Vampires, werewolves, mages–the Others are very real, and wreaking havoc in Shiarra Waynest’s life. But now, she’s returning the favor…

Once, she was one of the good guys–or as close as a New York P.I. can get. Then Shiarra Waynest was drawn into the world of the Others. Every faction has its own loyalties and agenda. And Shia’s recent betrayal by her ex-boyfriend means that she may be on the verge of becoming a rogue werewolf at the next full moon.

Of course, with all the threats against her, Shia’s not sure she’ll live long enough to find out. The enigmatic vampire Royce wants her back in his clutches, as do two powerful werewolf packs, along with the police. Instead of going into hiding, Shia is enlisting the aid of her enchanted hunter’s belt and every dirty P.I. trick she knows. If she’s going down, she’ll take out as many of her enemies as she can–and hope that in the process, she keeps whatever humanity she has left…

Preorder STALKING THE OTHERS from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Book Depository today!

Now I’m getting back into the swing of working on interviews and guest posts to ring in the New Year. You can get a taste of what’s coming by checking out the interview I did with the fabulous Sullivan McPig (includes a giveaway for a signed copy of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS or THE REAL WEREWIVES OF VAMPIRE COUNTY). Sullie also did some fab interviews and is hosting giveaways of books from fabulous authors, Carolyn Crane, Laura Bickle, and Gini Koch!

For those who follow on Twitter, you’ve probably already heard that I received the cover flats for book 4 in the H&W Investigations series, STALKING THE OTHERS. My newsletter subscribers will be the first to see a clean picture of the cover (as soon as I have a digital image to do it justice) and they will also get to read an exclusive excerpt. If you haven’t already signed up, you can do that via the newsletter subscription box on the top-right portion of this blog.

I don’t know about you guys, but I am ridiculously excited for this book to come out! As much as DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS was a game changer, STALKING THE OTHERS brings things to a whole new level…

So! Now that the holidays are over, I’ll be making an effort to blog more regularly, post more book reviews, and, of course, do it all while writing the next book in the series!

How about you? Have any resolutions for 2012?

I haven’t done any writing tip posts for a while, and considering NaNoWriMo is nearly at an end, I’m sure there will be a number of writers looking for beta readers at the end of the month. If you haven’t heard this term before, a beta reader is someone who reads your work prior to posting it publicly or publishing it, and gives you tips on how to improve it. Note that beta reading is done as a courtesy and a way to build relationships with fellow writers—it is not a service that should be charged for unless you’re looking for a professional edit or critique from an established company (for example, from The Visions Group). Be careful if you decide to receive a professional critique, as there are a number of scam agencies out there. Remember, too, you get what you pay for with a beta read.

I have beta read in the ballpark of 50 novels and short stories. Sometimes it was only a chapter or two, sometimes it was an entire book. Plus I have been on the receiving end for a few projects, so you can take that into consideration when reading my advice on the subject.

I’m not going to go into the mechanics of what to look for, but rather, how to maintain a happy beta relationship from both sides of the equation.

Top 5 Tips for Giving a Beta Read

1. Tell the writer what they are doing right—not just what they are doing wrong. A little ego stroking can soften the blow of any harsher criticisms of their work or give them hope that not all is lost.

2. If something isn’t working for you, don’t just say “this doesn’t work”. Tell the author why.

3. Temper your comments. Remember, no matter how much you may dislike what you’ve read, this is something the writer worked very hard on. Be honest and truthful, and don’t hold back on pointing out what needs to be fixed, but do not slam them personally or word your critique in an insulting manner. If necessary, write out exactly what you are thinking, read it from their point of view, and then rewrite as needed. (This is where #1 comes in handy.) Remember, your goal is to help the writer improve the manuscript, not tear it down or showcase your wit.

4. Do not insert your own beliefs, opinions, prejudices, or style into the author’s work. This is their manuscript—not yours. Of course you should point out technical imperfections, but the point is not to make the story “yours”. Look for and point out places where the author can improve it, but do not rewrite it for them.

5. Do not confuse the content or characters of the work with the writer or their beliefs.

Top 5 Tips for Receiving a Beta Read

1. Always thank your beta reader for their time. Even if you don’t plan on using a single suggestion, be polite and courteous at all times.

2. Don’t take anything they say personally. If they do bring personal comments into the matter (something to do with you that is hurtful, rather than your writing—realize the difference, as some comments about your writing might sting, but should still be taken into consideration), then this is probably not a good match. Thank the reader for their time, and look for someone else to read for you in the future.

3. Do the best job you can of cleaning up your manuscript before you give it to your beta to read. It helps them enormously if they aren’t spending time correcting your grammar and spelling instead of deeper issues, like plot and continuity. Accept that no manuscript is perfect the first (or, in some cases, the second, third, tenth, twentieth…) time through. Golden Word Syndrome—the attitude that your work is perfect and the only reason you’re having this person read it is to validate that thought, any criticisms be damned—is not allowed. Of course, you don’t have to use every piece of advice you are given, but genuinely and honestly take all beta reader comments into due consideration. Chances are, your writing needs work, no matter how much you’ve polished it. Even pros make mistakes.

4. Unless you have a deadline, don’t push or pester the person doing the beta read. They are doing this for free, after all. If you need the feedback by a specific date, tell them that up front.

5. You can give up on a manuscript, but do not give up on writing if it is what you love to do. Even if it turns out this manuscript needs a lot of work, the practice that goes into fixing it can be very worthwhile. If there are some fundamental flaws which require an entire rewrite, do not despair. You will have a stronger manuscript for it in the end. If you must, set it aside and work on something else—bearing in mind how you can improve the new story by incorporating any useful advice you received from your beta reader.

Some places to find beta readers:

• Absolute Write (via the Beta Readers section)
• Critters.org
• Check online for local listings of writers groups meeting in the area
• Check with your local library and/or bookstore to see if they have any writer group meetings

Know of any other useful beta tips? Any other websites or other places where a writer can hook up with a beta reader? Let me know in the comments!

So, now what? 

I think I’ll take a little writing break.  Not long–a few days, maybe a couple weeks at most–to catch up around the house, do some reading, and get through some promised beta reads.  My next writing project will be a short story (for fun, not publication) and then I think I’ll do some tweaking of that paranormal romance I’ve had sitting on the backburner. 

What about you, folks?  Who is participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)?  If you’re not a writer, what are you currently reading?  I’m about 1/3rd of the way through NOCTURNE by Syrie James right now, and I’ll be torturing myself with MODEL LAND by Tyra Banks next (follow the #damnedbook hashtag on Twitter for all the delightful snark you can handle from Wicked Little Pixie, Mark Henry, and others).   I’ve got plenty of other books to read, too, and I can’t wait to catch up with everyone on Twitter, Facebook, email, etc.

• Did you catch my giveaway celebrating the release of THE REAL WEREWIVES OF VAMPIRE COUNTY?  Come win some swag!

• Visit All Things Urban Fantasy to read my Spooky Legends guest post about butt spiders.  Yes, I said butt spiders.

Also, a reminder that you can find me on:

• Twitter
• Facebook / H&W Investigations Fan Page
• Goodreads
• H&W Investigations Fan Forum

And, just for kicks, since I posted snippets on Twitter and Facebook, here is one more sneak peek into the work in progress just for the blog followers:

It ducked its head under the frame and stepped into the room, having to stoop so as not to bang its head on the ceiling.  Ropy muscle bulged across a thick chest and long, talon-tipped arms.  Sleek black fur covered the vaguely humanoid frame of the monster before me.  It moved with a smooth, deliberate grace as it approached me.  A beautiful and terrible hybrid of human and wolf, like a magnificent living sculpture of pure, condensed predator, coming for my blood.

A predator I recognized.

Dillon.

The rat bastard.  The asshole who infected me.

His lip lifted, revealing yellowed dagger fangs, even bigger than those of the wolf I’d just defeated.  Claw-tipped fingers flexed and he arched his back, dog-like head lowering until he was nearly my height and presenting a slightly smaller target.  Say, the size of a VW Bug instead of an Escalade.

(Disclaimer: This is from a rough draft of STALKING THE OTHERS; text is subject to change between now and the release of the book.)

Have a great Halloween, everybody!

Friday Funnies will continue to be posted as usual. Other than that, I can’t promise a regular post until after this book is turned in. Other than to hop up and down screaming with joy when H&W #4 is done, and to do some cartwheels when THE REAL WEREWIVES OF VAMPIRE COUNTY releases–of course, on the same day book 4 is due.

If you’d like to take this opportunity to shamelessly promote your own blog or book with a guest post while I get busy in the background, feel free to hit me up. Otherwise, I’ll catch you cats and kittens in the Dirty Mind Brigade Headquarters (aka, the fan forum) or here on the blog when I get back!

Holy wow! I’m honored that I’ve been nominated (by you, the readers) into this year’s Bookie Awards! I was lucky enough to be a presenter at Authors After Dark this year, and I can tell you, it warms me right down to the cockles of my heart that some of you felt strongly enough to vote me onto the ballot.

If you want to vote for me and some of your other favorite romance and urban fantasy authors this year, click here to take the survey. You’ll find me in the following categories:

1. Anthology of the Year – The Real Werewives of Vampire County

6. Shifter Short Story of the Year – What’s Yours is Mine

24. Most Accessible Author – Yours Truly

29. Reader Voted Star of Tomorrow – Yours Truly

33. Series of the Year – H&W Investigations

38. Vampire Short Story of the Year – What’s Yours Is Mine (though I would like to point out it would not be fair to vote for me on this one–the story is more about werewolves than vampires)

39. Werewolf Novel of the Year - Deceived by the Others

46. Best Foreplay Scene – Taken by the Others (Wait, wut–when did I write foreplay in that one? Maybe when Royce had Shia up against the wall in her apartment? Never mind, I’m not complaining. RAWR.)

46. Best Foreplay Scene – Deceived by the Others has ALSO been nominated for this category! Holy schnikes!

50. Best Villain – Max Carlyle

So, there you have it! Sally forth and vote as you will. Thanks again for considering me for so many categories! My readers rock my socks!

…as an aside, I don’t know what cockles are, but they sound dirty. *brow waggle*

When it comes to the traditional vs. self publishing debate, I tend to keep my mouth shut. I’ll say up front that I haven’t self published anything and I’m not usually one to rock the boat by getting involved in such a hot topic. However, I do keep an eye on the trends, commentary, speculation, and news that floats around the internet about my industry, which self publishing is a part of.

Sometimes I come across stories that make me scratch my head or roll my eyes. If they’re interesting enough, I tend to share them privately with a few friends, but you won’t see me comment on them in public.

Well, today I have something to say.

I find people like Polly Courtney who post pictures of themselves pole dancing online who then go on to complain about how their employer and then their publisher treated them was sexist and condescending is just… ugh. Seriously? You’re not giving back your advance? I thought you believed they were treating you unfairly and that you don’t want to work with them. You must have known that the cover that you complained about on launch day was going to look like that for MONTHS in advance of publication. You’re only just now complaining about it—to the media rather than your publisher, no less—the day the book is released?

Fuck that. No, seriously. Fuck. That. Guess what? The big, bad pro-published guys are not out to get you. The Man isn’t here to keep you down. Editors and agents have not made it their mission in life to make you miserable.

Shocking, right?

When I see someone like Kiana Davenport go off about how their publisher has treated them and how awful things are because they have to pay back their $20,000 advance and oh, woe is me, I shall self publish and go indie because it’s the stylish and “right thing to do” and damn The Man, frankly, it boggles me. Who are you sticking it to? The people who worked hard to find a way to market and print your book and put it in stores and get it into as many hands as possible. The people who believed in your work enough to pay you money (a LOT of freaking money in this economy–the $20K wasn’t even the full amount of the advance) up front for it regardless of whether they would earn that money back and if you smack-talk them in public.

Sorry, chicky, but I have no sympathy for you. Whose fault is it if you didn’t read your contract? Take a look in the mirror. A few other people don’t think you handled this well, either, and they said why a lot more intelligently than I am at the moment.

Let’s look at some pros and cons.

Traditional Publishing Pros:

• You get an advance (money given to you that the publisher is “guesstimating” you will earn back within a year or so of publication). Unless you make a fuck-up of epic proportions, that advance is yours. You don’t have to pay it back. Seriously, you have to work to piss off your publisher and have your book cancelled, especially after they have already paid you part of that advance. I’m looking at you, Kiana.
• You don’t have to pay for editing, marketing, publicity, book cover design, printing, etc. Someone is double-checking your work every step of the way for continuity, spelling, and/or grammar errors, and your work is also checked for any potential legality issues. That’s all handled and paid for by your publisher.
• Your editor bought your book because they believe it will sell. They fought to get you in over other books to sell you to their board, and they think you’ve got something worth putting into the hands of the reading public. That is a very powerful ally to have in your court.
• Your publisher will handle most of the marketing, so your attention is freed up to do what you love most—writing books.
• You have an entire company full of experienced people who are working hard to make sure YOUR work is a success—because if you succeed, so do they. They make money off of your book. That’s why this is a professional industry, and not just a “hey, this seems like a nice thing to do, let’s give it a whirl” hobby for most authors.

Traditional Publishing Cons:

• Sometimes you have to change something you aren’t particularly happy about changing. If you fight against it, you might be considered “hard to work with” and not get another book deal.
• Sometimes you have to keep something (*cough*fugly book covers*cough*) that you don’t want to. If you fight against it, you might be considered “hard to work with” and not get another book deal.
• If you are one of those people who gets a tiny advance and your book is going straight to paperback, you might not get much attention from your publisher because you’re one of what in some cases can be literally hundreds of books on their list and they don’t have an equal amount of time to devote to everybody. That means you may have to do some of this marketing biz yourself. It’s not personal—it’s business.
• There is a possibility you might not earn out your advance or even make the publisher enough money in sales to justify them signing you on for more books. You may never earn more money for your book(s) than what you received for your advance.
• It can take a really damned long time to get your full advance, get your book on the shelves, get your royalty statements, etc.
• Rejections hurt. No one likes to hear their stuff isn’t good enough. No one.

Self Publishing Pros:

• Full control over the entire publishing process.
• You don’t have to change a thing about your work if you don’t want to.
• Instant gratification (most companies that offer this service from what I have heard will pay you immediately once you reach a certain amount of money, or pay you once a week/month/whatever, and will also let you see your sales figures right away).

Self Publishing Cons:

• No advance.
• No vetting process (there’s no one double-checking your work for errors or for potential legal issues).
• You are one of so many, getting your voice heard in the market is incredibly difficult. Have you looked on Amazon lately? How many self published books are available there? How many of those books or authors have you heard of aside from Amanda Hocking or Barry Eisler or J.A. Konrath? Per an article on How Publishing Really Works, the average sales figure for a self published (POD or Print On Demand) novel in 2009 was less than 200 copies, and even then, most of the sales were to the author rather than to the reading public. I did a quick search for info on ebooks publishing figures, but I wasn’t able to find anything that answers the question of averages. To give you an idea, based on my royalty statements (and I’ve only seen the figures, both in the five digit range, for two books so far—HUNTED BY THE OTHERS and NOCTURNAL) my ebooks make up less than 10% of my sales. If all you’re publishing are ebooks, it looks like you’re missing out on an awful lot of potential sales. Are you starting to get the picture?
• As Amanda Hocking herself once said, “The amount of time and energy I put into marketing is exhausting. I am continuously overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do that isn’t writing a book. I hardly have time to write anymore, which sucks and terrifies me…Just because I sell a million books self publishing, it doesn’t mean everybody will. In fact, more people will sell less than 100 copies of their books self publishing than will sell 10,000 books.”
• You have to pay for everything yourself—editing, marketing, publicity, cover art—all of it, and you might never make enough sales to earn that money back.
• Even though you haven’t been “traditionally published,” you can still be rejected—by readers and reviewers. Have you seen many (if any) self published books reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly, Locus, NY Times, etc?

Now, as a published author with a New York house (Kensington), you might think I’m anti-self publishing. That’s the farthest thing from the truth. I really could care less if you self publish. I’ve read some fantastic self published books by David McAfee, Jill Myles, Annie Nicholas, and others. One of my favorite short stories was self published. What do I care how you get your book out there? Honestly? As long as it’s well written and edited, I could not give less of a crap how your book was made available.

So, seriously. Where I’m going with this is for those of you who are pissed off at agents and publishers to just stop it with the finger pointing and the whining and making the traditionally published authors, the agents, and the publishers out to be the bad guys. Read your damned contracts and ask questions if you’re not sure where the line is in the sand. We’re not here to keep you down or hurt you or slam you or make you into a victim. Some of you are doing a fantastic job of that all by your lonesome.

Quite a lot of agents and editors have made a point of being helpful and trying to show you how to make it as a traditionally published author. Have you seen my blog roll? I’ve barely scratched the surface of the number of agents and editors out there who try to post helpful advice on the internet. Have you read the thousands of posts from Miss Snark, Evil Editor, Janet Reid / Query Shark, Bookends, Nathan Bransford (from when he was an agent)—need I go on—all trying to help you? Come on, people. Yeah, there are some “professionals” who are rude and cruel in this industry. It’s true. However, that doesn’t mean EVERYONE is out to get you, or that ALL traditional publishing is bad, or that you need to “stick it” to someone just because you don’t like how the game is played.

There are plenty of us who do. I want to thank all of the agents and editors out there who don’t tolerate this sort of behavior. I want to thank all of the people in the publishing industry who have made a point to help those of us who were at one time floundering newbies who didn’t know which way was up. I want to thank all of the people who took the time to educate themselves and worked out their differences quietly, in non-newsworthy fashion. I want to thank those of you who are self published who don’t make asses of yourselves in an effort to get attention.

Politeness and courtesy goes a lot farther than being a snot, I promise you. Biting the hand that feeds you and then blaming them for smacking you on the nose with a rolled up newspaper is in poor taste and will not garner you any sympathy. Being an internet phenomenon for five minutes thanks to having a public tantrum might get you a lot of attention, but it’s not the right kind, and the sales you get from it will peak—and then that beautiful rise will disappear within a few days or weeks as morbid curiosity/rubbernecking fades, and never return. The only way people will remember you is as “that person who exploded on the internet way back when“.

What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to take an “Us vs. Them” view on this subject. You really don’t. As long as you understand what you’re getting into on both sides, there’s no reason to cop an attitude about who you read or who you work with or how you get your prose out there. There’s room enough in the pool for everyone to play, and most of the authors, agents, editors, and other publishing professionals I know are fantastically, genuinely nice people. Really, there are a lot of you who are true gems, a boon to this industry. Not the least of which being my own agent and editor.

I really do appreciate the people who take the time to educate themselves, understand this, and realize that there’s no reason we can’t all be in this together. You guys are awesome. And I’ll always have your back.

Fun times, huh? I’m excited to see who else will be stopping by to add their thoughts, and what else Stella has up her sleeve this week!

So, have you picked up your copy yet?  If not, here are just a few of the places where you can find it:

• Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon Canada
• Kindle US / Kindle UK
• Barnes & Noble
• Borders
• Books-a-Million
• Book Depository
• Buy.com

If you haven’t done so already, you can enter the release day giveaway here.  Also, for those new to the H&W series, you can download HUNTED BY THE OTHERS on Nook and Kindle for FREE for the next couple of days! 

 If you missed them, I’ve had a number of guest posts go up in the last couple of weeks, too.  Need an additional H&W fix?  Check out what Shia, Chaz, Royce, Arnold and Sara are arguing about this time, enter some giveaways, and even read a short story about Devon saving a fair maiden in distress!

• Deadly Destinations: Shiarra Waynest Discusses NYC
• The H&W Gang Talk About Their Favorite Foods
• Shiarra Waynest Talks About Her Essentials
• Alec Royce Talks About How Vampires Cope With the Summer Sun
• A Bedtime Story for KB (aka, Devon Saves Kate)
• Reality In the Supernatural World

Also, some more excellent reviews for DECEIVED:

• KB of Babbling About Books And More: Why You Should Be Reading the H&W Series
• Book Faery
• Yzhabella’s Bookshelf
• Book Whispers
• Notes of Life
• My Bookish Ways
• Seduced By Books

Since the book just came out, I ask that you please keep any spoilerific comments to a minimum on this blog post.  Feel free to write me a personal letter about it (it might take me a little to get back to you, but I will answer every one that I receive) or head over to the fan club forum and discuss it there.

Thanks to all of my friends, family, and fantastic fans!  Hope you all love DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS!