Bookscan and how your sales can either land you another book or destroy you

My wunderbar agent, Christine Witthohn, posted a link to this article about how Bookscan numbers work.

If you are new to the publishing world or are a newly published author, the few minutes it takes to read this article are priceless.

Even if you don't pay the $5,000 a year 24/7 membership, or even the $85 per ISBN, it is smart to know what acquiring editors take into account when considering a new book.

It's official...my revamped website is up and running!!

Hello all,
If you're visiting the blog, you'll notice that the header has changed. This now matches my new website. If you have a few minutes, please visit www.krisyankee.com to see how my site has changed. You can even sign up to receive a newsletter from me.

I'm so grateful to Rae Monet of Rae Monet Inc. website designs. I think she and her team did a fantastic job!

Don't mind me...

A new story idea has taken hold of me and I can't ignore it.
Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be scribbling notes, trying to get a handle on these characters who have just shown up - like uninvited, but most welcome, guests.
I can't ignore the call. : 0

I'm trying out Ping because a fellow BC Babe said that it saves time. Hmmm....does it really? But more importantly, did it work?

Writer Limbo

I'm not currently working on any project.

There. I said it. I'm being brutally honest, here, give me a break. : )

And, it's not because I have writer's block or anything. Far from it. I'm bursting with ideas for the next book in a new series I started writing.

But as my newly-nominated "Agent of the Year" agent has told me, don't waste time on the next book. Actually, I think her words were not to waste time on writing a new book 1 for this series (I had mentioned doing this in the event that the current book 1 that she is shopping around isn't picked up.) She doesn't like wasting anything, especially time. I'm with her on this one. Why write a new book 1 or even a book 2 in the event that the original book 1 doesn't even sell. Then, I would end up writing a new book 1 because I love these characters and the concept I've come up with in telling this story.

Okay, I'm rambling. Sorry.

Do you ever feel like you're in writing limbo? Wanting to work on something, actually itching to plop down in front of the keyboard and let your fingers fly? This time of year --with the cold winds and bright, snow-covered trees--makes me want to curl up and read. Not write. (Honesty, remember?)

How do you deal with the stop-wait-and wait some more part of this industry? Do you just charge along, working on new projects? Or are you like me -- inching my way through book ideas, but only working on them when given the go-ahead?

New website coming soon

I've hired Rae Monet to update my website. I was very impressed with Rae's other work and was so happy when she agreed to take me on as a client. Most of Rae's author sites are for romance writers. since the genre I write is sooooo far from romance, I was unsure if she'd consider what I wanted. She did and I couldn't be happier with her progress. I'll be sure to update here when the site is live. I think you'll like it.

To see some of Rae's other work, please log into her site here.

Why Can't I Talk?

So, I'm a writer, right? I should be able to have an intelligent conversation, where I'm able to express exactly what's on my mind.

That sooo didn't happen yesterday. And, I was on camera! Let me tell you the story.

The middle school where my oldest attends had a special meeting where a member of Michigan CSI (Cyber Safety Initiative) spoke about the dangers of the internet. It was intriguing and appalling at the same time. Do you know that 69% of teens receive messages on the internet from people they don't know in real life? And that 89% of solicitations of minors are made in chatrooms and through IM? Disgusting.

The entire presentation gave parents tools to use to keep their child safe while surfing the internet highway. It was all good stuff, and I took away a lot of knowledge.

A cameraman from our local NBC affiliate was there. He interviewed our principal and recorded the presentation. Afterward, he chose ME to interview. Mind you, I hadn't showered, had barely put any make-up on, and I'm sure I looked like I'd just rolled out of bed. But that wasn't the worst part.

I couldn't talk. At least it felt like I couldn't string words together to make a complete and coherent sentence. At one point, I grabbed the man's hand and said, "I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous!" That should've been his queue to get another parent to interview and dump me! But he was very nice and told me I was doing fine.

What I don't understand is that I feel like I write so much better than I can speak. Is it because my mouth can't keep up with my brain, but my fingers can? Is it because sitting in front of a computer is way less threatening than speaking? I think it's because I can re-read and edit what I write. Once the words come out of my mouth, they're gone and sometimes can't be taken back.

Mind you, I do have the ability to speak at great lengths. Just ask my husband or either of my kids.

So, part of me wants to record the morning show for the next few days to see if I ramble on and on. Another part of me wants to forget about it!

This proved one thing - if the book my agent is vigorously shopping and gets published, I'm going to need media training big-time for any sort of interview! Sheesh!

ps. Thanks for following me over to the new blog site. I'm in the process of having my website updated and Adventures that Score! is my tagline.