Author: Lynne Cantwell

Lynne Cantwell grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She worked as a broadcast journalist for many years; she has written for CNN, the late lamented Mutual/NBC Radio News, and a bunch of radio and TV news outlets you have probably never heard of, including a defunct wire service called Zapnews. But she began as a fantasy writer (in the second grade), and is back at it today. She currently lives near Washington, DC. Learn more about Lynne at her blog and at her Amazon author page.

Free CreateSpace! (Free Expanded Distribution, That Is)

Oh, come on. You had to know I was going to use that headline, if you’ve heard about CreateSpace doing away with its fee for expanded distribution.

In the past, CreateSpace would distribute your paperback to all the Amazon platforms automatically. But paying the freight for expanded distribution would get your paperback into a number of channels that were difficult to access otherwise: bookstores like Barnes & Noble’s online store, distributors like Ingram, and resellers through CreateSpace’s own wholesale website. It would also get you a listing on Baker & Taylor, which is where libraries and academic institutions shop for books.

All that used to cost $25 per book. Now it’s free. Continue reading “Free CreateSpace! (Free Expanded Distribution, That Is)”

Are Hardcover Books on Life Support?

One of the reasons writers give for wanting a real, live, honest-to-goodness contract with a traditional publisher is that they want to see their work in hardcover. Paperbacks are all very fine, but there’s nothing like the heft of a hardcover to make you feel like you’ve arrived. Or so I hear.

Anyway, the point is that it used to be a given: if you got an agent and signed on with one of the Big Five, you were guaranteed that your book would be in print in some form or fashion, usually hardcover followed by paperback. But Publishers Weekly reported this week that as the number of brick-and-mortar bookstores dwindle, and as e-books become more popular, agents are beginning to see this change – to the point that eventually, a dead-tree edition may not be guaranteed. Continue reading “Are Hardcover Books on Life Support?”

Legal Advice: You Get What You Pay For

Image courtesy of:
Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Occasionally, indie authors will need to contract with a service provider – an editor or a cover designer or a tour operator. Or two or more authors might decide to band together in a partnership to provide, say, an editing service, or even a small press. Particularly if you’re starting a business, you’ll need to file some forms with the government. You could just shake hands and assume that everyone involved will be trustworthy and fair – yeah, right – or you could have a lawyer draw up the proper paperwork.

But it’s expensive to hire an attorney. And besides, they’re right up there, in terms of trust, with used car salesmen and members of the U.S. Congress (a lot of whom are lawyers, so there you go). So it’s understandable that indies – who are notoriously frugal – would want to avoid paying some shys—uh, that is, a fine, upstanding member of the bar – to handle simple legal matters. Continue reading “Legal Advice: You Get What You Pay For”

Head-Hopping

Whose line is it anyway?

Somebody once said that writing a book makes you an expert – but only on writing that one particular book. In other words, every project is unique. Just because you’ve written a book or two, it doesn’t mean you’ve got the whole “writing books” thing down pat.

I have been reminded of this while working on my current WIP. All five books of the Pipe Woman Chronicles were written in first person point of view, and same character was always the narrator. I know some people don’t like to read books written in first person, but I have to tell you that it cuts down on the temptation to engage in some bad authorial habits – like, for example, head-hopping. Continue reading “Head-Hopping”