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Interview With
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Why do you write? I write speculative fiction: horror,
paranormal romance, dark fantasy, sword & sorcery adventure, thrillers,
suspense, mystery, and sci-fi/futuristic. I like the darker side of the
genre spectrum and most of my novels have crossed genre-lines. I write because
the urge is there and it's like an itch you can not ignore. I sometimes
think if I don't get my thoughts down on paper, I'll go insane. It is a
craving, an addiction, that unless you experience it, you can't quite explain to
'normal' people. I have been blessed in having my husband... my staunchest
supporter... and my family standing behind me and allowing me the time and space
to do what I have to do. That's not to say that I haven't had obstacles.
My mother never thought I was serious and to her it was 'your little book.' I
can't begin to tell you how badly that hurt. When the first novel was
released, she took it, smiled, complimented me and promptly put it in a drawer
because she couldn't read the small print. But I don't think had it been
in large print, she would have read it. She was a western/mystery fan and she
would not have understood my words or the thoughts behind them. I regret
that she is no longer here to see what success I've had, though. My first novel with Commonwealth
Publications was one of those good thing/bad thing situations. Even though the
company had to be sued to return my rights as well as the rights of over a
hundred other authors, I was one of the few authors who actually saw my books in
print and I was lucky enough to receive two substantial royalty checks before
the feces hit the oscillating rotor. Although it necessitated becoming
part of a class action suit, hiring an attorney to get all my printed books
back, and a trip from Iowa to Edmonton, Canada, I was able to parlay all that
expense into selling those books at Amazon. I have less than 100 of the
original books left and that particular novel... THE KEEPER OF THE WIND... has
been re-released with a tighter edit and additional scenes as THE WINDKEEPER, an
e-book and soon as a trade paperback and audio release. Without having
that book and being able to show it to websites and online book stores, I
wouldn't have had a base from which to start promoting myself on the web. Penny Hussey of Romance Foretold held a chat for me back in 1998. At the end of the chat, after everyone but she had left the room, we talked about my book and the others that I had written; the problem I had had with Commonwealth and subsequently Sovereign... another publisher with whom others and I shared legal action; Penny's belief in what I write and my determination to succeed. She told me about a new venture she and Gina Haldane were forming in which electronically-bound books would be put up for sale. I told her to keep me in mind and she asked me to submit a couple of my novels for consideration. Those novels were NightWind, a vampire horror romance, and BloodWind, a sci-fi/futuristic. Unfortunately, neither book was right for the new company, Starlight Writers Publications, BUT... and this is where I still get heart palpitations...because she, Gina, Lorraine Stephens, and Lida Quillen of Twilight Times believed so firmly in my talent, they created a new publishing house, Twilight Times Books, to publish my work. Lorraine was the driving force behind that decision and I will forever be grateful to her and the other ladies for their trust and respect. As a result, Lida once remarked publicly
that she would publish anything I sent to her. That, to me, is the greatest
compliment any publisher can pay a writer. Twilight Times has since become
Dark Star Publications. I was also doing a Civil War dark romance on a
website, chapter by chapter, and wanted to find a publisher for it. I contacted
DLSIJ Press and they bought the novel and brought it out in download and later
paperback. The market is becoming saturated with
e-books from companies that literally spring up overnight. Some will last; most
will fold. Some are no more than electronic subsidy houses who will publish
anything for a fee and without adequate editing. Such companies give the
legitimate companies who are striving to put out quality products, a bad name.
At the moment, making a living from e-books alone is out of the question. Even
though royalties range from 33-50% on downloadable e-books, the price range of
the book is low, the average being about $4-5 dollars. You would have to sell a
whole lot of books at that rate. My novels have been consistently on Dark Star
Publications' bestseller list. BloodWind, which is out in paperback now, was on
the list for over 17 months in a row. I was told it is the best-selling
novel of all three houses at Romance Foretold Incorporated and that I am their
best-selling author. Out of nearly 300 authors, that is a pretty nice feeling! YES! The sales the paperback has
generated has been fantastic. A lot of reviewers told me they wanted to read my
books but just couldn't sit still in front a computer screen to do it. One
reviewer wrote me every week from September to just yesterday asking me to send
him my novel in paperback. He'd already read the download, reviewed it,
but his website wouldn't let him put the review up until he actually had the
paperback in hand. I will be putting the review up... I've had it for two months
now... when he gets it up on his site. I think having the books available
in as many formats as possible will only help authors sell their work. I do a lot of networking and have the hemmies to prove it! I go to genre-specific websites and see if they will accept e-books for review. I introduce myself to the webmasters and ask them to drop by my website and take a look at what I have to offer. I sign guestbooks, I exchange links and banners, and I tell readers about my work on listservs to which I belong. I write articles in exchange for publicity on some websites. Lately, when I've gone to new websites that I find, I am getting this response: "Oh, yes, we know who you are and we would love to review your books!" That really makes me feel as though all of the hours after hours after hours I've sat here begging to be noticed are paying off. I am very respectful of the webmasters and
when they offer to help promote me, I make darn sure I say thank you.
Their respect and help is very important and I would never do anything to mar
that relationship. I do try to help other authors, as well, while I'm doing this,
and ask if the webmaster would mind if I give out their URL and e-mail addy for
other authors to contact them. That is only fair and right and respectful of the
webmaster. Most say that would be great because they like the exposure, too, but
I've had a couple who refused because they didn't want to be inundated with
requests. I think the odds are slim, actually, but I
look at it like this: if you are a writer and you want your work read, you
should try to get it out there if at all possible. I feel bad for writers who
are waiting and waiting and waiting to hear back from Random House or Avon. They
may NEVER hear from these people, and if they do, the chances are very good it
will be in the form of a form letter saying "thanks but no thanks, not
right for us," etc. Why not take a chance and put your book in the
hands of an e-publisher....WHO DOESN'T CHARGE YOU TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK!...and
see what happens? If you keep holding out for a print publisher, you may
wait until you lose faith in yourself. That would be a shame because there
are some truly excellent novels out there begging to be read. I hate to see
talent go to waste for the lack of the courage to take matters into your own
hands. There surely is, but I don't let that bother me. There are some websites who refuse to review e-books because they don't consider them 'real books'. What a copout that is! Some review sites won't review because they have seen a few truly bad e-books and lump all electronically-bound books in the same category. Eventually, most of those websites will come
around, but until they do, they are an insult to the hard work so many e-authors
put out in making sure they have written a great book and an even bigger insult
to the e-publishers who strive to put out a superior product. The
prejudice of print authors has a lot to do with jealousy, I believe. They
don't think we've paid our dues and that we took the easy route to publication.
They don't like the 30-50 % royalties, either. They don't like the fact
that our books NEVER go out of print and that their publishing houses are now
demanding e-rights in their contracts and tying up those rights so the author
can't hawk her wares elsewhere. The insults that are flung at e-authors by print
authors should be considered in those lights and allowed to run off the
e-author's back like water. I work a full 40 hour week as our church's
parish secretary. I write after work and all weekend long. I usually begin
at about 7 PM on a weekday and about 10 AM on a weekend day. I work until
my fanny is too tired and I have a headache. That may sometimes be as 'early' as
3 AM on a weekday and midnight on a weekend.....or until my husband says"
"Enough!" :) They seek me out from word of mouth. I
have only entered one contest, The Dream Realm Awards, and finalled in that. I
have been nominated by the Reviewers International Organization for one of my
novels, In the Heart of the Wind, and though I didn't win or get an honorable
mention as my friend Pat Rasey did, just being nominated was a thrill. That
tells me people outside my sphere of experience are reading and enjoying my
books and believing they are worthy of promotion and awards. That e-books were out there! I would
have latched on to that medium before wasting money and shedding copious tears
with Commonwealth and Sovereign. I have research files on topics I find of interest, and I sometimes incorporate that into my writing. My novels start with an idea that I may have garnered from a song lyric, music interlude, or simply from watching something occur. Gina Haldane, my publisher, told me last week that the scene in a bus station in the afterward of NightWind was her favorite scene. That actually happened and was the basis for the entire novel. I don't do outlines but I do have a 3" thick concordance of every character, every setting, every town, every little bit of world-building I've done. I am putting it into electronic form now at
the suggestion of a publisher...much as the Outlander Compendium. I never
go anywhere without a notebook and tape recorder so anything that catches my
attention and touches me may well wind up in my novels. I would like to invite your readers to drop by my website and pick up the free cookbook that 43 other e-authors and I have written to thank our readers for their devotion. It is in html and pdf form. Visit Charlotte's site at www.windlegends.org.
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Charlotte Boyett-Compo
is a multi-published speculative fiction author of over 32 novels, 13 of which
are currently available at bookstores worldwide and online. Her first nine
books are the WindLegend Saga, published by Hard Shell Word Factory in print and
e-book formats. She was recently profiled in Writer's Digest's Publishing
Success Magazine and just won Inscription Magazine's 2000 Engraver Award as
Favorite E-Author of the Year. Her novels have won several awards. She is
also a senior editor at Sharpwriter.com and does several monthly columns for
websites such as All About Murder, Romance Foretold, and Writer's Exchange. 
