Paying us a return visit this week is a gracious lady who brings medical mayhem and bloody violence to her superb New Orlean's based novels. But she's here to tell you about the world as an Indie writer. Ladies and Gentlemen...
Judith Lucci
Thru
the Eyes of an Indie
The
Good, the Bad and the Awful!
Good
Morning Everyone and many thanks to Eric for inviting me to his blog. I want to
tell you about the release of my newest book, 'Toxic New Year: The Day that Wouldn’t End'. Toxic is the fourth book in the Alex Destephano medical thriller
series but first, I want to tell you a little about my evolution as an Indie
author. I must preface this by saying I
was an academic writer first and the scribe of textbooks, research studies, federal
grants,
theoretical articles and anything and everything in between needed to
become a tenured professor in a major University. Nevertheless, I can assure
you that any prestige you receive in your discipline (mine is nursing, medicine
and healthcare) and no matter how coveted your work is, that prestige in academia disappears in the popular press.
 |
| Amazon Link |
First
of all, I’m Indie by choice. I started off in the summer of 2012, as a trad-based
writer with a contract from a small press and an actual dollar advance. I was
thrilled, and dutiful as I am, I changed my story even though I didn’t want to,
killed off a character I wanted to live, and altered plot lines as I was told.
The final clincher came in the restrictive language in my final contract. Since
I’m an out-of-the-box, free-spirited kind of girl, this didn’t sit well with me
so I bailed, returned the advance, and joined the Indie Revolution, kinda of
like when I joined the hippy movement in the 1970s – with the same energy,
commitment and gusto.
The
Best of Indie
 |
| Amazon Link |
There
are great things about being Indie and I’m lovin’ it. I have an amazing support
group and some pretty decent success as a writer. I figure I’m earning about a
dime an hour now, so it’s not all bad.
Best of all I’ve met fantastic indie authors, made great friends and have a new bunch of favorite authors. I love the autonomy being Indie allows and I answer only to myself and my readers. I make my own decisions, set my own timeline and chart my own path. My work schedule is mine and mine alone and I like having the creative control of everything I do. In a summary, being Indie Rocks!
Best of all I’ve met fantastic indie authors, made great friends and have a new bunch of favorite authors. I love the autonomy being Indie allows and I answer only to myself and my readers. I make my own decisions, set my own timeline and chart my own path. My work schedule is mine and mine alone and I like having the creative control of everything I do. In a summary, being Indie Rocks!
The
Bad…or Hard
 |
| Amazon Link |
The
hard part of Indie authorship being a one man show. Indies must write, blog,
edit, publicize, tweet, post, market, respond to fans, present talks, turn cart
wheels, smile nicely and watch their language. In essence, do everything it
takes to sell write and sell a book, often without knowing how. Technology is
hard for me but I’ve learned a lot, and while I did graduate work in marketing,
I can assure you social network marketing wasn’t what I studied. Keeping up
with social networks is a full time job so I’ve managed to select three I think
give me the greatest exposure. I have most of my marketing advertisement
developed through Fiverr and have a couple of folks I work with over and over. Fiverr
is a pretty good deal all in all and it saves me time and money. Another
albatross in Indie writing is editing (both concept and copy) and I have
learned the hard way that I cannot edit what I write. I think it was Poe who
said, “Write Drunk, Edit Sober” but that doesn’t work for me at all. Now, I
have a small street team and a paid editor to assist me with this arduous but
important task. My books go past the eyes of at least three other folks before
they’re released. My street team also beta-reads my books
and tells me where the problems are. And…believe me they’ll tell me. So, part
of being Indie is keeping up and learning all you can to keep your books fresh,
professional and out front and center. It’s hard, but it’s fun and there’re
lots of great indie authors out there to help.
 |
| Amazon Link |
The
Awful!
There’s
not a lot that’s awful about being Indie but there are a couple of things that
are the bane of my existence and those of my Indie colleagues. They are trolls,
or people who are just plain mean and set out to hurt, destroy or demean the
work of Indie and self-pubbed writers. I don’t really understand the mean
spirits of these people but I do know for a fact they exist. My final curse is reviewers who drop a book
one or two stars for a couple of misspelled words. I just want to rip out their
carotid arteries and say, “OK, Jackass, let me see you write a 100,000 document
without an error” but of course I don’t.
I just grab a glass of wine and calm my raging spirit and try harder.
OK,
there you have it! Being Indie is
awesome. Now about my new release.
Many
of you probably know a bit about Alex Destephano medical thriller series but
here’s a quick overview from my website.
Alex
Destephano is hospital lawyer living in New Orleans who struggles, like all of
us, to find her way. Life is tough. She’s
been hurt in love, deserted in life and left bruised and vulnerable. All Alex
wants is the simple life and a man that truly loves her. It won’t happen. Violence
in her life, terror in her home and near-death experiences have panicked her.
Will she make it? And, if so, at what
cost?
'ToxicNew Year' is the fourth in the series and opens on New Year’s Day at the Annual
Bloody Mary Brunch hosted by Alex’s grandparents’ Congressman & Mrs. Adam
Patrick Lee of Virginia. Terror prowls in every corner of the country estate
and danger lurks behind each corner. The setting continues to New Orleans and
later in France where fear, and panic are the order of the day.
Enjoy
and let me hear from you!
BIO:
Judith is a registered nurse and native Virginian who grew up in Richmond. She holds graduate and doctoral degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia. She has been a practicing clinical nurse for over 25 years and is currently a professor of Nursing at James Madison University and the author of numerous academic and health-related articles and documents. In addition to her academic writing she is the author of the Alexandra Destephano novels, a group of medical thrillers set in New Orleans and Virginia. When not teaching or writing, Judith is an avid silk painter and multi-media artist. She owns Artisan Galleries, an art gallery with locations in Harrisonburg and Massanutten. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her family and six dogs.
Judith is a registered nurse and native Virginian who grew up in Richmond. She holds graduate and doctoral degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia. She has been a practicing clinical nurse for over 25 years and is currently a professor of Nursing at James Madison University and the author of numerous academic and health-related articles and documents. In addition to her academic writing she is the author of the Alexandra Destephano novels, a group of medical thrillers set in New Orleans and Virginia. When not teaching or writing, Judith is an avid silk painter and multi-media artist. She owns Artisan Galleries, an art gallery with locations in Harrisonburg and Massanutten. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her family and six dogs.
Judith’s Links
Website: www.judithlucci.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudithLucci
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judith.lucci
Contact email: judithlucciwrites@gmail.com
Once again thank you, Judith, for sharing your experience of being an Indie author with us. My very best wishes for the new book whcih I'm sure will be as gripping as the rest of the series.
Eric @ www.ericjgates.com
Contact email: judithlucciwrites@gmail.com
Once again thank you, Judith, for sharing your experience of being an Indie author with us. My very best wishes for the new book whcih I'm sure will be as gripping as the rest of the series.
Eric @ www.ericjgates.com
No comments:
Post a Comment