I have a first book ever written (2001), along with many written full manuscripts, still sitting under my bed. But my first book to be published was The Legacy of Parkers Point, released in 2016. My novella, published in an anthology (Welcome to Serenity Harbor), was part of a compilation of novellas by members of the Maine Romance Writers. As one of the project managers on this project, I learned a ton.
The excitement of publishing a first book is beyond description.
When the anthology ran its course in early 2017, and we all received back our rights, I was soon able to experience new excitement. I republished the novella as my first indie-published book. I did the soup to nuts work, same as we did on the anthology: re-editing with a professional editor, working with a cover artist and a formatter, and promoting my “first-born,” as I did the same for two more newly written novellas that would make up the series. The three books, published individually, came out as the Starlight Grille series over the months during the fall of 2017. And then the three were published as a collection with a new short story added in 2018. Scary but exciting, for sure!
The
learnings from being one of the project managers on the anthology were expanded
as I indie-published The Legacy of Parkers Point
and the other two books in 2017. Each book I put out has its own excitement.
But that first book—there are no words to describe the feeling.Following is a blog, originally
published here on Romancing the Genres (and updated), about my
experience as the co-manager of the anthology. The book that kicked off and
catapulted me into published-author territory.
Working on an anthology is an
entirely different beast. Think Beauty and the Beast. You start out with
a quarrelsome, growly, domineering chunk of words that need to be tamed into
one cohesive book.
Picture this: Beauty dreaming of finding her hero. Every August the Maine Romance Writers partake in a brainstorming retreat. Okay, so it’s like a huge slumber party. We arrive with sleeping bags and pillows and laptops and snacks (salty and savory) and wine. Did I mention laptops? Yes, we do work. We spend all day either brainstorming our next story in small groups, or sitting on the deck or down by the lake writing on our current work. We break every few hours to exchange writing tips, eat, or take a boat ride around the lake. Oh, and sip wine 😊
Two years ago, we sat on the deck, sated with food and talk and wine (just a little <WINK>,) with the sound of loons on the lake and the full moon arrowing a golden path across the lake and right up on the shoreline in front of us. The setting was one of those perfect end-of-summer evenings.
Our host suggested we might like to try writing an anthology. Within minutes we’d created a town, brainstormed names of the town, set a few guidelines, and we were off and running…
Or so we thought.
The reality is the work we did that night was Beauty’s fantasy. Then the Beast appeared. All the details of actually putting together an anthology. The writing was the easy part—Beauty’s fantasy. Managing a project, was the roaring and untamable Beast.
I am happy to say we did finally tame the beast, and named it Welcome to Serenity Harbor. Beauty and the Beast are now living happily ever after. But as with all good marriages or committed relationships, one must open their eyes, negotiate, persevere over the hurdles, and make a strong commitment to reach that Happily Ever After.
As one of two project managers, working with a group of six committee members and all the authors who were excited about the project, here are the things I learned: (caveat, not all anthologies revolve around a town, like ours did. Some have a theme. Some are made up of a group of authors and there are no rules around story content.)
The following are my suggestions from the experience of working on the anthology, but most of this can also relate to individual works
♥ Map out the project, and plot exactly what the project will look like.
·
Set
rules, such as genre of anthology (ours was contemporary), length (we chose
short novellas, 15 – 25K words).
·
Write
a contract. Include costs, such as professional editor for each work, (authors
absorbed that cost), due date of manuscript, anticipated release date, budget
(cost of formatter, cover artist, and promotion, for which we shared cost), and
production timeline.
·
Determine
as a group, parameters around the theme (story bible,) such as name and details
of town that all authors will set their story in, name of overall anthology,
type of promotion, voting on book cover design, etc.
♥ Research
·
What
anthologies are being sold now, how are they set up, etc.
·
Talk
to other authors in anthologies to understand their process.
·
Find
professionals, editors, formatters, cover artists, etc.
♥ Communicate
·
As
a committee, agree on the process.
·
Communicate
with all authors each step of the way.
·
Vote
on any spending.
♥ Evaluate at the end. Our learnings included:
·
Make
sure you factor in realistic expenses, such as copyediting and project manager
costs up front.
·
Set
deadlines and stick to them.
·
Hire
a copy editor, and have one person, not an author related to the anthology,
determine if the book fits the criteria and is edited properly
♥ Make it your own
·
One
fun thing we did, was to insert the mention of a sheep into each story. Look at
the back cover and you will see a rendering of a sheep that says “find me,” designed
by one of our authors.
Although, as a group we bumbled our way through the process, for me it was an incredible experience of teamwork and learning about self-publishing. And although the Beast still growls once in a while, the Beast is also loving and tamed. And he and Beauty are living happily ever after.
Although the idea was conceived at our brainstorming retreat, the book is not a product of the Maine Romance Writers, but of a group of writers, some members from out of state, whose bond is through MRW.
Now that it has been several years since we took on this project, I can look back on the process with clarity. This project was indeed hard. One of the hardest things I’ve ever tried, starting from scratch, and learning along the way. Despite the intense undertaking, I learned so much and gained the confidence to go on and publish more books, and for that I am grateful.
The Rancher Needs a Wife
https://www.amazon.com/Rancher-Needs-Cowboys-Mineral-Springs-ebook/dp/B07YXB5C4W/
~
cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~
Delsora Lowe writes
small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of
Colorado to the shores of Maine.
Author of the Starlight
Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short
romances for Woman’s World magazine.
Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Photo
Links:Blue
Beast: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/160000/velka/blue-monster.jpg
/ https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=155188&picture=blue-monster
Beauty
– Blue Dress: https://cdn.clipart.email/15667992f55f25a3ff416a014ad7a001_beautiful-woman-girl-icons-png-free-png-and-icons-downloads_1840-2400.png
14 comments:
Thanks for the insights. : )
Any time, Anna - thanks for checking in :-)
Interesting connection, Delsora. My first published stories were in an Anthology with Sarah Raplee and Diana McCollum. And we each had a piece of the publishing tasks. I had Jutoh so did the formatting, Diana arranged for the cover although we all chimed in on that. Sarah and I did the final combining of the six short stories, etc. The fact that we are still friends is a testament to the steps you set out...communication was and is always the key to a successful multi-person project!
Delsora,
Thanks for sharing. There is certainly a lot to consider when creating a large anthology.
Great blog post!
What a journey. Great guidelines for others creating an anthology. Thanks for all that. And I did find the sheep! lol
You are so right about the communication piece, Judith - probably the most important piece of any collaborative project. And sometimes the biggest frustration, when people don't communicate. Plus, it is always great when each person has different skills to add to the project.
Diana - the planning process at the beginning was invaluable, even before we set all the different parts in motion. We were working with nine authors, plus cover artist, editor, formatter, etc. So organization is key, as well.
Susan - it was quite a journey and you played a huge role - the unseen role of editor - and we so appreciated your contribution. Loved the finding the sheep game. I went on to add the sheep in books two and three, once I decided to write those after the anthology ran its course. So glad you could stop by today!
Hi from snowy Western New York!!
What a terrific blog post, taking me back to the "good old days" of this wonderful anthology. Thank you reminding me of the fun I had writing my story in Welcome to Serenity Harbor.
Best to you always,
Kat Henry Doran
As one of the authors in the anthology (my contribution was Whole Lotta Love - available for free if you subscribe to my newsletter) that was a fun and challenging time for sure. I also learned a lot about working on a collaborative project. Being part of the team was the best part.
Kat and Luanna - thanks for checking in. It was a crazy time, but such fun. And we've all stuck together through thick and thin since then! An intense learning experience, but for me, I acquired so many skills from that adventure. And built the confidence to finally tackle the indie-publishing adventure, as well. Thanks to both of you for continuing to be a sounding board for me. And I encourage anyone who reads this post to check out books by Luanna and Kat. Both have very unique writing styles and voice, and I really enjoy their books! Here's to all of us carrying on...
Great post, Delsora, with lots of useful information. Working in collaboration with other authors on a single work would be both challenging and rewarding. As you said, communication is the key. Loved the sheep idea.
Peggy - we had such fun coming up with that idea. All of us sitting around a big table in the lobby of our retreat hotel were discussing the steps we had to take to put this book together. Then we got a bit off track and the idea was born. We were laughing so hard people in the nearby dining area and at the front desk checking in were all gaping at us.
Great insights on being part of an anthology and all the work that goes on behind the scenes. I've been fortunate to be part of a number of anthologies and the lead on two. It is definitely true that each one is different in terms of expectations and the team behind them.
I really like your emphasis on communication because that is so true. Even if the group of writers already know and like each other (as your first group did), both communication and forgiveness needs to be a key element.
In all the anthologies I've participated in, whether as a writer or an editor, there have been a variety of hiccups: people who committed but had to drop out; people who believed they could make a deadline but didn't; people who pushed to make the deadline but, for a variety of reasons, were running late and therefore turned in a less than stellar story. In all those cases it really helps if the rules were clear up front, the communication is clear and reflects those rules, and that they are equally applied to all participants.
In my experience, the area where most anthologies have the biggest problem is the final editing. It comes down to one person in the end to pull it all together and that is a lot of responsibility. Also, by that time if there were people running behind and still accepted (even if only a day or two late) the editor feels even more pressed in trying to make it happen by the set launch date. I think editors are often the unsung heroes.
All that said, I still love being a part of an anthology--having the option to create a short story or a short novella that has it's own reward in writing something that doesn't take 3-6 months of time. Hmmm...now you've made me want to be part of another one.
You have worked hard and all of your work has paid off in your career now with a good combination of short stories, novellas, and novels. Congratulations on pulling to all off.
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