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Jana G. Oliver

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:51:31 GMT

Jana G. Oliver

About the Author...

I've always been a bit "outside the box" and when I started writing I didn't deviate from that plan. Flaunting conventional wisdom, I self-published my first three books in an effort to learn how publishing actually works. I learned a lot, including such arcane skills as how to calculate a book's spine size and typeset a manuscript.

After spending a couple years honing my skills, I sold my Time Rovers® Series to Dragon Moon Press in 2005. That series (SOJOURN, VIRTUAL EVIL and MADMAN'S DANCE) was nominated for fifteen awards and has won twelve to date. Which still amazes me. I've also sold a short story (alas, not yet published) and a non-fiction article for an anthology.

My ultimate goal was a contract with one of the major publishing houses and that came to fruition in April 2009 when I signed with St. Martin's Press. The Demon Trappers Series, a Young Adult Urban Fantasy series set in Atlanta, will debut in January 2011.

Though I'm an Iowan by birth, I live in Atlanta. I credit my crazy imagination for my success and honestly believe I have the best job in the world. And I love single malt scotch and expensive chocolate. Not a bad combination.

Trapping Demons

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:51 GMT

I went to see AVATAR yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed watching someone else's world in action. Loved the detail. I was reminded that dreaming up new worlds and new creatures is an awesome job, but it requires a lot of paperwork.

Paperwork like the Demon Trappers Manual which will eventually be on the website. Trappers are ranked according to their status in the Guild - apprentice, journeyman and master - much like other trades. When an apprentice begins learning how to trap demons they are given a small portion of the manual to keep them from trapping above their abilities. Less dead apprentices that way. When they reach journeyman they get more of the manual and so on.

I included the first couple of pages of the manual (in particular the Demon Identification Guide) with my proposal and my editor loved it. So now I'm fleshing out the whole thing, not only as something my readers might like but also to keep me on the straight and narrow when it comes to Hellspawn. In my world demons are classified by cunning and lethality ranging from Grade Ones to Grade Fives and then on to the Archfiends. (The Fallen Angels are another thing altogether). There are specific ways to trap these fiends, including the use of magical spheres which means the author needs to remember all that. Hence the need for the manual.

An excerpt:

DEMON OVERVIEW
Definition: A demon is any entity who serves Lucifer, the Prince of Hell. (See Section 5:45-52 for a detailed history of Lucifer’s Fall from Heaven. See Section 5:52-53 for Hell’s Organizational Chart.)

Grade One Fiends
Name: Biblio-Fiend
Nickname(s): PITA (pain-in-the-ass) or Little Pisser
Description: Three inches tall with chocolate brown skin and pointed ears.
Demonic Activity: Destroys books, urinates indiscriminately, prone to expletives.

These fiends are commonly found in libraries, bookstores or in book warehouses. They have an affinity for books, but their primary desire is to destroy them. Trapping them takes advantage of their love-hate relation with the written word. Reading from a book, particularly a classic work with dense prose, will cause a temporary paralysis. Once disabled, they can be secured in a closed container for transport.

And so it goes on from there. I have to admit this is pretty much a blast to write. Now if I could only figure out Hell's Organizational Chart. I got the head guy, I just need to figure out the rest.

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Gabrielle Says Smart Things About Queries and Submissions

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:50 GMT

Gabrielle Harbowy is the highly talented and highly intelligent Editor-in-Charge over at Dragon Moon Press. On Monday she sent me a link to a great podcast interview she did about queries, submissions, and pitches on the Irreverent Muse.

Here is the interview.

Gabrielle knows that of which she speaks. For those aspiring writers out there, I suggest taking a listen and taking what she says to heart. Because nothing makes your submission end up in the garbage faster than not following the submission guidelines.

And to add to the coolness, she plugs Small Magics! And she likes my elevator pitch!

Erik Buchanan is a Toronto-based author.

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Get Those Running Shoes On -- Why New Authors Need to Do Their Own Book Promotions

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:48 GMT

A while ago, a new writer asked me if I do my own promotion. It's a valid question but one that most new writers don't know to ask. The answer is "yes."

One of the things most new writers don't realize is how much promotion you have to do. If you're a newbie who has been picked up by a NY publisher, you can bet you're probably not going to get a lot of promotion behind you. If you do, you should 1. count yourself very lucky and 2. be very, very nervous.

I'll explain myself...READ MORE
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Get Published, Episode 8 – Interview with Phil Rossi

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

Hello Everyone. Well, we’re halfway through the year; I hope you are all doing well. Things are going well here and I’m increasingly hopeful that I will have an announcement in the near future. I do know that I have holidays coming up and I’m really looking forward to that. I’m very excited to have Phil Rossi [...]
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Challenge Yourself through Contests

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

As a writer, I am always looking for a new way to improve my writing skills. I have done this by entering events like NanoWriMo and by doing things like my 30-in-30 short story self-challenge and I think I have attained a modicum of success doing them. Still, I need to keep pushing myself or I [...]
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Get Published, Episode 7 – What Types of Feedback are Available to an Author

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

Hello Everyone and Happy First Week of June! I am pleased to say that the weather has actually started to feel like summer. Since our summers are short to start with that is a major announcement, let me tell you. In this episode I talk about the various opportunities you, the author, have for your work. [...]
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Book Review – Realmshift

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

The story focuses on the struggles of Isiah, an immortal agent of the balance, as he battles to maintain equilibrium between good and evil. His mission: to retrieve the soul of an evil murderer, restore the man to life and protect him from Lucifer until he fulfills his destiny. The man he must protect is [...]
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Get Published, Episode 5 – What an Editor Brings to the Table with Gabrielle Harbowy

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

How does an author know if their work is technical of a good enough quality to submit? If you use an editor, you can be much more certain.
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Get Published, Episode 4 – Interview with Christiana Ellis

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

An interview with Christiana Ellis about her upcoming book 'Nina Kimberly the Merciless'
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Get Published, Episode 2 – Barriers to Publication

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

Episode 2 is finally here. I wanted to get an episode out every month for the first few until I get into the groove. I almost made it. I’m using a new microphone which worked pretty well although I did run into an annoying hum partway through the recording. I’ve still got some work to do. I [...]
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The Writer’s Life – Barriers to Getting Published

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

I have made no secret my desire to get my work out in print but there are days when I wonder if I’ve got the chops to actually make it. I’ve had several established (see published) authors tell me that I have what it takes. The interesting (to me at least) thing about that is [...]
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Get Published # 1 – Book Promotion in the Age of Social Media

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:47 GMT

I have thought about the day I would release my own podcast for several months now and I can’t think of a more fitting topic to begin with than “Self Promotion in the Age of Social Media”. I hope you enjoy this, my first offering. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please email me: [...]
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Get Published Episode 23 – A Chat with author Simon Rose

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

Repeat after me: “Happy Anniversary, Get Published!” Say it everywhere you go. Shout it from the rooftops. If anyone asks what the heck you’re talking about, send them here. Sound like a plan? Well, maybe not, but I’m certainly pleased to tell you that this is my one-year anniversary episode. I’m even happier to have my friend, [...]
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Get Published Episode 20 – Lynda Williams talks Writing

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

Welcome to episode 20 and Happy Anniversary to ‘Get Published’. I never expected to hit 20 shows this soon but it has been a lot of fun getting here. I am very happy to have Lynda Williams on the show today. Lynda is married with three children and works by day as an educational technologist at [...]
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Get Published, Ep. 14 – Submissions with Gabrielle Harbowy

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

Hello Everyone. I’ve been wanting to do a show about Submitting work with Gabrielle Harbowy for a while now so it is with great pleasure that I have her on this show. She has a great deal to say and it’s great information. Enjoy. Get Published, Episode 14 – Submission Discussion with Gabrielle Harbowy [podcast]http://www.michellplested.com/wp-content/uploads/GetPublished/GetPublished-Episode14.mp3[/podcast] Show Notes 00:00 — Opening – [...]
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Get Published, Episode 13 – Self Publishing with Harold Curtis

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

NEW Update OK, so here’s the scoop… I had two versions of the podcast; a raw and a final. I ended up loading the raw version which, as you have heard, has a number of problems. The new version is now available for download. Sorry for all the confusion. If you get it using iTunes, delete the [...]
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Get Published, Episode 12 – The Value of Conventions to a Writer

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

Hello Everyone. I’ve been thinking about the value of conventions to writers lately, specifically with some wistfulness because I’m missing Dragon Con yet again. As you probably know, I’m a big proponent of self-promotion and what better place to sell yourself than at a convention? Listen in and hear more. Enjoy. Get Published, Episode 12 – The Value [...]
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What Should You Write?

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:56:46 GMT

Do you ever wonder if you should be writing for specific trends in the book industry? Genre fiction, especially Science Fiction and Fantasy seems to be especially susceptible to trends. One day it might be dragons, the next zombies. Oh look, vampires that glitter. While it might work to see what’s coming and write for it, [...]
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Gwen's Submission Rule 2

publisher@dragonmoonpress.com (Gwen ) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:51:06 GMT

2. Don’t send off your submission and immediately follow up with a "did you get it?" email.

I really shouldn’t have to say it, but it happens all the time. Give the publisher time to respond. Many publishers will tell you how long it should take to get a response to you... but NONE of them will say "43 seconds".

Just don’t do it. If you feel you must write the email, do. Then delete it, or que it for delivery in a month. If you think something went really wrong, wait a few days and then follow up with a polite, professional note requesting confirmation of receipt. That’s it. Don’t engage any further unless engaged first. Then be patient. Editors, and agents, deal with a tonne of email and alot of that is submissions. It's hard work. Give them the time to do it. If you continue to pester them, you'll get labelled "high maintenance", which is a valid reason for rejection but has nothing to do with the quality of your work. I've certainly used it as a valid excuse. I know editors who've done it. Authors face enough challenges to publication... don't make this one of them.