Author: kat_richardson

The Romance of It All!

Posted on by kat_richardson

Not just “Mommy Porn”

I currently edit only a little Romance, but I have a coaching client who writes nothing but romance and he (yes, he) finds himself a little squeamish about “the sexy bits.” But the fact is, not all commercial Romance is “hot.” While spicy romance is high-profile and big-selling, there have always been—and always will be—categories of mainstream Romance which are not graphically detailed with respect to sex. These are broadly categorized as “sweet” romance and entire sub-genres of sweet sell in the millions of copies in the US and elsewhere every year.

There’s a silly idea running around among some non-Romance fiction readers that this genre is mostly soft- to hardcore porn for middle aged heterosexual women. It’s not. Romance covers a lot of ground, and a lot of romance is pretty mild in the bedroom department. I’m also pleased as punch that the Diversity movement is opening up more room for Romances that center on wider relationship options than ever before. While there have always been books about same-sex relationships, older and second-time-around romances, “sweet” Christian romance, Amish romance, Westerns, and YA romances (just to name a few), now there’s not only room for more, but room for damn-near everything.

If you’re reading or writing any story with relationships (and that’s all pretty much every story to some degree) you now have a lot more options for your characters to engage in ways that aren’t either “hot sexy times” or chaste kissing and a quickly closed bedroom door.

Editing and the Price of Everything

Posted on by kat_richardson

laptop computer next to a pile of colored folders with a pair of reading glasses on top

Costs Worth Paying

I engaged in a conversation recently on The Twit (@katrchrdsn) and FurryElephant (@kat_richardson@universeodon.com) with an #IndieAuthor, and others, about editing costs. She was quoted $6K for an edit based on word count and is aghast. I’m not, but then, I’m old and have been in the editing game since 1991.

Editing and Cover Art are vital to any book’s success and they are worth paying for. Yeah, $6k for editing may be high, however, cost depends on how much work the edit represents; word count, genre, level of edit expected, degree of interaction the editor offers, and so on make a big difference in the cost. Also the editor’s rep and hourly rate have a price. In-demand, well-regarded, and/or award-winning editors charge more for their time.

My editing prices start around $2.5K for developmental edit on 90-120K genre fiction manuscripts. Longer books, Coaching, Non-Fiction, line-edit, and Technical editing cost more. I don’t do Copyedit or final proof. Those are specialized skill sets and they should be performed by someone other than the author or dev/line editor, if possible (it helps to have new eyes on a project at that point, among other reasons.)

I  will occasionally do “single pass crits,” which are super-light and get the client a short—usually bullet-point—crit letter to work from, but I still have to charge $800 for my time, because it takes most of a week to read 90-100K and write up the notes (plus my bookkeeping/invoicing). I try not to do a lot of these, since they take more hours than I charge for, and I bill at less than half my normal rate.

If the writer’s new to the self-pub systems, getting some help on formatting can also be worth some cash first time through (or trading services with another writer who’s more experienced). This is also something I don’t do, and which writers should not expect from a freelance editor.

If a writer doesn’t have the money for some services, they’ll have to settle for something less than their ideal. Shopping around and being willing to spend less on some things, and do more themself is necessary. If you consider yourself an Indie Writer, you are also, effectively, an Indie Publisher, and that comes with all the hats. You either wear them all, with varying degrees of success, or you farm some out. Editing is worth paying for, whether you pay in cash or with an exchange of services with another member of the Writing/Editing community. I don’t say this just because I’m an editor as well as a writer, and I want your money; I know first-hand that I’m a great editor when I’m working for someone else, and a bit blind to my own writing faults when working for myself. YMMV.

Out for a While

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Off to California!

I’m heading to northern California for the month of December to spend some time with friends and relatives I haven’t seen in quite a while. I’ll be out of touch while on the road, so I won’t be checking in on mail or posting much between now and the new year. Still, I do love hearing from you guys, so please do drop an email if you want and I’ll get back to you when I can.

Happy Holidays, and be excellent to each other!

 

Sold Out of Sets!

Posted on by kat_richardson

Individual Titles Still available

Wow! I really didn’t expect this to happen so fast. All the complete sets of the Greywalker novels are now sold and will be shipping soon. But that doesn’t mean there are no books left! I still have various formats of everything, but they don’t make neatly matched sets, and in some cases I only have a few of  some formats or titles.

What’s still available:

  • Greywalker US Mass Market (5)
  • Poltergeist US Mass Market (10), German paperback (1)
  • Underground Hardcover (7 + 1 signed and dated on launch day, August 4, 2008), US Mass Market (10), UK paperback (1) German paperback (2)
  • Vanished Hardcover (11), US Mass Market (7)
  • Labyrinth Hardcover (10), US Mass Market (11)
  • Downpour UK Paperback (17), Audio disc set (1)
  • Seawitch Hardcover (23), US Mass Market (15), Audio disc set (2)
  • Possession Hardcover (30), US Mass Market (30) Audio disc set (2)
  • Revenant Hardcover (33) US Mass Market (36) Audio disc set (1)
  • Sliding Puzzles and Bookmarks

So if you’re trying to fill out a set, or create a set just for reading and aren’t picky about the books all matching, there’s still books available!

Drop me email via the contact form if you’re interested.

 

 

Buy Books!

Posted on by kat_richardson

I have Prices and such

After many website problems and a collapsing table… I have functionality so, back to the book sale!

To keep it simple, all book purchase requests must be placed through this website’s contact page (not the comments).  Send your request list and I’ll reply as soon as I can with availability and pricing info.

Since I have very few copies of Greywalker and Poltergeist in US large format paperback, and very few Downpour in either US format, I can only make 4 complete sets of US large Format, and 4 of US Small format (MMP) . Therefore, those titles will not be sold separately, right now.

All prices are in US dollars and do not include shipping unless noted. Further details below the price list.

Sets SOLD OUT!

  • Large Format Set: $215 (only 4 available—includes US domestic Media Mail shipping)
  • Small Format Set: $70 (only 4 available—includes US domestic Media Mail shipping )

Individual books/items

  • US Hardcover (Underground, Vanished, Labyrinth, Seawitch, Possession, Revenant) (Downpour is SOLD OUT) : $25
  • US MMP (Downpour in full sets only ): $7
  • US Trade Paperback (Greywalker, Poltergeist, in full sets only): $14 SOLD OUT
  • UK B-Format Paperback (1 Underground, 8 Labyrinth, 17 Downpour available): $8
  • German Paperback (1 Poltergeist, 2 Underground available): $9
  • French Paperback (Greywalker, 1 available): $12 SOLD OUT
  • Downpour Advanced Reading Copy (1 available): $22 SOLD OUT
  • Audio disc sets from Recorded Books, read by Mia Barron (1 Downpour, 2 Seawitch, 2 Possession, 1 Revenant): $25
  • Labyrinth promo sliding-tile puzzle (limited availability): $0.50
  • Original, handmade magnetic Greywalker bookmarks: $0.50 each if ordered separately, FREE with book purchase (limit 4)

Full sets of the Greywalker series in US Large Format include the trade paperback of Greywalker and Poltergiest, and hardcover of the remaining 7 books of the series, plus two bookmarks and a sliding-tile puzzle. Full sets of the Greywalker series US Small Format will include all 9 mass market paperbacks, one bookmark and a sliding-tile puzzle. Additional bookmarks up to 4 total are free, but please let me know you want them. All books will be signed, but not personalized (think of my poor, cramped hands!)

Requests will be filled in order received and as soon as I can. Payment via PayPal unless other arrangements are made. All domestic shipping will be via United States Postal Service Media Mail to keep costs down. It’s a slow method, but it’s cheap and a box of books can be very heavy. Non-US shipping or domestic shipping other than media will be discussed individually. Yes, I am willing to ship these anywhere, but will have to quote you shipping costs and total prices individually.

And there y’have it. If you want signed books, or have questions, please send an email through the contact page and I will reply as soon as I can with information on availability, pricing, and shipping costs. I’ll be driving to California and back in December, thus out of range for packing and shipping, so let’s get to this!

Thanks, and Happy Reading!

Note: sets and some individual titles/formats are now sold out! ( as of this morning: November 10, 2022)

graphic of generic parcels

 

Table full of Greywalker series books

 

 

Oops…

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A Few Set Backs…

So, I was going to post the prices and such for the books last night, but it turns out my website email hasn’t been working since January. I’m working on fixing that.

In the meantime, the incredibly sturdy dining table… wasn’t sturdy enough. I was chasing the dog around it, it wobbled, I grabbed and pulled… and there was the sound of screeching as the screws holding the leaf extension failed. The table collapsed onto a box full of dog blankets, but, luckily, not the dog! So it’s not so bad.

Needless to say… book sale is postponed while I get the website mail form fixed and inspect the books.

Never a dull moment.

Woe!

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isolated figure huddled in a corner of an empty brick-walled room

Well… hell

I had all the pricing and shipping info ready to post so any of you in a book-acquiring mind could buy books from me. But it turns out that my WP Forms-generated contact form has not been sending me email since… well, I’m not sure, but the last email I got through this site was back in January  of this year. I’ve been trying to solve the problem, but so far, it’s defeating me. Tomorrow I shall bring out the big guns: Mr. Kat (who used to work for my ISP). Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it working and then I can sell you guys books! And exchange email with you!

And all this time I thought no one was sending me email. Gosh, I hope I didn’t miss something really wonderful while my contact form was broken…

 

Book Pile!

Posted on by kat_richardson

Table full of Greywalker series books

This Gets Complicated…

I’ve unpacked all the Greywalker series author copies from storage and piled them on my former dining table (pictured on the left). I knew I was short on a few, but no idea how badly until now. These shortages are going to make full sets very limited—specifically, I can only make 4 complete sets of Original Format, and 4 complete sets of the Mass Market Paperback (MMP) Format. All of the books are first edition/first printing. All the hardcovers have their original dust jackets intact and in good condition.

Here’s what’s in the pile

  • Greywalker: 4 US Trade Paperback, 9 US MMP, 1 French Translation 120mm x 198mm Paperback
  • Poltergeist: 4 US Trade Paperback, 14 US MMP, 1 German Translation 117mm x 187mm Paperback
  • Underground : 14 US Hardcover, 14 US MMP, 1 German Translation 117mm x 187mm Paperback, 1 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Vanished: 17 US Hardcover, 11 US MMP
  • Labyrinth: 16 US Hardcover, 15 US MMP, 8 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Downpour: 4 US Hardcover, 4 US MMP, 17 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Seawitch: 30 US Hardcover, 19 US MMP
  • Possession: 35 US Hardcover, 34 US MMP
  • Revenant: 37 US Hardcover, 40 US MMP
  • Audio: Downpour—1 complete set of 10 discs in original box; Seawitch—2 complete sets of 11 discs in original boxes; Possession—2 complete sets of 10 discs in original boxes; 1 complete set of 12 discs in original box
  • Misc: 1 uncirculated Downpour Print ARC, 27 Labyrinth promo sliding-tile puzzles, approx. 400 Greywalker handmade magnetic folding bookmarks—about 1,000 more still in storage

Note: No hardcover editions were ever produced of Greywalker or Poltergeist and, beginning with Underground, US Trade/Quality Paperback was discontinued as a format for this series. As a result, full sets of this series are either exclusively MMP format, or mixed format. There can’t be any full sets in all-hardcover or all-trade paperback at this time, but who knows if limited editions, or new editions, will come out in a consistent quality format in the future?

In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out pricing, shipping, and how to sell these puppies to you guys with minimum drama.

And if you’re wondering why these are such a hodge-podge of sizes/formats, etc… well… that’s just the way it is with author copies. I originally got only 10 of each US format, then I started getting 20, then 40, and I often carried copies of the earlier books to events with me to give away or consign. Later, I rarely needed to do that, since the books were usually available through vendors on-site. Translation and UK editions are another whole story: the French publisher either went out of business, or dropped the series (the first two of which they’d already paid for) before the second book was sent to print (although the translation was completed), and the UK and German Publishers also dropped the series before it ended. There were also Russian, Polish, and Chinese (RoC/Taiwan) editions of Greywalker, and that latter edition was even re-printed with a new cover at one point. I don’t have copies of those available—some I never received at all, and some I got only one copy of. Though I do have to say, the Polish edition had the Harper version that most looks like the Harper in my mind.

So, once again, stay tuned for further developments.

 

A Qualified “Yay!”

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And I am Tired.

I have dragged all my author copies of the Greywalker novels home from the storage unit out in Lovely Sequim (which is pronounced “Skwim” if you wondered). Ten boxes and we had to rush home to avoid being rained on and ending up with soaked books in the bed of the truck, stopping once to wrestle the tarp back into place. On arriving home (dry, thank you) Mr Kat and I carried all of the boxes up the stairs to the office/storage unit over the garage, plus unloading and moving all the other boxes we brought back as well. Wheee! what fun (not)! And all of this after having gotten stuck in mud on our mountainside and having to dig gravel from the side of the road with an entrenching tool and a steel dog bowl to dump said gravel under the tires in the SNOW (no, I’m not kidding) to get back down the hill to our storage unit to begin with! I think I moved about 200 pounds of gravel, and very large stones to act as wheel chocks while we did so.

So, now I shall go through the boxes, sort, count, and inspect how many of what I’ve got. It’s highly likely that I’ll be posting information about signed copies and sets for sale here, to consolidate information in just one place, and only posting links to my FaceBork and Twitter accounts. But first, *flops on floor and imitates a poor, sad deer staring at the truck that hit it…* Owwww…

Committing Myself

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I may have Opened my Mouth…

Over on the various social media I engage with (Facebook, Twitter—yes, I know I’m frighteningly behind the times) I may have mentioned selling off my author copies of the Greywalker novels which I’ve been hoarding for years. So I guess I’ll have to get my ass in gear and update this site and make some kind of sales/orders page here. A pair of tasks for which I do not feel particularly well-suited. BUT it needs to happens so it shall!

In the meantime, I kinda forgot that I had this in my backpocket… I wrote a novella for Frank Zafiro’s Grifter’s Song con-artist caper series back in… oh… a while ago. And the paperback edition came out in September! But I forgot all about it because my author copy got put in the wrong mailbox and I didn’t get it until last week! But it’s here now, so I urge you to go check it out!

And I’m RE-revising a Certain Historical Noir Urban Fantasy and see if I can’t find a home, at last, for the infamous Marty. See y’all whenever I get this place cleaned up. Again.