Awesome writer-friend Jolene Perry (link) told me about Tammara Webber (link)'s mature YA/New Adult novel EASY back in July, and I ran and got it at once. I knew Jolene and I share a similar taste in books and a crazy-love of contemporary YA.
What I didn't know is that EASY is an indie book, and since July it has become a New York Times bestseller! Rock On, Tammara!
It's well-deserved. Not even a pending beach trip could tear me away from this book. JRM arrived ready to load up the car, and I looked like the cat who'd eaten the canary. I'd spent the entire morning clicking at lightening speed and hadn't packed a thing. I couldn't stop reading!
EASY is exciting, romantic, H-O-T!, heartbreaking, it has a great message... It's so good, I sent a silly, fan-girl email to Tammara, and she's just as cool as you'd expect.
Here's the Brief Summary: Jacqueline follows her high school boyfriend to the college of his choice, and then he dumps her, basically so he'll be free to bang coeds. (Loved that line!) Then leaving a frat party one night, she's attacked and almost raped until a mystery guy shows up and beats up her attacker. (Nice.) She's pretty shook up, then she realizes her "hero" Lucas is in one of her classes. Ultimately, they start talking, then they run into each other out, then they swap telephone numbers...
But Lucas has a few secrets of his own that could seriously throw a wrench in their budding romance.
I'll say no more. Except here are the links where you can buy it for $3.99 (a steal!):
And I'm so excited to have Tammara here today. Now for our Interview!
1-So I discovered EASY via word of mouth, but this is not your first book! Tell us a little bit about how long you've been writing and your other books.
I've been writing forever, but I didn't attempt a novel until age 19. I wrote three "shelf novels" (including that first, not-quite-finished novel) before I wrote Between the Lines (link). I went the typical querying/pitching at conferences route with that manuscript, and was unsuccessful.
In the meantime, I wrote a second book in the series. At that point, I decided I didn't have anything to lose by self-pubbing through Amazon, which I was urged (read: nagged endlessly) to do by my best friend, who isn't a writer. Eventually, I added Barnes & Noble, then iBookstore, and most recently, Kobo. There are three books in the Between the Lines series, and I'm writing a fourth (final) book that should be out in spring 2013.
2-EASY deals with a tough topic--rape, or in this case, attempted rape--and the story incorporates teaching girls to protect themselves through the main character's search for ways to protect herself. What made you decide to tackle this subject?
I've spent most of my adult life on a college campus, so I'm more aware than the general public seems to be about how prevalent this type of rape is. It is seldom reported, and when it is reported, it seldom makes it to prosecution. Of the instances I know of, not a single person reported. In every case, this was because the victim believed that she was at fault, when really, at most, there was faulty judgment.
There is no excuse, ever. I want girls and women to stop blaming themselves (and worse, each other) for something that is the fault of the perpetrator alone.
3-With EASY, you've become a New York Times bestselling indie author. And I say Super-congrats to you! I know you have an agent now to handle your foreign and subsidiary rights, but tell us about going independent. Would you recommend it? Any big tip(s) for those considering it?
The reasons for indie publishing vary from author to author. What works for one might not work for another. I used Amanda Hocking's experience as a sort of guide, but the landscape of indie publishing has changed a lot in the 2.5 years since she began publishing her books online. I had to tailor what had worked for her to the different landscape I encountered a little over a year after she'd done it, and authors now can use what I did loosely, but it has changed since then, and is constantly changing.
There's luck and timing involved, too, and those are difficult or impossible to nail, even with careful planning. I would say be prepared to work hard, to change what doesn't work for your book/books, and to invest what you can to produce a professional product. Don't assume that because you don't have the same resources as traditionally published authors or because you charge less, you can get away with a lesser product. Readers don't care. They just want good books.
4-There's been heaps of debate recently over the changing face of publishing. Commentators like to note how bestselling indies like Amanda Hocking end up signing traditional contracts once they "make it." What are your thoughts on all this and that? Do you see yourself going traditional now or in the future?
As for traditional v. indie, I seriously doubt that Amanda Hocking was the first to accept a traditional contract after self-pubbing. She's just the first to get a major publishing contract. I've never, ever been on one side of this debate or the other. The point is to create a career for yourself as an author however you see fit and in whatever way is comfortable for you. For me, that means any and all combinations as I see fit. Standing staunchly on one side or the other is shooting yourself in the foot, in my opinion. The key is that there are now options -- and how cool is that?
Yes, Amanda Hocking got a seven-figure advance (and her agent got a cut of that). Everyone seems to forget that at the beginning of her career, she obviously wanted to see her books on a bookstore shelf. She queried like crazy, and like most writers, she couldn't get a taker. But she was smart enough to compromise when it looked like it was self-publish or nothing. The first "compromise" she made WAS self-publishing. The best part is that before she got that big contract with St. Martin's, she'd already made an amount of money equal to that contract all by herself! THAT is her biggest success. It's awesome that she was able to say to a Big Six publisher, "Oh, now you want to pay me seven figures to give me what I wanted a couple of years ago? Okay."
Publishers haven't survived as long as they have without gaining enough market savvy to figure out the value of a writer who is capable of finding a willing, paying market without the backing of a publisher. What they do after finding and retaining that someone is the do-or-die point. Successful indie authors play with all sorts of factors. We change covers, descriptions, price. We know that what sells books is word of mouth. We use those factors, along with good writing and good presentation, to our best selling advantage, hopefully.
When publishers take over the product, they must be careful of messing too much with what is working. If they change the cover, revise the story, and increase the price too much, all the product recognition the author has worked for -- successfully -- is tossed out the window.
Very awesome information, and great advice. Thanks so much for stopping by, Tammara! And best to you in your continued writing career!
Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends~ <3
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| Get it! |
It's well-deserved. Not even a pending beach trip could tear me away from this book. JRM arrived ready to load up the car, and I looked like the cat who'd eaten the canary. I'd spent the entire morning clicking at lightening speed and hadn't packed a thing. I couldn't stop reading!
EASY is exciting, romantic, H-O-T!, heartbreaking, it has a great message... It's so good, I sent a silly, fan-girl email to Tammara, and she's just as cool as you'd expect.
Here's the Brief Summary: Jacqueline follows her high school boyfriend to the college of his choice, and then he dumps her, basically so he'll be free to bang coeds. (Loved that line!) Then leaving a frat party one night, she's attacked and almost raped until a mystery guy shows up and beats up her attacker. (Nice.) She's pretty shook up, then she realizes her "hero" Lucas is in one of her classes. Ultimately, they start talking, then they run into each other out, then they swap telephone numbers...
But Lucas has a few secrets of his own that could seriously throw a wrench in their budding romance.
I'll say no more. Except here are the links where you can buy it for $3.99 (a steal!):
And I'm so excited to have Tammara here today. Now for our Interview!
1-So I discovered EASY via word of mouth, but this is not your first book! Tell us a little bit about how long you've been writing and your other books.
I've been writing forever, but I didn't attempt a novel until age 19. I wrote three "shelf novels" (including that first, not-quite-finished novel) before I wrote Between the Lines (link). I went the typical querying/pitching at conferences route with that manuscript, and was unsuccessful.
In the meantime, I wrote a second book in the series. At that point, I decided I didn't have anything to lose by self-pubbing through Amazon, which I was urged (read: nagged endlessly) to do by my best friend, who isn't a writer. Eventually, I added Barnes & Noble, then iBookstore, and most recently, Kobo. There are three books in the Between the Lines series, and I'm writing a fourth (final) book that should be out in spring 2013.
2-EASY deals with a tough topic--rape, or in this case, attempted rape--and the story incorporates teaching girls to protect themselves through the main character's search for ways to protect herself. What made you decide to tackle this subject?
I've spent most of my adult life on a college campus, so I'm more aware than the general public seems to be about how prevalent this type of rape is. It is seldom reported, and when it is reported, it seldom makes it to prosecution. Of the instances I know of, not a single person reported. In every case, this was because the victim believed that she was at fault, when really, at most, there was faulty judgment.
There is no excuse, ever. I want girls and women to stop blaming themselves (and worse, each other) for something that is the fault of the perpetrator alone.
3-With EASY, you've become a New York Times bestselling indie author. And I say Super-congrats to you! I know you have an agent now to handle your foreign and subsidiary rights, but tell us about going independent. Would you recommend it? Any big tip(s) for those considering it?
The reasons for indie publishing vary from author to author. What works for one might not work for another. I used Amanda Hocking's experience as a sort of guide, but the landscape of indie publishing has changed a lot in the 2.5 years since she began publishing her books online. I had to tailor what had worked for her to the different landscape I encountered a little over a year after she'd done it, and authors now can use what I did loosely, but it has changed since then, and is constantly changing.
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| Tammara |
4-There's been heaps of debate recently over the changing face of publishing. Commentators like to note how bestselling indies like Amanda Hocking end up signing traditional contracts once they "make it." What are your thoughts on all this and that? Do you see yourself going traditional now or in the future?
As for traditional v. indie, I seriously doubt that Amanda Hocking was the first to accept a traditional contract after self-pubbing. She's just the first to get a major publishing contract. I've never, ever been on one side of this debate or the other. The point is to create a career for yourself as an author however you see fit and in whatever way is comfortable for you. For me, that means any and all combinations as I see fit. Standing staunchly on one side or the other is shooting yourself in the foot, in my opinion. The key is that there are now options -- and how cool is that?
Yes, Amanda Hocking got a seven-figure advance (and her agent got a cut of that). Everyone seems to forget that at the beginning of her career, she obviously wanted to see her books on a bookstore shelf. She queried like crazy, and like most writers, she couldn't get a taker. But she was smart enough to compromise when it looked like it was self-publish or nothing. The first "compromise" she made WAS self-publishing. The best part is that before she got that big contract with St. Martin's, she'd already made an amount of money equal to that contract all by herself! THAT is her biggest success. It's awesome that she was able to say to a Big Six publisher, "Oh, now you want to pay me seven figures to give me what I wanted a couple of years ago? Okay."
Publishers haven't survived as long as they have without gaining enough market savvy to figure out the value of a writer who is capable of finding a willing, paying market without the backing of a publisher. What they do after finding and retaining that someone is the do-or-die point. Successful indie authors play with all sorts of factors. We change covers, descriptions, price. We know that what sells books is word of mouth. We use those factors, along with good writing and good presentation, to our best selling advantage, hopefully.
When publishers take over the product, they must be careful of messing too much with what is working. If they change the cover, revise the story, and increase the price too much, all the product recognition the author has worked for -- successfully -- is tossed out the window.
Very awesome information, and great advice. Thanks so much for stopping by, Tammara! And best to you in your continued writing career!
Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends~ <3
