JUST KATE--YA coming of age on a sea of soap

Robin O'Neill · 08-07-2010, 12:58 PM

JUST KATE is one of my backlist books (In Real Life I'm Just Kate), the novel that opened the door to television writing for me so it holds a special place in my heart.

The blurb:

“I took the job as an actor on the soap LIFE TO ITS FULLEST just to help out my family. My father was in a tailspin since he lost his gig and I just wanted 6 or 9 months on the show, then would go back to my real life. There had been a lot of talk about a new actor the producers had brought from LA who was supposed to be so talented, so edgy. My father’s an actor and after seventeen years with him, I was immune. Or so I thought. When Fitch walked across the set, and sat down next to me, closer than he had to, all rational thought was wiped from my mind. He was four years older. How could he be serious about me, a high school senior? Just the thought we were having lunch together made my mother crazy. When he was fired, I thought Fitch would go back to LA and resume his life with young women his own age. The last thing I wanted was to make a fool of myself, clutching at him like any female in her right mind would. I played it like I was happy he got a gig playing Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew. Playing it like a sophisticate with no emotion at all, I proved I was a better actor than I imagined. I convinced him I thought we had just been friends.”–Kate Rafferty

“She’s the kind of girl who has no idea how beautiful she is. It makes no difference to her that the crew practically falls over themselves when she walks into the studio. In that way she has no self-awareness, no ego. I crossed the soap opera set that first day, saw her and my life as I knew it was over. Five minutes before I didn’t want to be on this show, didn’t want to be in New York. Working in LA, where I grew up, was where I belonged. But all that changed as I got to know Kate. I decided to stay in New York until she was old enough to make up her own mind about what we would do. It wasn’t about a TV show anymore, it was about our real lives. Then I got fired and she seemed okay with me going back to the West Coast. I was not okay with it.”—Fitch Cooper

available at Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/Just-Kate-eboo...1200051&sr=1-1

dreams · 08-07-2010, 04:36 PM

Congratulatios, you have it up.

I was just checking out your blog and have gone back to start reading all your entries. I guess, if you are figuring out Photoshop, I can finally open the program and give it a try also.

Will you be adding "Just Kate" to smashwords, also?

** I love the pic and color of the Blue Raja cover - that cover alone entices me to purchase.

**

Robin O'Neill · 08-07-2010, 08:02 PM

Wow, wow and wow. I didn't know anyone was actually reading the blog besides me. Thank you for visiting!

Thank you for the kind words about the Blue Raja cover. I love it too. It reminds me of Aquila in Ladyhawke if you have ever seen that movie--how the castle glows in the night. The cover image is modular. I didn't find a photo of a castle on an island with the northern lights in the background, so I felt it was an enormous achievement from where I started. That would be spending 6 hours trying to change the colors in the two little squares in the lower left. :-)

Photoshop has a really steep learning curve but google is your friend. If you don't know 14,000 other people don't know either. Do the tutorials that are available everywhere and you can always ask me. I might know! It's worth the effort and once you get a feel for it and understand Adobe logic, it becomes much easier and very enjoyable.

I'm a little on the fence about Smashwords. I started there last year but haven't seen much activity. I supposed I can use one of my own ISBNs for the book. It was a decision I put to the side while I got all the work done.

Blue Raja--I would love you to read it. I'd be glad to send you a copy and perhaps if you like it, you'll write a little review. PM me with the necessary info.

BexBits · 08-07-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin O'Neill

I'm a little on the fence about Smashwords. I started there last year but haven't seen much activity. I supposed I can use one of my own ISBNs for the book. It was a decision I put to the side while I got all the work done.

I'm curious, what would be the downside of being on Smashwords? Is it a lot of trouble?

Robin O'Neill · 08-08-2010, 08:02 AM

The downside is that Smashwords supplies a legion of sellers like B&N, Sony etc. I had B&N drop the price on one of my books without consulting me. Amazon matches the lowest price on the net so they notified me they were dropping the price. There was nothing whatsoever I could do about it.

If you want the higher royalty rate at Amazon, you must price at $2.99 or above. B&N comes along and drops the price to $1.99 and suddenly you're back at the 35% rate instead of 70%.

That's the real drawback. Besides being charged $10 for an ISBN which Amazon doesn't bother with using their own ASINs for free. It's a financial issue not technical. And I think Mark Coker is swell and Smashwords itself is lovely.

Robin

BexBits · 08-11-2010, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin O'Neill

The downside is that Smashwords supplies a legion of sellers like B&N, Sony etc. I had B&N drop the price on one of my books without consulting me. Amazon matches the lowest price on the net so they notified me they were dropping the price. There was nothing whatsoever I could do about it.

If you want the higher royalty rate at Amazon, you must price at $2.99 or above. B&N comes along and drops the price to $1.99 and suddenly you're back at the 35% rate instead of 70%.

That's the real drawback. Besides being charged $10 for an ISBN which Amazon doesn't bother with using their own ASINs for free. It's a financial issue not technical. And I think Mark Coker is swell and Smashwords itself is lovely.

Robin

Ohhhh. I was under the impression that you had to do something 'premium' at Smashwords to get into the other stores. I can definitely see how the lack of control over that could be annoying.

Robin O'Neill · 08-12-2010, 08:16 AM

I don't know why they call it "premium". It's only a matter of correctly formatting the book to the specs so all those other retailers with their proprietary devices can offer them with no issues.

A standard should be agreed upon for the convenience and comfort of all but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

Robin

08-07-2010, 12:58 PM	#1
Robin O'Neill Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 60900 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PC	JUST KATE--YA coming of age on a sea of soap JUST KATE is one of my backlist books (In Real Life I'm Just Kate), the novel that opened the door to television writing for me so it holds a special place in my heart. The blurb: “I took the job as an actor on the soap LIFE TO ITS FULLEST just to help out my family. My father was in a tailspin since he lost his gig and I just wanted 6 or 9 months on the show, then would go back to my real life. There had been a lot of talk about a new actor the producers had brought from LA who was supposed to be so talented, so edgy. My father’s an actor and after seventeen years with him, I was immune. Or so I thought. When Fitch walked across the set, and sat down next to me, closer than he had to, all rational thought was wiped from my mind. He was four years older. How could he be serious about me, a high school senior? Just the thought we were having lunch together made my mother crazy. When he was fired, I thought Fitch would go back to LA and resume his life with young women his own age. The last thing I wanted was to make a fool of myself, clutching at him like any female in her right mind would. I played it like I was happy he got a gig playing Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew. Playing it like a sophisticate with no emotion at all, I proved I was a better actor than I imagined. I convinced him I thought we had just been friends.”–Kate Rafferty “She’s the kind of girl who has no idea how beautiful she is. It makes no difference to her that the crew practically falls over themselves when she walks into the studio. In that way she has no self-awareness, no ego. I crossed the soap opera set that first day, saw her and my life as I knew it was over. Five minutes before I didn’t want to be on this show, didn’t want to be in New York. Working in LA, where I grew up, was where I belonged. But all that changed as I got to know Kate. I decided to stay in New York until she was old enough to make up her own mind about what we would do. It wasn’t about a TV show anymore, it was about our real lives. Then I got fired and she seemed okay with me going back to the West Coast. I was not okay with it.”—Fitch Cooper available at Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/Just-Kate-eboo...1200051&sr=1-1 Last edited by Robin O'Neill; 08-07-2010 at 08:03 PM. Reason: tweak

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08-07-2010, 04:36 PM	#2
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	Congratulatios, you have it up. I was just checking out your blog and have gone back to start reading all your entries. I guess, if you are figuring out Photoshop, I can finally open the program and give it a try also. Will you be adding "Just Kate" to smashwords, also? I love the pic and color of the Blue Raja cover - that cover alone entices me to purchase.

08-07-2010, 08:02 PM	#3
Robin O'Neill Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 60900 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PC	Wow, wow and wow. I didn't know anyone was actually reading the blog besides me. Thank you for visiting! Thank you for the kind words about the Blue Raja cover. I love it too. It reminds me of Aquila in Ladyhawke if you have ever seen that movie--how the castle glows in the night. The cover image is modular. I didn't find a photo of a castle on an island with the northern lights in the background, so I felt it was an enormous achievement from where I started. That would be spending 6 hours trying to change the colors in the two little squares in the lower left. :-) Photoshop has a really steep learning curve but google is your friend. If you don't know 14,000 other people don't know either. Do the tutorials that are available everywhere and you can always ask me. I might know! It's worth the effort and once you get a feel for it and understand Adobe logic, it becomes much easier and very enjoyable. I'm a little on the fence about Smashwords. I started there last year but haven't seen much activity. I supposed I can use one of my own ISBNs for the book. It was a decision I put to the side while I got all the work done. Blue Raja--I would love you to read it. I'd be glad to send you a copy and perhaps if you like it, you'll write a little review. PM me with the necessary info.

08-08-2010, 08:02 AM	#5
Robin O'Neill Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 60900 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PC	The downside is that Smashwords supplies a legion of sellers like B&N, Sony etc. I had B&N drop the price on one of my books without consulting me. Amazon matches the lowest price on the net so they notified me they were dropping the price. There was nothing whatsoever I could do about it. If you want the higher royalty rate at Amazon, you must price at $2.99 or above. B&N comes along and drops the price to $1.99 and suddenly you're back at the 35% rate instead of 70%. That's the real drawback. Besides being charged $10 for an ISBN which Amazon doesn't bother with using their own ASINs for free. It's a financial issue not technical. And I think Mark Coker is swell and Smashwords itself is lovely. Robin

08-12-2010, 08:16 AM	#7
Robin O'Neill Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 60900 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PC	I don't know why they call it "premium". It's only a matter of correctly formatting the book to the specs so all those other retailers with their proprietary devices can offer them with no issues. A standard should be agreed upon for the convenience and comfort of all but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. Robin