Monday, August 06, 2007
An interesting observation
After I heard that author Ronda Thompson had passed away, I got to thinking about what I might do to keep her spirit alive for me and others. That's a dumb way of putting it, but that's all I have right now. I decided I would watch Publisher's Marketplace for news of debut authors and send them an email just saying, hey congratulations or something like that. My silly idea would be to share the excitement and maybe even start a dialogue with a new author about what to expect or whatever.
Well, gosh. Color me surprised. The first 5 "debut" authors announced in PM weren't really debut authors. Google made it pretty clear that all of them had previous novels to their credit, a couple under other names. Fiction titles, people! If you've published a novel before, even if it's under a different name, sorry, but no novel after that one is your debut. I found three who didn't appear to have previous publication of novels. They also didn't have websites. I could have emailed their agents, but gee, what a waste of the agent's time. I don't want agents or agent's assistants hating me for any reason. So, really, WTF? These are all authors with agents, why the heck didn't their agents tell them to get a website long before the sale? And if they were told, why the heck didn't they do it? Today, at last, a real debut author with a website. He's experienced in non-fiction, hence the website. He's a clueful writer.
This whole experience made me decide Ronda had the right idea anyway. Read new authors and let them know if you liked their book. Simple. Easy. And it really makes a difference, as many of us out there can attest. Plus romance authors have at least one clue and a website on which to talk about it. Anybody can do this. Doesn't matter if you're published or not. Authors really truly love to hear that someone connected with their work. I know Ronda made people feel good, and she made friends, too. Good for everyone. Read new authors and if you liked their book, write and tell them so.
Anyway, I have to stop procrastinating and get some work done. I miss Ronda and I wish I could email her and get another amusing reply from her.
Labels: Authors, Ronda Thompson, Scandal
