Love Dogs?

BOOK EIGHT in the bestselling BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java...and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

During Lewisburg's popular summer home and garden tour, Macy and her brother Bo discover new aspects of their hometown's history. One of the last homes they visit features a lush commemorative shade garden marking where a Civil War soldier's bones were buried. As Macy pauses to admire a bed of blue hostas, she glimpses a shadowy shape lying beneath the dinner-plate leaves. It turns out to be the body of famed movie star Cody Franklin, who'd purchased the garden house as a quiet country retreat.

Back at the cafe, Macy speaks with Cody's distraught sister, who lets slip that she's afraid her brother's killer will target her next. Macy's heart goes out to the bereaved sibling, and she agrees to speak with Cody's local acquaintances in hopes she'll uncover some helpful backstory.

But someone powerful is lurking behind the scenes, and Macy has to zoom in on the killer before everything fades to black.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown...with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

Heather Day Gilbert, an RWA Daphne du Maurier Award winner and 2-time ECPA Christy Award finalist, enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with unpredictable twists, much like the Agatha Christie books she read growing up. She also writes Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren't afraid to protect those they love. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

On Finishing a Series with your Readers in Mind

Heather Day Gilbert

I've concluded a couple of my series at this point in my author career, and I've found that each final book presents its own challenges. On March 14, 2022, I'll be winding up my bestselling A Murder in the Mountains Christian mystery series with Book 4, False Pretense.

It's a delightful—yet somewhat daunting—experience to have readers contact you, asking when the next book in a series will release, and my readers have been actively asking about A Murder in the Mountains' finale since Book 3 released in 2017.

Readers play a critical role in my all of my indie (independently published) series. In the case of False Pretense, I sent out a couple of polls and my readers actually helped me choose the best title for it.

I think there are other ways authors can seek to please their readerships when winding up a series. If you're an author coming up on your grand finale book, here are some ideas to keep in mind:

1. Bring in readers' favorite characters for a final goodbye.

A good series will make us feel close to the characters—including the side characters. Think of Hastings in Agatha Christie's Poirot books, or Reepicheep the mouse in The Chronicles of Narnia. We need to see how their stories end, too.

For instance, each book in my Hemlock Creek Suspense series followed the romance of a sibling in the McClure family. In the final book, Deadlocked, I wound up both sisters' trajectories (married, jobs, etc.), as well as steering the brother into his happily-ever-after relationship.

In False Pretense, I'll be pulling in all my readers' favorite side characters. For instance, I'll show what happened with the boy my main character was fostering at the end of Book 3, and I'll also reveal the highly anticipated backstory of a tall and extremely mysterious German character who has appeared in every book.

2. Work in feedback from reviews and make the last book stronger than all the rest.

Book 1 in my Murder in the Mountains series, Miranda Warning, was published in 2014, and at this point, it has 898 reviews on Amazon.

I've read every single one.

Of course, as you would expect, some are simply from haters who will never pick up another of my books, but many of the well-reasoned ones have given me a clue as to things I can strengthen in following books in the series.

For instance, I don't do a villain's point of view at the start of chapters anymore, since several readers found that confusing in Book 1. For False Pretense, we stay solidly in my main character's head.

My readers also appreciate that my main character (Tess Spencer) has a great relationship with her in-laws next door and that she's in a healthy marriage. Both of these family aspects will be heavily featured in Book 4.

3. By this point, your characters feel real to you because you've spent so much time with them. It's the same for your readers, so make sure you get the details right.

Many authors keep spreadsheets or notebooks with details on all the characters in a series (often called a "series bible"). For instance, what color hair/eyes does each character have? How old are they? What's their favorite restaurant, book, or song? What is their MBTI personality type, etc.?

Before starting my latest Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series (with ten books planned in the series), I took a tip from mystery author Tonya Kappes. She buys a black address book and uses it to organize details on the characters from her series by name.

This made a lot of sense to me since I'm not great with spreadsheets—I'm one of those old-school authors who uses a physical calendar instead of my phone calendar. So, it made sense to have a physical "little black book" with all the details I've included in the series. Otherwise, I'd have to go back and search my previous files for the specifics with each new book I write.

But no worries if you're on your final book and you didn't keep a series bible. Just be sure to go in check that the details from previous books match up with your latest. It'll take time, but it's well worth it. Trust me, your loyal readers will notice if someone suddenly jumped up a few years in age or if their hazel eyes switched to bright blue.

4. Set up a preorder and get buzz going early for your final book—at least three months in advance, if possible.

I love being able to tell readers the final book they've been waiting for is coming out, and I'll link them directly to a preorder page on Amazon (which includes the book blurb and finalized book cover), or at the very least, I'll link to the book on Goodreads (which doesn't have to have the cover, just the blurb). I make sure the upcoming release is something my readers can share with friends and order early, if they use Kindle. I also drop the cover art to my newsletter readers as soon as it's finalized, and I often share a teaser excerpt to my newsletter readers pre-publication, as well. This is also a great time to share graphics featuring author endorsements you've received for your upcoming release on all your social media outlets.

5. Once the book is out, don't look back. Keep moving forward with your next series.

Let's say that final book doesn't bring in the 5-star reviews or the income you'd hoped for. You can't waste time looking back and wishing you'd done something differently—the book is published, and it's already been read. Instead, look ahead to your next series and make that one stronger than the last, based on your reader reviews and input. Know that your loyal readers will continue to follow you (unless you jump to a completely different genre) and feel encouraged that you now have a completed series to market. You can even make it into a boxed set(s). In 2021, I boxed my completed Hemlock Creek Suspense series and got a Bookbub deal ad on it, and that set alone accounted for almost a third of my income that year (Note—I'm in Kindle Unlimited).

Here's hoping that your grand finale books will be everything your fans have been hoping for! Can you name an example of a series finale that felt completely satisfying to you? Comment below!

Award-winning novelist Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing mysteries and Viking historicals. She brings authentic family relationships to the page, and she particularly delights in heroines who take a stand to protect those they love. Avid readers say Heather's realistic characters—no matter what century—feel like best friends. When she's not plotting stories, this native West Virginian can often be found hanging out with her husband and four children, playing video games, or reading Agatha Christie novels. 

Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Development of a Historical Book Cover

By Heather Day Gilbert

Ask any historical indie author, and you'll soon find that putting together a convincing historical cover (without paying for an individual model shoot) can be difficult. Stock art photos are very limited in terms of finding characters that a) represent your characters accurately, and b) are costumed authentically to the time period you're writing about.

For my first Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, my talented brother Jon was my cover artist. We found a stock art photo of a Viking woman, authentically dressed, who looked very similar to my main character, Gudrid. We altered her eye color, lightened her hair, toned down her makeup as much as possible, manipulated the background, and basically built a cover around that stock photo. The only problem is that many other Viking-era authors (mostly romance authors) used the same stock photo, so my cover was not as unique as I had hoped it would be (although it does stand out, both in Christian book circles and on the Amazon Norse bestseller list, where it's remained for three years).

For my second-in-series novel, Forest Child, I had a strong idea of how I wanted the cover character to look. Freydis is a deadly Viking warrior, and I hoped to show her facing the reader directly, a challenging look in her eyes.

My brother Jon and I set about finding a stock photo we could work with, this time hoping to add costuming and background to make the model look different. I found a photo that drew me in, and here's Jon's initial mockup of it:

Obviously, this wasn't the finished product (we would fix the leaves on her head, add more clothing, etc.), but I did love this girl's dead-on glare and her blue eyes and freckles. However, when I showed this one to a couple of author friends, they felt it looked more like a fantasy cover than a historical cover. Also, this girl seemed too young. She wasn't quite right.

We moved on to stock art woman number two—a woman with wild red hair like Freydis. I liked her serious, yet wistful vibe:

Jon took this photo and designed an amazing arrow for her, then integrated a photo of his wife's hand so she could hold said arrow. He added the cloak, toned down the makeup and added freckles and more hair, as well as a leafy forest background. I felt we were getting really close...

But something still wasn't quite right about her. She looked a bit too vulnerable and soft for my heroine.

THEN I found this stock art photo when I was trolling around, looking for just the right redhead:

Now, this woman HAD something—a glare, a haughty look, a challenge in her blue eyes. I loved how she was facing the reader, completely fearless.

But my brother was busy and didn't have time to work on all the elements we'd need to alter to go in this totally new direction. So I contacted my mystery cover designer, Jenny at Seedlings Design. Jenny felt she could integrate all the changes I needed. We proceeded to tone down the makeup, add freckles, make her hair redder, add a cloak and arrows, add curling hair tendrils, and tweak an amazing leaf-strewn background...

When the final changes were integrated, I KNEW I was looking right at the Viking warrior-woman I'd pictured for years in my head:

I'm a firm believer that with my cover art, I'll know it when I see it, and I knew this was the right cover for Forest Child because it was unique and represented my main character so perfectly.

Hope you've enjoyed this behind-the-curtains peek at the development of cover art for a Viking historical cover! I'd love input from other indie authors (especially historical) as to your cover design process!

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winner and bestselling author, writes novels that capture life in all its messy, bittersweet, hope-filled glory. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, generational story-telling runs in her blood. Heather is a graduate of Bob Jones University, and she and her husband are raising their children in the same home in which Heather grew up. Heather is represented by Rebeca Seitz and Jonathan Clements of SON Studios in FL. Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse Bestseller. She is also the author of the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series and the Hemlock Creek Suspense series. Heather also authored the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Should I Join a Boxed Set?

By Heather Day Gilbert

Most authors I know are constantly seeking new ways of getting their books into readers' hands. One method of extending reach is to join with other authors to produce a boxed set collection.

Boxed sets might include novels or novellas that are previously published, or they might be all-new offerings published for the first time with the collection. A boxed set can be a collection by a single author, but for the purposes of this post, I'll be referring to multi-author sets.

Sets began trending a couple of years ago. Some benefits of boxed sets are:

-increased exposure to new readers (in particular, readers of other authors in the set)

-group marketing (which can be far more powerful than individual marketing)

-long-term connections made with other authors in the set

-an influx of personal author newsletter signups

But before you jump on-board a boxed set, you need to consider what will be required of you. 

Although sets vary, most sets require:

-participation from the ground-up, including input on cover art, set title/theme, release date, and marketing plans

-active participation in marketing (which includes contributing to any ads that are taken out and being involved with any online events or social media pushes)

-an determination to keep deadlines

-a willingness to share ideas and come to a consensus

-a willingness to promote the set instead of your individual book for the duration of the set

It is easy to nod your head to all the above, but when it comes down to putting these steps into practice; it can get tough, especially since sets are typically planned months in advance. Keep in mind that although other writing opportunities might arise during that time, maintaining your commitment to the set is important to its success.

The only way everyone can expect to have good royalties from the set is for each author to participate in marketing, especially since most boxed sets are priced around $0.99-$2.99 to extend their reach, and that is often split between 5-10 authors.

To avoid conflicts, many boxed set authors agree to a contract for the set. You can find a boxed set contract template here in my post on Novel Rocket.

I've been involved in two boxed sets, and I have enjoyed both of them. Yes, they required a lot of marketing, but my readership increased, as did my closeness with authors in the sets.

I would encourage you to keep boxed sets in mind as an effective marketing tool, but also be aware of the obligations that saying "yes" to a boxed set will entail.

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winning author, is currently part of the Smoke and Mirrors romantic suspense 8-novella collection. You can find this highly rated set on Amazon for only 99 cents! Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse bestseller. She is also the author of the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series. Heather also wrote the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. You can find Heather on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Overcoming Sophomore Novel Blues

By Heather Day Gilbert

So you've done it. Your first novel is out in the world, garnering reviews and gathering readers. You're ready to brainstorm or edit that second novel in the series...

But out of nowhere, fears overwhelm you. It's your sophomore novel. Will readers love it like the first? Will the characters be as endearing? Will you totally miss the mark with book two?

This is a syndrome I'd like to refer to as the "sophomore novel blues," and I struggled with this myself. It came out of nowhere and nearly flattened me as I tried to write book two in my A Murder in the Mountains mystery series.

I was totally unprepared for these near-crippling blues, because I had two other books out (one is non-fiction, and the other is book one in a different series). Why did that second-in-series book cause me so much angst?

I think it is a culmination of reasons:

First, if you had characters people loved in book one, re-creating those characters and continuing their development in ways readers will still love can be daunting. What if you accidentally take them off-track or give them some habit readers can't stand?

Second, if you read your reviews (yes, I do), those negative words that have lodged somewhere deep in your mind kick loose for that sophomore novel, swirling before your eyes with every word you type. Oh no! That reader thought your main character was too serious! Maybe she needs to start cracking jokes every other paragraph! Or conversely, your main character struck that other reader as too glib...maybe she needs to get pensive at least once every scene?

I think the only way to tamp down these negative reviews is to focus on the positive ones and to realize–: negative reviews come from people who are not your readership. They aren't the ones who will even be buying book two, most likely. They didn't like book one. So don't let their harsh opinions stop you. No book can please every reader out there. Check out the reviews on some top classics and you'll see what I mean!

Third, each book in the series builds on the others. So this involves making sure all the details line up. We must double-check timelines and character traits. How old was this character in book one, and how old would that make her now? It was winter in book one...how many months have passed and what season are we in now? What color eyes did that secondary character have again? Granted, those things are relatively simple and easy to figure out, a necessary part of creating a believable series.

I think the only way to bust through the sophomore novel blues is to write the book. Don't allow yourself to get hung up in chapter five as those doubts assail you. Write through it. Get that rough draft typed out and send it to your critiquers. They will let you know if you've missed the mark and how to tweak, but you'll never get to that stage if you don't have a finished rough draft.

I didn't hesitate to send early reader copies of my first mystery out to readers. But when it came to sending out book two in the series, I hesitated. Was this book good enough? Would they still like my characters? The mystery was different—was it something they'd enjoy?

I am so thankful to say that many readers got back to me quickly saying they enjoyed this mystery even better than the first. This is what every author wants to hear—that with each book, we're reaching our reader demographic even better than we did with the previous release.

The thing is I'd never have gotten this book out if I hadn't pushed past those sophomore novel blues. I hope you can do the same, and are richly rewarded for it!

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, she believes that bittersweet, generational stories are in her blood. A graduate of Bob Jones University, Heather has been married for eighteen years and has three children. Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, was an Amazon Norse Bestseller for an entire year. She is also the author of  Miranda Warning and Trial by Twelve, Books One and Two in A Murder in the Mountains mystery series, and the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. Heather's website. 

Thinking of Indie (Independent) Publishing? A New Resource for Authors

By Heather Day Gilbert

When I decided to indie (independently) publish my first historical novel, God's Daughter, in 2013, I knew there was a steep learning curve ahead of me. I can't tell you how much information I crammed into my head in the space of the half-year I spent gearing up for my debut release. I followed blogs like The Creative Penn, worked on platform building, and searched for endorsers for my book.

But the learning wasn't complete when I successfully published—not by a long shot. After publication, I had to reconfigure my blog to highlight my product. I had to find reviewers for my book. Most importantly, I had to market.

2014 was a busy year for me as an indie author. I published three more books (one of those my great aunt’s memoir). I worked with my narrator, Becky Doughty, to produce an audiobook version of God's Daughter (more here in my earlier Suite T guest post).

In the meantime, so many authors approached me with questions on indie publishing: traditionally published authors, new authors, and various levels in-between. I enjoyed sharing with them, but my time was increasingly taxed as I wrote, edited, and produced my own books. I am also very active in a 650+-member Christian indie author group on Facebook.

At the suggestion of several author friends, I decided to publish an easy-to-understand guidebook that would walk authors through the four key elements of indie book production: (1) editing, (2) creating cover art and blurbs, (3) formatting and uploading books, and (4) marketing. This handbook is titled Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher.

I was thrilled when many author friends agreed to share quotes for a special last chapter that would bring added value to readers—tips from seasoned indie authors. I know I have learned so much from those who have gone before and hope to bring some of those tips to just-starting-out indie publishers.

I'm so pleased with reviews that are coming in, such as these:

"You won’t be disappointed with Indie Publishing Handbook, and will refer to it time and again as you begin your writing and publishing venture.” Review by Author Robin E. Mason

"This little handbook is packed with information and won't go out-of-date. “ Review by author Valerie Comer.

"If you're a writer debating between pursuing traditional publishing or going indie, this little handbook tells you what you need to know about being your own publisher. You won't be overwhelmed, because Heather sticks to the basics and keeps it simple and concise." Review by Barbara Hartzler

I have always wanted to mentor others, just as other authors have mentored me in this writing journey. I sometimes think God allowed me to indie publish "at such a time as this" so I could encourage other authors that independent publishing is a wonderful option authors have now. It is a way to get stories that don't quite fit the mold out to hungry readers.

Today, I'm happy to offer a Kindle gift of the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher to one commenter. I will choose a winner next week and post in the comments. Please leave your email address and tell me why you are interested in indie publishing below! Thank you so much.

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT has independently published four books. Her debut novel, God's Daughter, has remained on the Amazon Norse Bestseller list and Amazon Norse Top-Ranked list for over one year. Her contemporary mystery, Miranda Warning, is the successful start to the Murder in the Mountains series. Her Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher is available on Amazon. You can find Heather at her author website, heatherdaygilbert.com, or on Facebook here. She is also active on twitter here.

My Audiobook Experience: An Author's Perspective

By Heather Day Gilbert

Independent author (indie) circles are abuzz with the advice that audiobooks are a great way to supplement your income. I wouldn't have taken this advice seriously (I assumed I couldn't afford to have one made), but a fellow author explained to me about the royalty payment option she had used. With the royalty option, you don't pay your audiobook narrator up front. However, you agree to split your audiobook royalties with the narrator, which gives you both around 20% for each audiobook sold.

I followed her advice and went online to check out ACX, which is the recording end of Audible.com's audiobooks. Lo and behold, I could choose to request a sample reading from any number of narrators, even narrowing it down to gender, accent, and voice type (gravelly, soothing, perky, etc).

Since my novel, God's Daughter is a Viking historical written from a female first-person point of view, I immediately looked for Norse-speaking younger females. Each narrator lists whether he/she is available for royalty or for the pay-per-hour option. You can submit a few pages of your novel and request that narrators contact you with a short sample recording.

I couldn't find a Norse-speaking native female, but I did find a Dutch one. I also found a girl in CA who wanted to try a Norse accent. After they submitted their demos, I was able to ask them to tweak the way they said things, trying to determine if we could work together on the book. The girl in CA was interested in the book and wanted to narrate it, but her accent occasionally veered toward Scottish. The Dutch speaker had a very authentic accent, but when I played the sample for family and friends, they couldn't understand all the words. And here's something I realized: if the words are obscured by your narrator's voice/accent, your audiobook will not do your book justice.

At just the right time, God opened a door I hadn't expected. My critique partner, Becky Doughty, had recently segued into narrating audiobooks. I knew she had a beautiful voice—one that had that hint of the exotic and yet projected a soothing calmness, matching my main character's personality. Before Becky sent me her sample, she made me promise to say no if it didn't work for any reason.

Yet one day while I was washing dishes, it was like I felt God say, "She's the one." Before I even got Becky's audio sample, I knew this would be a fit. Sure enough, it was perfect. 

I can't tell you how it felt to hear that first chapter of my book read aloud. I've talked to other authors who have had the same surreal experience, where you're sitting there thinking, "I wrote THIS?" It truly boggles the mind to hear your own words read aloud, very much like your own characters are talking to you.

Becky and I went back and forth. She would narrate a few chapters, I would listen and make any corrections, send back to her for a re-do, then listen again and correct or give the okay. For an 80,000-word book, that can be time-consuming, particularly for the narrator, who puts in hours for every finished hour you hear. Our finished audiobook is nine hours and 28 minutes long.

Yet, at the end of this process, Becky and I both have something we are proud of. Something that can reach readers who might not be able to see to read. Something that might reach those who prefer audiobooks to print/e-book versions.

You can read more about our process here. Becky has since gone on to narrate many audiobooks with her BraveHeart Audiobooks company, and each one is unique.

Bottom line...audiobooks are rewarding, and a source of supplemental income for the author. While I am still searching for the best ways to market my audiobook, it has already reached readers who might not have picked the book up without hearing it first.

You can find God's Daughter on audio here and listen to a sample. Another sample is available on Soundcloud here.

If you're an author and wonder about the audiobook option for your novel, it is far easier than you might think to develop one. And it's far more rewarding than I could have imagined.

I'm offering one free God's Daughter audiobook code to a random commenter here on Southern Writers Magazine, Suite T. Please leave your email below with your comment to be entered for the drawing. I will choose a winner next week and email you directly with the code--it's easy to download the audiobook from Audible.com. 

Thank you!

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HEATHER DAY GILBERT enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Seventeen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as eleven years spent homeschooling. Heather regularly posts on Novel Rocket about self-publishing. You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon bestseller. You can find it on Amazon and Audible.com. Her Appalachian mystery, Miranda Warning, is available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. 

How I Became a Hybrid Author

By Heather Day Gilbert

In June, 2012, I wrote a guest post for Suite T entitled "Getting Past our Writing What-Ifs," in which I talked about sticking to your passion in writing. I truly appreciated all your encouraging comments on my attempts to get my Viking historical novel in the door with traditional publishers.

Yet, the novel I discussed in that post was out on submission for not just one year, but for over a year and a half. If one thing will crush your hopes and dreams as a writer, waiting a year and a half will. About halfway through the wait time, I yelled "Uncle!" and proceeded to write another book, in a totally different period and genre (Contemporary Appalachian Mystery--shout-out to Southerners!).

I determined I wanted to be traditionally published first. After all, I couldn't market my own book, could I? I couldn't figure out all the techie stuff required to self-publish!

Turns out, all that time out on submission helped me more than I anticipated. In that year and half, I built a solid author platform. I got line-edited on my next novel, learning some new tricks of the writing trade. I received heartening feedback from CBA editors, who liked the story, liked the writing...but felt they couldn't market Vikings.

I realized the book was ready, but the CBA market was not. There was one very shiny option out there for my Viking novel--self-publish. Get it out to the masses while Vikings are hot (Thor II releasing in November, Vikings miniseries on History Channel, How to Train your Dragon 2 coming out next year). I'd be an idiot to miss this opportunity to get the word out on a real Viking woman who sailed with her husband to North America.

I knew I didn't want to strike out my first time out of the gate. So I determined to have cover art that looked professional and made people want to read my book--even on my very limited budget. Thankfully, my brother is a computer guy and helped materialize my vision. You can see our finished cover art for God's Daughter by clicking on the title.

I also worked out an intense marketing strategy, trying to leave no stone unturned. This involved everything from asking lots of author friends to be early readers (in hopes they would influence for or endorse my novel) to building early interest with pinnable quotes from my novel (link here for the gallery).

Now I've become a hybrid author, meaning I have an agent and I'm out on submission with traditional publishers; yet in the meantime, I have self-published a novel. I truly believe this is the wave of the future. With the sweep of e-books, authors have more control than at any time in history.

It's both terrifying and encouraging--terrifying in that we have to get all our ducks in a row if we want to shine, yet encouraging in that we no longer have to wait for the gatekeepers to deem our subject matter/genre/time period "marketable."

In this brave new world of publishing, I'm so thankful to finally get my novel, God's Daughter, into readers' hands. You can find it here on Amazon.

I would love to hear your stories of traditional publishing or self-publishing in the comments. And let's make the most of this wide-open publishing world!

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Heather enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator. You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Look for her Viking novel, God's Daughter, on Amazon, today!

Death of the Opinionated Writer

By Heather Day Gilbert

Growing up, tragic author biographies inexplicably moved me. Percy Bysshe Shelley—drowned. Edgar Allan Poe—possibly overdosed on opium. Jane Austen—pernicious anemia. Margaret Mitchell—hit by a car. Sylvia Plath—too horrid for words.These writers lived vibrantly. Some loved recklessly (Edna St.Vincent Millay). Some said whatever they wanted (Oscar Wilde). Some got thrown into prison (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn). Some became expatriates (Ernest Hemingway).

My personal writer aspirations went something like this: I’d graduate from college, find a ramshackle beach on a remote island, where I’d have no responsibilities but writing and caring for my pack of large dogs.

Life veered from my carefully-laid plans, as it often does. Instead, I married my red-headed Yankee sweetie and moved up north for awhile. We had three kiddos. Suddenly, I was a very responsible adult who scrawled poems in my downtime.Then I carved out some time and wrote a book. I got an agent. I started a blog. One buzzword was floating around author circles at that time: platform.
Turns out, writers are no longer islands, left to their own devices as they churn out the bestsellers. They’re also not free radicals, wandering hither and yon, throwing caution to the wind.

Writers have to be: Calculating: Track your blog hits and your FB hits and post accordingly. Open: Let people get to know you, but don’t be so open stalkers can hunt you down if you get famous. Bold: Know why you’re writing what you write and be passionate about it. Pliable: Be willing to change genre/time period/locale based on what can be sold. In other words, don’t be too attached to your idea.Unique: Don’t write something the market is saturated with. Normal: Don’t write something so different it can’t be marketed.Tolerant: Don’t tick people off by tweeting your political views. Real: Use your own unique “voice” in everything you do. 

Bottom line: writers today need to be calculating, yet open. Bold, yet pliable. Unique, yet normal. Tolerant, yet real.Somehow I miss those capricious, admittedly half-crazed, yet utterly brilliant writers of yesteryear. And I’m still waiting to see how my biography will turn out. 

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Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Fifteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as nine years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator. Her historical fiction novel, God’s Daughter, is rooted in the Icelandic sagas. It tells the story of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, the first European woman to have a baby on North American soil. You can find out more at Heather’s blogspot:http://www.heatherdaygilbert.blogspot.com, or at her FB page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heather-Day-Gilbert/255797467834948. She’d also love to chat on twitter @vikingwritergal.