SMFS Member Guest Post: IF YOU JUST HANG ON… by Nikki Knight

Please welcome back Kathleen Marple Kalb to the blog today in her Nikki Knight personae. The book, Live, Local, and Long Dead: A Vermont Radio Mystery has new life through a new publisher and a series commitment. You can get it at the publisher, Wild Rose Press, Amazon, and other vendors. The book comes out Tuesday.

 

IF YOU JUST HANG ON…

            When it comes to writing, I’m a gila monster.

            A large venomous lizard, you ask? Well, kinda. The gila monster kills its prey by hanging on to until it surrenders. (That’s your inspirational weird fact for the day!) I hang on and keep writing characters I love until I convince everyone else to love them too…or at least give them a try.

            It’s why there’s a second Vermont Radio Mystery, LIVE, LOCAL, AND LONG DEAD, coming out this month…and why there are a lot of Vermont short stories out there, too. While I know, and really admire, writers who come up with new characters and a new “world” for each new story, I’m just not that creative.

            The basic idea of a mystery series set at a small radio station in Vermont was my first idea for a book, when I started writing fiction seriously in 2015, after my son started kindergarten. It seemed like a fun way to combine the experience of my first on-air job up there in the Green Mountains with my dark and snarky newsroom sense of humor – and finely honed appreciation for quirky crimes.
            The first version, best described as Stephanie Plum with moose and without Janet Evanovich’s skill, was a great learning experience. It was not, however, saleable, as I learned after my first agent hit a brick wall that had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the product.

            Fast-forward a couple years, after the first round of my husband’s cancer battle, and successful querying and submission with a new agent who found a home for my first few historical mysteries. And what did I want to do but go back to Vermont? This time, though, with a main character, disc jockey Jaye Jordan, who was a lot more like me: a grownup, a mother, someone who’d seen things, done things, and taken a few hits. But Vermont was still my happy place – and I’m still me, so I kept the farting moose, the snarky humor, and the quirky, diverse cast.

            My agent loved it and sold it…and LIVE, LOCAL, AND DEAD ultimately earned out. Not enough, though, and the series wasn’t picked up.  

            That might have been the end if not for the short stories.

            When I started writing shorts, I gravitated to a setting and characters I knew well, which meant Vermont and Jaye. The shorts started to sell, and every time one of them was published, a copy or two of LIVE, LOCAL, AND DEAD sold, proving to me, and anyone who might consider my work, that there was indeed a market for it.

            Not to mention the fact that I couldn’t let go.

            Gila monster, remember?

That’s why, when Level Best picked up my historical and a new contemporary series, I didn’t do the smart thing and pull everything else that was on submission. And when the Wild Rose Press offered for the second Vermont book, and the only thing I had to say was “Yes, thank you!”

And now, I’d like to invite you to my happy place, a very small radio station in a tiny Vermont town, where weird crimes seem to keep happening, with a (literally) colorful cast of locals, wicked humor, warm family moments, and of course, that flatulent moose.

Not a gila monster in sight. Except, of course, for me.

 

 

LIVE, LOCAL, AND LONG DEAD: Vermont DJ Jaye Jordan's Green-Up Day ends in murder when not one, but two, bodies turn up in an old park -- and one of them was much too close to both her ex and her current man when it was alive and bodacious. Now Jaye, with the help of a colorful (and diverse) cast of townies, will have to clear her men's names, unravel a World War II-era mystery…and get Grandpa Seymour to the Senior Prom on time. 

 

 

Nikki Knight ©2024

 

Nikki Knight is an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including the Vermont Radio Mystery LIVE, LOCAL, AND LONG DEAD from the Wild Rose Press. As Kathleen Marple Kalb, she writes the Ella Shane and Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. A Derringer finalist, she’s had stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and anthologies including DEVIL’S SNARE: Best New England Crime Stories 2024. She’s Co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Sisters in Crime Chapter and a past VP of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

SMFS Members Published in Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors' Perspectives on Their Craft

 

SMFS list members have essays published in the recently published new book, Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors' Perspectives on Their Craft. Published by McFarland & Company, the read is available in a variety of formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported their essays are:  

 

Leslie Budewitz with “Writing the World Around Us: Social Issues in the Cozy.”

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb with “...And a Colorful Cast.”

 

Edith Maxwell with “Writing Multiple Series.”

 

Publisher Description:

This book brings together essays written by a number of well-known writers of cozy mysteries, including Sherry Harris, Amanda Flower, Leslie Budewitz, and Edith Maxwell, among others, who provide insight into their approaches to writing. Topics covered include how they work with the form, develop characters and settings, and utilize the particular hook, skill or business that establishes the protagonist’s ability to solve crimes. In addition to discussing these traditional aspects of writing, several authors focus on how they have expanded the direction the contemporary cozy mystery has taken with the inclusion of more diverse characters and social issues. 

SMFS Member Guest Post: DOING GOOD AND DOING WELL by Kathleen Marple Kalb (SMFS Vice President)

Please welcome our Vice President to the blog today…

 

 

DOING GOOD AND DOING WELL

Guest Post by SMFS Vice President Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

 

            Charity anthologies are often good career moves as well as good karma.

            In the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to have stories in several, and every time, there’ve been concrete benefits beyond the pleasure of helping our fellow humans.

            First, if you’re early in your career, giving a story to a charity anthology can be a chance to work with an accomplished editor. To get their comments, and their thinking on your soundtrack for the current story, and every future project, is enough compensation right there.

            Almost all anthologies also give you an opportunity to reach new and different readers. Even if you’re a big seller, it’s unlikely followers of every other writer in the anthology will be familiar with your work. And if you’re still building a readership, it’s a real chance to widen your audience.

            That’s part of any anthology. Sharing the promotional effort is, too. Many of us don’t do as much promotion as we should (looking in the mirror here!) but if you’re out there with a bunch of other folks, suddenly the burden isn’t as heavy. It’s often a lot more fun, too.

            Charity projects, though, are special. The writers, of course, care about the cause enough to give their work and their promotional effort. Often, they’re willing to work harder because the charity is important to them.

            More, though, charity projects carry built-in goodwill that can lead to extra positive attention. Bloggers, reviewers, and others will often promote the project as a way to help the cause. Or just to make sure the writers are rewarded for doing good.

            All of that is good for the anthology and the charity.

            Sometimes, it’s good for you, too, bringing in additional readers for your other projects.

            And sometimes, you just get lucky.

            My most recent charity anthology story, “A Fatal Saint Patrick’s Day,” came out last month in LUCK OF THE IRISH.  The story involves my Irish-Jewish Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane, because she was the best fit for the theme. When I signed on, I just wanted to raise some money to help migrant children – and write a good story.

            As it turned out, though, the anthology came out just over a month before my next Ella Shane book, A FATAL RECEPTION, the reboot of the series at Level Best Books – due April 30th. Even better, the editors, Kate Darroch and Jessica Thompson, as well as some of the other writers, have different (and much larger) readerships than I do.

            We told some good stories, we sold a bunch of books, and we brought in a nice donation for kids who really need help. And, as it happens, I introduced Ella to lots of new readers right before the next book.

            The old saw is: “It’s better to be lucky than good,” but maybe it should be: “Look for chances to do good…and you just might be lucky, too!”

 

A FATAL RECEPTION: Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane and her Duke are at long last headed for the altar…but they’ll have to handle a murder, a shipwreck, a questionable Polish prince, and any number of other complications on the way. Continuing the highly-praised series featuring an Irish-Jewish Lower East Side orphan who found fame and fortune as a singer of male soprano roles, the latest installment follows Ella and her surprisingly diverse cast of family and friends through mystery and misadventure…and into the greatest challenge of all for an independent-minded woman and her Victorian swain: matrimony!

Buy at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Reception-Ella-Shane-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CXY8T735

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2024

Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Marple-Kalb-1082949845220373/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KalbMarple

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmarplekalb/

Threads: @kathleenmarplekalb

Bluesky: @mysterymarple.bsky.social   

SMFS Member Podcast News: Judy Penz Sheluk Provides an Insider’s Insight into the World of Publishing

  

SMFS list member Judy Penz Sheluk recently appeared on the Crime Writers of Canada's Podcast to discuss “…publishing, self-publishing, writing and the benefits of volunteering at an association.” You can listen for free at their website.

 

 

 

Website Description:

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries, both of which have been published in multiple languages. With a passion for understanding the ins and outs of all aspects of publishing, Judy is also the founder and owner of Superior Shores Press. She has recently published 2 non-fiction books, Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide, provides an insider’s insight into the world of publishing. And Self-publishing: The Ins & Outs of Going Indie.

Learn more about Crime Writers of Canada at: crimewriterscanada.com
Find past video interviews at: youtube.com/@crimewritersofcanada1279

 

SMFS Member Guest Post: OLD STUFF, NEW ANSWER by Kathleen Marple Kalb (SMFS Vice President)

Please welcome back our Vice President, Kathleen Marple Kalb, to our SMFS blog today…

 

 

OLD STUFF, NEW ANSWER

Guest Post by Kathleen Marple Kalb, SMFS VP

 

          Plot first or characters first?

            It’s a question mystery writers are asked – and ask themselves – just about every day.

            And almost every time, my answer is: characters first. One of my favorite things about writing is creating and living with these interesting people through their adventures. The whole reason I write, and love to read, series mysteries is the pleasure of hanging out with the characters.

            Almost all my story ideas begin that way: what could only happen to my characters, and why are they the only people who could solve the crime? It might be their job, their life experience, or some quirk of their personality, but the story always begins there.

            Or I thought it did.

            Then, last December, while I was making final arrangements for my mother, the funeral director used the phrase “the custodian of the body.” It gave me the idea for a mystery set in a funeral home: an innocent person burying a loved one stumbles into a murder in the next viewing room. Before you condemn me as a hopeless ghoul, please remember that plenty of people use writing as a coping mechanism. I’m one of them.

            The problem was, this great story idea didn’t fit my usual short-story characters, a divorced woman remaking her life at a little Vermont radio station and her colorful pals. Nobody was a good fit for serious grief. The idea simmered in the back of my head for a while, until I stumbled across something related to THE STUFF OF MURDER, my new Old Stuff series.

            The main character is a widow, Christian Shaw, head of the Unity, Connecticut Historical Society. When we meet her in the book, it’s about two years after her husband’s car-crash death, and she’s worked through the initial devastation, building a new life for herself and her son with the help of found family and good friends.

            I’d never used her in a short story because the cast is so large it didn’t seem workable. 

            But if it were just Christian and the person she’d bring with her to make funeral arrangements, her mentor/father figure Garrett?

            Suddenly, the whole thing came together: step back in time to Christian burying her husband and stumbling across a murder in the next room – a murder only she recognizes and can solve because of her unique expertise with old household objects. Give her a little help from Garrett, his former state trooper husband Ed, and some obligingly nasty suspects, and there it was.

            The end result, “The Custodian of the Body,” was my first story in Black Cat Weekly – with the help of an amazing edit by Barb Goffman. (Important aside: anytime you get a chance to be edited by Barb, the answer is yes, thank you – it’s an incredible learning experience, and so valuable to have her on your internal soundtrack as you build a story!)

            And, after writing one short story with Christian, I’ve done several others – so expect to see her again. She – and I – are a little busy right now, though. Christian’s first novel-length adventure, THE STUFF OF MURDER, came out this week from Level Best Books. A fading movie star drops dead on a shoot in her little town, and she ends up using her knowledge of everything from pewter tankards to Colonial bayonets to embroidery to track the killer. If you met Christian in “The Custodian of the Body,” you might enjoy spending a bit more time in her world, and meeting everyone who was hovering just outside the edges of the short story.

            I’m still a characters-first writer, but the experience of writing “The Custodian of the Body” convinced me that when a plot is good enough, you can find characters to fit. One more way to up my writing game.

 

THE STUFF OF MURDER: When Hollywood comes to small-town Connecticut, it should be the stuff of dreams – but when a fading movie star ends up dead, a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan.  Unity Historical Society head and antique household items – stuff! -- expert Christian Shaw is on set when actor Brett Studebaker falls to his death from the pulpit in an old church. She, the “dads she should have had,” Garrett and Ed, her son Henry, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes, and her colorful friends end up helping Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli in his investigation. Along for the ride: her giant tuxedo cat, Cookie, Ed and Garrett’s big red mutt Norm, and Joe’s tiny dog Cannoli! Woodworking, embroidery, old poisons, and vintage weapons all figure in the case, which comes together in a wild scene at the Historical Society on Fourth-Grade Field Trip Day.

 

Buy at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKWFXQ3S/

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb © 2023

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including The Stuff of Murder, and the upcoming Ella Shane mystery, A Fatal Reception, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

 

Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Marple-Kalb-1082949845220373/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KalbMarple   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmarplekalb/           

SMFS Member Guest Post: YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU PITCH by Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight) SMFS Vice President

Please welcome our Vice President, Kathleen Marple Kalb, to our SMFS blog today.

 

YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU PITCH

Guest Post by Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight) SMFS Vice President

           

            Never be afraid to pitch.

            At SMFS Watercoolers, we hear that a lot from people like Michael Bracken and Robert Lopresti, who sell and/or edit incredible amounts of great work.

            But it applies to us ordinary hopefuls, too.

            With one very important caveat.

            Unless you’re a legend, if you pitch widely, you’re going to get a lot of rejections. I’m (mostly) okay with that. If I take a long shot and it doesn’t pay off, well, at least I have the consolation that I took a risk.

            But your mileage may vary. So, if you’re one of those folks who curls up in a pained ball for weeks over a rejection, the following advice may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you view rejection as simply an annoying and painful part of the process, ride with me.

            Submitting work is never going to hurt you.

            Well, clarifying a little: properly submitting your best work is never going to hurt you. That means rigorously following call rules and submission guidelines, and turning in clean, well-thought-out pieces that really represent what you can do.

            As long as you’re doing that – fire away. 

            Got a great story that probably fits an anthology call? Easy – send it.

            Think your work is good enough for one of the top magazines? Go ahead, take a chance.

            The absolute worst that happens is that an editor looks at your work, decides it’s not for them, and rejects it. If you’ve followed all the guidelines and you’re not doing anything stupid or outrageous (submitting a rom-com fairy story to a noir mag, say) you’re doing your job as a writer, and everyone respects that.

            Of course, in rejecting it, they’re also doing their job as an editor – so you have to deal with all of those no’s in the in-box.

            But you might also get acceptances. Or you might impress the editor with the quality of your work and your professional approach and get a personal rejection of the “I’d like to see your next piece” variety.   

            The editors I’ve asked say they don’t send rejections like that to be kind – they do it because they really DO want to see more from you. So that’s definitely a win. Or at least a move in the right direction. It’s never bad to have someone aware of and interested in your work.

            On a larger level, it’s never bad to be out there, doing good work, whether or not you’re selling to a given editor at the moment. Remember, writing is a small world, and it does you no harm to develop a reputation as a pro who does good work. At least that’s what I tell myself when I get one of those nice graceful rejections!

            And sometimes, taking a wild chance really does pay off.

            Just ask Grace the Hit Mom.

            Back in the winter, I heard about a new startup publisher who was looking for lighter mysteries, but not conventional cozies. I knew one of the editors at Charade Media, so I pitched. With the understanding that this proposal wasn’t for everyone, and if it didn’t work out, I’d be back again later with something else.

            And so, I sent off the proposal for WRONG POISON, a cozy mystery featuring an amateur sleuth who’s a suburban mom with a secret life as an assassin.  The proposal had been written for another publisher who took one look and ran screaming into the night.

            I’d even had a hard time selling a short story featuring Grace the Hit Mom. (To this day, it’s in my files waiting for a home!)

            But Charade Media said they wanted different, out-of-the-box ideas, and this definitely met that bar. So I sent the proposal, figured it probably wouldn’t go anywhere, and went on with my day.

            Except…

            They got it. They loved it. And the first Grace the Hit Mom mystery, WRONG POISON, was published July 11^th.

            Never be afraid to pitch!

 

WRONG POISON: She's a nice suburban mom and an assassin...and Grace Adair’s secret life has just become a problem. When a death at the Library Book Fair turns out to be murder – by a poison used only by Grace’s ancient sisterhood, she knows she’s in trouble. Now, she’ll need all her skills as a PTA mom and former prosecutor to find the killer and protect her friends…and their secrets. Hopefully without using her other skills. About those other skills: Grace and her sweet senior pal Madge are members of a 700-year-old order of lady poisoners, sacred to the Archangel Gabriel and sworn to remove evil men who elude human justice. Think #MeToo with untraceable poison.  Call it a cozy with a twist. You’ve never met anyone like Grace…and you’ll never forget her.   

Check it out here: Wrong Poison: Knight, Nikki: 9798987684740: Amazon.com: Books

 

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2023

 

Nikki Knight describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York City’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels. Her stories appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Black Cat Weekly, online, and in anthologies – and have been short-listed for Black Orchid Novella and Derringer Awards. Active in writers’ groups, she’s currently Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and Co-Vice President of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. As Kathleen Marple Kalb, she writes the Ella Shane and Old Stuff mystery series. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat. https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/nikki-knight

SMFS Member Guest Post: A Tale of Three Agents by Paul A. Barra

 

Please welcome SMFS list member Paul A. Barra to the blog today with his perspective on an interesting topic…

 

 

A Tale of Three Agents

Paul A. Barra

 

After Mikhail Baryshnikov had been living in this country for a few years in the late eighties, he was asked what he thought was the main difference between the USA and the Soviet Union. The famed dancer replied: "A hard job in Russia is to buy something; a hard job in America is to sell something."

 

I agree with the second half of his contrast, and I don't want anything to do with sales. Leave that up to the experts has always been my motto, so I've been hunting for a literary agent to represent my work ever since I began writing fiction seriously. I need someone else to do the selling.

 

When I sold a novel manuscript to Black Opal Books seven years ago, I asked the editor/publisher to recommend me to a literary agent. Lauri Wellington did that and I signed with a Dallas-based agency, recognizing my inadequacies in the business world of publishing and hoping that having an agent in my corner would assist me in getting my next project in front of acquisition editors of more prestigious houses as I continued to write.

 

After all, agents are known now as the primary screening apparatus for publishers, with many functioning as valued editors in their own right. An agent may represent the adversary in contract negotiations with a publisher, but she is also a tool in the difficult task of acquiring projects for publishers. Not so my first agent.

 

I was assigned to a new agent at the agency, something I expected and accepted. I was a new author. The young agent was, and is, an excellent communicator, muti-talented as a cover artist and marketer, and now a publisher of her own marque. At the time, however, she was new and disliked the sales aspect of agenting almost as much as I did. She was also badly treated and mentored by the senior agent at her firm. Not only did she not sell my next script, she never read it. Her boss told me to wait in the queue like everyone else seeking representation, even though she had already signed me and was receiving her cut of my royalties from the first book (meager as they were). My relationship with the agency ended badly—luckily for me, as it turned out, since that agency is now charging reading fees—and my young agent left the fold. 

I published another book with BOB and then lucked out with "Westfarrow Island," signing with my independent publisher of choice, The Permanent Press. The product was beautifully done and got a dynamite review in Publishers Weekly when it dropped in 2019. A year later I sent them my next work, a mystery at a horse racing venue. The protagonist was a fallen priest. Co-publisher Marty Shepard called me to say he didn't like priests, in fact he "couldn't stomach the idea of a man dressed in black;" would I turn the man into a former priest? Since a main theme of the novel was redemption, I told Marty that wouldn't work if the man had already abandoned his vocation. We agreed to disagree, and I was out one publisher.

 

So I went hunting another literary agent. I found one in New York who liked the Westfarrow sequel I had written. I recognized the name of her agency even if I didn't know her by reputation, but she was smart and easy to get along with. It was the time of Covid, so she had emigrated back to her home in the Bay Area, but our work together was not affected. We talked about changing the characters, possibly even using a pen name, but the agent eventually decided to put the revised script out on submission as a sequel called "Sheepshead Bay Commission." Predictably (I can say that now but wasn't nearly so certain then), no one would touch it. One editor from a major house told my agent that he would get fired if he ever took on a sequel of a novel owned by another publisher. Bad blunder, but we could recover.

 

The trouble was, my agent had lost heart. She gradually got slower and slower answering my emails, didn't have anything definitive to say about my second major rewrite of Sheepshead Bay, wasn't enthusiastic about the other works I had written. By now it was 2021 and I had not published anything but few short stories in two years. She became my literary agent in name only.

 

Another New York agent, this one an academic with a terminal degree in Black Studies from a prestigious university, liked a children's historical adventure I wrote called "Samson and the Charleston Spy." My second agent was gracious in releasing me from our contract, and I was off with Agent #3. This was in early 2022.

 

I learned a lot about middle grade readers. How, for instance, one could not write in first person if another, third person, POV was going to have a say later in the book. We can do that sort of thing in adult novels, but ten-year-olds can get confused with the change. Since the novel takes place in and around the bombardment of Ft. Sumter and is told from a Southern perspective, and contains the themes of slavery, nativism and zealotry for the Cause, my new agent and I worked hard getting the script in shape. She even sent it to a "sensitivity reader" for input. When it was finally ready, she submitted it to eight editors at NYC publishers. Result: eight rejections.

 

Three wanted only contemporary novels, no historicals; three offered no comments as to why they passed on the novel. Agent #2 had an excuse for every rejection but one: One editor had the effrontery to suggest to my agent, on the phone, that the script would be more palatable to NYC editors if the protagonist himself turned out to be the spy. A native South Carolinian son of the Confederacy becomes a Yankee spy! If I had agreed to that, I would have had to move out of the South. Under cover of darkness. The children's book world is a fearsome jungle indeed.

 

Agent #3 wanted to wait before she tried submitting Samson again, and she wasn't interested in the adult manuscripts that were beginning to pile up on my desktop. The same thing happened as happened with Agent #2: she gave up after one round of submissions. Late last year, she called to tell me she was leaving her agency for another and would not be taking me with her. She was as kind and gracious as always. I think of her—and Agent #2— as a friend, although I cannot imagine a situation in which I would ask for her advice again.

 

Meanwhile, a story of mine had been selected for a Mystery Writers of America anthology ("When a Stranger Comes To Town"). The MWA was represented by Alec Shane of Writers House. Although my only contact with him was when he sent me my share of the book's advance ($549) and author copies of the hard and soft-covered products, I wrote to him suggesting that since he already represented some of my work, he might as well represent all of it. He did not agree, so I am again unrepresented.

 

My writing buddy is suggesting that I go self-publishing this time. Writers are making money by doing the publishing houses' work themselves—and there are many artists and editors and producers who can assist, for a fee. I'm not taking him seriously because the very thought of the time and effort necessary to be successful, truly successful, as a self-published author drains away all my energy. I don't think I'm strong enough to put in the work that writing requires, plus the work into marketing and promoting my book that would be necessary to make money. That's sales, and sales is not the work of a writer.

 

A writer ought to be able to support his family by writing alone. I did it for many years as a freelancer, writing feature stories in a niche press market and in magazines. Fiction shouldn't be impossible. So, I'm starting over again. I'm going to query small presses and work my way up, gradually. And, if I ever do attract an agent again, I'm going to talk to her about her thoughts on trying out more than one submission blitz before giving up on a project. I understand sales is difficult, I will tell her, but that's why I want you to represent me. I do the writing; you do the selling. Can that still work in 2023?

 

Paul Barra ©2023 

Paul A. Barra's latest novel, Full of Eyes: A Rebel Bishop Mystery, is a historical mystery.  

SleuthSayers: Get Involved by R.T. Lawton

SleuthSayers: Get Involved: Okay, so you're writing the next great American novel or short story. It will be published and you will become famous. At least that&#39...

SMFS Members Published in Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction

Numerous SMFS list members have essays published in the new book, Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction. Published by Sisters in Crime, the read is available in digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the book are:    

 

Paula Benson’s essay, "Shorts Deserve Promotion, Too," is in the section, Fear of Social Media.

Leslie Budewitz’s essay, “’Meet Our Local Author!’-Big Opportunities in Small Towns,” is in the section, Fear of Thinking Outside the Box.

Debra H. Goldstein’s essay, “Surviving Obstacles In Your Chosen Career,” is in the section, Fear of the Book Community.

Teresa Inge’s essay, “Think Outside the Brick-and-Mortar Box,” is in the section, Fear of Events.

G.M. Malliet’s essay, “Asking for Endorsements, or Getting to Yes,” is in the section Fear of the Book Community.

Paul D. Marks’ essay, “About-face: My 180-Degree Turn re: Facebook,” is in the section, Fear of Social Media.

Edith Maxwell’s essay, “A Unique Promotion,” is in the section, Fear of Thinking Outside the Box.

Gigi Pandian’s essay, “Promotion Through Following Your Passion,” is in the section, Fear of the Book Community.

Terry Shames’ essay, “Try Something New,” is in the section, “Fear of Events.”

James W. Ziskin’s essay, “Great Giveaways or Just Junk,” in the section, Fear of Connecting With Readers.

 

Synopsis:

AUTHOR OVERBOARD

Publishing a book can be scary. Figuring out how to promote it can be straight-up frightening. When the seas of book promo make you feel adrift in unfriendly tides, keeping your head above water can be difficult. Enter PROMOPHOBIA, a collection of essays that just might save the life of your book.

 

SINK OR SWIM

Divided into categories: Identifying Your Niche, Book Community, Social Media, Online Promo, Publicity, Connecting With Readers, Going On Your Own or Participating with a Group, Events, and Thinking Outside the Box, PROMOPHOBIA will open your eyes to the opportunities around you. The contributing authors share their personal experiences about what’s worked for them (and in a few humorous cases, what didn’t) to provide a beacon. You’re no longer in the dark. You’re not swimming alone.

 

If you’ve ever wondered if you could have done more for your latest book launch, then this book is for you. If you’re tired of relying on the same old strategies release after release, then this book is for you. If you want to readjust your sails and angle for a fresh gust of wind to carry you farther on your writing journey, then this book is for you.

 

A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS

This is not a how-to book. It's an anecdotal anthology of essays about seeing possibilities, building connections, believing in our work, making mistakes, totally f*ing up, and trying something new. It is a collection of stories told over smoothies at the gym or drinks at the bar, shared with the same spirit of community that infuses Sisters in Crime.

 

The next time you find yourself swimming in dark promotional waters, read an essay or two from PROMOPHOBIA. Instead of drowning in fear, you'll find yourself saying, "I'm going to need a bigger book."

 

ABOUT SISTERS IN CRIME:

Sisters in Crime is the premier crime writing association focused on equity and inclusion in our community and in publishing. Founded in 1986 to represent and advocate for women crime writers, we celebrate and honor this history with our name while we continue to work for all who share our commitment to and love for a vibrant, inclusive community. Our 4,500+ members enjoy access to tools to help them learn, grow, improve, thrive, and reinvent if necessary. They also gain a community of supportive fellow writers and readers, both peers to share the peaks and valleys of writing, and mentors to model the way forward.