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Imajin Books Summer Sizzle

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

You are invited…

Oh, yeah! It’s that time of year again and Imajin Books (soon to publish DESCENT and BLAZE)  is gearing up for its annual Summer Sizzles promotion.Things really heat up with the Summer Sizzles facebook party on Sunday, July 12 from 4 – 8 pm PDT (7 – 11 pm Eastern).

Here’s the link for all the info. https://www.facebook.com/events/484341911728130/

https://www.facebook.com/events/484341911728130/
You are invited to attend so visit the event page and click the join button so we know to expect you!

Who will all be there?

Almost the entire Imajin Books crew will participate, from publisher to editors to authors to cover designers, formatters….

Fans of Imajin Books’ authors will be there, eager to ask their fave writers questions and offer support and compliments.

Aspiring writers will be there, schmoozing with those in the industry, asking questions, giving answers.

Other authors will be there.

Family and friends will stop by.

People who like winning things will be there–there are always lots of giveaways.

Those who love drinking virtual margaritas on virtual sunny beaches will drop by. Don’t worry, there will be free virtual taxi service for those who overimbibe! HA HA!

Come on over, join in the fun! If you’ve never attended a facebook party, this is the one to change that!

Thanks to Eileen Schuh, author of of THE TRAZ, THE TRAZ School Edition and FATAL ERROR),  for putting this blog together.

Farley’s Friday: I’m Thirsty…

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here,

I don’t like getting my paws wet. I’m thirsty, parched actually, but my pads should always stay dry.  So I lived on a sailboat for five years. That doesn’t mean I love water. I love being on water, preferably in a kayak or a dingy. Fish belong in water, not me.

Matt’s wearing boots, He doesn’t have to put his feet in the water. Now that I think of it, he drinks from a water bottle, he doesn’t even have to put his snout in the water.

IMG_2268

Notice the leash. Still too many bears in the area that I might chase. My humans think they can’t trust me when a bear is around. I try to explain I need to protect them, but sometimes humans don’t understand dog language.

Woof Woof.

Relax – It’s only a photo shoot!

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Now that I’ve signed what Imajin Books I need an author photo.

I chose to work with a professional photographer local to my area. We met before the shoot and discussed the image I wanted to portray. I’ve used an image of myself with Farley for the last 6 years and love the photo, but thought it was time for an update.

My first decision was with or without Farley. Poor Farley got bumped. I liked the photo of the two of us because I thought it portrayed who I am and what my life is about. I’m sad to let this photo go, but it’s time to set a new image. I wanted my new author photo taken outdoors in a natural setting, and I wanted to come across as approachable and friendly. My novels take place in the BC wilderness, so my photo should portray the setting too.

The photographer, Kimberly Rae Sanderson, made me feel comfortable right away. I was nervous and needed to relax if the photos were to be any good.  We met at Lake Lillian, a small lake in the Purcell Mountains. We chose early evening so the lighting was soft – translate to I’d look better 🙂

When the shoot was over, Kimberly sent me 98 photos to choose from.  Here are the two I liked best.

KristinaStanley-24 KristinaStanley-75

I’ll use the portrait on the inside back cover of my novels. I plan to use the black and white photo in various places on the internet. As usual, I now have to find all the spots where Farley and I have been posted on the internet and replace the old photo with my new photo.

It’s fun, all the things that come with writing a novel.

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…

 

 

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier and a Bear

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 13 Comments

Farley here,

Why am I running so hard? I need to protect my humans.

IMG_1443

I catch a strong scent. I’ve not smelled this particular aroma before, but something seems wrong to me. Kristina and Matt notice I’m agitated and call me to their side. Too late. My brain has kicked into instinct mode and off I run.

Then I see the creature. It’s black. It’s coat is shiny. And it’s huge. Well compared to me anyway.

I turn back to check my humans are not following.  Kristina picks up a branch and is rapidly approaching. Matt’s faster and heads my way. Don’t they understand they need to get away? 

I bolt at the bear, he hesitates, then sees I’m one serious dog. He climbs part way up a tree and waits. Kristina and Matt come closer, talking loudly and telling me to come. The bear shimmies farther up the tree, using his giant claws to move quickly.

I circle the bottom. “Stay up there,” I bark at the bear. Then back to Kristina and Matt, “Get out of here.”

Kristina and Matt call me one more time, then do as I ask. When I think they’re far enough from the bear, I bark one last time, and follow my humans out of the forest.

Not bad for a day’s work. You can call me the protector. I’ve done my job, and I’m proud.

Woof Woof

ps. I was only a little scared.

 

The Editing Process: Getting Your Manuscript Ready For Proofreading.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 13 Comments

Todd Barselow, senior editor at Imajin Books, has just sent me his first pass at editing DESCENT and had this to say:

“My life would be so much easier if all the manuscripts that crossed my desk were as clean as yours.”

Wasn’t I surprised to find such a great comment and to find I didn’t have too much work to do revising the manuscript. As you know, the ARC for DESCENT went out last week, so I was pleased not too much would change.

How did I get to this point?

Yesterday, before my first coffee,  I opened my email and found the edited version of DESCENT waiting in my inbox. I have to admit I was nervous, so I finished my coffee, ate breakfast, walked the dog and when I could procrastinate no further, I opened the attachment.

The editing process went like this:

  • Imajin Books gave us a deadline of early May to complete the edits and send DESCENT to the proofreader.
  • Todd and I must both read the manuscript three times (minimum).
  • Todd reads once and sends DESCENT back to me labelled V1.
  • I accept/reject any proposed changes – it’s a good idea to learn how to use the review section in MSWord as this seems to be the industry standard for editing right now.
  • I send the manuscript back to Todd as V2, and we repeat the process two more times.

This may seem like a lot work, but I think it’s worth the effort if it means a better manuscript.

I would have sworn my manuscript was error free. But alas, it was not so. What did Todd suggest? What errors did he find? I’ve summarized a few items below, so you’ll get an overview.

  • Be consistent with the Oxford comma. I don’t use them, and somehow a few slipped into the manuscript.
  • Replace a period with a question mark. This happened in two places even though I know how to use a question mark.
  • Add an exclamation mark. I didn’t use any, and Todd suggested two be added in the climax scene to increase tension.
  • Too, to, two: Jokes on me. I used ‘to’, instead of ‘two’ in chapter two.
  • Be consistent with hyphens and follow Chicago Manual Of Style.  These are hard errors to catch, but he found a few.
  • Tiny words… ‘as’ instead of ‘if’, missing ‘of’, and reach missing the ‘ed’
  • Dialogue.  When addressing people, use a comma after Hi. “Hi, Donny.” is the correct form in dialogue.

That should give you an idea of how detailed the edit is. For the sake of not boring you, I didn’t include everything.

To get the manuscript to a place where Todd praised it, I followed the process as outlined in the For Writers section of my webpage.

I think you’re getting my point…It’s a large, okay huge, shall we say ginormous amount of work to polish a completed manuscript.

Gotta say thanks to the talented Todd Barselow for his eagle eye and for making my novel better!

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and will blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading…

Advance Reader Copy (ARC)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 17 Comments

I’m sure everyone knows all about the ARC, but being a newbie, I learned a few things this week.

I learned the ARC is used to garner endorsements that go on both the outside and inside cover of the novel and are used for marketing.

I learned that the ARC gets sent before the final editing and proofreading of the manuscript is complete. Does that make me nervous? You bet, but I guess it’s standard in the industry, so I’ll go with it.

I learned that networking long before you finish your first novel is critical to the publishing journey.

Imajin Books requested I get endorsements from 5 to 7 authors in my genre. Mystery, in case you’re wondering. So I set out to do just that.

How does one find established authors willing to spend their time reading an about-to-be-published-for-the-first-time author’s novel? That’s where networking comes in.

I’ve attended writing conferences, workshops and  awards dinners. Each of these gave me a way to meet other authors. I started a blog. Got active on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.

When I first joined the Crime Writers of Canada, I sent every CWC author a LinkedIn message asking them to connect with me. Hundreds did. I was amazed. I kept a spreadsheet of the authors I’d sent a message to, which ones accepted my invitation and included a check mark when I sent a thank you. Since then, I’ve kept up communication with authors, sending them a message when I’d read their book and posted a review.

Who to ask? I chose authors that I had some connection with. Either I’d met them in person, or I’d connected with them on the internet. I looked for authors where our writing had something in common.

I wrote a letter to each author as I would a query letter. I included my writing credentials and the reason I was asking a specific author.  I was nervous, but people are saying yes. I won’t tell you who yet. Part of asking is the condition that if they don’t like the book, I wouldn’t expect an endorsement. So now I have to wait… Writing seems to be a lot of waiting.

The following is included at the front of the ARC, and is followed by the novel. A PDF version goes to each author who has agreed to read Descent.

DESCENT

A Stone Mountain Mystery #1

ADVANCED READING COPY

Uncorrected Galley Proof

Kristina Stanley

DESCENT

A Stone Mountain Mystery #1

Copyright © 2015 by Kristina Stanley. All Rights Reserved.

IF YOU RECEIVED THIS BOOK FREE VIA A WEBSITE DOWNLOAD ON A SHARE OR TORRENT SITE, YOU HAVE AN ILLEGAL COPY AND CAN BE PROSECUTED FOR COPYRIGHT THEFT.

Copyright is a matter we take seriously. Our authors and our publishing team work hard to produce quality books for people who will appreciate them. We often have discounts and sales so that ANYONE CAN AFFORD OUR EBOOKS.

 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. And any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead (or in any other form), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

http://www.kristinastanley.com

FIRST EDITION Kindle eBook

Imajin Books – http://www.imajinbooks.com

If you haven’t read my blog before, I’ve signed on with Imajin Books and intend to blog about my publishing adventure. I’ll share what I learn and hope it helps someone out there get their novel published.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I received the first version of the book cover. I’ll share as soon as it’s done 🙂

Farley’s Friday: Finn Takes My Bed

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Farley here,

My Friend For Life (FFL) is here. Finn arrived yesterday and is staying for two weeks. He’s an Icelandic sheepdog.

Now Kristina told me when you have a guest you have to be nice to them. So… I gave Finn my bed.

Finn in Bed

But then where will I sleep?

Not to worry, I found a place.

Farley in BEd

Although I’m not sure how Kristina feels about it. She has some rule about no animals on the furniture. Well, I just said. “If I had to be nice and give up my bed, she should be nice and give up the couch.

How could she argue that one?

Woof Woof

Before You Submit: As If Versus Like

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Do you have a draft of your novel or short story and are thinking of submitting to an agent, publisher or writing contest? My series called Before You Submit might help. This series contains hints and tips I’ve received from professionals in the publishing industry. Each week I’ll share a new tip.

This week I’ll write about As if versus like.

Learn the difference between ‘as if’ and ‘like’. That was the clear message from an editor. 2008 was the year, and wow, did I have a lot to learn.  How embarrassing that my very first draft was full of errors when it came to using ‘like’.

I’ll give you an example:

On his way out the door, Darren turned back to me. He looked like he might say something …

Really, what it should have been was:

On his way out the door, Darren turned back to me. He looked as if he might say something …

I found a clear definition of ‘Like versus as if’ on Clifford Garstang’s blog, Tips for Writers. You can also check out GrammarErrors.

I hope this helps improve your writing.

See Before You Submit:Likeable Characters for the first blog in this series and an introduction the benefits of submitting even if you get a rejection letter.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Loses His Shoe

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here. I lost my shoe. It’s my fault. I’m hiking on a snow covered trail in the mountains, the sky is blue, my humans are chatting and my nose is alert to all dangers. That’s my job. I’m the protector. If there’s wildlife in the area, I’ll scare it away.

A Lynx has taken up residence in the backcountry behind my house. I haven’t seen it yet, but there are fresh tracks. The fresh tracks I found are following rabbit tracks. Now I’m not stupid. I think the Lynx is having its breakfast out here. What does this have to do with my shoe?

The scent of the Lynx wafts into my nose. It’s ripe. It’s just been here. I bound off the track – that my humans kindly packed flat with their snow shoes – jump over a mound to snow and scramble into the forest. The terrain is steep. I can barely keep my grip with these silly shoes I wear, but I manage. Then, my front paw sinks deep into the snow. I fall flat on my face. When I get up, my shoe is gone. I don’t care. There’s a lynx to catch.

You probably guessed, but I don’t catch the Lynx. I finally give up and return to Kristina and Matt. Matt goes hunting for my shoe. We’ve a long way to go to get home and my paw is cold. He tracks high in the forest while I wait with Kristina.

Now she’s a softy and my foot is freezing. I lift my paw to her to make sure she knows. She takes off her mitts and circles my paw with her palm. That keeps me warm, and we wait for Matt to return with my shoe. Farley's Shoe I ask him if he found the Lynx. He laughs and holds up the shoe. They love me, I’m pretty sure they love me. Woof Woof.

18 Thoughts: Blog Hop

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

Yay! The amazing Jamie Ayres ‘s final book of her My So-Called Afterlife trilogy is coming out soon, and to celebrate, she’s sponsoring a blog hop.   18 THOUGHTS is the title (after 18 THINGS and 18 TRUTHS) and what could be more fitting than listing thoughts that inspire our lives?

Thanks to  Kidbits for the lead in to this post. I “Borrowed” the first paragraph from her.

The thought that inspires me:

Be Nice1

Thanks for Jamie instigating the blog hop…