Posted by Joan Swan May 18 2011, 3:00 am in author interview, craft, digital press, ebook, golden heart, golden heart finalists, inspiration, motivation, new releases, perseverance, Ruby Release, writer's journey, writer's life, writing contests, writing romance, writing tips
“Rowan is definitely an author to watch!”
~ Alyssa Day, New York Times bestselling author.
Cate Rowan is a successful Indie author whose latest fantasy romance novel, THE SOURCE OF MAGIC, releases today. Cate has generously agreed to share her knowledge of the much-discussed, little-understood world of Indie publishing and her accomplishments in that arena.
In addition to a Ph.D. in the biological sciences, Cate has washed laundry in a crocodile-infested African lake, parasailed over Cabo, had monkeys poop in her hair, and swum with dolphins, but she says her best adventures occur in the worlds she creates in her lush fantasy romances. Her novels about magic, danger and passion in faraway realms have won more than thirty awards, including the esteemed Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® contest—twice!
I was eager to discover just what magic Cate had discovered in this new realm of Indie publishing and she was generously eager to share.
WIN: Comment to enter the drawing to win 1 electronic copy of The Source of Magic or 1 3-day coupon for Smashwords discounting The Source of Magic on that site.
Joan: Cate has won enough awards to make me dizzy! Between 5 manuscripts, she’s placed or won in more than 35 contests, including a double RWA Golden Heart finalist with her previous release, Kismet’s Kiss.
Cate, what experience have you gained from your successes with contests? What advice would you give other authors in consideration of entering or not?
Cate: I’m a very practical gal, so after the first few times I entered, contests became a means to an end for me. I entered them to try to get my work in front of particular editors, so I choose contests based on the final round judges. Even though feedback and suggestions weren’t my main focus, they were a terrific bonus.
I never entered contests judged by agents because I wanted to enter ones in which the final judge could actually buy the book. Query letters were my solution for agents, and over the years I received six agent offers and hired three. I also sent queries to editors and didn’t rely solely on the contest circuit. Those queries got me two small press contract offers, though in the end I decided to self-publish.
(Joan: I also have to add a note from Cate’s website that states “…when NYT and USA Today bestseller Alyssa Day read the opening of Kismet’s Kiss in a contest, she loved it so much she offered a cover blurb for it.” Definitely a fringe benefit of contests, IMHO.)
Joan: I have to admit, I know very little about “Indie” publishing. Not for lack of interest, but for lack of time to investigate. Can you give us the nuts and bolts of it? What it is exactly? How does it differ from self-publishing, small-publisher publishing and/or e-publishing?
Cate: I’m an indie author, which means I’ve chosen to self-publish my books. Some people feel that the word “indie” should be reserved for “indie publishers”–that is, small publishers outside NY–but, well, that battle over semantics seems lost already.
Joan: I have heard very positive results from authors who have gone the indie or self-publishing routes. What benefits do you feel you’ve experienced by going the indie route over traditional publishing?
Cate:
(1) Control. For example, I get to choose the title and have total say over the cover. Of course, having full control also means full responsibility! If something goes wrong, it’s up to me to fix it.
(2) Flexibility. I actually can fix it! If I decide to tweak a wording or I spot a typo, I get to change it. I don’t have to worry about whether there will be another print run so it can be corrected. I simply do it, and the update will be available within a day at most of the e-stores.
(3) Information. I know my sales figures at the major stores to the minute and can see if a marketing strategy is working and would be worth pursuing again.
(4) Money. At Amazon, for example, I get between 35 and 70% of the purchase price for every copy sold. For books priced between $2.99 and $9.99, Amazon pays 70% for every US, UK or German sale, and 35% for sales to other countries. (Rumor has it that Canada will be added to the 70% list soon.)
I don’t have tens of thousands of books available on physical bookstore shelves, but I do make a larger chunk of money per sale and need far fewer sales to make X amount of money. Many romance readers have fallen in love with their e-readers now prefer digital books, so it works out well. Although I have a print copy of my first book available, I sell about 100 digital copies for every print sale. That kind of ratio is pretty common for indies.
(5) Focus. I don’t need to spend time seeking agents or editors now. The time I invest in my writing pays off directly in sales.
Joan: Who would you say indie authordom is suited for?
Cate: Do-it-yourselfers like me love indie–but I think every author should keep an eye on the benefits of modern self-publishing. Cover art and formatting can be done through freelancers if you don’t have the DIY gene. Established authors can make great money with their backlists and other books NY doesn’t think it can market, and newer authors (with polished and edited manuscripts, ahem!) can now reach readers directly.
For me, that’s the very best benefit for authors–readers gaining access to the work we’ve loved and slaved over. After more than a decade of writing alone, my first fan letter sent me into joyful sobs for a good fifteen minutes. Talk about validation! And I didn’t need an agent or a publisher to get it.
Because of the proliferation of self-publishing, I see many genres shifting and blossoming and marketing boundaries breaking down. Readers can now find a much wider variety of storylines than there used to be, and I think that change will continue.
But I beg of all the potential indie authors out there: please don’t put your book up for sale until it’s ready! Get some professional editing, or at the very least a really thorough critique group that pushes you about things to correct and improve long before you consider going indie. Yes, you can fix things later if you must, but you don’t want to ruin your reputation with readers before you have that chance.
Joan: If you’re willing, Cate, would you give us more information on your sales figures for other authors considering the indie route?
Cate: I’ve had an interesting time with sales. (In a good way, not in a “may you live in interesting times” kind of way.) It took me a little over five months to sell 557 copies of Kismet’s Kiss and earn my first $1000. Sales were accelerating, and it took me only a month and a half to earn the next $500.And then something even more fantastic happened. I needed surgery and was going to be away from home for a few weeks, so I worked hard to get The Source of Magic up before I left. I wasn’t planning to do any marketing for it, or really even to tell anyone until today during the official release; I mainly put it up in case readers wanted it as soon as they finished Kiss. I uploaded it on April 17 and basically left it alone. It sold a few copies, probably based on the excerpt in the back of Kiss–and then somehow the B&N sales fairy blessed it. Suddenly I was selling 70 copies a day there. With no marketing at all, and no reviews up. I still don’t know what happened, but I’m grateful!
The surge didn’t last forever, but now I’m selling four times as many copies each day as I did with just Kismet’s Kiss alone, even though I only have two books available. Put up a second book and get four times as many sales? I like that math.
More math: As of yesterday, I’ve sold 2181 copies of my books (1330 of Kismet’s Kiss and 851 of The Source of Magic) and made close to $4000. The vast majority of those copies have been ebooks sold at $2.99, though I’ve toyed briefly with $.99 and $3.99 for Kiss. That’s fantastic to me, but if you want to see more numbers, check out those of my friend Theresa Ragan. Prepare to have your socks blown to the stratosphere!
So even though this is the official release day of The Source of Magic, I guess it’s an early bloomer. Or a late one–see below!
Joan: What is it about the genre of fantasy romance draws you?
Cate: I’ve always loved the idea of magic in alternate worlds, not to mention the idea of how inborn magic could change the interpersonal dynamics between a heroine and hero. Plus, with fantasy romance I get to make s…, um, stuff up. It’s pretty freeing. (grin)
Joan: What heat level would you rate The Source of Magic?
Cate: On a scale of 1-5, it’s a 3 or 3.5. It’s definitely not chaste, yet the main focus is on the love story outside the bedroom. That being said, the particular inborn magic of this hero and heroine, um…adds to the flavor of the love scenes. 
Joan: How long did it take you to write The Source of Magic?
Cate: Gosh…great question. I might need an outside verdict on that.
It took me a week or two to write the opening chapters, which I then entered in the Winning Beginnings contest (now known as The Sheila). That was my first contest, and I was gobsmacked that Source became a finalist, and then placed second and got a request.
I like having outside deadlines, and suddenly I had one! I got my butt into the writing chair and finished the book in about three months. I stocked up on microwave dinners and literally didn’t leave my house for a month, except to walk downstairs to the first floor of my apartment building to get my mail. When I was finally done, driving to the post office to send the manuscript to the editor was a freaky experience. Suddenly I was reminded that other people existed in the world!
Of course, that was in 2001, and I’ve made plenty of revisions to it since then. So to answer your question, the writing time could either be a few months or more than a ten years. 
Joan: Are Kismet’s Kiss and The Source of Magic linked? How?
Cate: The Source of Magic is a prequel to Kismet’s Kiss, though both stand alone. They take place a couple of decades apart and in different settings on the same fantasy world–in a medieval “Europeanesque” realm for The Source of Magic and a medieval “Middle Easternesque” realm for Kismet’s Kiss. Because the people on this world live long lives (hundreds of years), I was able to share some characters in the two books.
Joan: Would you say The Source of Magic is the book of your heart? Why?
Cate: Hmm, I’d probably have to give that mantle to Kismet’s Kiss, just because it’s such an unusual romance in terms of setting and storyline. But The Source of Magic was my first book, so it’s definitely my baby. Heck, if it hadn’t been for Source, I’d never have dreamed of this particular fantasy world, and now I could easily write twelve or thirteen books in it!
I’d like to thank Cate for her insight into indie publishing and her candid information regarding sales figures–valuable information to authors which is notoriously difficult to come by–but most of all, congratulate Cate on her new release: The Source of Magic.
Enter to win a copy by leaving a comment. Cate will be popping in and out to respond to questions and comments.
Posted by Anne Marie Becker Mar 23 2011, 12:01 am in golden heart, perseverance, rita
10 Ways to Kill Time Until the Call… GH, RITA, or THE Call
It’s almost here! March 25th. A day that will always be significant in the world of romance writers. But it’s not here yet and the anticipation makes the hours drag by. So how do you spend these final hours?
1.) Plan your Celebration
Stock up on the champagne, streamers, and party horns. Oh, and a tiara. How can you party without a tiara? Or book a day at the spa. Make reservations for you and a significant other or group of writer friends at a restaurant. Or plan a “pleasure reading day” that is only for you and the book of your choice.
2.) Pose & Plan
One of the first things you’ll want after the call is a platform (if you don’t have one already). Start mugging for the camera as you pose for your professional pictures in the mirror. And don’t forget to practice your acceptance speech and reserve or renew a domain name for your fabulous author site.
3.) Write
Oh yeah, that! Just because you’re going to be a big success doesn’t mean you can take it easy. Get to work on that next amazing manuscript. The world is waiting!
4.) Review
Look over your agent/editor submission list (and think about what you’re going to say to them when you email or call with the news that, yes, your manuscript is fantastic! ☺ ) Remember, as a GH finalist, you have first round picks of appointments at conference.
5.) Revise
Oh yeah, there’s that, too.
6.) Plot…
…your outfits for conference. OR your future RITA-winning New York Times bestseller. OR plot how you will celebrate (see #1).
7.) Plan
Google maps of New York City, and plan your visit for the RWA National Conference. But save lots of time to mingle with your fellow finalists and attend some wonderful events thrown in your honor.
8.) Day job?
Pshaw. No, daydream…your body may be at work, but they can’t control your mind (unless maybe you work for the government – but um, of course that’s a rumor). The sky’s the limit here! Browse your local bookstore (or Amazon.com) and imagine how your book will look there. What will the cover look like? Picture delivering your keynote address as you receive the RWA Lifetime Achievement award.
9.) Make a manicure and hair appointment.
Nails nibbled down to the nubs from the exhausting wait? Get thee to the salon. You’ve got to get in shape for that professional photographer appointment for your new website, business cards, and the gi-normous picture they’ll flash when you win the GH (see #2 above).
10.) Self-induced Chocolate Coma
Consume vast amounts of chocolate until you fall into a sugar stupor. It’s a proven fact: Chocolate makes everything better.
While I wrote this semi-tongue-in-cheek, I sincerely wish the best of luck to all who’ve entered, and to all who have submissions out there in the wide world of publishing. Waiting is the hard part, and you’re almost there.
So, tell me…how do you plan to spend the final 48 (or so) hours before the GH/RITA calls go out? How are you killing time while the seconds slip by?
And don’t forget… our Ruby Cyber-party on the 25th will commemorate the end of the wait! Join us Friday for live updates (and lots of great giveaways!) as the Golden Heart and RITA finalists are announced.
It hurts, it sucks, it’ s toooooooootally unfair.
