Monday, September 12, 2011

HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS STORY: L.K. Riegel


How I Came To Write This Story (Slurp!) in DEADLY TREATS

LK Rigel

http://www.lkrigel.com/

I met Theresa Weir in her Anne Frasier guise on Twitter – gosh, a couple of years ago now. It was serendipity. She was taking on a few coaching/editing projects at the time, and I was lucky enough to slip in.

Thank you, writing gods!

A few months later Theresa was considering starting Belfry Press and planned to edit a collection of Halloween stories for it. I was thrilled to be asked to contribute a story. I was then in the final throes of author aspiration – or expiration. I hated the submission process so much, and yet working with Theresa had revived my love of actual writing.

At the same time, I was beginning to notice how unhappy and stressed many published authors seemed to be about the whole thing. Wait a minute! Hadn’t they reached nirvana?

Slurp! is a reflection of my sense of the dark side of being an author under contract. Completely made up. Sour grapes on my part. I’m sure no one really feels like the main character:

You have to do more for less, everybody says so. Publishers don't fund book tours. Hire your own publicist. Lose weight. Be younger. Be clever on line. Have a good attitude. Contribute more. Expect less. With the last book, the advance was quartered and drawn over eighteen months. I spent it all on promotion and web design. Ha. Quartered and drawn. I made a note to tweet that.

Being part of Deadly Treats is such an honor. I can’t wait to read all the other stories.

3 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

That "more for less" excerpt sure hits home. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Patti - Thanks for hosting L.K.

L.K. - Isn't it amazing how well serendipity can work sometimes? That's why I think we should always pay attention to where we are and make the most of our situations. You never know...

Dorte H said...

Ha, I love the premise: the dark side of traditional publishing ;D

As an indie you have to do the same - but for YOURSELF.

Great post, Theresa & Patti.