Wow, that’s a challenging question, and one with many answers that have shifted over time. When I first started writing, my goal was to publish commercial fiction. I started writing decades before I published anything, working on novels and short stories. Thankfully, they never saw the light of day! I attended workshops and conferences, and joined writers’ groups. I wanted to learn about the business of publishing, as well as how to improve my fiction writing skills. I read and read and read. When attending a workshop in 2006, I came up with the idea for mystery, using the themes...
“Sex on Fire: Finding Embodied Intimacy After Trauma” Chosen for New Apple Book Award
We are thrilled to announce that Sex on Fire: Finding Embodied Intimacy After Trauma by Leah RS Braun has been chosen as an "Official Selection" in the "Inspirational/Motivational/Self-Help" category of the New Apple Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing. The New Apple Book Awards were established to honor the creative achievements of the unsung books fighting for their place within the digital publishing world.
Paper Angel Press Author L. A. Jacob Published in “Selections” Anthology
We are pleased and excited to announce that Paper Angel Press author L. A. Jacob’s short story, “My First Demon”, has been published in the anthology, Selections. What really happens when you take out a bully? When Mike LeBonte is faced with a bully every year for his middle-school life, he does the only thing he can think of to solve the problem. He summons the demon Andromalius — a demon that is meant to punish “wicked men” such as Mousey, Mike’s present nemesis. Selections (published by The Association of Rhode Island Authors) is available from Amazon and Barnes &...
Why Haven’t You Written Your Book? (Part 4 of 4)
This is Part 4 of a four-part series reporting on the "Why Haven't You Written Your Book?" survey we offered last year. You can read Part 3 here. I would consider my book to be a success if … The answers we received showed a clear distribution of the responses. Here is how all of the answers ranked: I get it finished and published. I sell X number of copies during the first year. I get X positive reviews for it on Amazon/Goodreads. My friends and family all buy copies of it. Based on these results, we might conclude that...
Why Haven’t You Written Your Book? (Part 1 of 4)
Many of us know people who have written — or threatened to write — books, but then those books never seem to materialize in a final form. Even after we started Paper Angel Press, and positioned it as an author-friendly platform for getting your written creations read, we still experienced the same hesitation among writers, even those with whom we had good working relationships. Why was this happening?, we wondered. So, last fall we ran a survey with two different audiences in order to try to understand why writers don't complete or submit their books. We also sought to understand...
Paper Angel Press Author L. A. Jacob Published in “Under the 13th Star”
We are pleased and excited to announce that Paper Angel Press author L. A. Jacob’s short story, “The Raid”, has been published in the anthology, Under the 13th Star. Based on a story told to her by her uncle, “The Raid” is a different kind of story than the fantasy she usually publishes. It is the tale of a delivery boy for the local speakeasy that his father supplies liquor to. But when he finds the Revenuers are out to raid the speakeasy, he has to face either being arrested by the police or his father's wrath. He's not sure...
On Paper Angel Press’ First Birthday
How did it feel to see your book in print? For me, seeing my book in print was a rush. To this day I will look at MY book on the bookshelf behind my desk, and wonder who this person J Dark is, and how they used my name to write this book that sounds so much like the one that was in my head, and is now on paper and in this book I'm looking at. It felt surreal, and a powerful validation that someone liked, actually liked how I wrote and how I told a story. It still...
How I Measure Success
I measure success in two equally important ways: the faith a publisher has in me, and the readers' response. Before you can have the second you need to have the first. If a publisher believes that the stories I tell deserve to be known, that is what makes it possible for me to bring my books to the attention of readers. To put it facetiously, my first measure of success is the fact that my books didn't go into the slush pile. Without a good publisher who understands your needs and desires as a writer, all you have is manuscripts...
Measuring Success: With the Metric System
We asked our authors to share how they measure success when it comes to their writing and their books. We hope you enjoy them. How do I measure success? With the metric system. Seriously, success is difficult to describe, which in part is why we're writing about it here. My own personal measure of success is not by sales or publishing, though, those are great perks of the job. My measure of success is finishing. Yes, I want people to read my stories, enjoy them and even re-read them. But, to me, that's validation, not actual success. Success is starting...
Measuring Success: Telling Stories
We asked our authors to share how they measure success when it comes to their writing and their books. We hope you enjoy them. When I first started writing, I wrote primarily for myself. Success was getting the words out on paper, by pen or typewriter. Then I started posting stories with other people in forums and a blog. People liked my characters and their stories. People commented, which meant they read my stuff. Someone else actually liked what I was doing! My level of success changed. It was to get published. Because of my fear, I sent out four,...