My Heart is in The Writing

These days branding is a hot topic and it’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that my brand pretty much revolves around my teaching. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Sure it is. I love my students, love watching them thrive, take what they learn and move forward. Many of the published authors in my local Romance Writers of American chapter are my former students and it’s a pleasure to see their careers growing. Except . . .

When I sit at the keyboard and compose my own books, this is when I feel the most alive. Yes, the joy of seeing a student grasp a complex concept or learning they’ve won in a contest are wonderful gifts from the work I’ve chosen to do. Building and running Bootcamp for Novelists has been more than gratifying.

Yet my heart is in the writing.

For the last few years I’ve been doing almost anything except marketing my work. It’s not that I haven’t been writing. I’ve completed 2 and 9/10th books (yes, that’s about 90%). But each submission brings suggestion for revisions and each revision takes time away from the current book in progress. And while all this time is swirling down the drain, I still have to eat. So what I’ve really been doing the past few years is chasing my money.

The trouble with publishing is that unless you’re pulling in the big bucks (and maybe not even then) you don’t know when your next contract will be offered, when the contract will arrive, or even when you’ll get the signing check. The insecurity is a killer which is why most published authors have the day job.

When you take a hard look at this reality, mixed with the constant merging of the publishing houses, all of a sudden independent publishing looks very attractive. And I do have a backlist of well received novels, so my latest not-writing project has been getting them back in print.

Harlequin reissued two of my romances as ebooks. I personally published my debut paranormal SHADOW ON THE MOON and its sequel, SHADOW OF THE WOLF as ebooks that can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and other online book retailers.

Since I’m again promoting my Connie Flynn Author name, I had to dust off a website that I’d neglected so long that it had spider webs. As if that’s not enough, now Connie needs a blog . . . and a Facebook author page . . . and a twitter name — @connieflynn, in case you’re interested.

Because I figured that wasn’t nearly enough, I e-published my first short mystery story, OLD BONES. So now I need a website for my mystery pseudonym, K.C. Flynn . . . and a Facebook author page . . . and a blog. K.C. already has a twitter address @kcflynn2. (that's her picture, off to the right, trying to look mysterious) Already my names are getting out there and sales are trickling in and I wonder how I’ll ever keep it straight.

What matters now is that I’m carving writing time out of my overloaded schedule and setting my priorities because however the details turn out I’m now declaring myself as Connie Flynn Author and K.C. Flynn Author. These ladies are alive and writing and have a promising future ahead of them whether through traditional or independent publishing or a combination of both.

All because I finally found my heart again.
In the writing.

So long until next month,
Connie/K.C.

P.S. Email me at kc.flynn@cox.net if you'd like to read K.C's short mystery Old Bones and I'll send you a coupon good for a free copy.

Why Use Pen Names?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
— William Shakespeare

When I first started writing back in the last century (the 1900's not the 1800's :-), many publishers required their writers to use pseudonyms and everyone I know was itching to use their own name. I’d been advised by my agent to keep all my writing under one name and it took a nice bit of negotiation to convince one publisher that I should write future books under my own name. That was considered quite a coup d'état.

Lately, many writers assume a pen name even before they are published and I often wonder why. I know some authors hope to publish academic or political papers someday and fear that being linked with writing genre fiction might be a stigma. Others are writing edgy erotica that they might not want their grandmother’s uncorrupted eyes to see — although I’m not sure those eyes exist much anymore.

I had a personal experience with the benefits of pseudonyms when one of my romantic comedies came out shortly after my first werewolf romance, SHADOW ON THE MOON. A reviewer loved SHADOW and gave it her highest rating. Two months later the same reviewer read ONLY COUPLES NEED APPLY, the comedy, and gave it a scathing review, the kind that melts toenails. I liked both books but must admit the content were world’s apart and I suspect the reviewer was expecting a touch of S&M and was quite disappointed when I gave her M&Ms. I’d failed to live up to her reader expectations, which makes this incident a very good argument for using pseudonyms.

After all, very established writers like Nora Roberts and Jennifer Ashley use a pen name when they writer for a new genre, especially if the genres don’t cross over well. Partly it’s a financial decision involving sales figures and such, but that motive aside, I can’t see much benefit in taking on the enormous task of supporting and publicizing two or more career names. I’m sure there are many reasons that haven’t occurred to me but I’ve been giving it a lot more thought since I started writing two series, one fantasy, and the other thriller/suspense.

So what do you think? Do you have a pen name? If so, why? Is it to keep your genres separate or to keep your grandma in the dark? Or just because you like the sound of the name you chose? There’s no right answers so if you’ve got an opinion, sound off. I’m listening. You may help me make up my mind.