Co Authoring Horse Stories

by Christine

Perhaps it’s your desire to break into the world of writing horses, but you’re not sure where to start.  Or you’d like to do something different to further your writing career and attract a different group of readers.  Have you considered collaborating with another author?

I have recently finished reading City of Angels, which was a free download on Kindle.  It was appealing because of one author Tracie Peterson – I really enjoy her works!  I am not unfamiliar with James Scott Bell, either.  These two Christian authors have worked together to bring this story to life and I really enjoyed the read!  From having finished this novel, I would be tempted to look into other works by James Scott Bell, because of my interest in novels by Tracie Peterson.

Co Authoring Horse Stories: What do you think?

If two horse authors have a readership base, chances are some of these fans may overlap, but many won’t.  Particularly if you write about different aspects of horses – children’s books, teen stories, adult novels, equestrian, racing – whatever it is, you may find that co authoring a novel is a way for you to each compliment the other author's writing and grow your readership base.  Food for thought!

With access to many people over the internet, working together on a story wouldn’t necessarily need to be done in person.  As long as communication lines are kept open, authors may find that they can develop ideas for a plot, themes and characters via email or chat.

An added bonus could be that two creative minds can develop a strong story that is entertaining and informative with a unique twist.  And when it comes to marketing the story, there will be two lots of ideas about what works for gaining interest!

What novel have you read and enjoyed that was co authored?

Trimming the Deadwood and Other Painful Experiences

Last week a tornado hit our small town, which was quite a shock for this area of the Mid Atlantic. As roads again became passable, telephone poles replaced, electricity restored, neighbors gathered at grocery stores, churches, schools and work comparing the damage and sharing their experiences. Everyone pretty much agreed that they felt lucky it wasn't worse than it was. The damage to our farm consists of broken trees, some hanging precariously over fence lines. The man hired to remove the deadwood gave me the unfortunate news that many of my trees could not be saved. When a tree sustains so much damage and the interior is exposed, it is open to disease, infestation, and rot. My beautiful shade tree in a small paddock has to be completely removed, lest on some future date it dies and falls on the fence. This hard news made me think of writing, of course! How often do we look at our work in progress and procrastinate over making the necessary cuts...cuts that will be for the good of the whole story. The first draft of my last book, False Gods, eventually got a deadwood trimming of nearly 30,000 in order to tighten the plot, keep the pace moving, and eliminate fluff. Oh, but how we fall in love with our own fluff! At first, I snipped a few leaves and branches here and there. Then a few bare limbs. Eventually, I saw that whole chapters had to go. Clear the deadwood. Make way for new growth. Rev up that chainsaw and do what's necessary, no matter how hard it is to say good-bye to that lovely shade tree.

http://amzn.to/1TVvENR

My New Ride

I'd been toying with the idea of adding a second horse for some time. A horse that could walk trot and canter, a horse that would be sound. A horse I could actually take up the levels in dressage. As much as I love my Paint mare, she has her limitations and while she's had good years, they always seem to end in another injury. Another setback. But horses are expensive and time-consuming, and I wasn't sure that I wanted that much responsibility. I wasn't sure I could be the kind of horse owner I strive to be with two horses. So I kept going with my one horse, my clunker, my best friend horse, through a winter of no riding and a lot of massaging and hand-walking in the hopes of making a difference in her comfort.

Then one day in the spring, I saw a notice on the board that one of the boarders was selling her horse. He was a horse I knew well enough to know he was at least worth a test ride. I was still in denial about it, but I had enough presence of mind to invite my mom and my boyfriend out to watch our trial ride.

He was well schooled in dressage but had been putzing around trails with beginners on board for the last two years, and sat for much of the winter on top of that. I wasn't expecting much, but he quickly responded to me, and we worked out a few issues and saw improvement within one ride. I couldn't deny his potential, and I knew what he had been, so I bought him. It was the easiest transaction ever. He lived at my barn already, so no trailering, no muss, no fuss. The seller gave me his bridle, halter and blanket. My saddle fit him. And I was freaking out (especially when I handed over the cash...waving goodbye to that much money physically hurts).

At first I was somewhat indifferent to him. I am deeply bonded to my mare, and I wasn't sure if there was room to form a bond with another horse. I was also anticipating a long road ahead of earning trust, since that was my experience with Sofie. But Riley has been fortunate to always have good owners, and his personality shone right away. He is very friendly and expressive, and I soon realized he has a heart of gold under saddle. In our early rides he sometimes struggled to do what I asked, as we were both out of shape, out of practice, and I hadn't yet learned how to ride him. But no matter how poorly I rode, he never said "no". He tries his hardest all the time, even when I take things too far and turn a so-so session into a complete disaster. With the help of my wonderful trainer, we have come so far in a few short months, and I have the biggest smile on my face when I ride.

Sometimes things do happen for a reason. It is terrible that my horse hurt herself (she is now doing much better, but I still won't ride her for another six months or so), but her struggles opened me up to the possibility of adding another horse, and Riley came up for sale at just the right time. Financially, I was able to take on the responsibility (which I would have struggled to do when he was for sale two years ago), and I am in a place in my life where I can balance it all. I am so glad I did the scary thing and bought him. I knew he was a very nice horse, but I never expected to love him as much as I do after such a short time. He is truly a gift.

Excellence in Editing and Formatting

I confess that I have a number of pet peeves when it comes to the editing and formatting of books. As someone who edits for several small presses as well as independent authors, I understand the positive impact the good brain and eye of an experienced editor can have on the finished product. Wearing an author hat, we all read or see what we expect to see on the page, rather than what is actually there. If we expect to see, "The horse ran across the road," what might really be there is "The horse tan across the roas." We don't see what is obvious to another, because our author brain knows what is supposed to be there.

A recent labor of love.

 As an editor, I want to see . . . rather than the annoying ............... I like to see long dashes––rather than - this. A lack of consistent spelling of names and products drives me nuts, as do spaces between paragraphs. The Chicago Manual of Style is my writing and editorial bible. I also do book the occasional book design, so paragraphs that have indents of more than a third of an inch bother me, as does ragged left text in a printed book.  

The proliferation of self-published authors who do not have the funds or take the time to hire an independent editor to catch these and other mistakes adds to the problem. When I as a reader am distracted enough by poor formatting, typos, and plot inconsistencies. I put down the book. And that's a shame, because most times, the story is worth reading. Lest you think I am too hard on authors, I include myself as one who has made the mistake of self-publishing a book that was not independently edited, a book that was not ready for publication. Lesson learned. 

The fact remains that an author who publishes with a small independent press, or who self-publishes, has to deliver a product that is equally as well-edited and well-formatted as a book that has landed on a major bestseller list. That is hard to do, but the extra effort will be worth it. I also believe that this attention to detail in writing and producing books carries through to other areas of our lives. It translates to a spotless tack room, diligence in developing a good canter departure, and delivering a well-turned out horse. It's taking time to do the best you can and in taking pride in going the extra mile to make your product that much better.

Even with as many as seven edits, each of my books that were published by a major publisher has a typo or two. Those are seemingly inevitable. But I use well-edited books, expert grooming of horses, and beautiful riders to motivate myself to reach deeper, father, and higher in all that I do. What motivates you to do better?

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Lisa Wysocky is a bestselling and award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction, including the Cat Enright equestrian mystery series, now optioned for film and television. She is also a therapeutic riding instructor who consults with PATH and other centers about their horse herds. Find her at lisawysocky.com

Creating an Author Mailing List

by Christine.

A great way to be able to build up followers of your books is to generate a mailing list.  Fans of your book/s can sign up and receive updates as you develop as an author.  This can be particularly beneficial if you plan to write more than one novel, or establish a series.

My debut novel was a standalone novel aimed at young adults wanting to get into the horse industry.  Shortly after the release of Horse Country, an idea formed for a series for the younger reader.

Because I have an author mailing list, those keen to know about the latest releases for the Free Rein series can provide their email address and subscribe to Christine Meunier Author News.  It’s then up to me to keep them informed!

Encourage Readers to Sign Up to Your Mailing List

Once you’ve created a mailing list, you can choose how often to contact your readers: 

• monthly
• seasonally
• whenever you have news

The choice is yours but it’s a great way to keep fans informed and let them know the latest news first – before you release things on your website, before you update your Facebook page and before a book is available for sale.  It’s up to you how you utilise your mailing list, but this can be a great way to keep a collection of contact details for people who are interested in buying your books.

If you provide them with the option (and link) to preorder your latest release or to give a review in exchange for an advanced copy of your planned release or to received an autographed copy of your novel/s, mailing lists can be a great way to attract fans to your readership.

The best bit is you can establish such lists for free or at a minimal cost.  I make use of MailChimp and have read many references to AWeber.  Do your research but be proactive – set up a mailing list, design a campaign and be sure to let your fans know that you want to keep them informed, if only they’ll sign up!

You can easily provide a link where people can go to sign up and direct them to this from your Twitter account, Facebook page, personal website or any other social media means.  Alternatively, you can create a pop up that encourages visitors to your site to enter their email address and sign up.

Once the mailing list is created, you receive notifications any time there is a new sign up.  You can even provide an automated response that thanks them via email for their sign up – and this email can provide them with a personal message from you, a link to where they can download a book for free or something else of your choosing.  Show your fans you appreciate them providing their contact details!

Have you signed up to your favourite author's mailing list?

Marketing Yourself, Your Major Product

This past month I started looking around for a new horse partner. I always think it will be fun and it always turns out to be disappointing, frustrating, and so often a waste of time. I do my homework by researching the prospective horses first, examine video, and ask all the right questions. Still, things often turn out to be not what they seem or what they have been represented to be. Has this ever happened to you?

It makes me think, on a smaller scale, of looking for my next, great read. A search for a story that will take me away, suck me into the characters, make me feel something. So often I am drawn in by the cover, convinced by the book jacket blurb, and anxious to find fulfillment in the pages. Only to be disappointed. These days, I give a story a couple chapters before quitting. Then, the book sits cast aside until I can return it to the library or donate it to the local media sale.

What is it that makes a person pick a horse or choose a book? It is different for everyone, of course, depending on what they are looking for, but overall there are some basic marketing strategies. As writers, we are always encouraged to create our brand and develop a writer platform. You may be thinking of slick advertising costing lots of money, the hiring of a publicist, the oodles of dollars for eye-popping graphics and swag... Yes, that's great if you can do it, but I'm talking about something on a more basic level: professionalism. Taking yourself seriously as a writer.

Back to my horse shopping example: what do I think when I pull into a well-maintained barn with safe fences, thickly bedded stalls, and swept aisle way? I think this is someone who cares about their horses. I'm set up to have a good opinion of the horse, surmising that they will be well conditioned and trained. When I arrive at the farm, I expect the representative to have the horse ready to view--to be in and clean. They should then ask what I want to see and patiently answer my questions. In other words, the seller should be proud of the horse for sale and deal with prospect buyers in a professional manner. I'm dismayed to say that I've arrived for an appointment to find the seller absent or late and the horse out in a field covered with dirt. Some sellers have acted as if they did not have the time of day for me and were busy doing any number of other things instead of attending to the sale transaction.  How does that subconsciously affect my opinion of the horse? I hope to see through everything to the truth, but we as human beings can be easily influenced.

What impression does that convey, even if the horse is fantastic? What impression do you convey as a writer, even if your story is fantastic, if you don't put out the best product you can (if self-published) or otherwise don't behave in a professional manner as a writer?  You are really the product, after all. Your writing, your ideas, your imagination, your style--your brand.

I'm very interested in hearing other opinions on these thoughts and ideas.

Summertime

Summer seems to be here in full swing in the South. It was as if the weather went last week from a nice, cool, wet Spring to muggy, miserable, energy-draining, 90-degree humidity in the blink of an eye. As a Minnesota native, I struggled in the heat for many years until I finally figured out a while back that it was okay to slow down on hot summer afternoons. Rather than ride in the afternoon, I could write. Rather than muck stalls at noon, I could do that in the evening.  I’ll even admit to the occasional summer afternoon nap.

Acknowledging and respecting the heat should be obvious to many, especially people who grew up in warmer climates, but to a hard-working upper mid-westerner, that lesson only came after years of letting the heat beat me up day after day. Of course, when I finally decided to work with the heat, rather than against it, a horse was involved.

I have long been an advocate of humans studying the horse to learn about him- or herself. It’s what I teach in my clinics and it is a theme that runs through many of my books. Horses study people all the time. It is part of their safety system, and over time, horses have developed an innate ability to tell if a human is mad, sad, tired, sick, angry, or joyful––all from a hundred or more feet away. Why, then, could I not understand that if my horse was hot, then I might be, too?

Then one hot Tennessee day a draft mare that I was caring for became overheated while standing in her paddock under the shade of a lovely, old tree, and something inside me clicked. Just maybe, it was too hot for me, too. I brought the mare in, hosed her off and dried her, then put her in a stall under a fan. Then I did the first smart thing I’d done in a while and went inside.

Many people love the heat. Not me, but I have learned to use it to my advantage. I write all year long, but I am far more productive in the summer, when high temperatures force me inside. The afternoon heat removes all temptation for me to perform yard work, mow the pasture, clean stalls, ride, fix the fence, haul hay, and all the other outdoor activities people with horses regularly do.

Instead, I get to write. I get to put down words that help someone forge a better relationship with his or her horse, and words that hopefully engage people as they help Cat Enright, my protagonist, solve a horse-based who-dun-it.

Summer heat? It will never be my favorite thing, but I’ve learned to make it work for me. How about you? Heat or cold. Which do you prefer?

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Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning, bestselling author and clinician. She is also a registered PATH instructor. Find her online at LisaWysocky.com, or on Facebook or Twitter.