Hello to all the Pink Fuzzy Slipper writers and readers. My name is Ginger Chambers and I’ve been reading and writing Romance novels for years and years. I’m a real sucker for those Happy Endings!
My career started in the 1980’s with Vivian Stephens as my first editor—Vivian created both the Dell Candlelight Ecstasy line, the Harlequin American Romance line, and was one of the founders of the Romance Writers of America. That was quite an exciting time to start a career. And now, 33 books later—did I mention that I’m a relatively slow writer?—I’m still here and still writing. The only differences are a few extra pounds (how many are between me and my scale
Books are like children. It’s very difficult to watch them sit on a store shelf—as thrilling as those moments are—then, a short time later, be taken down so that newer books can thrill. And finally, as years go by, be forgotten by all but the most dedicated used bookstore searchers.
This is where the wonderful, unfolding world of electronic books comes in. Out-of-print books can shine once more on virtual bookshelves. And authors who have their book rights returned to them can be fully in charge of these books for the first time.
Patricia McLinn blogged here on New Year’s Day, spreading word about the AWritersWork website and our pretty terrific BOOK-UP IN JANUARY offer. One book a day is free (did I say FREE?
It’s been a lot of fun visiting your blog. Thank you for inviting me. And now I guess it’s time to fess up: I have fuzzy slippers that I love too … only mine are blue.
BOOK-UP IN JANUARY:
13 PRINCIPAL OF LOVE Patricia McLinn
14 CALL IT LOVE Ginger Chambers
15 DEAR IMPOSTER Nicole Byrd
16 YOUR'RE MOVING WHERE?! Karen van der Zee
17 PRELUDE TO A WEDDING Patricia McLinn
18 UNFORGETTABLE Leigh Riker
19 ESCAPE ARTIST Diane Chamberlain
20 MOTHER OF THE YEAR Lori Handeland
21 ROMEO,ROMEO Fran Baker
22 FATAL AS A FALLEN WOMAN Kathy Lynn Emerson
23 HOOPS Patricia McLinn
24 THE FIRST FAMILY OF TEXAS Ken Casper
25 BACK IN HIS ARMS Becky Barker
26 A STRANGER IN THE FAMILY Patricia McLinn
27 ALMOST PERFECT Patricia Rice
28 EMILY'S CAPTAIN Shari Anton
29 THE PRICE OF A MAN Karen van der Zee
30 PORTRAIT OF A LADY Elizabeth Kary
31 ALMOST A BRIDE Patricia McLinn
Ginger thank you for visiting with the Pink Fuzzie. We are glad to have you with us. I think it is so exciting to see all the authors with their backlist going up as ebooks. What a wonderful opportunity to allow your characters to live again. Wonderful.
I second what Scarlet said! Who knew we'd have this opportunity?
Wow, that's an incredibly good deal! What a great idea for your backlist. As a reader, I'm loving the opportunity to dive back into some HEAs.
Thanks for stopping by and giving us the full list. My TBR pile just jumped another bookshelf :)
Dale
I already bought Shari Anton's, and it's on my Kindle. I think self-publishing backlists is great for writers and readers.
Welcome, Dale and Edie! These ladies are on to something!
I'll have to check out some of these free books. I know it must be a good feeling to be able to control your books. Congrats on the 33 published novels!
What a great opportunity for readers and writers. How did you get the books in the proper format? Did you have an electronic version of them or did you have to retype? Have fun with them!Thanks for sharing!
I'm going to let (make ) Ginger answer all these great questions.
Just wanted to say hi again, and to encourage all to come visit http://www.AWritersWork.com
We have more authors preparing to join us, along with more offerings by our current AWW authors. We're growing all the time!
Ginger, kudos for being inventive with your backlist. Ebooks are definitely here to stay. Mine will be ready in a few months.
It truly is exciting to have our backlist books out in the world again. To reach new readers as well as revisit those who loved the books in the past.
One of the joys is the ability to design your own cover. No more dark-haired heroes when the hero of the book clearly has blond hair; no more sweet, clinging 17 year-old heroines when your heroine is a 30 year-old independent business woman. And where did that 18th century sailing ship come from??? LOL.
Oh my gosh - as an unpubbed writer that's not something I'd ever considered. Talk about liberty and freedom. Good for you!
How exciting Ginger!
When I was a kid (thirteen years old)I read my first romance novel. I was vacationing with my parents on the beach and my mom had just finished a book. I remember holding it against her chest and saying, "That was the best book ever."
I asked her if I could read it, and she hesitated. It was a romance, and it had sex in it, and I was just a girl. But I guess she realized it was the first time I ever showed any interest in reading so she handed it over.
I read the book in a day and a half.
It was Constance O'Banyon's Velvet Chains.
Ohhh, and it was sooooo good.
Every now and then I think about that book. The last time I saw it in the house was a few years ago and it was all yellow and worn with age ( I had read it many, many times over) But the last time I looked for it it was missing.
My husband thinks it was sold at our most recent yard sale.
Of course I've looked for the book at stores. No luck.
But maybe I can buy it electronically!
I never thought of that.
I'm so glad you shared this information with us. You'd think I would have thought of it myself, but sometimes we need someone else to set us straight.
Sorry for the long winded comment.
Have a happy evening!!
--How did I get the books into proper format?
--Did I have an electronic version of them or did I have to retype?
Well, this is where the nitty-gritty hits the road (or whatever the proper version of that saying is). It's actually taking me longer than I envisioned to convert the paper books into electronic. My earlier books are from a time when (gasp!)computers weren't available. Then later, even if I'd kept the computer discs, they wouldn't work on today's computers. So ... I'm paying a conversion service to bring the text into a Word document, where I can then make corrections and set the formatting (how I want the book to look) for publishing at AWritersWork, Kindle, Nook, etc.
Of course there's always a danger in letting a writer have at their earlier works--my goodness, did I write *that*! It's easy to get carried away making minor corrections.
Then, from what my friends have told me, it's sometimes a battle to meet all the formatting requirements for Kindle, etc. And the cover design can take hours as you look through photo sites for the perfect picture(s).
Time and effort is definitely a part of this, but the reward of having the book live again is completely worth it.
Over the next couple of weeks I'll be starting the process to put CALL IT LOVE into the Kindle listing, and immediately follow it with the next and the next, both at Amazon, etc. and at AWW, until all 18 books I have the rights to again are published there.
Hope this helps. And, yes, some writers do retype their books, I've heard.
Welcome, Ginger, to the Pink Fuzzies, and thanks, Mary for hosting her. Fabulous news, and idea, about the backlist.
Thank you for blogging with us Ginger. Ebooks are the wave of the future and we all better get on board!
You have to know how things have changed. A whole new world for backlist stories we all never got to read !
See you at the AR&T tomorrow! Yeah!
Gonna be a lot of fun!
That was a lovely story, Tamara. I hope you can find a replacement soon. When you love a book that much... I'm going to search for it as well. There's no better recommendation than the one you've just written. Constance O'Banyon (Velvet Chains) would be thrilled if she knew.
Thanks to all of you for your kind words today. You've made me feel very at home.
And something I've forgotten until now--when you visit A Writer's Work (www.awriterswork.com), feel free to look around. And don't forget to sign up for our Newsletter that will keep you informed of all our goings on. More authors, more ebooks...we're growing all the time!
Thanks bunches for visiting with us, Ginger! Ya'll come back, ya hear? That was sooooooo bad!