Winner Announced

Random.org has provided the winning number for our Lost in the Bayou giveaway. The lucky winner this time around is

CHAZ DESIMONE

I will be forwarding a copy of Lost in the Bayou to Chaz as well as the $10 Amazon Gift Certificate. What a great way to start the year. Congratulations Chaz! Enjoy.

And thanks to all the others who participated. We will have other contests and prizes coming up soon. So stay tuned.

Amazon Signing Authors to Cut Publishers Out of the Deal

I'm linking this post to a great story from IT World based on an article from the New York Times.

First, Amazon killed, or seriously wounded, the bookstores. Now they're trying to do the same to publishers. Will publishers handle the threat of digital distribution better than the music business?

The New York Times called this, “Writing Publishers Out of the Deal,” and since New York is the hub of the traditional publishing business, this story should sound the alarm bell for the publishers still burying their corporate heads in the sand.  More >>>

E-Book Published

I've been threatening to do it for some time. I've finally uploaded my test book to Amazon.com. It will be transformed into an e-book for anyone to read. Anyone who wants to part with 99 cents, that is. I couldn't do it for free, although that was what I wanted to do.

This is a simple chapter book of only 6,000 words. It's designed for early readers who enjoy a bit of mystery and a spunky female main character. I've promised my granddaughter (the model for the protagonist and the cover) that I'll share any profits with her, provided there are any with the additional requirement that she read the book and give me a book report. (She doesn't like to read and she dislikes writing even more.) But she likes to earn money, so I'm hoping there will be a nice carrot to dangle in front of her to convince her to read it.

If you'd like to contribute to the cause, the title is SCARY NIGHT MUSIC. It's not loaded up yet from Amazon, but it should be before too long. Once it is, I'll probably come back here and add a link to make it easier.

Thanks for your support.

Literary agents blog, too!

Yes. It's true. Literary agents are in the blogosphere these days. And the aspiring author can learn a great deal from visiting their sites. There is a link on the right sidebar under Writer Resources entitled Agents Who Blog.

I visited a few of these today and found some information I want to share with you. Some of the articles listed below may sound familiar. They deal with subjects we discussed last week.

Jenny Bent’s blog, Bent on Books, recently posted an interview with an editor. It is entitled “A Short Meditation on How to Write a Novel.” If you’re a novelist, I would highly recommend reading this editors ideas and suggestions.

Rachelle Gardner’s blog, Rants & Ramblings, has an article entitled “The Top Ten Query Mistakes.” I think you’ll find it valuable.

On that same blog is another article entitled “Everyone Gets Rejected.” This one might open your eyes to the publishing business and what a manuscript actually goes through from the time you send your query until your book hits the shelves.

The articles above were found by visiting only two of the agent blogs listed. If you’d like to explore a little more, here’s the site that lists all of them. Agents Who Blog.

And that’s it for today. Since you didn’t have much reading to do here, you can get back to writing. But only after clicking those links above and reading those three articles. It may be pride rearing its ugly head, but I want my readers to be the best informed group in the digital realm.

If you have specific questions (other than that meaning of life subject), leave a comment. With the number of visitors we're getting now, I'm sure someone will be able to help.

Just a heads up for you: We’re going to have another contest very soon. I’ll provide more info on that tomorrow. (If I have it figured out. Hope to.)

Until then.

UPDATE: The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest closes Monday, February 7th. There is a YA category this year. Check it out Penguin/Amazon.

UPDATE: Authoress is having a Secret Agent Contest on her blog. Starts Monday, February 8, 2010. They are always good. Visit Miss Snark's First Victim to read more.

UPDATE: Agent Pet Peeves. Check out Guide to Literary Agents.