I'm THAT mom

Disclaimer: We don't go to Chick-Fil-A that often. Really. Maybe once every two months. We were just lucky that strange things happened the last time we went.

You know those kids that are dealing with aggression issues? The ones that you hope are listening when you tell your kids not to hit and be nice?

Well...lately we seem to be butting heads.

The other day my kids were playing in the kid area of Chick-Fil-A. Wonderful place, by the way. My kids can easily play for an hour. Anyway, suddenly my 5yo comes running out, sobbing. Tears streaming down his face. He's not a big kid, and he's a softie, but he doesn't usually cry like this. I grabbed him and asked him what was wrong and he said, "The boy in the green shirt punched me in the face."

What do you do in a situation like this? I looked around, but no parents were looking at us. I could only hope they were watching their kids in the play area. So I comforted my son, telling him it was probably an accident, it's a playground, these things happen. And I said, "Tell him if he hits you again, you'll have get your mom and I'm going to talk to him," crossing my fingers that that line wouldn't be crossed.

After all, you don't "talk to" other people's kids. That's their job.

Reasonably pacified, my son went back in. Five minutes later he came back, telling me that the boy had hit him again. And pushed him down the slide.

Groan. Now I had to go talk to him. I picked up Baby Girl and followed my son into the play area. We located the boy, who was sitting on the ground screaming at some girl. Where or where is your mom? I thought. I asked, "Did you hit my son?" He looked at me and shook his head. I said, "He says you hit him and pushed him. Did you?"

The kid got up and ran up the slide.

So. I did the unthinkable. Yes, I did. I walked back into the restaurant and yelled, "Does anyone know who the parent is of the boy in the green and white shirt?"

Everyone looked at me. She spoke up, and I know she was at least as embarrassed as I was. They went home. I went back to my table.

So, now you know. I'm that mom. Yes, THAT one.

Grocery Store Love

I have to say I love my local grocery store.

No, it's not Walmart. Walmart has no love for me, and therefore I don't love them. I'm that kind of lover.

But my local grocery store, Harps, was started in 1912 or something like that by a small family. Since then they've grown to 55 stores in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

Quite by accident, I discovered they set up book signings for local authors, and local authors only. A friend mentioned to me that she saw a book signing at the grocery store. Really??? Why didn't I think of that? So I emailed their corporate office. Within a day I had a response, requesting a copy of my book and giving me the phone number of the distribution manager.

I called her and we set up a meeting. I walked out of that meeting with 16 book signings set up in 8 different stores, all within 30 miles of my house. The BEST PART? She did all the work. She's the one who will contact the different store managers and tell them what day I'm coming.

Seriously. It doesn't get better than that.

Live around here? My schedule's on the Author Sightings tab.

Next I'll be contacting the other grocery store chains around here.

Know Before You Sign

I've been reflecting a lot on publishing contracts lately, especially since I just signed my second one for the sequel to Perilous. The first time I signed one, I got lucky that the company I signed with (WiDo) was an honest company and not about to do me dirty. That's good, because I knew nothing about contracts. I didn't know what to avoid, what to look out for, and what to make sure it included. I've learned a lot since then.

When you're a debut author and you get that contract offer, often it's so exciting that you sign without a second thought. STOP. Take a moment and think. This is a decision that will affect you forever. And there are things you need to do.

1) Make sure this is your best offer. If you have other submissions out, contact the other agents/companies and let them know you have an offer. Give them the chance to compete for you.

Now that you've chosen a company, look your contract over. Some things to look for:

2) An expected release date. Make sure the publisher specifies an expected time period for editing and revisions, and when you can expect to be done. You don't want them to sit on your book for years without doing anything, keeping the rights and not letting you do anything with it. If they don't hold up that time frame, you get your rights back.

3) Your responsibilities. The contract should outline quite clearly what is expected of you. Deadlines, revisions, editing, etc. You have to hold up your end of the bargain, also.

4) Assigned rights. Some publisher only wants print rights. Other want the whole shebang, from print to digital to film. Whatever it is, just make sure you're aware.

5) Author name. The contract should state what name will appear on your cover. Make sure this is the name you want. If you plan on using a pseudonym, now would be the moment to bring it up. While not likely, there's always the possibility your publisher won't approve it at press time otherwise.

6) Royalties. Hugely important! Royalties need to be specified for all forms of release, from ebook to mass trade paperback. The contract should also specify at what point, if any, royalties increase. It should tell you when payments are sent, as well.

7) Advance. If there is to be an advance, get it in writing. The contract should also state how many books (or how much money) you need to sell to hit your advance, or how many books before you start earning royalties.

8) Right to audit. Of course you have the right to check up on your publisher and make sure you are actually selling the number of books they are paying you for. I imagine that even if the contract didn't mention a right to audit, you would still have that right. But it's always better to get it in writing.

9) Free copies and ARCs. Know ahead of time how many books the publisher will give you and provide for advance readers. The contract should also state your author price for purchasing more books.

10) Breach of contract. Along with your responsibilities, the contract should also outline the consequences if you (or them) default on your part of the bargain.

11) Return of rights. The contract should state when, if ever, you get your rights back to your works. This could be after a few years with no sales or if the publishing company goes out of business or both. Whatever the terms, make sure you are comfortable with them.

With all of these contract terms, you have OPTIONS. Be happy with what you choose.

Oh, and one more note of caution. While most contracts don't specifically say that sharing details is a breach of contract, I have heard of authors being let go of for sharing details. So stay on the safe side. Keep your contract private.

Awkward

I overheard a conversation today in Chick-Fil-A that I'm quite certain I wasn't meant to overhear. I couldn't really help it. I tried not to listen in, though I'll admit to being very curious.

It started when this man and woman sat at the table behind me. I don't know why they sat there, since it was 11:30am and Chick-Fil-A wasn't busy yet. Maybe they didn't care if the woman with her baby overheard. So I sat feeding my baby in her highchair (which was so close to the couple that if the woman backed her chair up, she would bump the highchair) while my boys played in the play area. I have no idea who these people are. I'd never seen them before, and haven't since.

At first I didn't really pay any attention to them. My little one keeps me entertained, plus I was monitoring the boys. And then words--snippets of conversation--began to reach my ears. Such as:

"But whatever it is you see in him, it won't last. You'll just keep hiding from your problems until you've gone from man to man, always seeking what you can't find."

Her response: "It's not like that. I'm happy with him."

At this point I paid a little more attention to the male speaker. Who was he? Her son? Her brother? Her friend? Her ex? I noticed how low he kept his voice, and how it shook as if he were on the verge of an emotional break-down-- or tears.

And he said, "You keep trying to define yourself with a new man. You were happy with me. I don't know what went wrong. Everything started out so great. What happened?"

No response.

So he keeps going. "You're making a mistake. You have to stop jumping into things without thinking. You don't even care about him. You just like the newness."

She said, "No, that's not it."

I had to go settle a fight in the play area (that's another post), and when I returned they were still talking. But the tone was different. Now his voice was thick, trembling, heavy. He said, "Everyone warned me you would do this. They told me you're like this, they said don't trust her. But I didn't care. I didn't believe them." I could hear the anger. Bitterness.

She didn't grace him with a reply. I got up to grab the kids' balloons, and snuck a surreptitious glance at the speakers. Young adults, in the their early twenties. Both of them very attractive people. He was wide-eyed, hands splayed on the table. But she was slouched slightly in the chair, shoulders turned so she didn't face him head on. Her lips were pressed together, her face closed, eyes hooded.

Conversation over. Poor guy.

I got up to change the baby's diaper, wondering about them while I did so. I imagined him calling her, begging her to meet him at Chick-Fil-A (Chick-Fil-A??). Just to talk. Just one last time, and then he'd leave her alone. And I imagined him going over his arguments, hopeful, desperate to get her back. And her--sighing, rolling her eyes, agreeing this one last time. She's tired of the guilt trips, tired of the explaining, tired of him. She's not going back.

All in all, a very very interesting experience.

Signed Contract

It's officially official.

WiDo offered me a contract on the sequel to Perilous. (Currently titled Altercation.) I've accepted.

As in, the ink is still drying on the paper. The contract is signed.

The expected release is early 2012. If you want to be kept up on the breaking news, sign up for my newsletter! It's easy to sign up! Just use the link on the right-hand side!

Hope you'll come along for another adventure!

And You Thought I Forgot

We have winners!!!

I drew two numbers from random.org, since I had almost 40 comments from the super blogfest. And the winners of a free ebook of Perilous are...

acm05 and Babs!

I'll be in touch. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated and made it such a fun event!

Did you know about Hastings?

For those of you small-press, independent authors who have had a hard time getting Barnes and Noble to open your book, here's a word for you:

HASTINGS.

Last weekend I had the totally fun experience of going on a book tour with three other authors. We started in Dallas and worked our way through Oklahoma back into Arkansas. One of our stops was at Hastings. And I learned a lot.

If you are lucky enough to live near a Hastings and you are an author, GO TALK TO THEM. The manager was so super friendly. They love local authors, and they will, in their own words, "Stock your book even if it's hand-bound and you only have five copies."

They also make up a nice poster for you and put it out all month before you signing. They make up flyers and stick them in customers bags so everyone know about your signing. They plan your signing around an anticipated release so you can take advantage of the crowd.

And they'll take your book and sale it for you, even when you are not doing a book signing. Is that not awesome?

Of course, they expect compensation. They take the biggest cut of any bookstore I've signed at, but hey, so what? My book's there. It's selling. That's awesome.

I have a new favorite chain. Go Hastings.

Don't know if there's one near you? That's easy. Use their website here.

What chains have you had success at that surprised you?? Give me details!