Meet Carol & Bob Bridgestock - Crime Writers Extraordinaire!

Today we welcome authors Carol and Bob Bridgestock who work as co-authors under the name R C Bridgestock. They come to us from the Isle of Wight in England. These crime writers have a combined staggering 47 years of employment with the Police. Carol as a member of the Civilian Support staff and Bob as a Police Officer. Their first hand experience adds to the breadth and depth of their writing.

I understand your books have been republished recently.

Yes, our first book was ‘Deadly Focus’. This was first self-published in 2008 and received some fantastic reviews even from the best selling UK newspaper book reviewer. Having sold over 1500 we thought that we would try and get our second book published by a publisher without any cost to us and this would also give us some help with the marketing. I'm not sorry we did it this way first as it did give me a good insight into how hard marketing is and there is nothing like 'doing it yourself' to appreciate how hard those guys work!

The sequel, ‘Consequences’, was finished in November 2008 and so I sent it to an agent in London. She liked our work and we met for talks. She advised changes which we made and in spring 2010 she decided that the changes she advised didn't work and told us to send it to another agent or a publisher to see what feedback we got. As they say the rest is history.

The first publisher I sent it to was Caffeine Nights Publishing. They publish mainly crime fiction. It is a small company but the CEO is a crime writer himself. We were very privileged to be given a contract by him for ‘Consequences’. Since this was the sequel to ‘Deadly Focus’ (as well as a standalone book), he also asked if he could republish ‘Deadly Focus’ with some input from his team. We agreed. So in July 2010 we signed two contracts with them.

In May 2011 ‘Deadly Focus' was re published by Caffeine Nights with the full intention of 'Consequences' following soon after - to be honest we didn't know how much mileage there was left in Deadly Focus ... ! However, it went off like a rocket and WH Smiths Travel bought in which meant that as of July 2011 it was in 30 International Airports, Train stations and euro star in the UK. Our publishers thought it was best to hold back on 'Consequences' to let it run its course.

Now we are waiting for a hard copy of 'Consequences' which will be with us by early December and then it will go out to reviewers. It has already had one pre-publication review in August see TracyRiva.com.

Caffeine Nights has contracted the RC Bridgestock series featuring DI Jack Dylan and his partner, Jen.

Very exciting! Where can we find your books?

'Deadly Focus' is available through Amazon.co.uk and .com Amazon.co.uk and it is in ebook form, too. 'Consequences' has already been issued its ISBN numbers and covers. It will be available soon.

What advice do you have for other writers?

For book signings be prepared to become the market trader and sell. A lot of authors sit on the seat provided for them behind a desk, but you don't have to use it. Interact with the customers instead! Also, why not create your own display boards? An A5 sized board can be bought quite cheaply from stationary store. Cover the board with press cuttings, photos and advertisements of your book – even the price. These advertisement boards about you and your novel will build up in time and are well worth investing the effort as they ‘draw in’ the customer and is a good talking point.

Thank you Carol & Bob. To learn more about their writing you can visit them online at RCBridgestock.com.

New Release- Children's book, Marvin Monster's Monsterific Adventures by Tabatha Jean D´Agata

Author Tabatha Jean D´Agata was a redheaded, freckled-faced kid born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. As a child, she aspired to be as heroic and skillful as Nancy Drew, a super-sleuth, but was more like Pippi Longstocking.

Tabatha's respect for characters and their creators enveloped her throughout her childhood and she realized her creative skills thrived within her own writing. Over the years, she has moved past horribly rhymed poetry to carefully plotted stories.

She continued her desire for writing by freelancing and authoring several books for children including Silent Sam, Ick The Stick, Storm Tunes and Pampered Pals. She is also a regularly featured columnist in Parent Express Newspaper.

Today, Tabatha resides in the charming town of Hooksett, NH with her family, and their two dogs. When she isn't writing, she shares her enthusiasm for inventing stories and characters with kids of all ages by visiting schools and libraries!

She is here today to announce her new release, Marvin Monster's Monsterific Adventures, and a contest. The prize is a Marvin Monster Monsterific Character Hat.

Tabatha, tell us about your new book.

Marvin Monster's Monsterific Adventures is part of a Fearless Reader Flip Book Series. It's an 82 page book recommended for children 6-9 years of age. We explore
what happens when a monster doesn't keep his word and when Marvin Monster confronts what might be the most horrific thing to ever happen to Grim Castle Elementary.
Readers join Marvin Monster and his classmates for two fearless adventures in one monster-sized edition! Read BIG DATE and then flip the book over to read TEACHER JITTERS in reverse, it's monsterific!

I admire your creativity. As a successful published author, can you share a writing tip with fellow writers?

What if? I ask myself that question whenever I'm writing a new story, especially fiction. Whether you're a new or seasoned writer, when you utilize 'what if' when building plots, characters or points-of-view the possibilities are limitless.

I also believe problems we encounter in our own daily lives are story opportunities when combined with the hypothesis 'what if'. Ask yourself: What if she had answered the door and it wasn't the mailman? What if his boss had something other than money in the safe? What if the pond in the backyard surfaced human remains? Yes, the possibilities are limitless!

I'm excited to announce the new contest you are offering to readers of my blog. How can we enter?

This contest is called Name That Movie! Here's a quote from one of my favorite movies:

"She taught me everything. About life, hope and the long journey ahead. I'll always miss her. But our love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it."

If you know which movie this is from, email the title to me for a chance to win a Marvin Monster Monsterific Character Hat. All correct answers will be entered in the drawing on December 4th and the winner will be notified on December 5th.

Thank you Tabatha! To learn more about Tabatha's writing, please visit her web site MarvinMonster.com and her Author Page on Amazon.com.

How to Price Your Writing Projects

Today we welcome Kate Croston to Writers in Business. Kate is a freelance writer who holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes for various clients and loves contributing internet service related topics.

As a freelance writer, I find it challenging to determine the price on some of my projects. I usually end up selling myself short. Kate is here to share her ideas with us on how to determine the correct price for our work.
How to Price Your Writing Projects
Freelance writing is a dream job for a lot of writers and bloggers out there, and with good reason – you get to basically set your own schedule and write what you want to write about. One of the biggest obstacles is figuring out how much to charge for your work – after all, you can’t be too expensive because you don’t want people to pass you by because you’re too pricey, but you can’t be too cheap either because hey, you’ve got bills to pay too! So how do you determine the right price for your writing projects?

Monthly Fees

To start, you have to determine how much money you need to survive. That means factoring in how much your rent or mortgage costs, your static monthly bills, your grocery and gas costs, and how much extra you need in case of an emergency or for some extra padding. At the end of the day, no matter what you’re fees are you have to be able to pay all of your bills otherwise freelance writing isn’t going to work out.

Experience

You’ll need to establish if you’re charging an hourly rate or if you’re charging per project – or if you’ll do a combination. Your rate per project should be loosely based off of your hourly rate anyway, so figuring that out is key when setting your rates. Be careful when charging hourly rates because you don’t want to end up in a position where you finish a project much sooner than you first thought you would and are now making less on a project then you originally thought you would. You’ll also have to take into consideration how much experience you have writing – seasoned writers with a lot of credible references and examples of work can charge more than those that are fresh out of school. If you’re moving from a salaried position to freelance writing, take a look at your current salary and see how it translates to what you’re moving into, especially if you’re leaving a full-time copywriting or writing position to freelance.

Regularly Evaluate

As your experience increases, your rates should to, so you’ll need to go through a few times a year and look at your rates, your work, and the feedback you’ve received from clients and assess if you’re still charging enough money. If you can back up higher prices with glowing accolades to a job well done, go for it. If you can’t back it up though, you’ll need to evaluate why you can’t raise your prices yet and fix it so that the next time around you can. Also, figuring out the market value of freelance writers in your area is a good way to determine if you’re charging too much or too little.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Freelance writers, especially new ones, have a tendency to low-ball their prices and thus ask for less then they’re actually worth. If you know you have a good product, charge for it. Freelancing can be a scary world to jump into, but people will pay a good price for excellent work – don’t sell yourself short.

Kate is a regular contributor to InternetService.net and can be reached at KateCroston.croston09@gmail.com.

Inspirational Book About Living with Downs' Syndrome: How David Met Sarah by Anne Kelleher

Anne Kelleher holds a degree from Johns Hopkins University and has studied English literature at the University of Connecticut. A gifted intuitive medium, Anne helps others connect to inner guidance and deceased loved ones. The mother of four and grandmother of two, Anne lives and writes in Connecticut, surrounded by a large circle of family and friends.

Her new book, How David Met Sarah, is completely different from any of her previous eleven novels. Anne’s brother, David, has Downs’ Syndrome as does the main character in this story.

Anne, welcome to Writers in Business. I understand you have written this story not only for your brother, but for developmentally challenged adults everywhere.

I wrote How David Met Sarah at my mother's suggestion when she explained that as much as David is interested in reading, it's hard to find stories he likes. He reads at approximately a third grade level but as an adult, David doesn't relate to third grade level stories. This is the first in a series of five books written for intellectually or developmentally disabled individuals.

Can you tell us about the story?

How David Met Sarah is a very special love story written from the point of view of a young man who is developmentally disabled. It includes suspense, conflict, romance, and all the appeal of an adult book while using vocabulary appropriate for those who read at an elementary level.

The National Down Syndrome Society has discovered your book.

The National Down Syndrome Society is an organization that supports developmentally delayed adults. I am thrilled to say that they have graciously agreed to help spread the word about How David Met Sarah. I will be donating 20% of the profits from this book to this organization.

Currently the book is available electronically. Any plans for a print version?

Yes, a print version and book club/reader's guide are in the works. We anticipate that both will be available shortly.

Reading specialists, special education teachers and librarians agree that there are no other titles like this available. Thank you for creating this heartwarming and insightful book.

David loves "his" story and we both hope that others will enjoy it, too. If you know and love someone like David, I hope you will check out When David Met Sarah. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live so differently-abled, I hope you will check it out, too.

To read more about the book or order a copy, please visit Amazon. You can also read more on Anne’s blog How David Met Sarah.