The Bride Wore Gray and Mr. Lincoln by Jina Bacarr
February 11, 2013 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Antietam, bride, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, film, historical, Lincoln, romance, self-publishing, spy, Steven SpielbergI’ll never forget the time I had the chance to see the cabin where Lincoln was born. I was nine years old.
It had a dirt floor. Cool, I thought, his mom can’t yell at him for tracking dirt into the house.
It wasn’t the “real” cabin,of course, but a symbolic reconstruction in Central Kentucky to honor our sixteenth President.
I grew up in different parts of the US…but my favorite time was in Lexington, Kentucky.
We lived in what I called the “Civil War” house. It was a big ole home out in the boonies with a barn and plenty of Kentucky bluegrass. According to the locals, the antebellum house was built before the Civil War.
Over the years, the house had different owners, but it never lost its splendor in my eyes. Sure, it was run-down and the plumbing more often than not didn’t work. God knows, it was cold in the winter, but my dad–a historical buff–rented it for as long as my poor mom could take it. It wasn’t easy for her with no dishwasher or washer and an old, wood burning stove with a husband and two kids to take care of. No neighbors for what seemed like miles.
I loved it.
I’d race around the house with fireplaces taller than I was for hours, pretending I was hosting tea with fancy ladies or meeting that special gentleman in what I called my “secret” room. Wearing my mother’s long dresses, I dreamed of being a true Southern belle (years later I got my own authentic hoop skirt from the costume department when I was doing theater).
So it’s no wonder I followed my heart and wrote my own Civil War novel — “The Bride Wore Gray.” It’s a time travel romance where my modern day heroine, Liberty Jordan, meets up with her ancestor–who looks exactly like her! The only problem is, Pauletta Sue, is a Southern spy…
Best,
Jina
www.jinabacarr.com
5 Tips to self-publishing your mother never told you by Jina Bacarr
November 11, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Amazon, Bob Mayer, Cinderella, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Dr. Debra Holland, hunter, J.A. Konrath, Jackie Diamond Hyman, Marie Force, nook, rules, self-publishing, short story, SmashwordsPsst…have you heard? Everybody’s doing it. Self-publishing.
It’s hip, it’s cool…it’s like winning the lottery.
Right?
Hmm…maybe. Maybe not. It’s the wild, wild west out in the land of Amazon, Smashwords and Nook. All you need is a dusty, old manuscript from under your bed, a sexy cover and a few .html codes and you’re dancing with the stars.
Oh, what fools we writers be.
It ain’t that easy.
Here’s the deal: You’ve written a good story and your manuscript is in the best shape possible–critique groups, professional editing, etc. Now what?
No doubt you need a good cover and nearly flawless formatting, but don’t give up if you haven’t gotten it all together. Before you push that old manuscript back under the bed with the dust bunnies, it is possible to hitch your wagon to the self-pubbed stars and join in the land rush…or should I say, digital rush.
I did it. I self-pubbed a holiday novella and a short story. There are many blogs that can help you with various aspects of the biz, from J.A. Konrath to Bob Mayer’s Write It Forward (I highly recommend both!), but here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way.
Jina’s 5 tips to self-publishing:
- I formatted my manuscript myself with help from Marie Force’s blog–I especially found the info about “tabs†and indenting .33 on the first line helpful.
- I bought my cover art from Dreamstime.com They have quality photos and high resolution. You can choose from 12 million photos available on their site.
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Be prepared to spend time learning how to format. It’s a high learning curve, but I’ve found both the Amazon (short video) and Smashwords guides to be helpful if you’re willing to make the effort.
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Be realistic about your goals. No one can predict how a book will do, but reading the Kindle forums and following other authors can give you an idea of how they’re doing. I follow OCC’s Dr. Debra Holland’s blog–she’s been open and forthright about her experience in self-publishing and her sales. Another OCC author, Jacqueline Diamond (author of 90 novels), has recently self-published books from her backlist and knows the value of promoting her books (she made the top 100 in Regency on Amazon).
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Write another book or story right away. Quality and quanity are both important in self-pubbing. You need product to sell. Imagine if a shoe store opened and all they had to sell was one shoe style?
Which reminds me of Cinderella and her glass slipper.
Putting your self-pubbed book out there is like Cinderella going to the ball. She had a team of cute little mice to make her dress (editing, cover and formatting) and a fairy godmother (Amazon, Nook and Smashwords) to make the magic happen.
She also had the moxie to get to the ball. That’s where you come in.
Be like Cinderella. Don’t be late to the self-publishing party.
You’ll never know if the glass slipper fits until you try it.
Best,
Jina
Happy 30th Birthday, OCC! by Jina Bacarr
October 11, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as birthday, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, OC, OCC, publishing, romance', self-publishing, WriterBy the time my post is up, OCC will have passed the 30 year mark. I can only imagine the whisperings and giggling and story plotting filling the hallways at the Embassy Suites this past weekend. How many bestsellers were born that weekend, we’ll never know.
How many lifelong friendships were born, well, that’s something we do know.
If you’re a member of OCC and/or a reader of this blog, then you’ve got friends. I’ve never known a more supportive group willing to share ideas, information and a hug when needed.
That’s OCC.
Now that the publishing business is in such a flux, it’s more important than ever to share ideas, whether it’s looking for a NY publisher to self-publishing. We will continue to encourage each other to follow our dreams because that’s what we do at OCC.
That’s what friends are for.
Whether it’s helping each other through a rejection (we all get them) or celebrating with a red or pink or white rose, we’re here for you.
Even when you can’t attend the meetings, the OCC newsletter is filled with encouragement and practical information for everyone from the pre-published to the published to the self-pubbed.
No one knows how all this change will work out, but one thing we do know: from print books to e-books to whatever the future will bring, OCC will always be there for its members.
I’m proud to be a member of OCC.
Best,
Jina
A bit of nostalgia: Here’s a photo I snapped at OCC’s 25th Birthday party showing our newsletters throughout the years:
