Hey, Valerie,

Welcome. That sure looks like an idyllic photo you have going.

Yes, it's a lot to read but in all things, we must be selective and I think you're in the right community here.

Best,

Andrea

Hi Valerie,

Thanks for leaving me a note. I look forward to networking with you and learning more about your work. Feel free to stop by my page anytime.

-Nadia

Thank you, will do. You too....
-valerie

You will begin to understand why I spend 10-12 hours at the computer. 'Sandwich in a couple of hours for the law firm, the rest for mail, all these many networks (I'm not even sure how many I have); I am on MySpace, but rarely go there; then the blog, the zine, enter a contest here and there, plan the conference, get presenters. Sheesh! I'm tiring myself out. But do I love it? YES!!!!!!!

Valerie,
Thanks for taking the time to recommend verses for me.

I checked out your website and it looks very clean and sweet smelling.

Looking forward to talking to you.

-May you stay safe and protected
Andielle

And, yes, you have a nice face - - multi-tasking as usual I trust.

We are contemporaries and lived and loved in some of the same time periods.'

Best,

Andrea

Valerie,

Thank you for having me as a friend.

I visited you website and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. It was easy to navigate and take in what you offer.
Your life story sounds very intriguing.

I would suggest that you include a guestbook so visitors can leave a message.

I read your excerpt with great interest. I did find, however, that there are gramatical errors, which need addressing.

Mario

You are very welcome.

My husband has been working on the great web-site I have and I'll give him your suggestions. We'll go to your site and see your guestbook to see what you have done. Okay?

I really appreciate the nice things you said.....and Shhhh.....I'll check grammer.
(I really hate the fact I have so much trouble with spelling etc. Thank God for 'ms word'.)

Also , thanks for the myspace invite...

Have the greatest day...Valerie

Hi
Val,
I'm glad you enjoyed my website. I keep thinking up new things to put on there. It's a lot of fun.
Morgan Mandel

Hello again,

Now that I kind-a-sort-a- know you I have been seeing your face and name all over the place. Great job! I think I'm going to take some lessons from you and plan my strategy. So , here are some questions if you would be so kind to help me out.

1) I more than likely will go POD and self publish. I have sent in for copyright and wondering when I need an ISBN #.

2)I saw your 'Book Place' and wondered if you would like me there? Or would it be better to start my own Ning site? Or do both?

I don't want to over do , so I'll save some other questions for next time...if that's okay?

Thanks...
have a good one,
Valerie

Hi Val,
You're certainly welcome to join Book Place. Also, it's up to you if you want to start your own network. The best bet is to think of an area where there might be a gap and start a network to fill it. You mentioned POD and self-publishing. They're not necessarily the same. POD is print on demand technology, which small presses also use. If you submit to a small press or larger one and they publish your book, it will easier on you financially than to self-publish. As far as copyright is concerned, your work is automatically copyrighted. If you submit to a publisher, you'll want the finished product copyrighted, since you'll most likely get revisions. You can find some of them on my network. You can also visit the forum section and pose questions. Hope this helps you.
Morgan Mandel

Morgan Mandel

Hi Valerie,

Sorry to take so long getting back to you. I finally received my release date for In a Heartbeat yesterday and I worked like an insane fiend finishing a free give-a-way and book trailer. Now I need to figure out how to fit them on my page here. *groan* [just kidding]

I live in Clearwater and love it.

How long has I Must be in Heaven been in edits? I'm just wondering because I have a full length novel under consideration at The Wild Rose Press. Does it very long to go through edits?

Have a sunny day ~ ;o)

Paula
w/a Aithne Jarretta
http://www.myspace.com/aithnejarretta


~ View my Christmas Story Trailer for Kissing Santa and Request a FREE e-book.

http://aithnejarretta.com/Kissing_Santa_Book_Trailer.htm

This is one of the best discussions I have followed in a long time. My biggest hurdle has been learning the publishing game through the school of "Hard Knocks". It has definitely been On-The-Job-Training. One of the best lessons learned has been, not to put your eggs or shall I say trust in one person or entity. Publishing is a business and you have to treat it as such. Which means wearing many hats. In my efforts, I try and gain as much knowledge on my own when conferring with the so-called experts in the field.

It has been proven oftentimes you are given selective information versus the whole picture. The publishing houses ultimate goal is to sell as many products and services as possible. As a marketer, I understand the concept marketing is one of the single most important task for any artist. With or without a publishing house backing you, no one is going to promote your work like you would or as their own unless you are raking in the big dollars. Every encounter is an opportunity to infuse my work into the conversations without beating the potentials over the head with it. Its just a matter or picking and choosing your battles or should I say chance encounters.

My first time out, I self-published with Authorhouse. The experience was good in respect to self-publishers offer complete packages. In which I used as a gage to create my own "How To Do List". Now that I am somewhat familiar with the process and a whole lot wiser (I stilll have a long way to go before I consider myself an expert) I have elected to launch my own publishing company. Plans include re-editing my first novel (by the way, was the single worst mistake I made in my early career, relying on a company person) to be re-released to coincide with the release of the sequel under my own publishing company. In a way, the process in no more challenging than going with a self-publisher. The main hurdles are to research and contract the individual services, i.e. editors, distributors. graphic artists, printers, etc. I have learned that some of the services you can negotiate better rates individually rather in a group package. It also affords you an opportunity to maintain more control over your work. Secondly, you retain ownership over your copyrights and you're not force to stay with a vendor, such as a printer because they retain the rights. You can bargain for more short-term agreements. Allowing you to opt out of situations which are no longer in your best interest. The list goes on and on. Just never loose sight, that you are the publisher now and the only person looking out for your best interest is you. Similarily, in order to avoid alot of pitfalls, you have to stay abreast of the publishing game and the many changes and challenges which could take place at the spare of a moment. You can accomplish this by joining as many industry mailing list (of interest) as possible. But be selective so you are not bombarded with alot of junk mail.

I will be releasing a "How To" book Spring 2008 (on my new label of course) on how to easily navagate this process.

Don't forget to log on to the Author Book Bag Club (ABBC) to help enhance the overall marketing strategies for your work. We firmly believe in our tag which reads...Every where you want to be and more. Just another way to stretch your promotional legs. Log on the wwwmgroupmanagement.ning.com for more details.

I look forward to the continual dialouge.

Happy Reading!

Hi,
Love the picture of you and the dog. I train service dogs when not writing.
Good luck with your book.
Pam

Hi Valerie,

I see we're both members of FL Writers Assn. too.

Did you go to the annual conference that was just in Orlando? It was my third year there and I swear every year gets better.

If you were there, I wish we'd have met. It's always so busy with the seminars, networking, & catching up with friends we only see once a year.

Shara

Sure. Richard Paul Evans (Christmas Box) was our keynote speaker. Excellent! He also gave everyone at the conference a copy of that book. He's got The Gift just released.

I spoke with two agents and two publishers. All are positive about my book in progress and want to see a chapter and proposal.

I've had three agents in the past and none of them did anything for me. One was in NY City. Nothing. So I've been a go-to-publisher person since then.

We'll see what happens. :)

Thanks for the invite, Valerie, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'll tooling down to road right now on the way to relatives house for Thanksgiving and Saundra is driving and I'm working on a manuscript.

Hi Anne, thanks for the comment and looking forward to getting to know you as well. I put out my life story a few months ago called, A Mothers Torment, www.amotherstorment.com which is about my son who was killed in 99 and of course my youngest son who was killed in a car crash two years ago. So the holidays are sometimes hard, but for the ones still left here, I do celebrate them now.

I didnt for a few years after losing Jeff but then I realized that he would not want me to grieve so much and so put up the tree. I'd always loved that time of year growing up. Of course then I lived in NH where the snow was covering the ground, and most of the houses had bright lights shining...had plenty of family and friends to share the holidays with....

It's different in the south where not many put up the lights and the ground is brown and bare....but I have my tree back up and lights on the outside....anyway, great to get to know you...shirley

Hi, Valerie,

Thanks for accepting the invite, and for checking out my site. Best of luck to you...

Hello, I'm Bert Martinez, I'm looking to network with success minded authors. If you would like my free report 30 Strategies for Selling More Books just fill out the form below. I look forward to networking with you and if there is anything that I can help you with please do not hesitate to contact me.

You Were Created to Succeed!

Bert Martinez
www.bertmartinez.com

Hi Valerie,

Thanks for visiting my site. That's funny you wanted 12 children, too!
You've been blessed with children and grandchildren. We don't have any grandchildren yet. I'll go now to visit your site and check out your book. Good luck and hope you sell lots of books.

Blessings,
Diane