ON THE WINGS OF FREEDOM

 I recently wrote about my ancestor, William Blackwood, who was a publisher and editor. In the last few years, I have done more editing and publishing than writing. I love helping others achieve their dreams of being published authors. In the next few weeks, I will share with you some of the wonderful books I have been privileged to work on. (I help the writers I work with to self-publish their books so they have total control over them.)

One of these books is On the Wings of Freedom.

I was recommended to first-time author Malanna Carey Henderson as an editor. (These days, most of my editing is done for people on the recommendation of others.)

The book contained a McGuffin—a bird in flight carved out of bone. (McGuffin is a term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for an object that serves as a trigger for the plot. Think of the blackbird statue in The Maltese Falcon.) Strangely, I had one! My dad had sent it to my mom when he was in the service in WWII. It had a letter in its mouth, but Larry assured me he could remove it digitally.

This felt like a sign that I should work on this book. I also liked the theme and plot.

Because we write historical fiction, I was well-aware that readers of the genre will destroy an author in reviews if they get anything wrong. Unfortunately, I discovered quite a few things in this manuscript that were inconsistent for the period. Thank goodness, Malanna was willing to do the necessary research—and rewriting—to make it correct.

During the writing process, I mentioned the carved bird to my daughter. “I have one, too,” she responded.

Shortly afterward, we went to visit her, and she showed it to me. It had been with my mother-in-love’s jewelry. Neither she nor I nor Larry knew whose it was originally. I really loved this one. It was in full flight and precisely the image Malanna had described.

Larry liked it, too and used it for the cover.

When the book was published, my daughter said I could send the original bird to Melanna to be used for whatever purpose she chose. Mine will go to my daughter, and she will know the story behind it.

This is the synopsis of the story:

Born free in New York City, Carrie Bennet is unprepared to hear the family secrets her ailing mother, Sarah, reveals. An educated woman who has led a sheltered life, Carrie travels south to fulfill her mother’s dying wish―to free her grandmother from slavery. Circumstances set her on a perilous path that jeopardizes her freedom and leads to a charge of murder. Fearing she’d never get a fair trial, Carrie travels north on the Underground Railroad and joins Harriet Tubman. As her life hangs in the balance, Carrie fights an unjust judicial system as she struggles to deny a forbidden love.

Malanna Carey Henderson has written and produced ten plays which have been performed in Brooklyn, New York; Culpeper and Fredericksburg, Virginia. For the past two years, she has worked with members of the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, Shiloh Baptist New Site, the United Methodist Church, and St. George’s Episcopal Church to produce vignettes under the title: Untold Stories. These vignettes focused on little-known historical events featuring the contributions of African Americans as spies and military heroes to celebrate Black History Month. The one-act plays included To His Excellency George Washington, Camp Casey, It Was a Matter of Pride, Democracy is a Weapon, Secret Codes and The Pension Office.

In 2009, she won first place in the One-Act Play Festival sponsored by Stage Door Productions for The Eclipse. She won a first-place award sponsored by the Tulsa City County Library for A Question of Color.

A native Detroiter, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from City University of New York, Brooklyn Campus and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Detroit.

On the Wings of Freedom is her first novel. She lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia with her wonderfully supportive husband.

Malanna as a Civil War reenactor

I hope you will give the book a try. I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I have!

I will continue to share some of the wonderful, but little-known, books I have been privileged to have worked on.

What We Inherit

I have been interested in genealogy for many years. My grandfather’s Mormon family heritage is pretty well-documented with lots of stories about the Pioneers who helped settle Utah. (My grandfather was one of twenty-three children.)

My dad’s mother was Irish. I traced her side back a couple of generations, but like many Irish-Americans, the early records seem to have been lost.

Larry’s aunt did a great job of documenting his father’s family. She even wrote several articles for a publication in celebration of the centennial of her hometown. His mother’s mother was a Woolworth, but not the rich branch. Their family heritage has been traced back to Charlemagne. Larry laughed at all the European royalty in his tree. But when we had our DNA sequenced, the findings tended to support everything I had found. (He is descended from both leaders of the Battle of Hastings—William the Conqueror and King Harold—and many, many other kings, queens, and other royalty.)

I knew my maternal grandfather’s family was from Methven, Scotland. We visited the town when we were there in 1995. His branch moved to Clyde Bank, a famous shipbuilding city, before they emigrated to Canada and then to the US.

My maternal grandmother claimed that her family was 100% Scottish. I’m sure she didn’t know about her second great-grandmother. I received copies of the family records from her family’s Bible from a cousin on that side some years after my grandmother died. Her great-grandmother was listed as “Grace Smith from County Cork.” I was tickled when I found this, thinking how disturbed Grandma would have been to know this.

I knew her father was a school teacher and a member of the school board. I was proud to know that her family valued education.

I have had a membership in Ancestry.com for many, many years. I’ve uploaded all of the material I received from Larry’s aunt and my Mormon ancestors there, along with the family pictures and stories I have acquired. I have also been able to link to the work of others.

Last week, I got one of the best surprises ever. I discovered that my fifth-great-grandfather on my maternal grandmother’s line was William Blackwood, an editor and publisher. What a fascinating man.

In 1804, he opened a store where he sold old and curious books. From there, he moved into publishing. In 1817, he began to publish Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. It eventually became Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. His magazine was the first to publish work by an American, an essay by John Neal.

It also published many famous English writers: Joseph Conrad, George Eliot, and E.M. Forster, among others. After William died, various other family members continued the business. It lasted until 1980, when it was amalgamated. (No members of my immediate family were involved.)

For the last twenty years or so, I have not only been an author, but I edited for several independent publishers. Throughout my career, I wrote policies and procedures for every job I ever had. One boss used to plop down in the chair in my office and say, “Make me sound good.” He’d then tell me what he wanted to say in a letter to a vendor. I’d produce a formal business letter to which he attached his signature.

Another company I worked for insisted that a copy of every piece of correspondence—including memos and documentation of phone conversations—be sent to a group called “Presentation.” If there were any errors, the group gave the author feedback. As usual, I created a lot of documentation. One day I had a call from the head of Presentation. “Don’t send me any more of your writing. It’s always right, and I don’t need to take the time to look at it.”

A few years later, I began to ghost write corporate procedures for other company leaders. My phone rang. A laugh was followed by: “I thought I told you not to send me any more of your writing. Even though _____’s name is on this, I recognize your writing.” By this time, we were using word processing. The documents were produced in a separate group from my originals. “I don’t have a choice. They distribute everything.”

Periodically, I’d hear from him whenever I started creating documents from someone new. He just wanted to let me know he still recognized my writing, and we’d laugh.

As an editor, I have been privileged to work on some wonderful books. I’m known as a tough editor because I do both content and line editing. I love doing it, even though I rarely charge enough. The satisfaction of helping someone fulfill their lifelong dream is worth it.

Finding William Blackwood pleased me. I had a sense of connection to him. My love of words, editing, and publishing didn’t come to me from nowhere. Somehow, I had a sense of inheritance—intangible, but nevertheless real.

Do you have any characteristics inherited from your ancestors? What are they, and how do they impact your life today?

REPUBLISHING ACHES AND PAINS

This week, my dear friend, Marilyn Meredith, writes about the republishing process. In the past several years, she has now republished almost all of her books as self-published.

It all began when my good friend, Lorna, urged me to self-publish the Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery series. She and her husband had already done the same for my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series when the publisher closed its doors. Lorna and I both re-edited every book in the series, and her husband, Larry, redid the new covers for publication. And of course, Lorna did the actual job of putting the books on Amazon as trade paperback and for Kindle.

When the publisher of the RBPD series passed away, another publisher picked up the authors’ books, including mine. However, I had so many, the republishing process was slow. I’d already experienced the advantage of the Crabtree series being self-published because of my ability to actually see what books were being purchased, and if the promotion of a particular book worked.

As with the other series, the process began with Lorna editing each book and then my going over it, too. This was an eye-opener. These books had first been heard and critiqued by my writers’ group, re-edited by me, edited by the first publisher, then the second publisher, but Lorna discovered many mistakes, and then, I went through them, too. Not only did I find more mistakes like simple typos, but also character’s name changes, and a few discrepancies. Despite all that work, I’m sure we still missed some errors.

Larry redid all the covers, each one in a different color, with a wonderful RBPD badge on each one. An entire set of the books creates a wonderful rainbow.

The whole series is now available on Amazon.

This may sound easy, but it was a lot of work. At times, I wondered if it would be worth it—and I’ll bet there were moments when Lorna wished she hadn’t urged me to switch to self-publishing.

I must say, I wasn’t up to doing this myself. I’m at a stage in life where I have trouble learning how to do new things. None of this would have happened without Lorna’s and Larry’s expertise, and I’m forever grateful.

If you’d like to start at the beginning of the series, here’s the link to Final Respects:

https://tinyurl.com/y8ggfa4r

However, each book is written as a stand-alone. There are continuing characters, but the crime or crimes are solved by the end of the book.

One of my favorites is Murder in the Worst Degree.

https://tinyurl.com/yagpv3hq  The Kindle version of this book will be FREE from today, July 24, through the 28th. If you downloaded the old version, you may want to try this one. See if you can find any differences.

Marilyn writes the RBPD series as F. M. Meredith. She is the author of over forty published books. She lived for over twenty years in a beach town with many similarities to Rocky Bluff. She’s a member of two chapters of Sisters in Crime, Public Safety Writers Association and other writers’ groups.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com

Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

WITH A LOT OF HELP FROM A FRIEND

My guest this week is my favorite mystery writer and good friend Marilyn Meredith. She has a brand-new book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series called End of the Trail. She’ll tell you all about it.

My latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, End of the Trail, is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. The friend who made it possible was none other than my host for today, Lorna Collins, who did the editing and publishing. A big thank you to her and her hubby, Larry, who designed the cover.

When I started writing this book, I had lots of ideas of how it should unfold. However, when the coronavirus struck, it became harder and harder for me to write. I had plenty of time but lacked motivation. Not because I was worried about getting the sickness, but because the venues where I had planned to promote this book and others started to cancel their events.

The best part of any writing conference, or other such gathering, is seeing old friends and making new ones. The first event canceled was writing conference put on by Writers of Kern. Bakersfield is an easy drive, they had some great speakers lined up, and I paid for a table to have my books on display. It was scheduled for March.

The second event to go was a conference put on by the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime. Because I’d already made hotel reservations, they offered me the opportunity to be their guest speaker at their regular meeting which they planned to hold the same day. When their meeting place, a library, closed, that was the end of that.

I’ve already received notice a book fair I’ve attended regularly scheduled in October will not be happening this year.

I’m still hoping other upcoming events written in on my calendar will go ahead as planned.

So, I guess disappointment was my biggest hurdle to finishing End of the Trail. Encouragement came from Lorna as I sent her the manuscript, which certainly helped.

Now that it’s published and available in paperback and for Kindle, I will find other ways to promote it.

Here’s a short blurb:

Deputy Tempe Crabtree joins the search for a missing hiker which results in a murder investigation, a near death experience, an unexpected rescue, and an unhappy ghost.

An important P.S.: Lorna Collins, the ghost hunter, makes an appearance in The End of the Trail.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over forty published books. She lives in a mountain community, much like Bear Creek, the one where Deputy Tempe Crabtree is the resident deputy. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys being with her family.

Abandoned

Over the last few years, I have observed a disturbing trend in publishing. Many, if not most, of the small and mid-level publishers I know have gone out of business, leaving their authors wondering where to go and what to do.

The first to affect us personally was Whiskey Creek Press. http://whiskeycreekpress.com/ The owners were very close friends, and our relationship with them was a personal as well as business one. Health issues forced them to sell their company. They were fortunate. At the time, another publisher, Start Publishing, was interested in obtaining the company. We had seven books with them, so it was easier to leave them with the same publisher, especially since they maintained the original website, even with the change in ownership. They also contracted with Simon and Schuster to distribute our ebooks. https://www.simonandschuster.com/search/books/_/N-/Ntt-Lorna+Collins

In 2016, the publisher of Wild Child Publishing/Freya’s Bower closed her publishing house. At the time, she explained that Amazon’s changes had made it impossible for small-to-mid-sized publishers to stay in business. Other publishers followed.

The same year, the owner of Oak Tree Press, Billie Johnson, had a massive stroke. It was not her first, but she had recovered from an earlier one, so her authors hoped she’d do the same this time. After a year with no royalties, I decided to request my rights back and self-publish my book, Ghost Writer. Some others did the same. However, in 2018, Billie died, and many of her authors were left without a publisher.

I have helped some of these to self-publish their books, but others are still trying to figure out what they will do.

Next to succumb was Desert Breeze Publishing, one of the most ethical houses I ever worked with. I edited for them for a few years. They also published several of my friends’ books. A couple of years ago, the owner had a serious car accident. She has been in nearly constant pain ever since. This, combined with the Amazon system’s policy changes, led her to stop doing business.

The latest publisher to fold is Mundania Press. This was one of the most respected of the mid-level publishers. Through the past fifteen years or so, they acquired several other small presses. However, they have been unable to pay royalties for a few months. Sadly, they, too, have given up.

When Oak Tree closed, our dear friend, Marilyn Meredith had her Rocky Bluff PD mystery series as well as quite a few other outliers published through Oak Tree. Another publisher, Aakenbaaken & Kent (also a friend), took the series and is currently re-publishing it. Larry and I self-published the others under Marilyn’s name. They now belong to her, and she gets all the royalties.

Her Tempe Crabtree mystery series was published by Mundania. We told her we would do the same with these. There were sixteen previously published books plus a new one, which should have been released months ago. She sent me the files, and Spirit Wind it is now available as of last Saturday in paperback and ebook. (Marilyn used my name for a character in a previous book, and she is back in this one—perhaps my favorite of all.)

In addition to the seventeen books in this series, Mundania had also published several of her other freestanding books. Thank goodness, Marilyn kept all of her files. (We share the same birthday, and we’re both very organized.)

So, now I’m at work trying to re-edit and re-format all the manuscripts. She has all the front cover artwork—thank goodness because these are gorgeous! But Larry has had to re-create the back covers and spines. This one turned out beautifully, so we are optimistic about the rest of them.

Many other authors are now left high and dry with no publishers and few options. Most do not have the skills necessary to self-publish their books.

The publishing industry has undergone a complete change during the thirteen years since we published our first book—and not necessarily for the better.

Have you had any experiences with being abandoned by a publisher?

I HATE CHANGE – PART II

My last blog was on why I hate change. The battle continues.

During the past three weeks, I have published five books. All of them were with KDP Print since CreateSpace is going away. Sadly, it is no longer an option for new books.

The first book was Larry’s The McGregor Chronicles: Book 5 – Nina’s Revenge.

This one was already in process before the mandatory switch, and everything went smoothly.

Then, I tried the second edition of the cookbook, Recipes by the Book: Oak Tree Authors Cook.

Here is where the conversion from CreateSpace to KDP Print became an issue. They changed the rules between the platforms, and I am not a happy camper about it. Since this was the second edition of one I had published previously using the publisher's credentials, I expected the process to be seamless. Not so.

KDP Print limits the number of authors/contributors for their print versions. (KDP doesn’t for the ebook.) This one has twenty-six contributors. The platform only allowed me to enter ten of them. I contacted them, and they added the rest—for the ebook version only. They say they can’t add more to the print book. I filed a ticket about it, and I won’t close it until they resolve the issue.

They also have not linked the versions on the Amazon page, even though I entered the ISBN of the print version when I created the ebook. (Both versions have all the numbers on the copyright page.) I made another request today, but I’m not holding my breath because of the author listing issue.

The original cookbook had two versions: black and white and full color. We wanted to create second editions of both. KDP Print changed the rules for their cover art. We had to change the black and white cover twice, and the one for the print version four times. (Recipes by the Book: Oak Tree Authors Cook – Full Color)

The interior is identical to the ebook version. I have requested that it be linked to both versions of the print titles. I’m not optimistic. Although we started this one near the beginning of the month, it only went live this morning.

The next book was for our grand-niece, A Wolf’s Magic.

We had worked with her for months on it, and Larry created a fabulous cover. It was ready to be published in May. However, it was delayed. This one was formatted for CreateSpace, and it gave us no issues, for which I am most grateful.

The final book for the month was Lola: The Parrot Who Saved the Mission.

This book had been in process for well over a year. A friend, whose artwork I loved, was supposed to do the illustrations. However, she had family issues and art shows, so her part of the project was delayed. When it became obvious she wouldn’t be able to complete it at any time soon, Larry decided he wanted to give it a try. He brought Lola to life.

This is a little-known but true story of Father O’Sullivan’s pet parrot who saved Mission San Juan Capistrano. When we mentioned the parrot to the docents last year, only one of them knew about the parrot, and none of them knew her name. This book just begged to be written.

We only had one hiccup with it and considered ourselves fortunate.

I ordered author copies of a couple of these and was disappointed to see that they had charged me tax for them. I had filed my resale license number with CreateSpace when I first published on that platform and was tax-exempt from then on.

When I complained to KDP Print about it, they first said they had no way to send author copies without charging tax. I received a whole treatise on how Amazon is required to charge tax. (I know. I remember when the whole issue arose in the first place.)

I wrote back, patiently explaining that we sell most of our author copies to retailers, and THEY are responsible for collecting the taxes. With the current system, tax is paid twice for the same items. Their reply included a link for tax-exempt status for Amazon itself.

I don't want tax-exempt status for all of Amazon. I purchase a lot on Amazon, most of which is for my own use. I am happy to pay tax on those items. I only want tax-exempt status when I purchase author copies of my own books. I have patiently explained this several times, but the only options I appear to have at the moment are to opt in or opt out of the status on the entire site. However, far too many of us will be affected by this issue CreateSpace. So, the battle continues.

Have any of my author friends run into issues with the transition from CreateSpace to KDP Print?

I HATE CHANGE

I HATE CHANGE. There, I’ve said it. I like everything neat and in order. (Does this make me a good Presbyterian?) I work much more efficiently once I get into a routine. I like to keep things in the same place so I can find them, even in the dark.

I have no idea how some people function in the midst of chaos. I have a couple of friends who seem to live in a whirlwind. If life doesn’t shake things up enough, they create their own havoc.

I have other friends whom I have threatened to report to the Hoarders TV show. I would say I don’t know how they function except I know they don’t do it well.

I was raised by dirt and clutter Nazis. Both my mother and grandmother cleaned and scrubbed and vacuumed every day. If we left anything out of place, they threw it out. Heck, even if our things were put away, we often came home from school to discover our toys and other possessions gone. My mother always had the same answer: “You don’t need it.” (Is this why I’m a bit of a pack-rat today? Could be. But everything has to be put away so I can locate it later. Fortunately, we live in a large toy box.)

My computer came with a new keyboard. I’m still not used to it. Some of the keys are in different places, and the touch is a bit harder than my old one. Some don’t register as well. I don’t slow down well, as some of you who have worked with me and my former bosses can attest. So, I now spend far too much time editing and correcting. This does not make me happy!

The latest threat to my well-being is Amazon’s switch from CreateSpace for print book publishing to KDP Print. I manually migrated all of the books we previously published, and everything appears to be okay. However, I haven’t purchased any copies yet to be sure.

Larry’s latest sci-fi book, The McGregor Chronicles: Book 5 – Nina’s Revenge, was in process before the switch. The copies we received look fine, and they did not reject the cover.

However, I am republishing an old cookbook, and have gotten three error messages. I uploaded the original using the publisher’ credentials, so we had the original cover Larry designed using a CreateSpace template. Each time we got an error message, he changed it to be compatible with the requirements, and each time, it came back.

The ebook cover published just fine, but the one for the paperbacks (there are two of them with the same cover since one has a B&W interior and the other is in color) kept bouncing. Today he downloaded the KDP template and rebuilt the cover. I have uploaded it yet again. If they don’t accept it this time, I am planning a very loud and unpleasant phone call to them as a follow-up on the many emails I have already sent.

Yesterday I uploaded another book prepared with a CreateSpace cover template. Yet another error message. So, Larry will rebuild it using the KDP template. However, he will probably wait to see what happens with the cookbook. No sense in expending the time if we have to engage in another battle.

My armor is ready, and my sword is drawn.

PS: As I was writing this, a technical service representative called. We were able to figure out what the issues are. Fingers crossed…

Do you deal well with change? If so, please tell me how you manage it.

Mentoring

We first met Claire Crafts when she was eight-years-old. Her younger brother broke a window in our house, and his dad brought him and his sisters to the house. In Claire, I recognized a kindred spirit. Thereafter, whenever I saw her, we had long discussions about writing.

When she was ten, she joined our critique group. Being surrounded by published adult writers did not intimidate her, and we made no exceptions when critiquing her work. Because several of our authors were writing young adult novels, Claire’s input became invaluable.

At first, she wrote historical short stories, ala Little House on the Prairie. (All her young heroines were named “Millie,” and all the fathers were dead in her families. Her own father started to wonder about this particular plotline.)

As she progressed, she decided to write a novel. She started several, but never completed them. Part of the problem was she tried to write from an adult point-of-view. She also attempted to write about places and events about which she had little knowledge.

Finally, last summer when she was fifteen, she not only began but completed a lovely coming-of-age romance novel. She shared it with the group and received positive feedback.

On April 30, her sixteenth birthday, her novel, Trust the Wind was published on Amazon.com. She took the cover photo, and Larry did the design and layout.

So far, she has earned more royalties in six weeks than any of the adults in our group has ever earned in the same period!

Claire has several more books in her queue, including a book of poetry.

Encouraging the creativity of this very talented young lady has been a joy for all of us.

~~~

We have just helped our grand-niece complete her first fantasy novel. Savannah is only eleven, and she is also exceptionally talented.

Her mother told us about the book last Thanksgiving, and she sent it to me. Imagine my surprise when I read it and found it was better than some submissions I have received from the adults for whom I edit.

Savannah understands how to tell a story, how to create a story arc, character arcs, tension, and suspense. She has an impressive grasp of language and understands the value of dialogue. We went through the manuscript and identified a few issues, but overall, it was well done.

We promised her as part of her Christmas present we would help her publish it. We intend to keep our promise.

Larry created a wonderful cover, and the final edit is completed.

As soon as we work out the financial details, we’ll publish this one as well.

Like Claire, Savannah has more books planned.

Seeing the enthusiasm and talent of these young writers brings us a great deal of satisfaction.

Another young lady of fourteen has just joined out critique group. We’re anxious to see what she produces.

Have you ever had the experience of mentoring someone? Did you have mentors? How much difference did they make?

Republishing - Part IV

When I started trying to locate all of Marilyn Meredith’s books, I discovered several I didn’t know about. The first was a cookbook. It had been published in 2000 and was long out-of-print. When I asked Marilyn about it, she said she only had one printed copy, and it wasn’t the published version.

She sent me two separate 8-1/2” x 11” paper copies. They were typed on a typewriter, and were three-hole punched. Apparently, the book had started life as two books. I scanned them and ran the OCR (Optical Character Reader) to extract the individual characters. Unfortunately, the characters on the typewritten pages didn’t always read correctly, and the resultant pages had no formatting. Fortunately, I had the originals, so I could compare each character to make sure it was correct.

Since I had two files, when they were both converted to one Word document, I re-indexed the recipes so the order made sense. Then I sent the document to Marilyn, She knew them well and made a few additional corrections.

The covers on the originals I was given had simple sketches, but we wanted the new one to have a professional-looking cover. So, I set my large oak table with blue placemats, white plates, and flatware. Larry took a couple of photos.

“This is too plain. It doesn’t look as though it’s actually set for a meal.” He went downstairs and soon returned with new photos of the table. He’d added my big, white soup tureen, a basket with a napkin in it, stuffed with paper to resemble bread, white cups, a sugar bowl and creamer. We both liked the look, and he still had room for the title, Cooking for a Big Family and Large Groups.

We both liked it—and so did Marilyn.

The other books I discovered were horror titles. These had only been published as ebooks. Marilyn requested—and received—her rights back for these. We began with Cup of Demons. (The title comes from a Bible verse.)

This appeared to be an MS Word file, but I suspect it might have been a WordPerfect file converted to Word since it seemed to have some hidden formatting. It didn’t cooperate well, and I had to upload it several times to get it to look right.

Since Marilyn didn’t have the rights to the original cover, and she said she’d never liked it, I had an idea for an image. I located free photos of old, faded and stained wallpaper, an ornate mirror, and a woman who fit the description of the ghost in the story.

Larry created one of my favorite covers. It conveys a sense of the story, and it is beautiful at the same time.

So, two more of her books are now available again. We still have a couple more of the horror titles to complete, and all of her books (except her Rocky Bluff P.D. ones, which another publisher is re-publishing) will be available.

Next week and the week after, I will interview Marilyn about her two historical novels, based on her real family members. I adored these books, and I think you will, too.

Marilyn Meredith’s published book count is nearing forty. She taught writing for Writers Digest Schools for ten years. She served as an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com

Blog: http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/ and you can follow her on Facebook.

See all her books at her author page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Meredith/e/B001HPJ440/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Republishing

We were blessed to be published by two small independent publishers. The owners of both became dear friends as well as our publishers.

The first company was sold when the owner could no longer run the business due to Parkinson’s disease. This situation was sad and distressing since we cared about the people involved.

We stayed with the new publisher since they had seven of our titles. So far, they seem okay, if indifferent, but we haven’t seen any royalties for months. However, getting our rights back would cost us more than we could make in several years. So, the books will stay where they are—for now.

The second publisher had a stroke about two years ago. Again, we felt terrible because she is a dear friend. In addition, she created a new imprint for my book. Besides being published by her imprint, I did a great deal of editing for her.

We have prayed for her recovery and continue to hope she will be able to resume her work, but after nearly two years without royalties, I felt I had no choice but to take back my book.

I contacted the cover artist to find out who owned the cover art. Some artists license their covers to the publishers and retain their ownership. Others create the books for the publisher. The publisher pays for the cover and has ownership. This was the case with my cover. Thank goodness because it is my favorite cover.

The first sample I received in no way reflected the story. It featured two half-naked people against an orange sunset. I loathe the color orange, and the cover looked like it should have been for erotica. Not at all like my book.

Larry mocked up an idea, and the cover artist took it to a whole new level. It completely reflects the story.

I contacted the publisher and requested my rights back. In addition, I asked for the cover rights in exchange for any money I am owed. Bless her. She gave me full rights in writing as well as the cover art and the PDF of the book as submitted for publication.

Then came the hard work. Fortunately, I have a program with an OCR (Optical character Reader). I was able to convert the PDF to a text file, so I could create a new Word file. The downside is in the conversion, all the formatting is lost. Occasionally, words are lost or wrong. Therefore, a complete edit is necessary, along with new formatting. But at least I had about 95% of the text intact.

I contacted the cover artist again. I offered her a small amount to remove the publisher’s information, and she agreed to do it as well as size the cover for the new book.

I tried to format the book to closely resemble the original so the transition would appear nearly seamless. This took lots of time and effort, but the result was worth it.

Once I had the complete manuscript and cover, I was able to self-publish it as a second edition. For this one, I added a new section in the back: Book Club Questions.

The book is now available again on Amazon as a second edition, and I am happy to have complete ownership of it. From here on, I will have complete control of the book without depending on anyone else.

Since I did this one, I have also converted two books for a friend. They had been published by the same publisher.

I anticipate we may have to do the same for the other seven books. Someday, we will probably have all of our books self-published.