SKATING UNDER THE WIRE launch and Giveaway

by: Joelle Charbonneau

It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since my first novel – SKATING AROUND THE LAW hit shelves bringing Rebecca Robbins, Pop and the entire Indian Falls gang into the wonderful world of mystery readers.  I still remember the anxiety I felt leading up to the release of that my first published book.  Would readers like the book?  Would people wonder what the heck my publisher was thinking publishing a book by me?  I mean, I was a musical theater/voice major in college who never took a single creative writing class.  What did I know about writing books?

3 years have passed.  My career has grown in ways I never expected or dreamed of.  And on Tuesday, SKATING UNDER THE WIRE, the fourth and final (for now) Rebecca Robbins book will hit shelves. 

I’m so thrilled because I love this story.  It’s perhaps my zaniest of all the books (which considering the derby girls in SKATING ON THE EDGE is kind of saying something).  The series brings a few new characters to the series in addition to revisiting so many of my favorites that have been part of previous books.  There is a wedding, Thanksgiving dinner and, of course, a murder.  Writing this book was so much fun.  I am delighted to finally share it with everyone.

I’m also sad.  Because we often see in the publishing world – a book series often has to come to an end.  In this case, my publisher has turned their attention to some other series they hope will find wide audiences.  While they love Rebecca and her friends, the series hasn’t sold tens of thousands of copies and this is a business.  (Of course, if this book were to sell tens of thousands of copies I’m betting they’d tell me they made a mistake….it is business, after all.)  And while I love visiting Indian Falls, I have learned something important in the last 18 months – I occasionally need sleep…which means I can’t keep writing at my current pace.  Which means something has to give. 

So it is with great delight that I look forward to sharing Rebecca’s fourth adventure with readers and sadness that I, for now, must put them away.  But the best thing about writing is that stories are always waiting to be told.  And hopefully some day in the not so far distant future I will have a chance to visit Rebecca, Pop, Lionel, Sean, Elwood and the rest of the Indian Falls gang again.  They have a very special place in my heart and I am so grateful to all of you who have given them a place in yours.

To celebrate the release of SKATING UNDER THE WIRE, I am giving away 2 sets of paperbacks of SKATING AROUND THE LAW and SKATING OVER THE LINE.  Please leave a comment below to enter.  All entries no matter where you live are welcome because I want to celebrate the final (for now) Rebecca Robbins journey with a bang.  (Winners will be chosen next Sunday - Oct. 6th!)

My time is almost up!

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Well, sports fans.  My time is almost up.

If you've been following my publishing life in the last year, you probably know what I'm referring to.  The Testing is almost here.  According to the nifty widget that my publisher created, The Testing launches in 22 days.

Gotta love widgets. Right? And for those of you keeping score, with each minute that ticks away, I find myself getting more and more nervous.  This isn't my first book published.  So, I feel a little silly saying that I am more nervous now than I was when SKATING AROUND THE LAW hit shelves.  Why?  Well, first off, this is a bigger title.  There is more push from my publisher, which also translates to higher expectations.  But beyond that there is one simple fact that makes this release more terrifying than the first - I know more.

That sounds simple right?  And maybe it is.  But the more I learn about this business, the more I understand that there is more to learn.  Marketing for any product is an inexact science, but in many ways it is even more so for books.  How do readers find the books that they purchase?  Ads?  Blog tours?  Twitter?  Word of mouth?  I've heard people testify to the power of blog tours and others who say they never saw a single sale as a result of a 30 stop tour.  Others swear by the power of Facebook while more say Facebook is only effective if you are posting pictures of cats.  (I have to admit I love a good cat picture as much as the next person!)

And that's just the marketing of a book.  Turns out I know more about writing a book than I did in 2009 when I sold Skating Around The Law.  In a way, that lack of knowledge then made it easier to write.  I wasn't worried about what readers or my editor or my agent would think about what I was writing.  I wrote for myself....for my family and for the few friends and students that humored me by reading my words.  Now, though I still write for the thrill of seeing where the story takes me, I cannot seem to block out the expectations of those who will some day read my books.  Readers expect the story to be fast paced.  They expect the story to start in action and for the point of view to be clear.  They expect three dimensional characters that intrigue them or make them laugh.  And more than anything, readers expect the story to be worth the time they invest in it.

Trust me when I say that I am aware that not all books are for all readers and that not all readers will love my books.  In fact, I'd be disappointed if my writing was universally loved.  Personally, I find that the stories that linger with me the longest are the ones that are most polarizing in reader reaction.  But while I am not trying to please everyone, I find myself hoping that I will please a lot of them.  Not exactly the most conducive mindset for writing.

So each day, I do my very best to ignore the worry about the upcoming release of THE TESTING and the excitement that comes with getting good books news.  (Thanks to everyone who nominated MURDER FOR CHOIR for the Anthony for best paperback original.  You are awesome!)  I do my best to shut out the world, forget everything I've learned over the last several years and just write.  Some days that works better than others.  And as the widget clock gets closer to zero, I find that nerves are making that harder to do.

But while my time is almost up, my love of writing is still as new and exciting as ever.  And no matter what happens when The Testing releases...I will keep writing and telling stories.  And hopefully, there will be readers who enjoy them.

Want to make a million dollars? Go write a book!

by: Joelle Charbonneau

In the six plus months since Skating Around The Law was officially published, I’ve discovered that a lot of people I know have written or are interested in writing books. Many of them have asked me for advice on publishing, which I am always happy to give. Hell, I think I stomped in every pothole possible on the path to publication and I like being able to help my friends steer clear of them. The task of telling them how difficult it can be to find an editor or an agent make me feel like I’m raining on their parade a bit, but I never want anyone to go into this business unprepared for the uphill climb that awaits. We all know publishing is a lottery. The better your writing the more entries you get into the drawing, but luck always plays a part.

No one ever seems surprise to hear that it isn’t easy. However, they are surprised by the money, of lack of, that an author makes on a book. Maybe it was just me, but I never assumed I was going to write a book, sell it and live off the proceeds for the rest of my life. Yet, more than one aspiring fiction author has told me they want to write fiction so that they can sell their book and quit their job.

Yowzah!

For some reason everyone assumes that a working actor has to struggle to make ends meet, but that a published author is rolling in dough. Why is that? Everyone thinks they are going to write a book that goes to auction, nets a million dollar advance and sends them laughing all the way to the bank.

Why the difference?

To me the businesses are much the same. You work hard. You hone your craft. You audition, audition, audition – submit, submit, submit – and you celebrate when someone is willing to pay you for doing what you love. Yes, you eventually want to make enough money to live off of, but even the most talented actor ends up waiting on tables to make ends meet. Authors are no different. In fact, after being a part of both paradigms, I would say it is harder to make a living wage as an author.

And yet time after time I hear the opposite perception. People assume since I have several books under contract that I am ready to buy a mansion and take extravagant vacations to Fiji. Um…I wish?

With that in mind, let us all do some math. How many hours do you put into writing, editing, copy editing and promoting one project? How much do you make on that piece of writing? After doing a bit of math – how much do you really make an hour as a writer? Is it a million dollars? If so, tell me what the secret is because clearly I am doing it wrong.

Anticipation

by: Joelle Charbonneau

I will admit that I am not lurking behind my computer as you read this. This post was written last Monday because on Tuesday I hit the road to celebrate the release of my first published novel, SKATING AOUND THE LAW. If all has gone according to plan, on this Sunday I am now in Green Bay, WI. And if I’m really lucky, I still have enough energy to enjoy the fun.

Everyone keeps asking me if I am exciting about the book being out. The obvious answer is yes. Years of writing followed by hundreds of rejections make this a moment to be celebrated. The one thing I wonder is if the reality of having a book on the shelves will live up to the anticipation that has built over the past 15 months since receiving my contract. So often, the blockbuster movie that I’m excited to see doesn’t live up to the hype. Or the really fabulous vacation that I counted the days for is just okay when I get to my destination.

Surely you’ve had those adventures.

Some people plan weddings or events for years. Over that time they have built up the event so big that it can never come close to meeting expectations. So while I write this, I have a lot of neurotic fears mixed with a great deal of happiness. I hope the book will connect with the readers that pick it up. I hope that I won’t be sitting alone at events twiddling my thumbs. More important, I hope my anticipation hasn’t created an expectation that reality cannot live up to.

What much anticipated events lived up to your expectations? Your first kiss? Your wedding? Your first story being read by a person other than your mother? And if some of these didn’t live up to the hype, why not?

It doesn't happen Everyday

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Life is full of firsts. First steps. First kiss. First time you hold up a convenience store and steal all the Hubba Bubba bubble gum. (Okay, the last one never happened to me, but I’m sure it was a first for someone.) This week I had two firsts. Last night I went to my first Dave Matthews concert. The cannabis-scented air was a touch chilly at Wrigley Field and the sound guys had some issues during the first couple of tunes, but Dave was great, the band was awesome and the crowd was engaged. What more could you ask for?

Of course, the bigger first for me this week came three days ago. The doorbell rang and when I opened the door, a padded envelope sat on the stoop. The package was from my editor. Inside the envelope was a congratulatory note and a hard cover copy of SKATING AROUND THE LAW. If I hadn’t been in the middle of teaching a voice lesson, I probably would have cried.

Part of me wants to sit down and read the book cover to cover just for the experience of reading it like a real book. Funny, but until it arrived, I’ve had a hard time thinking of it as a ‘real’ book. I’ve read thousands of ‘real’ books in my life. Books have always been one of my great loves. Never in my childhood dreams did I think I could write a ‘real’ book. Even after getting my first contract and going through the editing, copy editing and page proof process, I found it hard to call myself an author. Then the doorbell rang and the postman delivered a book with my name on it to my door.

Holy crap. This is real. I’m an author.

The book hits shelves in 9 days. Then the rest of the journey begins. Will readers love or hate the book? Will they recommend the book to friends or lament the loss of their hard earned money? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out.

While I’m waiting for that part of the journey to begin, tell me – what is your favorite “first” moment thus far? (Let’s try to keep it clean, kids. You know who you are.)

Pull up a chair. It's time to talk.

by: Joelle Charbonneau

As writers we talk and think a lot about how to create the best story possible. We work on making our sentences punchy, our plot fast and fascinating and our characters real and interesting. We write. It’s what we do.

Well, not exactly. I mean, yes, we write. We have to. (Trust me, if we didn’t enjoy the writing process we wouldn’t be doing it. The money ain’t that great.) But there is more to the writing business than just writing. (Insert shocked and horrified gasp here.)

Yeah. I’m talking about networking - talking about writing, learning about other writers and, of course, learning about and chatting up publishing professionals better known as editors and agents. No squealing like a girl over this. (I am a girl, so I can say that without it sounding condescending and macho, right?) If you are serious about making writing your career, it is necessary to talk to other writers and industry professionals in order to find out what is going on in the business now. You can’t just read what's on the shelves. That's the stuff that was happening 18 months ago. Trust me on that one. My book was sold almost a year ago and won’t hit shelves for another 5 months. You need to stay current and networking is the only way to do this.

Don’t fret. There are lots of easy ways to network. Twitter is one of my favorite places to make writer hook-ups. I’ll admit that I was intimidated by Twitter a year ago, but that was before I really started having conversations with the other folks out there. It's a great place to see how other writers spend their days, market their work and think about the business. And lots of industry professionals are out there in Twitterverse - many of whom are giving tips to authors. I know a couple of authors who made contact with an agent on twitter and eventually signed with them. This might not happen for you, but it is a great way to hear the agent/editor perspective of what's going on in the biz without leaving the comfort and relative safety of your home.

Facebook is another great place to find and chat with writers as are the myriad of blogs, like this one, that are haunting the world wide web. But while these virtual methods are great, nothing can take the place of personal contact.

Yes, I am telling you to brave the wonderful world of interpersonal relationships. Conferences are a great way to make these connections. I just got home from speaking at one this weekend. You can meet editors and agents and other writers at a variety of conferences. There are panels and workshops on a wide range of subjects and numerous industry tidbits to be picked up at these events. In my experience the bar is the place where the most interesting conversations take place. (I know – big shocker.) I’ve met a lot of great friends and industry professionals with a glass of wine, or more likely a diet soda, in hand. In fact, a bar conversation with an agent was the inspiration for writing Skating Around the Law.

Conversations about the writing business can be important for writers at all stages of their career. New writers can learn how best to craft their story or approach the querying process. More experienced writers can meet and perhaps even get a submission request from an agent or editor. And published authors, debut to best-selling, can share their successes and their mistakes with people who understand the writing process. Networking will help a writer get a better perspective of all things publishing. And heck - you never know where you will find a great idea or get a request for submission. Take a chance and remember that whether the person is your favorite author or an important editor or agent – he or she is a person who is interested in having conversations about the business. Buy that person a drink and have fun talking about a subject you have in common – writing.

And if any of you have great conference bar stories, please feel free to share. I know there are lots of them out there.