Compounded of Dust

I know "I'll Have What She's Having" has just come back from a lengthy hiatus, but given that I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks, the blog will be off during that time as well. We'll resume the Writers and Success series next month.

In the meantime, I wanted to leave you with this announcement: I am so excited, proud, and honored to announce that my twin brother, Paul Lorello, has published his first novel, Compounded of Dust. Fans of Christopher Moore, Carl Hiaasen, Richard Matheson, and Neil Gaiman will find themselves in familiar territory. I've read this novel (and am reading it again!), and it is FANTASTIC, with prose as silky as fine chocolate, and a villain so diabolical he'll give you the shivers. (Ok, so I may be biased. Prove me wrong, I say with a smile and a wink.)


Here's the synopsis:

When Richard Garnier, thirty-four year old, tarot-loving milquetoast, wanders into Mothfield & Leech's Hardware Emporium and Thrift Store Annex, he has no idea that he will soon encounter blackmail, extortion, magic, murder, monsters, myths, and Mothfield—that would be Charles Mothfield, the dentally-challenged owner and proprietor of the eponymous shop. After Mothfield adds Richard's name to a list of clients stacked ever-so-neatly in his supernatural Ponzi pyramid of death, Richard finds the diabolical old coot will stop at nothing in order to perpetuate the evil that lies within, of all places, an antique icebox hidden in plain sight on the floor of the shop. Meanwhile, Richard Garnier's friends, his family—all are in danger of losing their lives, or worse, as Richard is to discover, their souls. 

Compounded of Dust is available on Kindle and Nook for the faboo price of $2.99. (Paperback edition coming soon.) You can also follow Paul on Twitter as well as on his blog, Curare Sundae.

Buy it. Read it. Love it. Share it. Post a review. "And may I say, Richard, that you've made an excellent choice."

Thanks, friends. See you in June.

final post of 2010, and it's a yummy one

Hi friends-

I have one more post in me -- a top ten list of Sarah's and my favorite cookies in honor of Why I Love Singlehood. We had written them for the Kindle Daily Post, but due to space constraints, the post had to be shortened to the essentials (a rather yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe, found here).

We didn't want all that good writing to go to waste, however, so here's our top ten list. May you be inspired to make one or all, and may you all have a wonderful Christmas.

‘Tis the season…the cookie season, that is. And this season, we dare you to skip the sugar cookies, forget the gingerbreads, and pass on the butter spritzes as we re-think the Christmas cookie.

Eva Perino, the protagonist in our new novel Why I Love Singlehood, loves to bake. And so, in honor of her (and the launch of our book), we’ve put together a list of our Top 10 favorite holiday cookies, hopefully securing ourselves a permanent spot on Santa’s “Nice” list by making an extra batch just for him.

10. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies. There’s no need for cranberries to go out of season so quickly. That’s why we love to feature them throughout the entire holiday season. Pair them with a smooth white hot cocoa, revel in the bite of bitter and splash of color cranberries bring, and enjoy!

9. Almond Biscotti is Eva’s favorite comfort food for days that call for a steaming cup of vanilla chai and family stories. Trust us, she’s on to something.

8. Anything with marzipan. Really. Anything. Especially if it involves a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache and comes with hot buttered rum. You just can’t go wrong.

7. What Italian Rainbow cookies require in extra preparation time, they make up for in tradition. Want the true Italian experience? Enjoy your rainbow cookies with a fresh cappuccino. (And then take holiday cheer to a whole new level when you partner your cappuccino with an aperitif like frangelico, strega or amaretto.) Andiamo!

6. Norman’s 7 Layer Bars. Although the Originals at The Grounds might debate whether these belong in the cookie category, we side with Eva’s manager, Norman, when he says these bars are so good there’s no need to make anything else! Just be careful, these puppies pack a decadent punch, so pair them with a calm tea (herbal, green, black, or white) or an equally bold dark roast or hazelnut coffee.

5. Anisette snowflakes. Chic and tasty—what more can you ask for? Embrace the chill and balance anisette’s heady flavor with the smooth, sweet tones of an Irish cream on the rocks.

4. Nut-based cookies like Pfeffernusse (German) or Kourabiedes (Greek) are a nice change from the norm. The combination of nutty undertones with licorice (in the case of pfeffernusse) or orange (as with kourabiedes) is far more interesting than a flour-and-sugar based cookie, and will go perfectly with a hazelnut latte or cinnamon-spiced mocha.

3. Chai shortbread. At one point during our writing process, we actually had to count the number of times Eva made shortbread in Why I Love Singlehood—we’re that crazy about them in all their buttery goodness. And what could possibly make a good thing better? Add a bit of vanilla chai mix and pair with a spicy mulled cider. They’ll practically create their own holiday cheer.

2. What’s a holiday (or any day) without chocolate? And this season, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch cookies are our favorites for both comfort and kick. There’s only one way that adding crushed candy canes to your favorite, gooey chocolate-chocolate chip cookie can be improved: serving them warm with a scoop of vanilla (or better yet, peppermint) ice cream and a mug of hot cocoa.

1. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Our favorite thing about these cakey cookies is that pumpkin is in style from October through January…which gives us plenty of time to make a few batches of these super easy, not-too-sweet treats (check out the recipe below!). Give Santa something to look forward to: pair these pumpkin cookies with eggnog to really embrace the season. (And if you’re feeling daring, try mixing in some rum—the darker the better—and some extra nutmeg for an eggnog experience that Minerva’s husband Jay would be proud of.)

Make a few, or institute your own Cookie of the Week and try ‘em all. And try to give some away…if you can.

end-of-year message

"I'll Have What She's Having" will be on Winter Break for the remainder of this year. In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone, from top to bottom of my heart, for all the love and support you've given me this year. I don't think I've ever had a year as magical as this one, with so many dreams coming to fruition and so many diary entries beginning with "You'll never guess what happened today..."

May 2011 exceed my intentions, and yours.

And now, for some shameless self-promotion: Why I Love Singlehood had a wonderful debut on December 1st ('twas so fab to see so many Facebook friends change their profile photo to the WILS cover for the day!) and is doing well in the Amazon Kindle Store rankings. 'Tis the season of giving, and you can now give Kindle books as gifts! Perhaps you know a friend or relative (male or female) who loves hanging out in coffeeshops, or cookies, or enjoys smart romantic comedies. Makes a great virtual stocking stuffer!

I bid each of you a Joyful Hanukkah, Blessed Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Hopeful Winter Solstice, and any other means of ritual or celebration that takes place during this time. Pray for a soldier. Pay forward a kindness. Give a little bit of time. Express gratitude and appreciation. Forgive someone for a wrongdoing. Remember those you've lost. Practice peace. Read a book.

Thank you. See you next year.

coming soon to a Kindle near you...

I am thrilled to announce that Sarah Girrell's and my novel, Why I Love Singlehood, is available on Amazon for pre-order. The Kindle version is launching December 1st. The paperback version, however, won't debut until May 2011.

Here's how awesome AmazonEncore is: When they first expressed interest in signing WILS, we told them about our intentions to self-publish in time for Christmas. Not only did we want to take advantage of all the people getting shiny new e-readers for Christmas (this year's "Tickle-me-Elmo" for adults, or is that too scary an analogy?), but we also wanted to ride the wave of Faking It and Ordinary World's successful 2010. AE compromised by offering to release the Kindle version in December and the print version in the spring of 2011. And both they (and we) have worked tirelessly to make that happen: copywriting and proofreading edits, design mockups for the cover and interior, promotional text, author pages, etc. Awesome.

I'm a broken record by now, but I can't help it: We're so excited about this book and can't wait for everyone to read it. We love the cover, love its content, and love that it's so close to being born to all of you. We hope you'll download a Kindle copy (if you don't already know, you don't need a Kindle device to do so -- you can download Kindle software to your computer, phone, iPod Touch, iPad, etc.) now and buy print copies for all your friends in May. Or pre-order your print copy now-- that way it'll be like Christmas in May!

Winner!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Brown, who wins the signed copy of Rob Kroese's Mercury Falls! A round of thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment--I hope you'll return!

For those who didn't win, I hope you'll buy a copy of Mercury Falls within the next couple of days. Your purchase can help fight Spinal Muscular Atrophy and the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. See details here.

Thanks again to Rob for an awesome guest post!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled writing. Or not.

hiatus

Hi friends-

Man, how time flies! When I looked at the date of my last post, I gasped--it couldn't have been that long. I wish I could say that the lapse in time was due to my being fervently immersed (do those two words go together?) in revisions for WILS (more like occasional grumblings), but really it's just the end of the semester, and endless grading sessions. I still have about 120 papers to grade, plus calculate final grades, in one week (and I'll be attending an out-of-state wedding this weekend).

OY!

The university finished much earlier last year, so I miss having the extra time to devote to my writing. Try as I may, I'm just not a multi-tasker. The manuscript just has to wait.

And so, unfortunately, do you.

I'm not going to be posting for at least another 1 to 2 weeks. I hope you'll be waiting for me when I return. In the meantime, here are some cool things:

• Faking It is #4 on the 50 Best Rated Indie Authors in the Kindle Store list of a popular blog devoted to e-readers. I'm thrilled! And although Ordinary World didn't make the cut (although it should have, haha), I'm hoping this translates into an uptick of sales, which have been thankfully steady, although not at the stellar numbers of January and February.

• Of the combined reviews for Faking It (100) and Ordinary World (45), 107 of them are 4- and 5-stars.

Thank you, everyone. I couldn't have achieved this success without you! Please continue to spread the word to your friends and families. Lend your copies, or send them to Lulu.com (see the links to the right!) or Amazon to purchase a print copy. Or, if you can't afford your own Kindle device, the software for Kindle can now be downloaded for free to your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Black Berry, and my books are still dirt cheap, so download yours today!

During my absence, please check out the blogs on my bloglist to keep you entertained. In the meantime, here's a great interview with actor Josh Malina. Enjoy. (Now, if you'll excuse me, a stack of papers is glaring at me...)

Elisa appears on Kindle Nation Daily!

Stephen Windwalker's Kindle Nation Daily is the place to go for all things Kindle. Readers (some 10,000 KND followers) get the inside scoop on new and upcoming authors, new Kindle features, how-tos, and any other Kindle-related news. Authors who have been featured on this mega-blog site have seen significant increases in their sales and Kindle rankings.

And so, I, humble wordsmith, have the good fortune to be one of those authors. Check out this feature which includes a lengthy sample (FREE!) of Faking It, plus a rather nice little write-up and profile (and yes, I pilfered the NC State homepage photo).

Meanwhile, work on WILS continues. We've enlisted the help of a reader with the first couple of chapters, which I believe to be the weakest right now. Not good when you want to hook an audience. He's been very helpful so far, giving ideas that I wouldn't have considered on my own and driving home the suckage point (I don't mean to say that he's been harsh in his criticism--quite the contrary. Rather, that there's so much of it is telling.)

And speaking of suckage, I don't think my writing partner will mind if I share a little chat we had this morning:

Her: Eiuch! I just typed out some of the dialogue I wrote yesterday -- it SUCKS. (caps hers)
Me: Don'tcha hate when that happens? You think it's all brilliant as you write it, until you read it the next day and go, "Oh, this is all shit."
Her: Only it didn't seem brilliant to begin with. It's THAT bad.
Me: Oh, you mean cover-it-with-a-sheet bad...

I don't know why writers are so hard on themselves. But if we can't laugh at our own suckage, then how will we ever work through it to turn it into something good?

Finally, I got another little nod earlier in the week from Aaron Sorkin, who happened to find out that I was showing The West Wing episode "Isaac and Ishmael" to my classes. According to Aaron,

Elisa should give her class a pop-quiz on the episode but throw them curveballs like "Who was the Second Assistant Wardrobe Mistress? (This counts for 75% of your grade this semester)".

My response: What do you think the extra credit question was?

spring fever

Friends and readers, I apologize for my unannounced absence from my blog. Last week I was on spring break, most of it spent working on the Why I Love Singlehood manuscript. This included enacting all the edits my writing partner-in-crime and I made during Christmas break (which may seem counterproductive, editing before revising; however, this has been anything but a conventional writing process, and it worked for us), a 2 1/2 hour phone call between the P.I.C. and me (the conversation went something like this: Me: So I have this note on page 213 that I assume made perfect sense to us in December, but is confusing the hell out of me now. Any ideas? Her: I think so, only if you can explain the notes I made on page 145...)

I can't even begin to tell you how great it was to flip through the pages of the manuscript, re-aquaint myself with the words and faces, and laugh out loud in the coffeeshop as I typed out new scenes that we wrote in the margins. We still have a lot of work to do, but our phone call also included giving ourselves a timeline to finish and even publish our book. So exciting!

The other big news: I finally bought a Kindle! After such a great conversation on Book Chatter with some really cool people (see it here if you missed it live), I couldn't wait another minute! So far, I'm really enjoying it, and trying not to blow my entire paycheck on e-books. And while there are definitely some aspects of print books that I would miss (I like to see how far I've read, or how many more pages I want to read, and call me crazy, but I like to smell books, and yes, I smelled the Kindle when I took it out of the box), the Kindle is a different, albeit pleasurable, reading experience. Now, if I can keep away from the Kindle accessories...

At any rate, spring fever is in full gear. I'm spending more time at the coffeeshop, near open windows, taking walks and composing in my head. Spring break gave me a glimpse of my ultimate goal -- to make a living as a full-time author. With every Kindle and print sale, with every positive review, I am one step closer to that goal. So close I can see it. It's lookin' good.

That said, we're at the point of the semester where everything is on fast-forward. I'll try to post here at least twice a week, so bear with me. And thanks for sticking with me so far.

Happy spring, everyone!

join me tonight!

I'm going to be on Stacey Cochran's "Book Chatter" LIVE tonight at 9:00 pm, EST-- I'm going to talk about my recent sales successes and failures. Hope you'll join us!

I can now assess my mistakes. For one, I raised the price too high. Fifty cents doesn't seem like much, but think about what it would be like if a zero was added to that. Imagine raising a price from 99 dollars to 149 dollars. Would you be willing to pay that much more? I still want to try $1.19 and see how I do. If I don't fare much better, then I'll go back to 99 cents.

Second, the problem may have been that I raised the price on an existing product. I think I'd do better releasing a new book at $1.49 (or higher, once the new Amazon royalty rates change). Clearly the appeal of Faking It wasn't only the book itself, but a "great book at a great price". I thought perhaps it was time to let the value of the writing speak for itself, but I underestimated that readers loved that just as much (even though some said they'd have been willing to pay more).

Good lessons all around. It'll kill me to have to take the book offline even for 24 hours while the new price reduction goes into effect, but hopefully sales and rankings will rebound as a result.

Finally, I got two happy surprises today. Came across this glowing review of Faking It and Ordinary World, and the WickedWriters website re-posted the guest blogpost I did for Anthony Policastro and The Writer's Edge. So, if you missed it the first time, check out WickedWriters!

Have a fab weekend, everyone!

not part of the tour, but one more guest post

I get to plug one more appearance. My friend Anthony S. Policastro (you may remember his guest post back in September of last year) invited me to write a post about being a Kindle bestseller. His blog, The Writer's Edge, attracts many self-published and aspiring authors. So, here's my post in which I try to re-trace my steps using the 4 "P"s of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion.

In the meantime, I have a question (or two) for you: Is there anything you'd like me to cover on my own blog? Any questions, any subject matter? If there is, let me know. I recently read something about blog overload, not to mention blog burnout. In other words, so many blogs to read and follow, so little time. I can vouch for this both on the reader and writer side of blogging. This piece (and I'm sorry I didn't bookmark it, otherwise I'd give you the link) suggested that it's more important to blog about things of substance than blogging every day. Most of what I post here seems to be pretty mindless, and I want to keep my followers, so I'd like to know what keeps you coming to "I'll Have What She's Having", or what would keep you coming.

And I haven't forgotten about the titles-&-characters challenge. As you read yesterday, I'm pretty swamped right now. Might not happen until the summer.

Anyhoo, enjoy the guest post, and have a good weekend. See you on the B side.

good news

On the eve of turning 40, the gods have blessed me with book sales.

As of this moment, Faking It is ranked #19 on the Kindle Store bestseller list, with Ordinary World following at #133. (I'm even beating out Dan Brown at #22!!)

Keep a few things in mind (and my ego in check): The Kindle Store rankings fluctuate quite a bit. Also, they don't necessarily reflect the rest of the market (i.e the New York Times Best Seller list). You'll see that most of the titles on the Kindle list are either free or priced at a buck, so you can see where the attraction really is.

But still.

I'd like to think that my price gets them to the door, and the writing keeps them inside.

And yet, I can't help but have an uneasy feeling about this. Booksellers and agents are voicing opposition to the low pricing, and claim that devaluing our books (beyond just price) is killing publishing. And I agree with them to a point, actually. Not necessarily that it's killing publishing, but it's certainly upsetting the industry, and I'm a part of that now.

But hey, I'm a bookseller too. And I can't help but think about how much fatter the check would be even if I at least doubled my price. But would as many copies have sold? They didn't the first time around (although I didn't have the patience to find out if the readers would've come around anyway). I've got readers now. And reviews. Good ones, too. That's what I really wanted all along.

But I worry if traditonal publishers will reject me now because I'm not playing their game and am part of the devaluing. I took advantage of the capitalist system, that's all. I persisted. It's the number one advice I get from agents, editors, and other writers. Persist.

Anyhoo... I'm getting off track here.

It's a neato birthday present, is all I'm sayin'. And it feels good.

for what it's worth...

For what it's worth, Roberto Scarlato is a writer who is not only a witness to but a participant in life -- more specifically, the human condition.

Rob first contacted me about six months ago and invited me to appear on his blog, Tales and Troubled Times of a Hungry Writer. And believe it or not, I had been reluctant to accept his invitation. "I'm a chick lit writer," I quipped. "Your blog seems to appeal to a much different audience and genre."

Looking at Rob's blog and reading his posts, one could see that he had an affection for literary science fiction, the greats like Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury (my knowledge of Matheson extends only as far as the fantastic Twilight Zone epsiodes of the early 60s, and my twin brother fills me in on the rest). But I could also see something else: Rob Scarlato loves the craft of writing, and loves writers, too.

So, we gave each other a shot.
Since then, Rob has become one of the Faking It Fans, and always puts in a good word whenever he can. So it was without hesitation that I snagged a copy of For What It's Worth immediately after hearing of its release.

Ever thoughtful of my preferences, Rob directed me to particular stories in the collection. The first one I read was "The Subtle Teachings of Mr. Rifa."
Of course.
I connected with this character right away, but I don't think it was only because he was a teacher. There was something I understood about him, and I understood the construction of the story.

The next story I read was "Failing Upwards," a hilarious comedy of errors for a poor schmoe who, in the end, lives to see another day after a calamitous interaction with a staircase. Readers are also witnesses in Rob's story world, and one can't help but watch this guy without both feeling sorry for him and laughing at his expense.

But perhaps the most imaginative story for me was "Your Escape Plan Now" -- a set of directions for a corporate prisoner to make a break! Here, the reader is the traveling companion, even the participant, rather than the observer. Interestingly, Rob wrote the story in one sitting, and the reader certainly feels like he/she is on a rollercoaster. I couldn't help but wonder about this intended reader -- does he make it out (and it felt like it was written for a "he")? What if he is snagged somewhere? How do we know? It is up to our own imaginations to continue or end the story as we see it.

Don't like those? You have 16 more to choose from. The book even comes with author's notes at the very end, which I recommend saving for last, to give the reader an insight look to Rob's insights and inspirations. Overall, the collection is solid, and the mark of a writer who is well on his way.

Give For What It's Worth a try, especially if you are a fan of the short story genre, science fiction, or the human condition.

ORDINARY WORLD debuts on the Kindle!

Need I say more?

I am so excited about this. Click here to get your Kindle copy of Ordinary World for only 99 cents! (Don't forget that you can also download it onto your iPod Touch or iPhone, 'cause there's an app for that...)

Here's the description:

Six years after leaving New York, Andi has everything she wants: a tenured proferssorship at Northampton University in Massachusetts, a published collection of essays, good friends, and a blissful relationship with her husband. But what happens when tragedy strikes and the world as she knows it changes in an instant?

Author Elisa Lorello reunites us with Andi and has created a story of love and loss, joy and sorrow, heartbreak and hope, all the while keeping us hooked through the laughter and tears.

Not sure you want to commit? Then go to Lulu.com and download a free sample! (There's a free sample of Faking It as well!) I am looking forward to the paperback debut in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much for all your support!

oink oink

Readers, you may have thought I escaped to the beach, or went pumpkin picking and got caught in a vine; or, perhaps you thought I succumbed to the insanity known as mid semester. Or, perhaps you thought I was going deep and quiet before launching the Ordinary World missle.

Sadly, it was none of the above. I had the swine flu.

Yes, that awfully named H1N1 virus that has nothing to do with swine but everything to do with the flu. I am now a statistic.

It was spreading around campus faster than gossip (a recent memo from my university approximated 900 reported student cases, "presumably" H1N1, since the beginning of the fall semester), and several of my students had already missed class as a result of it. Faculty had also been issued a memo that students with swine flu were to be given special consideration regarding attendance, catching up, etc. I frowned, thinking that they were simply riding on the paranoia bandwagon.

And then I got a tickle in my throat.

I'd dismissed it because it was at night, after a day in which I lectured for three hours straight (which I normally don't do). When I woke up the next morning with a cough and feeling a little bit woozy, however, I thought that maybe it wasn't from all the talking.

I went into school anyway, but by the time I got there I was pretty certain that I should probably turn around and go home (feeling more woozy and throat sore), that maybe I should take advantage of the bandwagon, especially given that in 24 hours I would be on fall break, a break I was looking forward to so I could start planning the Ordinary World launch, line up some readings, etc. (not to mention just relaxing).

Besides, the department secretary said I didn't look too good.

By the time I got home, I was running a slight temperature. Very slight. I made a doctor's appointment for the next day. Even apologized for jumping on the H1N1 bandwagon.

I'll spare you the details of the H1N1 test (other than to say "snout test" might coincide well w/ "swine flu"), but 10 minutes later, my results came back: positive.

That's not what upset me, however. What upset me was the doctor reminding me that I hadn't been there for a physical in quite some time, and now that I'm almost 40, these things have to become regular.

Damn, I'm almost 40??

It turned out that I was too late for Tamiflu, and the doctor told me to stay home for one week exactly and take OTC meds, which I did. No contact with others.

For the next three days, I was sicker than I've been in a long time. The fever was the worst. At some point I finally lost it and burst into tears when my mom called. It was also the first in a long time that I felt lonely. I wondered if this was payback for my criticism of the "special consideration" memo. Had I not already been on vacation (and a sucky vacation it was), I would have had to cancel even more classes. This is not a curl-up-under-the-blanket-and-catch-up-on-soap-operas-or-reality-shows kind of flu. You start to think of ways to put yourself out of your misery: drop an anvil on your head, drink the entire bottle of Dimetapp, suck on the exhaust pipe of a bus, you name it. I had very little appetite for anything other than toast or soup. (I did, however, have the foresight to buy a bag of peanut M&Ms on my way home from school earlier in the week.)

By Saturday, my fever finally broke, but was still 99. On Sunday, I relapsed just a little, but my appetite returned (as did my single-serving instant cake recipe). Yesterday was my first full day w/ a normal temp and w/out needing meds of any kind. Today was my last day off from school. I even got some work done today.

So even though my vacation was shot to hell and the Ordinary World release has been delayed, there are more things for which to be grateful: having a job in which to call in sick; having health insurance to cover my doctor visits; having family close by to deliver orange juice to me; having a mom to call me each day and make sure I'm ok, and a wombmate who made me laugh until I couldn't stop coughing; and lots and lots of dear friends and colleagues and loved ones via Facebook who let me know they were thinking of me, sending me love and healing energy, and simply wishing me well. Besides, better sick now than at Christmastime, when I'm back in Sag Harbor with my writing partner working on our manuscript.

Not only that, but this past week, Faking It climbed very high in the Kindle Store rankings yet again (and, last I checked, is still in the Top 100 for special categories), got its first UK paperback sale (woohoo!), and is a semifinalist in the Best of the Best ebook contest (its Kindle status qualified it).

I have a lot to catch up on, and am looking forward to getting my energy levels up. I'll say this: don't take this flu lightly. I still think there's a lot of hoopla about it; but, it's not something I wish on anyone. I certainly have more empathy for my students now (not that I had none before), and perhaps that's another good thing to come out of this as well. And I'm bringing a can of Lysol to my office on Thursday. That and some Halloween candy. I would've baked cookies for my students, but I don't think they'd really want anything that my hands touched this week.

readers before royalties

I just had a great month of Kindle sales for Faking It; setting the price at 99 cents has attracted more readers and occasionally put me into the Top 100 special categories rankings (makes for good bragging rights for my parents and strangers, but Amazon rankings are a little tricky; still, it's nothing to frown at, either...).

When it comes to Kindle and e-book sales, however, I kind of feel like I'm both biting the hand that feeds me and selling myself short. I've discussed on this blog how I feel about tactile books and how much I love and support independent booksellers. I know they lose business to the Kindle, and I don't want to see them go away. But as a self-published author, I'm not only a writer, I'm a businessperson, and the bottom line is that I sell books on Kindle and am building a following. Am I underselling my talent by charging so little? Many might say yes. But I look at the bigger picture; I think from the end. Guys like Ray Bradbury and Stephen King used to sell stories to magazines that paid a penny per word, and that was after numerous rejections. Heck, the Beatles weren't exactly staying at Hamburg's version of The Plaza when they first started out.

The money will come -- it already is coming. So are the readers, and the reviews. So far, so good. Most important, I'm having fun.

There's a saying: "Do what you love; the money will follow." Don't listen to those that say there's no money to be made as an author, and don't ever sell yourself short, literally and metaphorically. Know what you want, make a plan, and visualize your plan manifesting itself. Most of all, love what you do, and do it as if it's already raking in the bucks. Do it for your readers, and remember: you're one of 'em.

One more thing: more than any other time, self-published authors have several channels of distribution and communication to get their books into the hands of readers. Take advantage of as many as possible, but be patient.