Free Kindle giveaway contest

I am still running my contest for a free kindle giveaway. The rules for the kindle giveaway are very simple. On my site www.sirjohn.org select the novel you think will be published first and e-mail your vote. My e-mail is sirjohn@wwisp.com I will pick a winner from those that select the correct novel that is published first. I have partials,fulls and query letters out on all of them.

I am working on my seventh novel now and when it is finished I will post info on it, If you want to switch your vote on the kindle giveaway contest at that time, just e-mail me. On my site http://www.sirjohn.org I also have a place for you to sign up for my newsletter.

I also have a large number of blogs I post to. a complete list of them can be found here www.sirjohn.org/bloglist For those that want to learn how to make money on their blogs please join us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Theprofessionalbloggers

I wish everyone the best on the free kindle giveaway contest and want to thank you for your support of me as a writer.

Johnny Ray

Thoughts on self publishing by Johnny Ray

I'm sure I'm not the only writer to think more about this recently. While my goal remains to have my work distributed by a major house, the lure and freedom of self publishing tend to be growing. The time table is definitely faster, the rewards now maybe high enough to make it worth while, and it at least gets your work out there where people can see it and buy it. I feel like I have a large enough platform to sell many of my own books. However, a large house would definitely help with all of their resources.

I've heard that it could hurt your brand, your name later. To some extent this is like in the real estate business where real estate agents look down on for sale by owners. I've also heard this is how many authors got their start. I know many people have their own opinions on this. However, thinking about it, a pen name might work out great.

What would be great is to find a site where one could simply post their work and have people buy it that the author sends to the site. It would help to have an administrator to handle all taxes and accounting of sales, but that is it, allowing for a larger royalty payment.

I've also been exploring the kindle site which appears to be interesting. They have traffic coming to the site, which is good. They can download to people that must go to the site to buy and they are now able to download to the iphone. That can be some very positive incentives.

Of course, the downside is no editor or creative person to guide you. You have to arrange for your own copy writing and book cover designs, etc. And no publicity department to work for you.

My research is just beginning and would love to have others give me their thoughts and available information for a follow up post.

Johnny Ray
Award Winning Novelist
www.sirjohn.org

Johnny Ray's comments on MWA meeting

I attended a meeting of the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America last Saturday on the east coast. The speaker was Elaine Viets. Elaine writes two different series at the same time and for the same publisher. One is the hardcover Dead-End Job series where she told us she actually worked in these jobs to learn more of how they function and to add the detail that makes they come alive. Yes, she has had some interesting jobs in this minimum wage world because of this. The other series is the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series.
Elaine told how important it is to keep the characters totally different. She has received many awards for her work and has found a way to stay busy writing by having the two different series. Elaine is a great speaker and a great writer. Check out her books.
The chapter meeting attract less members this time of the year as many of the members go back home up north for the summer months. The big event they host every year is Sleuthfest. Last year it was fantastic and I expect the same next year.
Johnny Ray
www.sirjohn.org/bloglist

Meeting with borders romance buyer Sue Grimshaw

Last Saturday, the local chapter (TARA) of the Romance Writers of America had Sue Grimshaw talk to us about how borders operated and how books sales were going. I was also very lucky to have lunch with her at the meeting. She is extremely knowledgably and a very nice person to know.
She stated that romantic book sales are climbing nicely for all romance categories with the exception of erotica which is staying flat. She talked about how important book covers were becoming. This is so much so now that several publishers will send a jpeg to her for review before the book run. She detailed how books are purchased for the store and what criteria are used to determine where they will be placed. Placement is naturally a big concern for most authors.
She mentioned that book signing were not doing that well in moving the number of books that you need. There are many other ways to promote your books. It is important to get as much money from the publisher to promote your book as possible.
Borders has an affiliate program where you can make money. Why not, it doesn’t cost anything to sign up.
She mentioned one thing I found interesting. I know publisher have a monetary interest in a writer, but didn’t think about how much a book store has an interest in you becoming successful. She mentioned that she wanted to see authors grow and they wanted to help in that process. She mentioned how good web presence is and how you need to link to the borders true romance site. She also mentioned how important it was to be on social media sites like twitter. Of course, I loved that since I’m one of the most popular writers on twitter with around 14,000 followers.
She also mentioned how important it was to write a series. An example would be where on a stand along book where she would order say 3500 copies she would order perhaps 8000 or more if it was connected to a series. This is very interesting to know and perhaps why most agents want to know if you are planning a series. Another point she made is that on the series, they readers want it fast, if not almost immediately after they read the first book. In fact, she mentioned some readers will buy the whole series at one time if available.
If you ever have a chance to hear Sue Grimshaw speak, you need to take advantage of the opportunity. She is a wealth of knowledge and extremely friendly.

Johnny Ray
www.sirjohn.org/bloglist

Writing tips on creating characters by Johnny Ray

After you have the basic idea of what you want to write, it is time to select your characters. There are many ways to do this and I know many authors do it differently. I think all great writers agree that however you select them, you have to know them inside and out. This means knowing not only what makes them great but what their limitations are as well. I use a system where I actually interview the characters I want to use. I develop a full file on them. Do the characters change during the novel? Yes, I learn more about them over time. But as I do, I always go back to their file and update it. I post these files at the front of my novel so that it is always in front of me. Hopefully a great name comes to me that highlights who the character is. If not, I use the best I can think of. It is easy to change the name later. I also look for a photo that gives me a visual image of my character. This also gets posted on the front of my manuscript.

There have been times, I go to a public place and find someone close to what I envision my character to be like. Then, I make notes of all of the movements and quirks that person makes. Sometimes, I use actors or actress. It is good to watch a film they made and notice certain habits they have and the unique way they talk.

To make the characters believable, it is the authors job to breathe life into them. I know it is hard to understand unless you are a writer, but some characters become more real than people living and breathing around you.

It is interesting to see how other writers create their characters and look forward to hearing from them. Also,it is interesting to hear from readers on what they think makes a great character in a book.

Johnny Ray
www.sirjohn.org

Writing tips on the best use of time by Johnny Ray.

There are many ways to use your time as a writer. Sometimes it is under your control and sometimes it is not. A system that was promoted at Harvard earlier is called PERT which stands for program evaluation and review techniques. Basically the system made you establish a program to manage your time. It helps to know how much time is needed to complete each step and how to make sure each part is done in order and not stall the overall project. There are several steps in writing a novel.

1)Conception is where it all starts.
You need to have an idea for your novel. You need to know what you want to say. You need to know who your characters are. Every author is different and some want to know exactly how the novel will play out in every detail. Others want the basic part of the novel and have the freedom to allow their characters to tell the story. In any case, there has to be the spark to get started.

2)Research is where the hard work starts.
Some books require very little research and some require a lot. Many times the research can be a continuous project. Many times a writer can paint himself into a corner. This is why it is I think so important to do the necessary research before you get started.

3)Finally, the actual process of writing the story.
The fun part of writing is actually being able to tell the story. With a proper concept and research completed, this part can go smooth. however, most of the time the problems pop up with new unexpected twist to the plot you would like to add or change. Then there is the problem with getting facts correct. Having to stop to complete more research can really slow down the story telling.

4)Revisions is where you switch hats, going from a storyteller to a writer.
Now, that you have the story completed and all of the proper conclusion attended to, the actual work of polishing comes into play. a few novelist are blessed with the ability to write perfectly, but most have to go back over their work many times to correct the grammar and misspellings. But, polishing is much more. If the previous steps are completed properly, this part will be easy, if not, the revisions can take a long time.

5)Okay, now you wrote it, but can you sell it?
A new novelist can spend more time trying to sell a novel than he spent writing it. This is a whole new process from writing. but, again, if the prior steps are completed properly, the final step can be much easier. thus the reason for completing the program evaluation and review techniques.

Johnny Ray

Drawing for a Free Kindle


The details of a drawing for a free kindle to be given away can be found at www.sirjohn.org/bloglist. To be eligible for the drawing you must e-mail your guess as to which Johnny Ray novel you think will be published first. Please e-mail to sirjohn@wwisp.com

This site also list Johnny Ray's various blogs as well. Writing the various blog post has been interesting. Your comments are always welcome, but because of various spam elements, they will be moderated. I hope everyone understands and wish everyone the best of luck on the kindle give away contest.

Thanks,
Johnny Ray