Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

The heathen Christmas season is nearly upon us, unless you have been at a mall. In that case, the Christmas lights have been up since before Remembrance Day. Dreadful.

I think people should give more books as gifts. My step-kids get 2-3 books every year for Christmas, and often get Chapters gift certificates to pick up more during the Boxing Week sales.

I did a quick survey of some co-workers and friends. The number one reason they said they don't give books as gifts as they don't know what to buy. Some only read romance and erotica novels, for example, and doubt that's appropriate for their seven year old niece (wise choice). Others only read non-fiction, and don't know how to pick out a novel for a co-worker in the name exchange.

So, I want to change that.

My friend, Michelle, had a great idea. She gives children books that she enjoyed at their age. What a great idea! (For me, I was reading Danielle Steele, Don Peddleton, and religious novels, so I might need to skip that plan…but if you were a normal reader, this is the best idea I've ever heard!)

I've surveyed around and have come up with a short list of book titles that might help with the gift giving.

The "ever difficult" category

Expectant mother/new mother/hippy (and you want a themed gift) �

Boy aged 7-10 who hates to read �

70 year old grandfather who likes to laugh a lot but doesn't read much more than the morning paper �  

Co-worker whose name you found out when you pulled their name for the gift exchange -, , and

eReader owners:

cough ³¦´Ç³Ü²µ³ó,Ìý by Maria Zannani, by Marie Dees, by C. A. Verstraete, Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis, and

Canadians � you can now use Chapters gift certificates for Kobo books. And, Kobo books can be read on the Sony eReader, too.

Good for almost everyone books that you can get at the bookstore:

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

A History of Mistresses by Elizabeth Abbott

The Black Chalice by Marie Jakober

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough (warning � fair bit of language in this one)

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (warning � it was written when racial comments were acceptable; it's a great learning tool to use with kids to discuss the changes in the world)

Add your own suggestions to the comments and let's give books this Christmas!

I get this question a lot, especially at Pure Spec last month when I had my vendor's table. It's a good question and I'm always happy to talk about my decision to go with a new medium for my work.

Harvest Moon is an awkward length at 11,000 words. Most print fiction magazines do not take long pieces like this. Neither do the majority of print anthologies. It's way too short for print publishers to purchase; most romance novels are around 70K, mysteries around 90K, fantasy around 110k.  So, the few places that would take the length were either non-paying or would have paid less than $25 for it.

I have nothing against non-paying or low-paying places, especially when they take reprints. I've sold reprints for $4 and was happy to do so for the exposure. However, I felt Harvest Moon had the "something" that would make it appeal to a lot of people. I wanted to give it the best chance as possible. And, frankly, I am trying to make a living off my writing. I want to be paid as often as possible.

Epublishing allows for pretty much any length because it's not hindered by the printing aspect of it. That means short stories and novellas can find new markets that before were closed to them. Novellas are my favourite length to both write and read, but they have been near death for a while, due to the inability to print them in a cost-effective manner. Enter epublishing, where novellas can make a comeback.

The pay for Harvest Moon will be stretched over three years � the length of my contract. With MuseItUp, I make 40% royalties off the publisher's bookstore price (i.e $2.50 per sale nets me $1.00), and 40% off the net price from third party (if a place like amazon or kobo sells Harvest Moon at $2.50, the publisher gets paid about $1.50, so I get paid 0.60). That can add up rather quickly, especially when you consider that it's over a 3 year period.

Now, there are some bad sides to epublishing. First, I chose to go with a new publisher which I do not regret. In fact, I firmly believe that I have made the best decision for the book. However, let's be honest. New publisher means no established reader base. That means, you have to help create one.

Which means, bad side number two. Marketing. When you sell to a magazine or an anthology, you are generally paid a flat fee and that's the end of it. You got your money, so you don't need to market the piece. However, when you epublish, you are on your own. You have to generate your own traffic to your piece, or else it doesn't sell. So, there is a lot of work involved. You have to earn every penny of your royalty cheque.

I actually think this marketing requirement is a good thing. If you are planning to sell novels eventually, but choose to write and sell a few novellas in the meantime, you can cut your teeth on the marketing process. You can start building a fan base. You can figure out what works and doesn't for you in terms of marketing. These are all good things in my mind.

Then, there are those that are not comfortable or familiar with epublishing. There are people who say "I'm waiting for the paper book to come out." Or, those who don't "like to read on a computer screen" or who "have no interest in ebooks." There are those who think all epublished books are self-published, which they avoid like a plague. There are those who think epublished books aren't edited and reviewed by editors the way that print books are (complete falsehood, at least in my case). All of these things are difficult to overcome and make marketing and selling unique challenges.

I've been very fortune in that Harvest Moon has been doing very well with . I am very pleased with how it has been selling (don't worry � I will keep my promise of sharing my first royalty statement with everyone…but that doesn't come until March).

Epublishing isn't right for every piece out there. For me, however, my research said that it was the best choice for this particular story. And, two months into having it on the market, I believe that it was the best choice now more than ever.

If you have questions about the process, please feel free to ask! I'll try my best to answer.

This morning, it was -30C (-22F). It's a little early for it, but not that much. Not all of Canada gets this cold, but Edmonton does.

I was reading a book this week where the author talked about how cold the streets of Chicago and New York where, and how difficult it was to get colder than that. Of course, the hero was also wearing a leather jacket, though he did have to pull the collar up to warm his neck.

I laughed. A lot.

I've read several scenes and books over the years where I'm convinced the author never left their sunny Mexican yacht and relied solely on the internet for the cold details. And, clearly, they'd left off some obvious things for someone living in a cold place.

So, in case you aren't from a cold place, here are some things that are different when it's this frigging cold.

Good luck getting your vehicle started. Vehicles come with block heaters, where you plug your car in. Yes, you read that right. There is a plug-in hanging out of your hood to which you attach an extension cord and plug it into an electrical outlet. Even plugged in, the vehicle often complains about starting.
If you get the vehicle started, good luck driving. You'll have to let it idle for a bit. Some people like to let theirs idle for twenty minutes, but it doesn't help all that much. It's the first five minutes that really help. You need to give the breaks a chance to thaw (oh yeah, I've had the breaks frozen several times). Not to mention, you don't want the entire inside windshield to turn into a sheet of ice because your breath is freezing on it. There are times that I've had to start scrapping the windshield at a stop light because it frosted over.
Rush hour is foggy. It's not foggy in a true sense. However, there is so much steam coming from vehicles, buildings, and sewer vents that it steams everywhere.
The cold burns the skin. It's rather odd, but your skin burns.
Wear chapstick, or avoid licking your licks at all costs.
The snow feels different at this temperature. I don't now how to explain it, other than brittle. It's not like the soft snow when it's -5.

That's just a couple of things. For people used to this temperature, they aren't overly bundled. I don't own a winter coat, for example. I hate them. I do, however, wear hiking boots, thick pants (sometimes, splash pants over them), a thin sweater/hoodie/bulky sweater combo with a hood. I wear a toque, scarf, and Thinsulate mittens. It's cold, but I'm able to take public transportation without issue.

I drove to Calgary last weekend, about a 3.5 hour drive from my house. I don't like to wear a coat when I drive, but I made sure that I had a full outfit of warm clothes in the trunk, just in case I broke down on the highway.

My kids walked home from school today. Yes, there is school at this temperature.

Oh, and the Grey Cup (football) is in town on Sunday. It's supposed to warm up to be around -7C. That's right. Football in sub-zero.

I got this question posed to me several times last night at the EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy 10th anniversary party, so I figured that I should explain what's going on.

My science fiction novella, "Road to Hell", has been sitting near finished on final edits for a bit now. The reason? I had found a plot hole and was unable to figure out how best to correct it. A couple weeks ago, I figured out the final last tidbits of it. I've re-written the two scenes and adjusted any dialogue that were affected. Which means, the manuscript is now ready for a final line edit before I submit it. NaNo, for all it's glory, just can't stand up to that.

I was able to get just over 25k worth of first draft material down for several small projects that I've been dying to work on all year. My trunk stories was getting pretty empty. I'm happy to have it filled back up.

Happy NaNoing! I'm off to do final edits.

I've been directing folks to the MuseItUp bookstore for Harvest Moon. However, it seems that some folks prefer to just purchase from the sites that they know how to use. So, here is a list of places that you can purchase "Harvest Moon":

And, finally, the .

I'd like to thank everyone who has purchased and/or reviewed Harvest Moon. Thank you for supporting a starting author and I really hope you enjoyed the book.

If you have purchased it and liked it, might I request that you drop a little review of it wherever that you picked it up. It goes a long way to helping convince others to give it a try.

I was looking at the gifts I bought for the steplettes for Christmas. They got the usual clothes, toys…and books. I realized that I buy a fair number of books for them as gifts. The eldest is a huge lover of fantasy, whereas the younger one is pickier (though he seems to like urban fantasy right now).

A lot of people who want to buy books for their kids or teens don't know what to bought. So, I thought that I could ask YOU for suggestions. In December, I'm going to put together a list separated by age group and genre.

Also, I want to challenge everyone to take one of the book suggestions and donate to a local homeless shelter, abused women's shelter, Teens at Risk group, local Toy runs, etc. When I worked with homeless people, I was shocked by how many of the youth did not have a favourite book; many had not ever read for pleasure. Some had learning disabilities, some were near illiterate, some were just never taught how important education was. But, when my co-worker, Cindy, brought in a used library and set it up for folks to take books, I saw people reading. Magazines, novels, how-to manuals, children's books, religious texts � you name it, people were reading it.

Reading opens worlds.

So, post your suggestions in the comments below. Folks have been posting over on my Facebook fan page, too. Don't worry � those are coming over here in the final tally. All I ask is that you identify the genre/age group. Please only suggest works available in physical books, as I want this to be something that anyone can use and not be hindered by not having internet, computers, etc.

It's the mid-point of NaNo and I'm running out of steam. That's pretty common for me during NaNo and often why I sometimes just ditch it. I don't write every day normally. In fact, I am firmly against that. Writing is a job for me. Don't get me wrong. I love writing, and not just because it's the only job I'm qualified to do. I enjoy it and it brings me great satisfaction in life.

But, no matter how I happen to love it, I don't want to work every single day of my life. I need a break. I often take the weekends off writing, as I have 2 full weekdays dedicated to writing. However, NaNo really needs to be done nearly every day in order to succeed. For me, I get burned out and stop looking forward to writing.

With that said, I'm still sticking with the plan. I'm starting Project #5 tomorrow. It should take me the rest of the week to finish it. This project is about Shanawdithit, the last Beothuk. I'm writing it from her perspective on her death bed, as she is struggling to record as much of her people's ways as possible, while her health slips away. Her ancestors come to help her recall the memories of her youth so that her people are never forgotten.

Being from Newfoundland, we learn about the Beothuk from kindergarten right on through. I've always found their history fascinating, so I wanted to do a story about them. This Canadian First Nations story, as part of the series, will explore the identity of culture.

Anyone else out there doing NaNo and feeling under the weather about it? Feel free to vent!

My good friend turned me on to this "Six Sunday" think that's happening on Twitter. Authors are sharing six lines of their work so that people can have a quick taste. So, here's mine!

This is from the beginning of "". My regular readers have seen this before, so bare with me as I share it again for any new folks.

Cross-legged, Dancing Cat sat pounding the sun-dried Saskatoon berries between two hand-sized rocks. The stone, her hands, and her buckskin dress all bore the tell-tale signs of berry duty. Streaks of red dye, impossible to clean, striped her clothing and tanned skin. She tried pushing her hair off her cheeks, only to have the sticky residue coating her fingers glue the dark strands in place. The black flies swarmed and buzzed, ready to feast.

She worked in silence as part of the greater circle of twenty women, who chatted as they worked.

So those are my Six Sunday.

Today, I move to the next project. It's a quickly one before I move to the two long ones of the month. This is a short story about a human incubator for organ smuggling. She's an addict, doing this for drug money, and she's stuck on a space dock with no way to keep travelling. If she's caught, she's looking forward to life in prison. To make things worse, her meds are wearing off.

I have a couple of short story/novella themed collections in mind, if you haven't noticed from the themes. The first collection is a Canadian First Nations themed collection about identity. "" is the first story, exploring the concept of gender. I've just finished one on the concept of humanity. I also have another coming up this month looking at the identity of culture. I might also explore marriage, but I'm not certain yet.

The other collection I want to explore is a science fiction-focused look at events that will change everything for humans. One of those things is cloning. Project #4 (since it doesn't have a title) will be exploring a universe where humans can clone and grow spare organs and the dark side of that.

What do I plan to do with these collections? I have no idea if I'll be selling the stories individually or wait to sell them as a collection (though, I've already sold Harvest Moon, so I might just keep going). I just know that I want to do a group of stories exploring specific things.

I've been asked if I'm going to write any novels. The answer is yes. I am going through Road to Hell in December, getting it ready for submissions in January. I am aiming to finish Tranquility's Grief's first draft in early 2011 (I've had to re-vamp the entire outline, so I need to rearrange what I have so far). I might even do a novel for NaNo next year, but we'll see. And let's not forget that I already have a full-length novel out in submission world as we speak [image error]

Anyone else working on NaNo out there? Are you getting mid-month blues? Are things going well? Gotten your second wind? Share!

Please welcome my special guest, author Maria Zannini, as she tours the interwebz on her new blog tour. Thanks for coming by, Maria, and thanks for dealing with my inability to set the autopost to the correct day. I blame drugs. [image error]

People are always looking for tips on networking. They're looking for that magic bullet, something that will make them irresistible to the people they meet.

Personally, I'm looking for the magic bullet that will make me irresistible to Gerard Butler, but that's beside the point.

Networking is a simple concept. It's about building relationships with people of similar interests using any or all the tools available. Today that includes a formidable online presence.

Think about all the ways we communicate with one another. From live appearances, to chats, to book signings and blog tours. Any time you reach out and talk to people, you're networking.

But the secret to networking is not just chatting with people, but offering them something of value.  A resource.

For example: Tweeting about a great new writing market you just discovered is terrific. But contacting the individuals that you KNOW will benefit most from this information is even better.

Why is it better to contact the individuals? Aren't you reaching more people with Twitter?

Maybe. But are you reaching the people who need this information? I don't know about you, but Twitter is hit or miss for me. If I don't see that tweet when I'm on, how is it helping me?

Another example: You're at a luncheon for a business (or writers') conference and you meet someone high up on the food chain.

Do you: A) Press the flesh, hand out business cards and compliment them by asking for some professional advice?

Or B)  Compliment them on their hair or shoes, ask them how their trip was, or suggest a good restaurant in the area?

Did you catch the difference? Option A was all about you. You're not giving your intended anything of value. Option B is all about the other person. You're thinking about his needs, not yours.

A network is a living organism. It feeds on the energy you put into it. And it can start with little baby steps.

Creating a network is probably a blog post in itself, but here are a few places that have been useful in building my network.

� Commenting on blogs. (Yup. No kidding.) The more people I meet, the greater the opportunity for me to expand my network. I try very hard to make my comments meaningful.

� Volunteering. Some days all I've done was set out chairs, but it gave me an opportunity to chat with up and coming authors, editors and even an agent.

� A job in the business. I edit the newsletter for (Online Writing Workshop) and I meet a ton of fabulous publishing professionals. Think that isn't a perk?

� Join forums that support your passions. (Hint: It doesn't always have to be writing-related.) This is the best way to expand your network beyond the scope of the industry crowd. If the topic is a passion of yours, you have a ready-made in.

Think of networking like money in the bank. The more you put in, the more interest it earns. Every time you help someone with a lead on a job, make an introduction, give an honest critique of their work, or even something as simple as listening, you are putting money in your account.

Will it pay you dividends right away?

Sometimes it does, but most of the time it's the slow accumulation that brings the greatest rewards. I call those friendships. And those are priceless.

Be helpful. Be generous. And be patient. Networking is not about what other people can do for you. It's what you can do for others. Go forth and do good.

***

Maria Zannini's latest release is a science fiction romance called .

Mix one cynical immortal and one true believer and throw them into the biggest alien-hunt the world has never known. Rachel Cruz is a Nephilim masquerading as an archeologist and she's stuck with an alien who believes she can lead him to his ancestral gods. Black Ops wants to find these gods too. They want them dead.

Follow Maria here:

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Contest time! Every time you leave a comment, tweet or mention "Maria Zannini" anywhere with a to my blog, your name goes in the hat for a chance to win a Texas sized prize. Go for more information.

STOP THE PRESSES! Maria has made it to the second round of the Kensington Contest.  (Maria is the one with the very cute dog.) Every vote, tweet and nudge is appreciated. Thanks, everyone!