Knowing Your Worth

I had a, well,  it wasn't strong enough to be an argument, but it wasn't exactly a discussion either with my cover artist. I've been working with her for five and a half years now, and she hasn't raised her prices once. Nope. Not one penny.

 

To top if off, she's working on the first cover for the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse. And she came up with a super-cool logo for the series. So cool, I want to slap it on t-shirts, totes, cups, etc.

 

So, not only do I need the extended license from the non-royalty photo supplier, but I wanted to pay her for coming up with the logo. 

The logo for a company is valuable property. A logo is a company's brand. It's identity to the public. Think of Apple's silhouette of the fruit with a bite out of it. Or the Nike swoosh symbol. Or Disney's signature of its founder. And those companies paid a LOT of money to develop those logos.

So, in my mind, my cover artist should be charging more for her work. I see too many talented, hard-working women sell themselves short.

She disagreed. She didn't think she fell into the category of selling herself  short, and she gave me a lengthy list of her thought process of why she charged the amount she did. While part of me understands her reasoning, I still feel like I'm ripping her off. So after an extended talk, we came to an agreement. She would continue charging me an amount she felt comfortable with, but she would add a tip space on her invoice so I could pay her an additional sum I thought she deserved.

I'd still like to remind EVERYONE reading this to know your worth. Your skills are valuable. Your time is valuable. Your life is valuable. Don't give anything away for free unless it's part of a thought-out plan. KNOW YOUR WORTH!

When You Screw Up the Launch of a New Series

Things haven't gone as well with this spring's launch of the new Millersburg Magick Mysteries series. I admit that 100% of the problem is me.

I normally don't have trouble getting the writing done, but the pandemic has been a huge distraction. I found myself unable to concentrate on the story itself. I would write a couple hundred words, then I'd go check the news. To top off the problems, I didn't set up any advertising in a timely manner. Nor did I account for my anxiety over my medical tests.

*sigh*

I also got a lecture from DH about not taking any down time over the last three months. The sad part is he's right. First thing I did was relax with a little TV and got a good night's sleep.

Yesterday, I didn't write (too much). I took a step back yesterday and looked at resetting the schedule for the second half of 2020 and 2021. I'll slow things down a bit. Don't worry the novels already schedule for release will be out, but the other slots in the fall will be shorter works that I've already written, and a special bundle for Christmas in December.

I'm also planning on listing some of my first in series as freebies for those hit economically by the pandemic.

And I'm going to pull the Millersburg Magick Mysteries from Amazon next week, rework the parts I feel I didn't do properly, and re-release them. For those of you who bought copies already, you'll be able to download the revised editions free of charge.

I don't like feeling I didn't do my best on a project, and that's exactly how the first half of 2020 kind of feels. You readers spend your hard-earned money on my stories, and I need to write the best damn stories I can.

Much love to you all. Take care and stay safe.

The Monday That Got Away

Usually, I drag my butt out of bed in the morning (or what's morning for me), take my first handful of drugs for the day, then stumbled to the kitchen for the first round of caffeine. The first productive thing I do next is check my e-mail.

Most times, there's a note from one of my West Coast writing buds and a bunch of ads. But not today. No, siree!

There were a bunch of work related e-mails, including some from readers (which are always nice to get). And not just e-mails, but texts and voice-mails on my phone as well as messages through other social media. There was switching over/changing some of Genius Kid's accounts so his dad and I could deal with his financials while he is at basic training. Plus, one of my dentists (yes, I have more than one, LOL) called. His receptionist squeezed me in this afternoon to go over some test results.

Let me put it to you this way--I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast until three in the afternoon.

So it's nine in the evening, and I'm just now pulling up my wip.

I'm looking forward to August. GK heads off to begin his adult life. Darling Husband will be spending several hours a week at the soccer stadium as the high school's official time keeper. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get a little ahead in my writing production.

When Did I Become the Old Writer?

I don't mean my chronological age.

While talking with some other writers, I realized I've been writing for twenty-six years. Been actively pursuing publication for twenty-six years.

Now granted, I've been published in non-fiction for twelve years now, fiction for eight years. But actually putting pen to paper/typing on my typewriter/typing on my laptop? Yeah, twenty-six years. That's roughly half my life so far.

(P.S. I found the first thing I ever submitted. It sucked. Really, really sucked.)

Then I hear these other folks who've been publishing two or three years whining about how hard things are now.

It's all I can do to keep my Pepsi from spraying from my mouth. Now, I get why the old-timers (writers with a couple more decades of experience than me) get a peeved with newbies.

On the other hand, folks with more experience than me are also complaining about how hard it is. Everything changed overnight for them, and they don't know what to do.

Honestly, both sides are wrong. Today's Information Age is the best time ever to be an artist of any kind. We have so many options. We can reach billions of people around the world. I've sold books in five different continents. I've lost track of how many different countries. We writers have nothing to complain about. The audiences are there. It's up to us  to find them.

So either quit bitching about how hard writing is today, or get off my lawn!

Pet Peeve Alert - Whiny Writers

I'm about to have a rant, so if you don't want to read it, click away now.

Okay, you're still here. Don't say I didn't warn you...

I've been getting some shit from other writers lately that's pissing me off. It's the "I can't possibly do X" whine, a particularly pernicious meme in the writer community.

I understand that there's a big difference between "I don't wanna do X" versus "I can't possibly do X."

"I can't possibly do X" translated means "I'm too fucking lazy or too fucking scared to try to do X."

And no, I'm not talking about self-publishing, though this rant could apply.

I've had someone say she could make money writing erotica like I do, but she can't write about kinky stuff. Who the hell said she had to?

Other people have mentioned that they love A/B/C genre and wished they could write it. Then write A/B/C genre! "It would take too much time to research."

My personal favorite (which set off the rant)? Someone told me today that I should write Y genre because I would be good at it and then proceeded to give me a plot.

Me: "It's your plot idea. You write it."

Someone: "I can't write Z the way you do."

Then fucking learn! Somehow I managed to put that thought a little more P.C., but then the truth came out. She was too lazy to study Z.

Here's the moral of the story:

If you want to do something, you try and fail, then I'll be there with a box of tissue and some chocolate. But if you can't even fucking try?


STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!