Louise Bohmer (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} louise_bohmer) wrote,@ 2007-10-19 02:14:00 |
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For Those Who Missed It ~ Author Tea Chat Transcript -- Part 1
In case you missed it and wanted to come in and chat with us, or perhaps you arrived late, maybe left early. Here is the transcript from our October 17th, 2007 Chat at Author Tea Chat, hosted by Science Fiction author, Virginia Jennings.
Louise xox
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Authors: Interested in hosting a chat with Virginia?
Author Tea, hosted by Author Virginia L. Jennings every Wednesday, offers writers and fans to do something not always possible: to talk informally with authors, editors and others involved in publishing.It is open for Authors, writers, and fans alike! Have questions to ask? Need some helpful tips? Come on out to the Author Tea! Feel free to share any of your own advice! For more information, check out www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.com
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October 17, 2007 Transcript of Author Tea Chat with Featured Guest: Editor/ Author Louise Bohmer
Author Tea is hosted by Author Virginia Jennings on: www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.com
AuthorVLJennings - To Louise and to anyone who would like a copy of the transcript (please send me an e-mail to jennings.vlj@hotmail.com ) I will be providing a public transcript which will have everything in it, and to you Louise I would be happy to put together a more prof. looking transcript for your publicity if you would like (this will be edited down to just the section of the chat about you *smiles*)
Louise_Bohmer - That would be great, Virgina! I'd really appreciate that for those who couldn't make it tonight. :) Thank you!
AuthorVLJennings - Louise would you like me to post the free ebooks on my site with your transcript as well or keep it exclusive for the chat room guests?
AuthorVLJennings - sorry I forgot to ask earlier...
Louise_Bohmer - You know, go ahead and post Embark to Madness, Virginia, as it is OOP, now...
Louise Bohmer - But maybe have guests mail you for ""FEAR"", just since I haven't asked WCP about posting it for free distribution. :)
Louise Bohmer - No problem, V! :)
AuthorVLJennings - I will do that then! So for all the guests that would like a copy of 'FEAR' send either Louise or me an e-mail (jennings.vlj@hotmail.com ) to receive it in PDF form!
Louise Bohmer - Sounds great, V! Thank you! :D
MariAdkins - louise do i have that already? i have so much of your stuff...LOL
Louise Bohmer - I'm not sure, hon? It has ""Feathers"" in it. (hahahaa! On the temper!) The story about Lilith and Garrett?
AuthorVLJennings - All Transcripts will be posted on my site at http://www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.co
Louise Bohmer - Wonderful, thanks a bunch, V! I'll be sure to send people to the transcripts, too, as well as post what you send me. :)
MariAdkins - I'll look.
AuthorVLJennings - That will work Great! So... now that that is out of the way... Lol Louise would you like to introduce yourself?
Louise Bohmer - hehe Sure! :)
Louise Bohmer - Okay, well, let's see, folks.....
Louise Bohmer - I'm the newly appointed EiC of Lachesis Publishing / LBF Books *US Imprint* ...
Louise Bohmer - We are based out of Kingston, Nova Scotia, and our publisher is Carole Spencer...
Louise Bohmer - Our sites are: www.lachesispublishing.com and
Louise Bohmer - www.lbfbooks.com
Louise Bohmer - On the writer side of things, I write dark fiction mostly...
Louise Bohmer - But also dabble in erotic works. My debut novel will be a dark fantasy piece...
Louise Bohmer - and it debuts in 2009, from Lachesis *deal struck on spec before I was hired as a senior editor*...
AuthorVLJennings – lol
Louise Bohmer - It's entitled, ""The Black Act"". :) hehe I like to put that in so people know I'm not self pubbing it. ;-) lol
Louise Bohmer - No offense to self pubbing!
Louise Bohmer - Just so people know the story though, I like to be upfront and all that rot. Haha
AuthorVLJennings - self pub. is certainly not for everyone! I will be trying to find a trad. publisher for my next book
Louise Bohmer - And feel free to shoot the questions! :) Exactly, V. Some people do great with self-pubbing! It's all in what ends up working best for you, too, and if you live in an area where you can self market well....
Louise Bohmer - That is a major bonus, too! :)
HS_Kinn - it takes a lot of stamina to self publish
AuthorVLJennings - I agree!
Louise Bohmer - And we take science fiction, and are open to subs, now, until October 31. ;-) *hint hint* Exactly, and what an excellent point, Heather--it takes incredible stamina to self-pub!
Louise Bohmer - We are just now getting to our September subs, and that's why we are shutting at the end of Oct., for a while. Carole and I both agree, we want to keep a firm handle on assessments, to be fair to authors waiting for responses.
HS_Kinn - it helped us get caught up
Louise Bohmer - It sure does, Heather, I hear you. When I started. I was glad we were closed so I could get caught up and start my training properly.
AuthorVLJennings - (just a little help if someone gets overwhelmed: If you would like to 'butt' in with a comment or question but can't find time to place it... just type a ? or a ! and I will make sure we get to you)
AuthorVLJennings - What do you like most about being a senior editor?
Louise Bohmer - Like I say, we are just now getting to late Aug, September subs. So, Mari and all waiting for confirmation still, this is why. :) Okay, question from V. :)
WarHammer - I have done so editing for LBf in the past but would like to branch out a litle bit, how would you suggest I go about that?
WarHammer - sorry about my typing, I hurt my hand and it is in a splint!
Louise Bohmer - Well, I am EiC for both houses now, *yikes! LOL* but I love it, I admit. :) I was senior ed. with both houses for about 6 months, I believe, before Giovanna asked me if I would be interested in the EiC job....
HS_Kinn - brb, kid
Louise Bohmer - *One sec, Shawn, will get you next :) *
AuthorVLJennings - Oh ok there is a difference between senior and EIC?
Louise Bohmer - And I went for it. It's is a lot to learn quickly. And the major difference--duties. :) Now I don't just edit, I make catalogues for buyers, daily e-mails to answer, taking over an editing job when an editor gets sick, merging edits and learning galley formats. Ack! haha ;-D
Louise Bohmer - Okay, Shawn, you next –
Louise Bohmer - Well, Shawn, let's see, one thing I've done is to see what places are offering postings for people looking for non-commuting editorial work......
EllaRegina - so, where were we? :)
Louise Bohmer - OKay, Heather and then you, EllaRegina. :)
Louise Bohmer - So, hit me with your best shot, Heather! :)
HS_Kinn - my question is, I want to know more about Louise's upcoming novel, The Black Act
Louise Bohmer - Sorry, I don't sleep right and consume a pot of coffee a day. Okay, Heather, I'm ready for the question, ma'm. :)
EllaRegina - refreshing the screen helped
Louise Bohmer - Ohhhhhhhhhhh, yes, indeedy. Okay, for Heather, on ""The Blac Act"", what exactly would ye like to know, ma'm? Backstory, how it was born? :)
Louise Bohmer - Black Act, that is. LOL!
HS_Kinn - Yes!
WarHammer - I know part of Lachesis Publishing's submission policy is to include a marketing Plan. What are some suggestions for new authors or writers trying to break into the business on how to market themselves and their work?
Louise Bohmer - heheeeeeeee! :D Okay, one sec, Shawn, I'll just put you in queue behind, Ella and Heather here, and get to you in just a moment.* :) ....
Louise Bohmer - Okay, Heather..... ;-D
Louise Bohmer - The Black Act began as a short entitled Queen of Samhain....
Louise Bohmer - I submitted a re-print of Queen of SAmhain to Lachesis Pub, for there then open antho, Echoes of Terror, after Giovanna Lagana invited me to submit, and I asked her if she'd be interested in looking at the reprint of this....
Louise Bohmer - Carole, our publisher, loved it, and said it was too good to be in the antho *I'm quoting her verbatim--she told me this at the Book Fair, and had I not been in public, I'd have done my silly dance) anyhoo, she asked me to adapt ""Queen of Samhain"" into a novel and so I went to work on it.....
Louise Bohmer - Last December. The Black Act is the result, which takes place in a fictional world of Dalthwein clanspeople, darker Fae of yesteryear yore, and wise witch women. :)
Louise Bohmer - Okay, now, next was Ella Regina. :) Ella, can I get you to refresh me on your question, please? :)
EllaRegina - i wanted to hear what Louise had to say re (a) the ""dos and dont's"" of submitting novels to publishers and (b) the ""writer's internal editor""
AuthorVLJennings - I'm very interested in that one!
EllaRegina - (as per your myspace bulletin...)
Louise Bohmer - Okay, first, do's and don'ts -- Let's see. :)
Louise Bohmer - Well, first BIG one -- follow our guidelines to the exact letter, please! :)
Louise Bohmer - This is one complaint you'll find a lot of book publisher and mag editors make....
HS_Kinn - i like dark faery pieces
HS_Kinn - the real fae were not all sunshine and gauzy butterfly wings.
MariAdkins - (including me LOL)
lincoln_crisler - oi!
MariAdkins - hey you
Louise Bohmer - Not following guidelines is your first black mark in the editor's book **Hugs Heather and has to smooch her for that comments, then does same to Mari!*
MariAdkins - :)
Louise Bohmer - Welcome Linc! Other things --punctuation and grammar are the obvious big ones, and queries and cover letters -- keep them short but informative, concise and to the point...
Louise Bohmer - They are very much like a resume cover letter. :) We just want to glance at them and skim them, at least, in my case, to see if you have a good knowledge base of the writing industry, and what we expect of writers, already. :)
Louise Bohmer - And on internal editors –
WarHammer - I think good query letters can be harder to write than novels at times
MariAdkins - amen to that!
AuthorVLJennings - I agree!
HS_Kinn - query letters and blurbs are harder to write than the book
HS_Kinn - LOL
Louise Bohmer - For me, my biggest thing with honing my internal editor was **To Shawn--I agree! They are very tough, indeed** For honing your editor, first piece of advice I give is, learn all you can about editing and writing, both from an outside and inside perspective.
Louise Bohmer - Read books like The Chicago Manual of Style, Borzoi's Guidebook for Writers **not sure if I have that second book name right** Elements of Style...... **Hey there, Ambroyza, luv!!! :D
AuthorVLJennings - Hi Ambrozya
Ambrozya - HI!!
EllaRegina - (It's The Borzoi Handbook for Writers, according to Mr. Google.)
AuthorVLJennings - Will have to look those books up! Thank you for the tip!
Louise Bohmer - Check out websites like SFWA, Holt's uncensored, HWA, places that are recognized writers orgs often offer writing guidebooks for sale, or online writing articles for free, from experienced writers and editors that, personally, I found extremely helpful in my training. **Thank you Ella Regina!**
lincoln_crisler - Stunk and White is the best
lincoln_crisler - um. Strunk, tha is.
Louise Bohmer - And, best piece of advice I can give you, above all, is never quit learning. :) **Amen, Linc!** The writing and editing world changes fast, and you are constantly updating your skills.
Louise Bohmer - Okay, Shawn, you were next, and can you refresh me on your question please? :)
Louise Bohmer - And thanks, V! :) You are very welcome!
WarHammer - my question was about makreting yourself and your work
EllaRegina - From up there ^: I know part of Lachesis Publishing's submission policy is to include a marketing Plan. What are some suggestions for new authors or writers trying to break into the business on how to market themselves and their work?
Louise Bohmer - All righty--advice on marketing? And advice on getting into editing? :)
Louise Bohmer - Oh, thanks, Ella! :D
Louise Bohmer - Okay, got it--let's see.....
EllaRegina - no prob. i like copying and pasting. :D
AuthorVLJennings - oh, thanks EllaRegina... I was wondering where his orig. question was... you found it though!
Louise Bohmer - One thing I did was a great deal of research to find writers org.s and editors., orgs.......
Louise Bohmer - For instance, on editing, I just found the EAC -- Editors Assoc. of Canada -- and now I can go for my recognized professional acredditation. On the writing end, with marketing, one of your best tools, at least it has been for me.....
Louise Bohmer - Is free online marketing tools.....like Facebook, the Ning network, My Space, Authors Den Livejournal....
Louise Bohmer - Set these up so they are geared less as social tools and more as marketing tools for you as a writer and editor, and they really can help you bring in contacts and readers,.
AuthorVLJennings - I agree here!(and utilize it a lot... it realy works)
Louise Bohmer - On marketing plans **Exactly, V! ** -- when we're talking Lachesis Publishing and LBF Books .....
Louise Bohmer - What we want to know is 1) You will get behind your book and be co-productive in its promotion....Yes, our publicist is going to submit your book for reviews to Publisher's Weekly, and other such venues, but you have to go looking for reviews, also....
Louise Bohmer - Will you go out and do local signings? Will you give us the nmes and phonenumbers of some local bookstores we could approach about selling your book?
Louise Bohmer - Bookmarks, business cards, electronic banners....all these things are what we want to see you putting out there to promote your release with us....
MariAdkins - And if you're dong that already? :D
Louise Bohmer - It shows an author knows something about what goes into the process of making their book available, and that they know something about the business aspect of the publishing world, too. **TO MAri -- that's very good! :D heeh**
Louise Bohmer - That they can see the writing world from both sides is a valuable tool to an author and, really, being co-productive in your writing only makes it that much easier for you to know, learn, and protect your rights to your creative materials.
Louise Bohmer - A website, too, is a big one. :)
AuthorVLJennings - If they currently do not have the budget to do certain things, can they let you know that they are willing once they find funds? (-Whispers-you can get free websites...Mine is example)
MariAdkins - I pay $25a year for my webspace
EllaRegina - myspace, blogspot = free
MariAdkins - you can get *good* hosting on the cheap
Louise Bohmer - You bet, V! :) FOr instance, say your book was coming out in 2 years time, and you are willing to do signings in local stores **this is a big one with our publicist, I'll tell you that now, as a hint.** As long as you present us with the stores, the contact, info, even get the stores to contact us, and go in their and develop a repetroire with them now..........
Louise Bohmer - And, like EllaRegina just said, my space, and like you said, all these free network tools, are another great thing to use. And, like Mari suggests, too, it doesn't hurt to have a domain name that is short and memorable, like louisebohmer.com, for instant. :)
AuthorVLJennings - I agree!
Louise Bohmer - :D
MariAdkins - i <3 louisebohmer.com LOL
AuthorVLJennings - My prob is I started the zoomshare site when I was 17 and had no money...it has been up too long to change it :( lol
AuthorVLJennings - But that is a great tip about getting out and building rapport with the book stores now before your book comes out!
Louise Bohmer - We don't ask you to put out much cash, **Mari (((Hugs!)))** but just enough initiative and effort that you really will do this, be professional, and put in your best efforts in conjunction with us. I hear you on that, V. :) Why not slowly laugh a new site with a shorter domain, and then switch this one over to it, and then make the launch of your new site a huge promo tool? :)
Louise Bohmer - Thank you! :D
MariAdkins - laugh? i think you mean launch babe LOLOL
Louise Bohmer - Not laugh a new site! LOL Launch a new site!!! Hahahahahhahahahh
AuthorVLJennings - Hmmm ooo the ideas are flowing in here! lol thanks for the tip!
MariAdkins - or she could point and laugh. it IS her domain. LOLOL
Louise Bohmer - *snorts and rolls!* LOL Don't laugh at your site, it's not nice, though! LOL :D Sorry, on that, all! hahahaa And you are welcome, V! *Pinches and hugs Mari! LOL :D*
AuthorVLJennings - ROFL ooo and with a sore throat and all!
Louise Bohmer - Oh no, that'll hurt! :D hahaahhahhahaa
MariAdkins - :D
AuthorVLJennings - Louise what other advice do you have for us?
AuthorVLJennings - I think you had mentioned something for making 'fantastical characters believable'?
Louise Bohmer - Hmmmmmmmm....well, let's see..best advice I can also give, really, is :Always be professional. What I mean by that is, before you go to rant on a blog about how an editor rejected you, remember that editor may be reading your blog! :D LOL Ahhh, yes, fantastical creatures....one sec....
AuthorVLJennings - oooh that would be a big mistake!!!
Louise Bohmer - Well, what I apply with my creatures that are not human is to give them human like characteristics, emotions, dilemmas....
Louise Bohmer - LOL! It's something I've seen people do, though! haha Make them feel, make them have fear, worry, regrets...make them falliable, rather than infalliable. After all, it is hard for us to relate to something, or feel any real compassion for a protagonist, who has no faults, worries, problems or dreams and hopes. :)
Louise Bohmer - And, also, on the always be professional route, too, always try to see something in the other person's shoes. Like with editor and rejections again, remember, they see literally hundreds of Manuscripts a month, in some cases, and it is never a personal attack when you are rejected, so don't look at it that way. Some writers have a hard time divorcing themselves form that emotional attachment to the story, and that is understandable.
AuthorVLJennings - I would suggest in their case (it happenes to me too...)
Louise Bohmer - but, if you see things from your publishers, and editors, side of things, you'll see that it's often more about not enough space to publish a tale, or simply not wanting to hold onto a tale too long, when they can't give it a good home quickly. :)
AuthorVLJennings - If you put down the manuscript for at least a few days or weeks you as a writer can look at it with a fresh eye and turn into the editor... this may help with the divorce issue :)
Louise Bohmer - YES! Exactly, V! :) In fact, that's one of the best pieces of advice an editor can give to a writer. Put it aside a few days, and give it a fresh eye, before you attempt any edits. :)
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