BOOK COVER REVIEW

My book, THE CHARMSTONE, won't be out until April, but my book cover got reviewed.

Kate Allan of Red Wave Communications in the UK has begun a book cover review on her blog. She invited authors to submit their covers and I emailed mine. She reviewed it today and had nice things to say about it. I really love it and think the Five Star art department did a fabulous job of interpreting the backdrop and atmosphere of where my story is set. Kate nailed the sense of it right off.

To see the whole review, go to http://www.marketingforauthors.wordpress.com/.

And if you have a minute, check out my website at www.ccharrison-author.com. I've added an author quote and updated my blog.

Bird In The Hand?

The hardest part of a writer's job may be the writing itself, but next to that is getting published. I've talked about the rejection writers endure before they find an agent or a publisher willing to take a chance on their work. Which is why so many authors will sign practically any contract. Just to get offered a contract is a thrill.

Which leads me to my present dilemma. Five Star has offered me a contract for another book. For those of you who've never written, or those who have and haven't yet been published, this is a big deal. Like I said, any contract is beter than no contract -- almost. The problem is that the book Five Star wants is the best book I've written to date. Which means I think it has real market potential.

Don't get me wrong. Five Star is a great publisher. They put out a quality product, and they're great to work with. But the advances they pay are small, and they really distribute only to libraries. Yes, you can order your book through a bookstore, and yes, Five Star books are available through major distributors like Ingrams. But, let's face it, a Five Star book is lucky to sell 1,500 copies. The few FS authors who have sold 2,000 copies of their books have been the FS equivalent of NY Times bestsellers.

My fourth Emerson Ward mystery -- the first one published by FS -- ended up getting picked up in mass market paperback by Worldwide Mystery. Again, I was happy to see the book out in pb and available to more people, but Worldwide is its own story (for another blog entry). But my latest hasn't been picked up in paperback, and while I like seeing my work in print, I sometimes wonder how long I can continue to put in 12 months of work for $1k.

Two agents are presently looking at the work FS just made an offer on. I've e-mailed them to let them know I have an offer. They haven't responded yet. And close to 150 agents have already turned the book down (and no, for the uninitiated, that's not a reflection of how bad the book is, but rather a reflection of how competitive the market is).

So, the question becomes: the contract in hand, or the two agents in the bush?

Stay tuned.

Mike Sherer
www.emersonwardmysteries.com