Writing

The Writing Process

August 26, 2014December 27, 2014 Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

One of the members of my Facebook author page asked if I would do a post about my writing process. After I saw it, I sat back and scratched my head. What was my writing process? Like many things, when you live with it, it isn’t nearly as obvious as it is to others.

As with all writing, it begins with an idea. Sometimes it comes as a smattering of dialogue or description while other times it comes as a topic or idea. For The Earl of Brass, it began with the idea of a man needing automaton parts in order to survive, but this rapidly evolved into a man with a missing arm who needs a prosthesis. In the beginning, I typically free write and put down anything that comes to mind. Sometimes it becomes the first chapter of a novel while other times it gets completely rewritten or discarded. Once an idea beginnings to take form, I make an idea map or an outline of what events will happen in the coming paragraphs. For flexibility’s sake, I usually only plan five or so chapters ahead at any given time. Typically, my characters are wayward and do what they want, so I need to alter my plans to fit them. Forcing an agenda on my characters never goes well. Sometimes when I have ideas but am not sure what order they should be in, I make index cards and lay them out. I will move them around and ask my best friend/beta reader and see what she thinks to ensure it’s logical to others. Continue reading “The Writing Process” →

The Earl of Brass is IndieReader Approved!

August 25, 2014 Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

I awoke today to the most glorious news: The Earl of Brass was given a 4.5 star rating from The IndieReader, which means it has been given the distinction of being IndieReader Approved! You can check out the review here.

Since 8:30 this morning, I have been doing my happy dance and texting, messaging, and bugging anyone who would listen that my novel made the list of approved books. For an indie author, this is quite a big deal. The IndieReader is one of the larger, more prestigious book reviewers for Indie and self-published books, and their reviews allow readers to find the gems in indie fiction as well as give indie authors the credit they deserve. For a self-published author, marketing and getting your book recognition is an uphill battle. Often reviews like Kirkus, are rather pricy for the average indie writer, but the IndieReader offers a moderate price with a thorough, balanced review. Being IndieReader Approved is nothing to sneeze at. Plenty of books they review do not reach the 4 to 5 star level, and the reviewers aren’t afraid to say the book is in need or editing or is lacking in certain areas.

The Earl of Brass is my first literary child, and I definitely feel like a proud parent today. Here is a sniplet of the review that made me particularly happy and I think captured the spirit of the novel:

The novel proceeds in a satisfying series of complications as Lord Sorrell and Ms. Fenice work together as archaeologists. The plot takes some unexpected turns and, while not overburdened with action, the events are well-paced and follow logical choices of the characters. The depictions of everyone, from London socialite to field laborer, showed distinct personalities which made THE EARL OF BRASS a humorous and delightful book to read.

Thank you, Claire L. Deming for reviewing my book (no, I do not know any of the reviewers, but her name is listed at the bottom). I am honored and ecstatic that my debut novel is now on the IndieReader Approved list.

Once again, the rest of the review can be found here.

The Earl of Brass can be purchased here:

Personal Life · Uncategorized · Writing

A Woman of Principle

August 22, 2014August 23, 2014 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

On my blogs and page, I try as a rule not to get too political on my author page or blog, but a recent event has refused to leave my mind, leaving me to purge it through writing.

One of the authors I know from the writing groups I am a part of on Facebook sent me a link to a blog tour service that was hosting a tour for a steampunk novel and was looking for blogs that would be willing to do the advertising posts. Obviously, I want to support and network with other steampunk writers, so I checked it out. The book looked okay. I’m not a fan of advertising something I haven’t actually read, but at that point, I was willing to give the author a chance based on the blurb. The only thing was, I couldn’t figure out how to sign up for the tour, so I went onto the their contact and information page. As I scrolled, I came across the thing that completely soured my feelings toward that book blog tour host, No M/M, F/F, or M/F/M.

For those who are unfamiliar with the terminology, that basically means no stories involving same sex or bisexual protagonists or love interests. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to sign up for the tour and quickly clicked off the web page. From the time I understood what being gay meant, I have been a strong supporter of LGBT rights and marriage. Many of my friends are gay, and two of my characters in The Winter Garden comprise a gay couple who is dealing with their relationship in a world that does not approve of them. How could I, a supporter of the LGBT community, work with a company that outright excludes them? I couldn’t.

When we exclude certain types of fiction, what are we saying to those who choose to write about their experiences or the experiences of others? Your story isn’t worth telling. I don’t want to hear it. No one wants to read it if it’s about that. In this day and age, diverse books are a necessity. By writing and reading about characters who are a different ethnicity, sexuality, or religion as yourself, you are learning empathy and stepping into their shoes as you go from cover to cover. When you say no gay or bisexual protagonists, you are telling every bisexual or gay reader or writer that comes across that site that they are unacceptable. The anti-gay sentiment from many book blogs and reviewers follows in the vein of the prejudicial sentiments of the 1960s. Diversity in characters and novels is a necessity, and having open-minded reviewers and book programs will only further that goal. I hope you will not ignore books solely on the sexuality or ethnicity or a characters within. I will not state the name of the blog tour and take away their livelihood or slander them, but I will boycott them. I will not participate in anything that excludes those who are in need of support.

Writing

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell You’re an Indie Writer

August 1, 2014 Kara Jorgensen6 Comments

When you are an indie or self-published writer, you come across a strange phenomena. Should you tell people you are not traditionally published unless they ask?

For several decades, self-publishing was referred to as “vanity publishing.” Vanity publishing was when a writer would pay to have their books printed in limited runs, and they would then try to sell them. The vanity aspect comes from the stereotype that self-published authors were people who were not good enough to be published by a major publishing house or were hipsters who were too good for the publishing world and wanted only limited copies of their books.

Modern self-publishing is quite different. Self-published authors are not under contract with a publishing house, but now, this is mainly because they choose not to be. By self-publishing authors maintain all artistic control over their work from the cover, to the formatting of the book, to the content. There is no interference from editors or agents telling them what to write next or what to stay away from. Some writers do fit the stereotype and self-publish because they have been rejected repeatedly by the industry, but most authors choose it for the freedom and the profit margin, which is often better than what the major publishing houses are willing to give.

Sadly the stigma of self-publishing being an act of vanity still exists mainly because most people don’t realize how common self-publishing is with sites like Amazon, Lulu, or Lightning Source. After publishing The Earl of Brass, I have found myself holding back when someone mentions the publishing process. I’ll skate around it by nodding and saying that it was a lot of work and took a while to get ready. When I have mentioned it was self-published, people who were enthusiastic suddenly deflate, as if the book lost its worth because it wasn’t chosen by a major publisher to be printed. Because I am new to this phenomena, I am still unsure how to respond to it, but I think the best way is to have people read it, hopefully enjoy it, and then say it was self-published. That way, they realize it wasn’t self-published because the quality was poor but because I wanted to do it that way. As I explore my experiences in this endeavor, I will create blog posts about what the process was in publishing in paperback and ebook form and how I prep my books for publication. If there is ever a topic anyone wants me to explore, just leave a comment or message, and I will try to write a hopefully helpful post.

The Earl of Brass is on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Book Depository