Inspirations:

  • It is said that good things come to those who wait. I believe that good things come to those who work. - Wilt Chamberlain
  • A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit. - Richard Bach
  • You don't find time to write. You make time. It's my job. - Nora Roberts
  • Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. - Buddha
  • Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it. - Denzel Washington
  • I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying. - Michael Jordan

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Show Me the Money and an Update

Hi Blog Friends!

If you're one of those people who pay close attention to detail, like me, you'll notice I've added my middle initial to my name. Come to find out there is another Wendy Marcus who's an author so I've added my middle initial (S for Sue) to differentiate myself.

As much as I'd like to keep up my prior post (which received a record-breaking number of comments thank you very much) it is time to move on. For those of you who haven't heard, author Brenda Hiatt has recently updated the Show Me the Money page of her website. This contains valuable information on what romance publishers are paying. I encourage you all to take a look.

Are you a published author? In your experience, are the numbers accurate? Were you aware of Brenda's Show Me the Money page before you visited my blog?

I hope you found this information helpful.

For those of you interested in my journey, I've finished what I hope are the final final revisions to my contracted medical romance. I am in the process of creating character profiles for my second book and hope to have the synopsis finished next week. At the same time I am researching website designers. Can you think of any author websites that stand out from the rest? If so, what makes them so special? And would you be so kind as to give me the link?

Thank you!

25 comments:

  1. It must be so exciting to be working on your second book, there is, after all, only one of those) ;)

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  2. Wendy -- One of the things HMB does is to run its own digital courses about social media for its authors. I do believe one of them is about building author websites etc. I think there is info on this when you get your contract OR ask your lovely editor.
    I know the digital team will critique websites and I think Malle Vallik who is the head of Digital and a wonderfully astute person has something on her blog http://mallevallik.wordpress.com/ about author branding and what every author needs on her website. Look in her archives under author brands or Kresley Cole.
    Whatever you do, if you are going to attend the RWA Nationals next year, go to the Harlequin DIgital clinic. Use the power of the brand!!!

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  3. Hi Lacey!
    Yes! I'm very excited. And a little nervous. Some authors have told me the second book is the hardest to write. But one made me feel better by adding, "To tell you the truth, none of them have been easy." Despite that, I'm looking forward to it. Since I'll be working in the same fictional setting as my first book, I'm eager to return for a visit!

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  4. Hi Michelle!
    Thank you so much for all that information. I will certainly visit Malle Vallik's blog and search out some of M&B's digital classes. I appreciate the help!

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  5. Congrats again Wendy. Does this mean you are going to change your blog? If you are, let us know so we can keep following!

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  6. Some of those numbers were quite interesting. Thanks for the link.

    The second book. Yeah, that's a hard one. You have the added pressure in your head - will it be as good as the first? Better? I'm having similar issues, though I'm lucky in that the next one is just pretty much done, and it's a matter of revising, tweaking, etc., which I could easily do for another year! :D

    I also have an email address I'll send you - someone who does promo items and has a good list of where to post things.

    G

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  7. Hi Susan!
    For now I am keeping my blog the same. I hope when I get a website they can link it to this blog and I won't have to start all over. We'll see.

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  8. Hi G! Thanks for stopping by and for the great info you e-mailed me. I'll be sure to check it out!

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  9. Wendy, Is the second book harder. I'm not sure. Since you're working in the same setting that cuts out a bit of the searching for a location. I've never found the second is harder. Right now I'm working on the fourth of a series and I'm finding that hard since there are a lot of loose ends to tie up.

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  10. Thanks for stopping by, Janet. I'm looking forward to doing an interview on your blog as soon as I get my book title and a definite release date.

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  11. Hey, Wendy,

    WooHooo, second book! Isn't nice to start something fresh and new?

    Websites: I'd look at 1)someone called Will Design for Chocolate and 2)whoever designed Lynn Raye Harris' website. Can't find her name at the moment, but I'm sure LRH could help you out.

    I hope you don't mind me offering suggestions. Let us know what you decide!

    Abbi :-)

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  12. Hi Abbi!
    I sent an e-mail to Will Design for Chocolate. Waiting to hear back. I will check out Lynn Raye Harris' website.
    Thanks for the suggestions! Most appreciated!

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  13. Congratulations, Wendy!
    Love hearing your story.
    Carol

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  14. Hi Carol! Thanks and welcome! Hope to see you around on a regular basis!

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  15. Congrats again on your sale, Wendy :) I think the Show Me the Money page is very cool. By keeping things anonymous, she's able to get more responses and more accurate info. Since I'm still so new at Ellora's Cave I have no idea about numbers, but I'm guessing she's pretty on target. As for websites, I made my author website myself on Blogger, using a custom domain name (ShoshannaEvers.com) instead of the blogspot name. That way I can easily update it myself. But someday I'll probably get something fancier, I suppose. I love Carly Philips site, it's very professional looking (of course).

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  16. Hi Shoshanna!
    I like Carly's site, too. Way more than I need right now, though. I didn't realize Blogger had a website option. I'll look into it! Thanks!

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  17. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Thanks for the link!!! I am hopping over to the Show Me the Money Page now!

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  18. Hi Jen D.!
    I hope you found the info. helpful.

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  20. How exciting to be working on your second book.

    There are a lot of author sites I like - the best ones are easy to navigate and don't have too much happening on each page. Don't forget to let us know when yours is set up.

    XX

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  21. Thanks for the input, Suzanne. I've got to get moving on this!

    And Dale, your post was great. You didn't need to remove it!!!

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  22. fingers crossed on your next book Wendy, India grey and several other HMB authors have been able to link their blogs to their websites so I am sure you can still keep your lovely followers with you.

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  23. Thanks, Joanna! Fingers crossed for you, too! Good luck with your submissions!

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  24. Hey Wendy, for what it's worth, this is the site of my web designer. I love her & she's very reasonable in $$: http://www.glassslipperwebdesign.com/

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  25. Thanks, Allie! And Welcome! I really like your website. Will give Glass Slipper Web Design a look!

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