-running characters or are in the mood for something little different.”
~ Jack Sheard, 4 1/2 star review, What A Book

“I Couldn’t Put the Book Down . . .Seriously, I Could Not”
“I am fascinated by mountains and mysteries, so that is a lethal combination for me. What was really a wonderful bonus is that The Last Track was very well written and held my interest throughout the entire book. Nice descriptions, colorful characters and several surprises kept me hooked all the way to the very end.
I loved the ending, especially the last line. I was sad when it was over. I wanted to keep reading. I certainly hope that The Last Track will not be the last book written by this talented author. I look forward to the next book and it doesn’t even have to be set in the mountains! I’m sure it will be great.”
~ Kristian Wilder, 5 star review, Amazon.com

From the Marketing Desk - Interview with Sam!

Sam Hilliard, Tech Guru by day, Published Author by night - come meet him: http://bit.ly/9mjd65

From the Publisher's Desk - 'nuff said perhaps?

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” — W. Somerset Maugham
Just saw this on twitter and it sums up what I found in my inbox on this early morn perfectly.

From the Publisher's Desk - (How to Avoid the) 5 Steps from Desk to Round File

Wait, does it really take 5 steps to get from the desk to that round/square/rectangular thing on the floor lovingly known in offices around the world as the "round file"?
Well, if you're a writer and you are hoping to get that piece you've spent hours, nay, weeks, years, toiling over, from your humble desk (or laptop) and onto that of a wonderful, intelligent and brilliant Editor who will cherish it, rave over it, love it as much as you do, then the answer is yes, there may be 5 steps from desk to round file.
So, want to avoid the black hole called the delete button? Here are the steps to avoid!
Step 1. The fastest way to get your writing off my desk and into the trash - Don't follow a publisher's posted Submission Guidelines! We didn't mean you when we said "No more than 4 pages", or "A 300 word synopsis of the story – please cover the beginning, middle and the end of the story." TRUTH Yes, those are there for you! We didn't spend hours toiling over them just for fun. They may seem like arbitrary rules to you, but they are born from years of slogging through submissions looking for that gem. Give your writing a fighting chance - follow the rules!
Step 2. Sitting down to start that story at long last? Well, don't plan your story out ahead of time. That's for amateurs. It's so much better to just let the story run it's own course. Outlines are for chumps. TRUTH An outline is just that - an outline. A road map to get you from beginning to end without missing the middle or losing any interesting, important characters or information along the way. An outline is NOT carved in stone. It can and probably should change along the way as the story evolves. But it sure is nice to have a few road signs along the way! A well-crafted story demands no less.
Step 3. OK, so you read the Guidelines, wrote an outline, but you still want to take the fast route to the shredder? Easy, just ramble. Aimlessly. For pages. About nothing of any import to the story at all. TRUTH Cleanliness may be next to Godliness, but to me brevity is king! Make your point. Don't blather. Be concise. I'd much rather ask you to expand a passage then have to use up all my precious blue pencils editing out a lot of useless, meandering.
Step 4. Don't use a dictionary! Avoid them like the plague. If that editor is worth anything at all they should be able to read your mind and figure out what you really meant to say. It's more important to have lots of polysyllabic words peppering your piece than it is to be clear about what you are saying. TRUTH Unless one of your characters is a linguistics professor, stay away from those supercalifragilisticexpialidocious words. Not sure you are using the right word? Look it up! Even words you are "pretty sure" are right - double check them. Please don't try and impress me with your huge vocabulary. If you are using words incorrectly - trust me - I won't be impressed, but maybe our cleaning guy will be.
Step 5. You still want to line the bottom of my recycling bin? OK, then don't proofread your work C A R E F U L L Y before you send it to me. In fact, don't have anyone look it over before you send it off to me. Leave words out of your sentences. Season your work with grammatical errors and misspellings. Don't check your punctuation. In fact, don't use any at all. Please. Really, our recycling center is starving for your work! TRUTH Will I forgive a mistake here and there? Yes, as long as here is not less than 4 pages from there. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone. Always double-, triple-, quadruple-check your work. Think you've found every error? Now have a professional copyeditor or an English teacher check it.

Will all of this guarantee that I will love your work, offer you a gazillion dollar advance and a 20 book contract? No, but it will assure that your writing doesn't do the quickstep from your desk to my round file!

From the Editor's Desk - 7 Tips to Get Your Novel Started

So, you want to write a novel?
Can you see the story in your head but find it impossible to get it on paper?
Do you begin writing excitedly and then burnout almost immediately?

Maybe the following suggestions will help you:

1.Outline Outline Outline

Some people say they can just start writing and it all flows smoothly and evenly to become the perfect piece. If you can write your novel this way, great! You can probably stop reading this article now. And, we may have a contract for you!
The rest of the world needs to put their ideas into some kind of outline. It shouldn't include every detail, just the framework. You will add and modify as you go along.

2. Point-of-View

Decide what point of view you are going to use in a scene and stick with it. Please, don't jump back and forth, it's too confusing to your reader. Use the "omniscient" viewpoint sparingly and have a limited number of POV characters. Never tell the POV of an insignificant character.

3. Dialogue

Read the conversations aloud. Better yet, have someone else read them aloud for you. Now ask yourself: Does it sound natural? Do the conversations flow? Do people really talk like that?

4. Dramatic Concept

Imagine you are writing the blurb for your novel. Can you sum it all up in just a few sentences? If not, you need a stronger dramatic concept.

5. Tension & Escalation

A good story needs conflict but it is equally as important that your conflict escalate. It should gradually build up to a critical level.

6. Show me, don't tell me

If a character is angry, don't just tell me she is mad. Put her in a situation that will make her mad and SHOW ME how she reacts.

7. It's all about the presentation!

This is actually the most important. No matter how great your spell check or grammar check program is, or how many times you proofread your manuscript yourself, you will likely miss some spelling, grammatical, punctuation mistakes.
Once you've written, and re-written your novel, and have polished your story like a jewel, you should have someone like a professional editor proofread your work. If you don't know an editor personally, you can hire someone. It is well worth the price. Nothing will get your manuscript tossed into the round file faster than a lot of errors.

Now, good luck and start writing!

From the Marketing Dept - Is It Wednesday Already?

How is THAT possible? Well, we do have a few updates to make:

1) Some New Reviews (and a giveaway!) of The Last Track:

The Cajun Book Lady http://tinyurl.com/ybkefkq and this one includes the chance to win a signed copy of the book!!

Also a new review on What a Book! http://whatabook.wordpress.com

2) Want to stay on top of what's new with the cat and get a chance to win prizes??

Subscribe to our blog and be automatically entered in our WEEKLY GRAND OPENING giveaway through the month of April! We've got books, t-shirts, magnets, tote bags, and all sorts of other goodies! Sign up now! (Look - see the little subscribe box on the right side of the page???)

3) We are running a giveaway program on goodreads through March 30th to win a signed copy of The Last Track http://tinyurl.com/ygwemsq HURRY!! Ends March 30th

4) Don't miss us on twitter every weekday morning where we are serving your favorite coffee, tea, and cocoa drinks to all our followers! We are pouring between 6 and 9. Follow Buddhapuss

Well, that's it for us. now we have to get back to work - here comes the boss!
Later Loyal Readers!

From the Publisher's Desk - Another Friday

As I sit here in the early dawn light, sipping my first cup of coffee I can't help but wonder, where has the week gone? Lost in a dizzying swirl of details, fires to put out, fires to start, people to talk to, to many things on the To Do List to do!

The last 3 weeks have been satisfying (our first book launched!), frustrating (people love it, but getting them to post reviews is sometimes like pulling teeth!), overwhelming (so much still to be done for this book - and for the ones that follow it), gratifying (nice to see what has only been an idea finally come to fruition), and terrifying (well, NOW you've gone and done it MCB! You went and published a book again!)

Everyone here is happy to have that first book out in the world, and now they are splitting their focus between seeing that it does well, while still working on getting the next project out there too.

Sometimes I feel like a mama bird, pushing her little babies out of the nest at the top of the tree. I know they are as prepared and ready as they can be, but it is still hard to give them that last little shove. You can't help but have nightmares about them plunging to a crashing death, or worse, right into the waiting jaws of a big grinning cat sitting there at the bottom just waiting. (No, that's not Buddhapuss, he doesn't eat little birdies!)

The light in my office grows stronger, the sun is truly rising after merely flirting with the waning moon for a while. I wander off to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee and realize, for better or worse, a new day has begun . . . I think I'll take it, see what kind of dizzying ride the world has in store for us today.

Oh yes, and Spring is just around the corner.

Enjoy!

From the Editorial Staff - Submission Guidelines

Just a quick note to let all those anxious writers out there know that we have finally posted our current submission guidelines on our website. http://www.buddhapussink.com/submissions guidelines.html

From the Publisher's Desk - Ten Rules of Writing, Addendum

From this morning's Shelf Awareness

Writers, take note... or notes. Inspired by Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing, the Guardian asked authors to share their personal rules for writing fiction. A sampling:

* Margaret Atwood: "You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality."
* Roddy Doyle: "Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, e.g. 'horse,' 'ran,' 'said.'"
* Geoff Dyer: "Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire."
* Anne Enright: "The first 12 years are the worst."
* Richard Ford: "Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer's a good idea."
* Jonathan Franzen: "When information becomes free and universally accessible, voluminous research for a novel is devalued along with it."
* Neil Gaiman: "Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong."
* Jeanette Winterson: "Enjoy this work!"

Enjoy - and keep on writing!

reBlog from Joseph Esposito under: The Scholarly Kitchen

I found this fascinating quote today:

Book publishers have lost control over their own industry, not because consumers have won, but because they haven’t — they will be no better off with de facto platform dominance than anyone else except the company that controls that platform.Joseph Esposito under, The Scholarly Kitchen, Feb 2010

You should read the whole article.

Buddhapuss Ink's TwitWall

Buddhapuss Ink's TwitWall

From the Publisher's Desk - Vote Early, Vote Often

It seems that The Last Track has been added to the Best Books of 2010 list on goodreads. Now it's up to all of us to get out the vote! Please go to: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3957 and click on the Vote button!
In the words of my grandfather "It is every citizen's patriotic duty to Vote Early and Vote Often!"

From the Publisher's Desk - Call for Submissions

We are actively seeking submissions for our Poetry Showcase for 2010. You can find all the details at our website.
Cheers!
http://www.buddhapussink.com

CONGRATULATIONS!

Margot Kinberg was the winner of a signed (and personalized) copy of the paperback of The Last Track in our first Launch Day twitter Giveaway!
We will be doing additional giveaways this week during our Launch Week Promo so check back for more details!!

From the Publisher's Desk - TGIF!

It's been a crazy week leading up to the official release date of our first book on our debut list! There were links to check, books arriving, bookmark designs to approve, email blasts to prepare, ad campaigns to finalize, and an author's hand to hold as we plow through the last details.
It's been a number of years since I was involved in the inauguration of a new imprint, and it is just as intense as I remember. Well, possibly more so, now you have to throw the ebook version into the mix! Everything is coming together and the book launch party is set for tomorrow evening. Right now I'm just trying to remember to breathe!
Catch the excitement! Check out the trailer and read the first chapter of the book - links are here on our blog and on our web site.
Cheers!
MCB

From the Publisher's Desk - a snowed in Saturday

It has been a long, cold and very snowy Saturday here. Amazing how some snow can slow everything down. A good heavy snow will do that. It was so quiet this morning - no one walking, no cars, no dogs barking - just the silence of the snow punctuated by the occasional gust of wind. For a few hours it was like living inside a snow globe.
Now we've all dug out, the streets are plowed, sidewalks shoveled and all those cooped up puppies have had their walkies. It is time to turn my attention back to the running of this publishing house and the launch of our first book (The Last Track by Sam Hilliard) which is only a few days away.
Time to get back to the mechanics of publicity and marketing. But forgive me while I savor the memory of those quiet moments, inside that snow globe for just a little longer.
MCB

From the Marketing Desk

The trailer for The Last Track is now live - and AWESOME!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDFWmJOtIE