Hometown Inspiration

I remember the moment I came up with my Sandwich book idea.

I was sitting around the table at my in-law's house, talking about writing. I'd recently finished writing my FIRST book and was dipping my toe into what I needed to do to actually, like, you know, publish the darn thing.

And one thing became very clear. Writing one, solitary book does not a long-term author make.

So we were talking about books and where to set them at. Since the only piece of writing "advice" I'd ever heard up until that point was "Write what you know" I began to go through locations that I *knew*.

Starting with my hometown, the place I was born.

The moment the thought entered my brain, my breath hitched.

It was perfect. I write romantic comedy. I was BORN in the city of SANDWICH.

What if I write a book set there???

My family thought it was a hilariously fun idea.

So over the next few months, I brainstormed the idea--to feature a book with a "sandwich" theme based in the town of Sandwich, Illinois.

My hero would own a sandwich shop. Since that sounded a little too cliche, I thought I'd change it up and make it a nice restaurant that specialized in fancy sandwiches verses a deli type thing.

And my hero and heroine would have a bit of a "sandwich" plot. My hero would already have a girlfriend who was OH-SO-WRONG for him but the heroine would work for him and constantly be put in the middle of the two, feeling like a smushed piece of bologna in between two feuding pieces of bread.

That book went on to be my DEBUT novel, Sandwich, with a Side of Romance, from Abingdon Press.

I also decided to make the whole series be a bit of a 3-layer novella sandwich on novel bread---

 

Novel

Novella

Novella

Novella

Novel

So far, A Side of Faith released in August, 2014, A Side of Hope released in March 2015, and A Side of Love will release December 2015.

The last piece of the Sandwich will release in 2016, a novel called The Greatest is Love.

It's the topping on the sandwich!

It was SUCH FUN using my hometown for inspiration. I used some liberties and inserted businesses from my childhood that have since closed down. But I used a few that are still there and are iconic to the town's history. It's SUPER fun to have someone contact me and be like, "Oh my goodness, I live in Sandwich! I know exactly what you're talking about!"


So what about you? Where were you born, or what town do you consider your 'hometown"? Have you ever considered setting your books in that town?

Major props if you town has a name crazier than Sandwich!

Saying GOODBYE to Your Comfort Zone

The other day, my mom and I were having a little chat about book sales (or the prospect of there being a lack-there-of.)

You see, a salesman, I am NOT.

But my mom? Oh my goodness, she could sell a parka to a bear in the middle of July.

She just has this finesee with people, the ability to relate to them and sell them and put herself out there, regardless the consequences. She isn't the "sleezy" salesman type that pressure you... no, it's even worse.

She LOVES you into a sale. Oh yeah. You think she's the best thing since sliced bread and all the sudden your fingers are writing a hefty check for new granite countertops you didn't even know you needed. (Okay, not really, you probably wanted them in the first place but after a chat with my mom, you wouldn't even think of looking elsewhere.)

I.... did not get my mom's "selling" gene.

While I love people and love helping them, my sales pitch is more like, "Here is your price, I understand if you go with someone else though. My feelings won't be hurt."

I've never once held a job in sales... and it's a darn good thing!

Until this whole writing thing....

I SERIOUSLY find myself thinking (and sometimes saying...)... "I hope you like my book... but if you don't want to get it, it's totally okay. I understand."

Way to sell, Krista. Way to sell.

So what does a girl do who HATES selling things, is HORRIBLE at it, but really needs to sell a boat-load of books to keep in this whole publishing thing? Because we all know competition of fierce. ANYONE can write a book and plop it on Amazon now. I should know. I did it last month.

Yes, the first key is to WRITE A GREAT BOOK.

But if you write an awesome book and no one knows about it.... that is helping no one. But the solution isn't always a simple one to find.

So, in assessing my issue, I went to my mother for advice. Sure, she sells and designs kitchens and baths for a living, but that's kinda like books, right? Okay, it isn't, but still, selling is selling and I needed help!

I was giving her examples of some of the things I'd done so far. Things that were fully in my capability, that I felt confident I could do well. I did a blog launch party that went really well. Over 100 comments on my blog and about 4-5 times my normal traffic that day. I posted to a few FB groups about the book, resulting in a few sales. I'd begged on my author page, resulting in a few more sales. I'd linked to it everywhere I could legally link to it, resulting in a few more sales.

But then my sweet loveable mother called me out over my words.... things I felt confident I could do well.

You see, I was planning my marketing around ME. Around my little comfort zone. Around the areas I thought I could do easily that wouldn't make me uncomfortable or have to stretch myself.

I don't remember my mom's exact words, but her message was this.

God has not called you to stay in your comfort zone.

She also went on to pinpoint my biggest reason... that I have a debilitating fear of 1.) failure and 2.) rejection. Those are issues for another blog post though... and maybe some therapy!
 
The bottom line is this, though:

God has called me to write and market my books. To have them published and to be confident not in my own abilities, but in the fact that God can take me OUTSIDE of my abilities, OUTSIDE of my comfort zone, and can do more than I could ever dream.

And... if you know me, I dream BIG.

Here's another thing I've wrestled with in my heart.

I'm a FIRM believer that God has gone before me. It is not in my power to sell the number of books I need to in order to be successful. It just isn't.

But it's in God's power.

HOWEVER....

There is a difference between pressing forward IN THE POWER OF GOD and callasping in the dirt like a stubborn toddler and saying, "I can't do it! YOU do it, God, since you're the one who has all the power!"

Am I the only one who does that sometimes?? Sure, there are definite times when we need to let go and let God. But there are also times we need to cling to God, hop on his back, and go forth in his power and wisdom.

For me, book marketing is DEFINITELY one of those times.

I've done a (sadly) small number of things over the last week to try and get out of my comfort zone in this whole selling thing. Think of it like dipping my toe in the water to test it... then sitting on the side, feet danging, to get used to the cold water.

I can feel God behind me with this amazing grin on his face, ready to push me in if I don't take the leap soon!

Discussion: What about you? Has God taken you out of your comfort zone with your writing career yet? Are you holding back, using God as an excuse?

Take the plunge, y'all.

THIS post is part of my plunge. I was super hesitent to broadcast my struggles so honestly, but my hope is that God can use it to help others throw that towel and dive in.

The water grows on you after a few minutes. Or at least that's what my mom tells me!

Oh, and while you're at it... there's this GREAT novella called A Side of Faith you REALLY should check out. Word has it, the author is a bit kookie but has a side of fun to her.... :-)

Cool, Calm, and Covered

For the least few months, I've been stressing over what I personally feel is one of the MOST important parts of indie-publishing... or really ANY publishing for that matter.

THE COVER!

Well, apart from writing a great story, of course.

It's like when you are buying a house. CURB appeal is SO important. While it may not be the reason a buyer purchases the home, it's responsible for getting them in the door.

The same with a book.

When you're browsing, the first thing you'll notice is a cover.

Is it ugly as sin? Does it look like someone did it who took one class in graphic design 30 years ago?  Are there ten fonts, miss-matching colors, unpleasing graphics? Or is it just plain boring?

Most people's eyes will march on, although maybe get a second glance if it is THAT bad. Most of us don't want our cover to be noticed for its awfulness :-)

Is the cover appealing? Does it catch your eye and make you think, "Oh! I wonder what that's about!" Does it fit your favorite genre and just capture your fancy?

Then you might snag it up, turn it over, and scan the back cover. Maybe even read the first page or chapter, or look at reviews.

While any of those other things might cause you to put it back, getting that reader to pick up (or click on) your book in the first place is super important!

If you plan to Indie-publish... this is SUPER important for you to think about now, at least to gather thoughts on what kind of covers would appeal to your audience.

If you plan only to traditional publish, it still isn't a bad idea. Publishers do ask for input and thoughts (not always...) but to have a ready (and educated) answer will give you a chance to sound informed and a better shot at being a ready voice in the process.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on how to make a great book cover.

But when I was going through the process with my newest novella I'm putting out myself, one of the things I did was browse covers to see what my personal likes and dislikes were. I then sent my cover designer a handful of covers I thought were GREAT, and a handful of "you-better-not-design-me-something-like-this" covers.

Since it'd be horribly mean to point out the latter (and we are all about encouragement here on the alley) I thought I'd share some of the covers I found that were GREAT... and why I thought they were great.

Keep in mind: I stayed within my genre. Comparing a sci-fi cover to a rom-com is just silly, because they are going to be so different in feel.

And these are only a few that I sent him, because... I found a lot!!!

Keep in mind also: The idea of researching covers isn't to copy someone else's idea. That'd would be super bad. Instead, it's to get an idea of concepts. Do you like covers with faces, or not-so-much? How did they use color to enhance? What kind of fonts appeal to your eye verses distract? That kind of stuff...

And without further adu... here are some of my favs!

Oh I LOVE all of Becky's covers! I love the smile and the "realness" of this, and it's just plain fun. 

I couldn't help it ... I was only going to do one per author, but the girl has PINK SHOES you guys!!!! I think I would have bought this book just for that reason only, but I already knew I was a Becky Wade fan by then....

I like this a.) because any cover with a wedding dress intrigues me and b.) she looks like she's running, and it makes me want to figure out why she's running and c.) the wedding ring hanging off the you was pretty cool!

I've noticed that having text over a picture like this, without a little box, is difficult to do (and still make it look good). Bot I LOVED that they were able to do that here, and I LOVE the feeling of fall... and the characters just make me want to find out their story! And I LOVE the colors of this!!!!

Um... yes, this was awesome. We've got a kiss, a fancy dress that I love, and some of my favorite flowers, AND it is pink. Even if I didn't know Janice was an amazing author, I'd pick this up just to see what it was about!

Now this one was a bit different, and that's why I picked it. It isn't girly, and Karen rights very much for women. But... I still like it. The bright lights.... it would make me want to read the back cover, even if I didn't know that Karen was a super star writer:-) I also liked how they made the font be bright like lights for the title... very cool!

And last but not least.... after perusing the cover choices that I liked, my cousin and I finished designing MY first indi-pubished novel, and this is what we came up with.

Given the covers I liked most, I knew I wanted to have PEOPLE on my cover, and preferably faces. I know not all authors/readers like it, but a lot do. My original idea was to show the "sides" of their faces as a nod toward the title.

I perused stock photo sites like mad. SHE was super easy to fine. Oh my goodness, is she not gorgeous?!? her pink lips and pink tank-top sealed the deal as to what color font I'd be using, and since I'm a fan of pink, it worked!

My hero? Eh, not so much. Cameron is a red-headed tall guy, a little on the lean side, who is very handsome. Can I tell you how HARD it is to find handsome redheaded stock male photos (that don't cost like $1,000....)? But when I ran across this brown-headed guy who had that amazing look in his eye as he checks her out... which is TOTALLY Cameron, I sent it to my cousin and he said he could make his hair red. I'll be honest, it's not exactly how I pictured him, but it's close.

I do like having my name in all-caps print... it was that way on my first novel and I wanted to continue with that look, with my name at the bottom. My cousin came up with the fun way to display the title of the name, and yeah, I'm pleased. I was a LITTLE nervous about the white background... but I'm a fan of simple covers and I thought a background would be distracting.

That might be more than you wanted to know about my crazy thought process....

But now it's YOUR turn!!

What covers in your genre have you seen lately that you love? What kind of covers appeal to you?

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance . She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of Wordserve Literary.

A Side of Faith - SNEAK PEAK!

I'm writing while in the emergency room with my 4 year old.


She's going to be fine, but it's been a cruddy day, let's just leave it that.

My post was going to be about "covers" since I did my cover reveal last week. I'm going to save that post for next time, because I just don't have the time/energy/mental capacity to do it justice at the moment.

I was going to do a "repeat" post, but eh, I'm waiting for doctors to come and figured I'd write a quick post to fill the time.

Oh what the heck. I'm gonna go a bit different today.

My novella, A Side of Faith, is releasing on August 18th.

So... what say you that I post a little sneak peak... say the first scene.... below?

Would that be okay?

If you said no, then stop reading now.

Otherwise, here ya go. A sneak peak, and note: I'm still finishing up editing, so this is NOT final and is subject to have a few mistakes still in it, so please forgive me and don't judge the final copy by that!

***

R

achel Carter stood with her hands on her hips, confronting the blank wall. Its stark white canvas screamed, “Paint me, paint me!”

She’d spent the last two days covering it with goo and scraping away at heinous “welcome to the 80’s” floral wallpaper. Now her living room walls were primed and ready to attack with color.

She grabbed the scrunchie from her wrist and pulled back her mass of dark brown curls and twirled it into a messy bun to get it out of the way. Stooping down, Rachel picked up the large three-inch brush and dipped it in plum-colored paint, allowing the liquid to soak into the fibers.

Maddie and Allie would be shaking their heads right about now. Well, maybe just Maddie. Allie was a little more intrigued with the idea.

It didn’t matter though. This wall was hers. No one was looking over her shoulder, telling her what to do with it. She’d gleefully ignored all the decorating ideas they had thrown at her. Boring and predictable, every single one of them.

Rachel’s wall was going to be brilliant. A representation of her art as well as her new lease on life these past seven years. She wanted to walk into her new little hand-me-down house at the end of each day and be reminded of how blessed she was.

Since closing on the house and starting to remodel, she hadn’t even needed her Doublemint gum. She’d given up her on-again-off-again relationship with cigarettes last year and traded it for a love affair with gum.

She’d probably spent more money on gum in the past year than she used to on cigarettes.

But since moving the short hour south to Sandwich, IL, so many other things occupied her time and her mind she didn’t even think about it. Didn’t crave it.

Instead, she craved life, and wow. It felt fabulous.

Brushing off the excess paint, she turned and admired the blank wall one last time. Sunlight filtered through the blinds and bounced off the white drywall canvas.

When finished, it would be a striped yellow, red, purple, and turquoise—each wave thick and horizontal across the wall. No perfectly taped and measured stripes for her. A symbol of her crazy life. The ups and downs. The effects of the different choices she’d made. But how—put together—God had made her beautiful. He’d used the good and the bad to shape her into something breathtaking in His eyes.

She started in the corner and began the first wave.

Just as she dipped her brush with fresh paint and held it up to restart the stripe, the doorbell chimed.

Her hand jerked, and paint droplets pinged across the wall and plastic-covered floor.

Lovely. Purple speckles were now everywhere.

Brush in her left hand and clenched fist with her right, she controlled the urge to stomp as she went to answer the door.

Hand on the knob, she took a deep breath. It wasn’t their fault they’d interrupted her. Her wall wasn’t so important she couldn’t be kind to visitors, even though with her paint-splattered clothes and hair, she was in no way fit to socialize.

Maybe it was a salesman or something.

She lifted her chin, curled her lips into a smile, and opened the door.

A tall man with redish hair stood on her doorstep, a cocky smile gracing his mouth.

Her heart slammed into her chest and the world spun as memories came hurling back at her, of another man—different but too similar for comfort.

Shaking her head as if she could scatter the pictures in her mind, she tried not to react. Her body wanted nothing more than to slam the door, run to her car in the garage, and take off for the nearest convenience store to buy the largest pack of Camels they had.

Her hand shook on the doorknob as she willed herself under control.

This stranger had done nothing wrong, other than ring the doorbell of a crazy woman, evidently. It wasn’t his fault that at first glance, he looked similar to Jared, the man she worked very hard at not hating. They were both impossibly tall and had that trademark red hair, albeit different shades.

Two attributes she’d come to despise in men.

Fair? No, but neither was what she’d gone through with Jared.

Squinting her eyes against the sun’s glare, she looked up and focused on his face.

The similarities stopped there.

His cheeks sported a light beard, looking more like he’d forgotten to shave for a few days than actually grown one on purpose. Jared had always had an oversized mustache, but that was it.

He was also younger. Probably mid-thirties compared to Jared’s mid-forties.

And tall. This man had even her ex beat on height. The stranger’s Goliath frame towered over her 5’5” self.

Auburn red hair splayed in all directions. Goodness, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear Prince Harry himself had arrived from Wales to her doorstep.

Even she had to admit, this man was downright handsome.

Not that it mattered. She wasn’t on the market right now, and especially wasn’t interested in one who not only made her mess up her wall, but also brought out the urge to spit in his face just at the sight of him.

Which wasn’t his fault.

As a precaution, she swallowed the saliva that pooled in her mouth, then propped her fist on her hip and narrowed her eyes up at him. He needed to get off her porch, stat. For his own sake as well as hers. “Can I help you?”

The guy hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “I live a few houses down. Bob asked me to check in on you to make sure you didn’t need anything. He’s not fond of the idea of women living by themselves.”

Red flags soared. First, Bob was the older gentleman from whom she’d purchased her house. It was the same one Maddie had rented three years ago when she first moved to Sandwich, before marrying Reuben. Why would the man ask a neighbor to come check on her? He knew Reuben and Maddie had helped her move.

Second, not fond of women living by themselves? Was the man fishing for information to see if she lived alone?

Well, she wasn’t biting. “Listen. I have no clue who you are, but I know your type. I’ll have you know I hold a very handy carry permit and am versed in all things pepper spray, so I suggest”—she used her paint-brush-filled hand to point— “you just run along.”

The flick of her wrist surprised them both, as the plum-colored paint splattered over the stranger’s face.

Rachel tried not to smirk but didn’t succeed.

The man closed his eyes and took in a long breath, as if practicing yoga or something. A moment later, he opened them and nodded, his voice low and surprisingly calm. “Well then. I guess since you have things covered, I’ll be seeing you around.”

He vacated her porch faster than a deer dodging a skunk.

Slamming the door behind her, Rachel turned to survey her project and groaned. She might need to give in and have a piece of the gum she stashed in the kitchen after all.

But no way was she going to let some man ruin her project. She’d just prime over the spots, keep her chin up.

Her gaze shifted to the top of the bookshelf.

And keep her gun handy.

She picked up a new paintbrush filled with white primer only to be interrupted when her cell phone rang.

Her wall might get done sometime this century, maybe.

Digging into her cutoff jeans pocket, she slid her only non-paint stained finger over the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Maddie. Did Cam come by?”

Rachel switched the phone to her left hand and started to cover purple dots with the paintbrush in her right. “I have no clue who Cam is.”

“Your neighbor. He mentioned to Reuben he might stop by to introduce himself.”

Rachel’s hand stilled. The man hadn’t given her his name, but she had a sneaky suspicion her instincts had made an epic fail. “Oh, uh, yeah. He did for a second.”

“Good. Because you know how I told you there was a guy I wanted you to meet?”

A sinking rock of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. “Yes, and remember how I told you I wasn’t interested?”

Maddie laughed. “Oh, girl. You know I listen to nothing you say and will get my way. Anyway, it’s Cam! And I invited him to dinner tonight. You’re still coming, right? What am I saying, of course you’re coming. Anyway, gotta go. Remember. Tonight. Five o’clock. Kyle’s at a friend’s, so it’ll just be us adults. Don’t be late.”

And with a click, the phone filled with dead air.

What in the world had she gotten herself into? Rachel leaned her head against the wall.

She jerked back when wetness tickled her forehead.

Swirling around, she marched to the kitchen to end her gumless streak.

5 GREAT reasons to self-publish (plus... my own!)

We've already gone over a few not-so-brilliant reasons to choose self-publishing (not in and of themselves, anyway.)

So I thought I'd give some GREAT reasons to self-publish.

1.) FUN! This is quite a bit different than the "Just because..." reason on the not-so-brilliant reason. Maybe you just love to write, but publishing? Eh, that'd be cool, but really isn't a huge-huge goal of yours. Just icing on the cake. And it'd be fun to see your book on Amazon. You can epub a book pretty cheap these days. If the process sounds fun to you, you aren't in it for ( and don't really want) to make much of any money, just want to cross it off your bucket list, then ya know? More power to you! Don't stress, just have fun and enjoy it.

2.) FAMILY! Have a great memoir that you want your kids and grand kids to have to remember your legacy? Self-publishing is a GREAT option. Sure, you could print off that word document, but having it book bound and available to family and friends is pretty cool. EVERYONE has a story, and self-publishing is a great way to share it with the ones you love.

3.) FINANCIALLY-SOUND-CAREER MOVE for the traditionally published. I've seen more than one article out lately quoting statistics that state the hybrid author, one who self-pubs on top of traditionally publishing, is the one making the most money these days. This is the current state that I'm in right now... but I'll share more about MY story at the end.

4.) FISH ARE BITING but not getting hooked. You're a great writer. You might even have a great agent. Your book is excellent, and you've been to pub board a few times. But something about your book is not pushing you over the edge. Maybe it's a niche market that a publisher is nervous about taking the risk on. Maybe you write just a little edgier than some CBA publishers are willing to tackle. (I'm seeing that as less of an excuse these days, though.) This might be a good book to self-publish then.

5.) FAN-BASE: ACQUIRED! Do you already have a great platform as well as a great book? Do you love marketing? Does selling your books make you giddy with excitement? Do you have lots of technological talent? Do you have funds to invest into things like professional editing/cover design? Do you have time to devote to learning? Then you might totally want to go this whole publishing thing alone! GO FOR IT!

Me?

I always said I'd never self-publish.

- It didn't sound like fun.
- My story was not for my family (my family, for the most part, aren't really romance novel readers)
- I fished enough as a kid to know that when you get nibbles... if you're patient enough... the bite will come at some point.
- And I definitely don't have all the qualifications of #5!

My first novel was released in 2012. I was SO excited!

But what some know (but others might not know) is that during the previous 2 years, my life had been a big huge chaotic mess. I gave birth to daughter #4 in 2010. She was born with a severe heart defect and spent TEN months in the hospital, then was in and out of the hospital for the next year. During that time, I signed with an agent, contracted my first book, and then the next year, I released it.

I also had to let go of my day job as my daughter required full-time intensive care at home. She was on a feeding tube/oxygen and needed an unreal amount of therapy. She also came home on TWENTY different medications.

It wasn't an easy time. I struggled through the editing and marketing process of releasing that first book, as I was also struggling with trying to figure out how to be a nurse to my daughter, worrying about how to pay bills without a job (my husband had always been a stay-at-home-dad, but Annabelle's needs were beyond his ability.) And honestly? I deal with a lot of post-stress depression that I'm only recently "waking up" from.

Writing new stuff... well, I tried. I'd go in little spurts, but it was a struggle, both time wise and emotional wise.

So last year, things were starting to calm down a little. The biggest change is that my fuzzy, traumatized heart was beginning to mend.

I took a look at my writing career and was sad. That first book hadn't done as well as I'd wanted. And it was no wonder. It had a struggling author supporting it, and no follow-up books to help back-sell it either.

What was an author to do? I mean, the book hadn't been a total flop. People were asking when the next book was going to come out. Even if I did have something ready (and I almost did) it'd probably be a year to two years, even if I did immediately publish it.

So I talked to my agent at the time about the idea of self-pubbing a book, maybe a novella, to fill in the gap. She gave the idea a thumbs up, and even suggested I do more than one.

The more I prayed about it, the more excited and "right" it felt. So I started on the journey, doing researching and writing.

I'm almost there. I don't have an exact release date, but I hope to firm it up in the next week or two.

A Side of Faith will be the first book, a novella sequel to the first, Sandwich, With a Side of Romance.

The two that will follow will be A Side of Hope  and A Side of Love.

So, this was MY reasoning. A business move, and a way to bring books to my readers while I work on finishing my next full-length and attempting to start the process of pitching.

What about you? Have you ever thought about self-publishing? Are you approaching it as a business decision or a i-don't-know-what-else-to-do option?

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance . She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com.