Sorry all!

Hey everyone,

We're so sorry! We all forgot about some major deadlines some of us have approaching too damned fast and are now currently scrambling to get everyone back on schedule. Too many things all going on at once obviously. We will be back soon, don't know for sure when that will be, but we will be back.

Until then - ideas, tips and/or questions shoot them on over to our email and we will get back to you as soon as we can. The email is:  the-unvarnished-author@gmail.com in case you don't know it.

Back to the grindstone for us all. Stay aware and question everything!

The Moderator

Submitting #6 - Submitting do's and don't's

This is a topic that has a few hard and fast "rules" we'll call them and then a bunch of "guidelines" as well as a few "never hurts to do" points. We're going to focus on the hard and fast "rules" or the do's and don't's about Submitting in this post. The others were already covered, to a degree, in the previous posts under this topic so we won't harp on them.

The Do's:

• Spell & Grammar check - You won't catch everything so don't freak, but at least give it a good once over read to ensure that you haven't used a word that makes no sense in the midst of a sentence. Again, you won't catch it all but at least if you've done your best you've provided a good first impression.
  
• Follow their guidelines - Publishers ask for a very specific list of items to be part of your submission. Follow the list to the letter and if you have a question, ask - especially if this is your first submission, you'll pick it all up as you go so don't freak.
• Don't be too "wordy" - When they ask for something like a brief synopsis or a page synopsis or blurb or whatever it might be they are asking for keep it tight. This means to hit on all your key points of the story and not get lost in a retelling. Names, conflict, danger(s), trial(s) and resolution(s) are the best ones to put in. You're trying to sell your story in under, roughly, 300 words OR LESS. Think it through and then write it out. Once you have it written go back and edit and whittle it down to whatever their count requirement is. If you're over a word or two - DON'T FREAK. We've cheated and squeezed in a couple here and there a time or two, it's not a deal breaker
• Re-read your email - Before you send off your submission ensure you read the email or, if you have someone there with you, have them read it. Check the spelling of your name, your pseudonym if you're using one, your mailing address and phone number for contacting you. This is VERY important and we often overlook the simplest of errors especially when it comes to an address and phone number. Then you can quickly breeze through the other stuff with an eye to the details.
• Double check - Have you put in every single thing the publisher requires? ie: Name, Pseudonym, Address, Phone Number, Synopsis, Blurb, and so forth. Have you attached your manuscript? This is a biggie, you would not believe how often an author has sent off a submission only to realize, mere milliseconds later, they forgot to attach the most important piece - the manuscript. This is embarrassing since you now have to resend the entire email - just don't forget it a second time. Cause if you do you might as we just go into a closet and lock the door behind you.

The Don't's:

• Mass email - You may have a series written. You may have them all ready to go at the same time. What you may NOT do is mass email. This will just piss off your publisher and, if you're lucky, have them stick everything at the bottom of the received pile for the month. Unless you have specifically talked to and discussed it with your publisher, send no more than one email a week - just our guideline. If you HAVE talked to the publisher and s/he says to send them through one after another - do it. Do NOT take the initiative upon yourself.
• Play the field - This means submitting the same story to multiple publishers, don't do it. Submit to one publisher and if they refuse it then you can move on but if you do submit to two or more at the same time you have to think, what happens when two or more want it? Play it safe and don't be a douche bag.
• Oversell - Every author wants to believe their story is the next big thing to make or break the industry. But in this day and age, with so many publishers out there and so many dedicated e-book authors, it's doubtful. So don't be one of "those" authors that gets all cocky and oversells their story. Be honest, be sincere and let it speak for itself.

There you have it, some more stuff for you to consider when you send in a story. The above holds true for new authors and seasoned vets. No matter how many books you have under your belt, no matter how many publishers you write for, keep yourself humble in all your dealings. The publisher doesn't care that you sold 5, 500 or 5,000 on your last book. All they are looking at is what you've sent them in the now. Be in the now and not in the clouds.

The Moderator

The Scoop #6 - From the mouths... (warning: language)

The biggest blows to your career can come from multiple directions. One of the worst though, at least in our minds, come from your fellow authors. These would be those spiteful, conniving, vengeful assholes who think nothing of ruining your reputation just so they can find a little pleasure in their day. They only do this because they know for a FACT they are not even half the author you are, they are not even half the human being you are and because they want to feel better about themselves and their too pitiful little lives. It is a sad thought to know someone you might consider a friend is actually the one both stabbing you in the back but also twisting the blade.

It is also the truth. Because your fellow authors, one's you may chat with on a daily basis and who you might call "friend", are the ones that know just what to say to ruin your career. Oh, and they don't even care if they have to bend the truth a little or a lot, hell they'll even make shit up too if it serves their purposes. But they are not dumb, not by a long shot. They are complete and total idiots and morons, there's no doubt about that, but not dumb. They know just who to pass a word to, say just the right thing to have someone asking "what do you mean?" and then they can dish. But it always comes with the infamous and eye rolling precursor "now this may just be rumor but I heard..." insert smack talk here.

And there is not a fucking thing you can do about it. It's that simple. People will talk shit about you behind your back to those you are either trying to establish a working relationship with or are working with now just because they are jealous little ho's. We're sorry about the language (mostly) but it's the damned truth! If these people had even a smidgen of an ounce of self-worth they would never, ever feel the need to attack another human being in this manner. But then again, we're talking about self-centred ass wipes without a grain of a conscience being worse than a group of teenage girls who just saw the captain of the football team giving the "unpopular" girl a bit of attention instead of mooning over their primped and spoiled "cheerleader", and so damned fake, asses.

Straight up fact - women can be bitches, men can be assholes, you can even switch those roles around. But not everyone is that way. Some of the nicest people (on the surface anyway) on the planet would sell your soul, yours not theirs, for a few bucks while some of the biggest jerks (appearance/attitude wise) have some of the biggest hearts of gold around and would give you the shirt off their backs. No matter what - don't judge a book by it's cover, don't talk about your business (and by business we mean what you're doing to make money) with another person you don't trust implicitly and never online and don't ever, ever, smack talk about someone to anyone else. That shit will bite you so hard and you will come out smelling like shite!

There is our two cents on this topic with, we are so absolutely sure, more to come in the days and weeks and months to come.

The Moderator

The Unvarnished true story

We recently had someone send us an email that asked us just why we had started this blog and why now. These were very good questions and June knew we absolutely had to answer these for everyone to hear. So, for this next part it will be in first person from the person's point of view of just why this all came to be. No names will be mentioned at any time to protect everyone's anonymity and events mildly altered to give no information away that could cause trouble for anyone.

"It was a great day, a Wednesday if we want to be specific and I was meeting with a couple of my author friends for drinks to discuss life and just generally be social. The sun was out and the day was warm, there was a slight breeze bringing the scent of freshly cut grass right to us as we sat on the patio sipping our various and seriously alcoholic beverages. We were waiting on food to arrive when I get a call.

Excusing myself from the table I step away to take the call. It was not a good call, not in the least. My skin broke out in a cold sweat, my heart and pulse were thundering and I swear there were black spots dancing around my eyes. It was another friend and associate, one that was at a publishing house with me calling, she was in tears. We'd been screwed six ways of Sunday. The absolute worst mistake an author could make had just happened to me and in the blink of an eye I felt like I'd been hit by a speeding train that hadn't quite done the job.

The publisher we were with was in a legal tangle with no end in sight and, therefore, so too were it's authors. Myself and my associate on the phone with me included. Getting all the information from her that I could I thanked her, hung up and stumbled back to the table. Falling into my seat I grabbed my rum and Coke and downed that sucker like I'd just come from the Sahara desert after a month without water. My friends with me were all wearing various looks of concern as I waved down the waiter and asked for another double, hold the Coke.

Once I had the fortifying beverage in hand and half of it down I told them everything. They were all there for me, sympathy and offers to help in any way they could. But how could they? Really, how could these wonderful people help me dig myself out of this pit I find myself in without a rope or even a glimmer of light to guide me? Downing the rest of my drink I sat there staring blankly into space for who knows how long before I snap out of it.

Refocusing on them I look them each in the eye and say, quite clearly this I remember, don't make my mistake. Take this as a lesson for each of you and don't do what I did."

We all took those words to heart and got our friend through the mess that followed that phone call. While there is still a bit of turmoil over it we knew that we had to do something to help other authors out there. Yes there are groups out there already but so many of them are very clinical and slightly off putting in the way they are put together - absolutely NO offence meant to any of these groups, they just aren't the way we felt we had to do this endeavor. We wanted to do something that came from us, from the heart and from real life experiences that we all have had or heard about. So this is why June and the three moderators all got together to do this blog.

While we are all in varying stages of our careers we all felt we had something to offer to new and even established authors who are thinking about moving on or expanding. We can all learn something from one another and that is what this blog and the posts on it are all about. While a lot of our posts are from our own personal experiences, there are other posts that have been inspired by things we've read on various sites or have been triggered by the way someone has said something to us during our day.

So, there you have it, the main (but not only) reason The Unvarnished Author came to be. We hope that you enjoy our blog and please, if you ever have a question, email it to us and we will answer you either directly or if we feel it merits being a post, we'll do one up just like we did here.

The Unvarnished Team, via The Moderator

Be Seen #6 - Don't forget to have fun

As the Subject suggests you have to remember that while you are in the business of promoting and selling your books, you can't do it all the time. You do need to relax and have fun as well.

Chat with your fans, find out what they are reading, what they love about characters, what they hate. Find out what they feel makes a good villain, a great hero and a readable heroine. Find out what/who they are currently reading and why they love the book or series. This is all information that you, as an author, can use to grow yourself. But don't forget to also talk about what/who you are reading and why you love the book/series. This allows your fans to get to know you better too in a not overly I-have-diarrhea personal way.

A number of authors do a day of the week event, as do many other groups including publishers, where they are just goofy and have fun with the day. For example, we know that there are groups on Facebook, for example, who do topless Tuesdays - usually geared toward the female crowd but there's usually a few geared for the men as well. Another we know about does a Throwback Thursday - blanking on the group name but if it ever comes to us we'll definitely give them the credit due to them for this brilliance. They usually do a head shot of an actor, back in the day side-by-side with one from more recent - a then and now sort of deal.

Whatever you do dedicate the day to just being a little bit silly and invite your fans to join in the fun by asking them to send you images, if that's the way you go, or info if you decide you want to do something different. It's a great way to a) interact with your fans; b) have them involved and; c) have a bit of fun!

One word of warning though. There will always be at least one person that takes offence to whatever you decide to do. DO NOT LET THIS GET YOU DOWN! No matter what group is out there, what you personally do or write, there will be haters. It's a fact of having a semi-public life. Let it roll off your back like water from a duck and move on with those that are fun and open to the silliness. And if this/these people/persons get out of hand - BAN THEIR FUCKING ASSES!

So it is, so shall it be. We have spoken.

The Moderator

The Scoop #5 - Be careful what you say

No matter where you say it, or why, you need to be careful of your words. We're not talking about slinging insults or "your mama's so fat..." jokes, we're talking about discussing your stories.

Not everyone out there is your friend. Even a "friend" may not be a true friend. So always be very careful about what you reveal about a book/story you are writing before you have it submitted to your publisher. We've been lucky and never had this happen to us but we're more than sure there are authors out there who have had a story idea/premise stolen through a conversation with a "friend".

We're not saying don't talk about your newest project, just don't reveal too much. What is too much? Good question, for example please see the below dramatic re-enactment provided to you by the people at FOX. Okay, we're kidding!

• Too much - I'm writing a new story about a man who wakes up with amnesia in a foreign land and yet knows the language. He has all these crazy ass skills, like hand to hand combat and weapons training, that just come to him when he needs them. People are out to kill him and he's trying to figure out who this mysterious government group is that apparently he belongs to, or did because they think he's dead. He races around the world trying to figure out who he is while taking out their agents and other officials trying to stop him. He kidnaps this French girl who assists him and they do this crazy drive through the city taking out vehicles and driving down stair cases. (In case you're wondering and didn't get the reference - we hijacked The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum for this demonstration)
• Enough - I'm writing a new story, it will be action packed and you'll never know where the danger is coming from. Which will be on several fronts, both supposed friends and foes will be after my character, it will be quite a ride.

As you will see in the "Too much" example, you've basically handed a plot line to someone out there. And if you do not have a copyright on it at that moment, you do not own it. Now, yes you thought it up (in this case we borrowed Robert Ludlum's premise) but can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone else didn't think of it sooner? Someone who then wrote it before you and submitted it before you did thereby getting copyright on it before you did. Likely not. Yes, the technological age has many amazing and great benefits. But for every benefit there is an asshole out there that has figured a way around it all and will screw you over.

So, better to taunt and tease a little by giving your readers, fans and potential "friend" just enough to whet the appetite but not enough to let them grab it and run. So, be careful what you say and to whom. You never know who might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Sad to say, yes, but better mildly paranoid then out your next book.

The Moderator

Insider Info #6 - Things you may never have thought of

Now, as most of the first world population is on Facebook - and other social media sites - this problem may not come up. But it is something important you need to know.

As an author you want to have a fan page for, well, your fans. This will be a place for them to gather and rave about your greatness and... Okay, so that may be pushing the envelope a little, but we can all hope right?

Something you may not know though is that unless you create a page for your author persona and then a fan page, you could run into difficulties. Where? you ask. Glad you did. Advertising on Facebook. If you ONLY have a fan page - in other words you have your own personal page and you "Create a Page" - you can NOT advertise as your author persona, only as your real life self. At all. Ever. You need to actually make a Facebook account for your author persona and then create a page for your fans from that persona. This of course doesn't matter if you are using your real name but if you are writing under a pen name, be forewarned. Yeah, screwy huh?

We think so too but with the way things are always changing and moving on Facebook we're never sure what the hell is going on anyway. Which brings us to another tip we want to warn you about on Facebook. Check your "Active Sessions" on a regular basis. Wait! Before you freak, we have directions.

Go to the little "cog" in the blue bar at the top of your screen. It's the little round bumpy looking wheel to the right of your name and the little lock that looks like it's going really fast. Click on it and scroll down to "Account Settings" - click on it. Once you are in there you want to look to the left hand bar where a number of things are listed. It reads, in descending order:  General, Security, Privacy, Timeline and Tagging, etc, etc.

You will want to click on "Security". At the bottom of these bolded headings of the page that just appeared reads "Active Sessions". Click on "Edit" to the right of it (little blue link) and a drop down like screen will appear. You need to know where you are signed in from at all times so you know if someone is hacking your account. Try and remember if you check your Facebook from work, your phone, a tablet or iPad, etc. But these should (in theory - unless you are on a trip) be all in the same city. If there are ANY not in your current location - click the little link to the right that says "End Activity". Do this with every session NOT your own. Then, immediately, change your password and check again. Hackers are evil little shits and they love to do stuff to fuck you around.

Once you have done a second round of checks. Change your password one more time. This may seem redundant, you just did it. But that old saying, better safe than sorry, applies here. So do it! Once you have done that - warn your fans. Post up a message letting them know that you were potentially hacked -if you can, give a rough time line as well- and let them know that anything before your current message should be ignored as potentially dangerous spam especially anything with a link in it.

There you have it, our helpful tips to ensuring the safety of your online life. We will have more to come.

The Moderator