Click Here To Purchase Wale Song From Amazon

Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is once again excited to have as our guest Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif.

Cheryl has made quite a name for herself in the world of literature in Canada and elsewhere. In 2004, Tardif was nominated for the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award.

In addition, Cheryl has been extensively interviewed by the media and she has been featured in The Edmonton Examiner, Edmonton Woman Magazine, Alberta Native News, California Chronicle and Real Estate Weekly (Edmonton). According to photojournalist, Heather Andrews Miller, who interviewed the author for the Real Estate Weekly article, Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a “gem in the literary world.” And Booklist calls her “a big hit…a name to reckon with south of the border.”

Good day Cheryl and thanks once again for participating in our interview.

Norm:

Since we last spoke about two years ago, what have you been up to insofar as your writing achievements are concerned?

Cheryl:

Thanks for having me back at BookPleasures! Wow, has it only been two years? So much has happened. After self-publishing my third novel, The River, in 2005 with Trafford Publishing, I continued my search for a traditional publisher. My goal has always been to be published by one of the New York ‘big houses’. I realized early on, sometimes you have to work your way to the top.

Early last year, I stumbled across a new publisher, Kunati Books, based originally in Ontario and sent them an email query. I explained that I had three self-published novels¯The River, Divine Intervention and Whale Song¯but that none of them had really scraped the surface in North American sales or distribution, and that I was looking for a traditional publisher for them. I was very excited when I received a reply from Kunati inviting me to submit all three of my novels. So I sent them and waited. I didn’t have to wait long though.

Within a few weeks, Derek Armstrong from Kunati contacted me and sent me an email of acceptance. Ok, I’ll tell you, I was so darned excited that I danced a jig in my office and let out a few whoops. That was in May 2006. On April 1^st, 2007, the new improved Whale Song was released with revised text and about 25% new scenes. It had an intriguing new cover, which incidentally won an online book cover award recently. Whale Song is now being read by numerous film companies, including many from Hollywood. In 2006, I wrote the screenplay with co-writer Alison Neuman.

I’ve also had two short stories accepted and published by the Amazon Shorts program. For only .49 cents, people can order Picture Perfect or A Grave Error online through Amazon. And I wrote a new suspense thriller, Children of the Fog, which Kunati is now considering.

Norm:

In your email to me you mentioned that you will be holding your first ever virtual book tour (VBT). What is this all about and what do you hope to achieve with this tour? How does one go about organizing a virtual book tour?

Cheryl:

Virtual book tours have been around for maybe five years, but it’s only been perhaps the last year that the idea has really taken off. The concept is simple: the author “tours” various blogs and sites, often ones pertaining to a theme in the book or to writing in general. This way, an author can reach thousands of potential new readers each tour day from the privacy of her office. I plan to be in my PJ’s for most of my book tour. Book lovers will have the same advantage; they can meet authors while in their PJ’s too. J

My VBT takes place all August long, with as many stops along the way as

I can book. My goal is to expose Whale Song, my newest release, to as many people as possible in an exciting, new and entertaining way. My hosts have been wonderfully gracious and accommodating. Each blog or site will feature one or a combination of the following: an interview, book review, a post from me on a particular subject, a short story, an excerpt from one of my works, or maybe an audio-cast excerpt or short story.

The main advantages to doing a VBT are that I get to reach an enormous amount of people, present Whale Song to them, and have it (the blog or site) still working for me when the day is over. Plus I don’t have the costs involved with traveling. The biggest disadvantage is that I don’t get to meet the people face-to-face, which I always truly enjoy.

Organizing a VBT takes some time, patience and research. First, the author has to find the blogs and sites that would be appropriate. This means a lot of Googling. Then you have to contact the site owners and let them know what you’re doing and what you need. I always like to point out the benefits to hosts¯more traffic, new visitors, fresh content…maybe prizes.

If you click here  you can see my Virtual Book Tour 2007.

Norm:

What has been your overall experience as a published author?

Cheryl:

My overall experience is that being a writer takes hard work, dedication, persistence, a strong gut, confidence, and the desire to hone the craft of writing and constantly be learning more. Being a published author is all of that¯times 1000. Holding your first published book is like holding your first newborn baby. After a long wait and perhaps some painful moments, you want to laugh and cry. I did both. Seeing your books on bookstore shelves makes you want to run around and shout: “That’s me! I finally did it!” It is a whole new world being published.

And then the work begins. There are book signings, online promoting in MySpace or on other social networks like Gather and Ning, reading the (hopefully) positive reviews, your first nerve-wracking interview on TV, radio or in newspapers and magazines, then seeing your picture on the front cover of 24 Hours, taking up the entire page. In the end, I’m a writer who loves to write¯who has to write. In my mind there are half a dozen stories fighting and competing against each other for recognition at any given time. Ok, some people may call that schizophrenia, but I call it creativity!

Norm:

Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice?

Cheryl:

Edmonton is a very artistically-inclined city; we have many awesome writers and artists. Locally, I belong to the Writers Guild of Alberta and to WIFTA¯Women in Film & Television Alberta (a division of WIFTI). I used to belong to a writers’ group formed of mainly non-fiction writers, people writing for magazines. I quickly realized that for a fiction writer, that wasn’t the group for me. So I started my own.

Edmonton Fiction Writers is a small but cozy group of writers, some published, some not. We are all seriously working on fiction projects; we are not hobbyists. We meet once a month at my favorite coffee shop. I truly enjoy and care about my fellow writers in this group. We are all growing at different rates, but we share everything from our work to events we’ve attended to books on writing and articles we’ve found online. We trust each other when we share our work, and that is vital in any writer’s group. I value their opinions and have made changes in my work as a result.

I have worked with many other writers at conferences or other events. I created Authors’ Row, a group of varying authors who promote their work at the Edmonton Woman’s Show every April and October. I organize this event every year and that gives me many opportunities to meet other authors. I also attend the Get Publishing Conference in Edmonton, held every 2 years now.

Norm:

How do you approach the work of writing? What does a typical writing day look like for you, from waking to turning in at night, and how does it compare to a conventional 9 to 5 job?

Cheryl:

My days are quite different from a 9 to 5 job. At least there you usually know what’s to be expected. Monday to Saturday I wake up around 8:00 a.m. and the first thing I do is turn on my computer. I’ll brush my teeth and get dressed. Well, sometimes I stay in my housecoat. Then I’ll get coffee and maybe¯on a good day¯brush my hair. Then it’s time to check my email, see if my publisher has assigned any projects for me to do.

Weeding through spam and junk mail can sometimes take a while, but eventually I’m left with the emails I need to reply to. If I have a project to do, usually some form of promotion, I’ll tend to that first. Sometimes, like the weeks before my book launch and the month of April, I’ll have many promotional projects, so that means writing emails, writing ad copy, coordinating events with store managers etc. There are more days like this now.

During the day I always write something though. Sometimes it is an article or short story; sometimes info for my websites. I try to blog every other day or every third day at least, but that goes in spurts. The best part of my day is when I get to work on whatever novel needs attention. I’m currently doing last edits on a new novel that Kunati is looking at. Children of the Fog was written for the most part at that wonderful little coffee shop I mentioned earlier.

With writing I usually never know from one day to the next if I’ll be working on my novel or spending most of the day on promotion. It depends on what comes in the email. That’s why I have set aside two days a week where I take my laptop to the coffee shop and write from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Sometimes, if I’m on a roll, I’ll stay even longer. I’ve been known to close the place down. Mondays and Wednesdays. Those are ME days! And I’m learning to respect and honor them, no matter what projects need attending.

On days that I am focusing on a novel, the writing comes fairly fast and easy. I usually can’t type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. I rarely use any kind of outline at first, since the openings of all my novels have been obvious for me. Sometime after the first four or five chapters I’ll start making notes, things to add later or anything else that comes to mind. That’s my outline.

Sometimes, as in Children of the Fog, I’ll make a timeline. Many stories don’t need one, since they flow from one day to the next. I also have a character wall, something I have encouraged other writers to use. A character wall consists of one page of paper per character taped to a wall in my office. I’ll add a picture of an actor that I think represents my character, the character’s stats (name, profession, age, marital status, children, hobbies, skills, etc) and add to it as I go.

I work long, long hours. It is not uncommon for me to be on my computer from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. I’ve even pulled some all-nighters. Usually that happens when I am doing final edits. In general, I put in a good 10-12 hours, even on weekends. The key for me is that I have a husband who often works long shifts and a seventeen-year-old daughter who has a boyfriend. Need I say more? If no one else is home, I might as well work. J However, once in a while I play hooky and watch a movie in the middle of the day!

Norm:

How long does it take you to write a typical novel, including research, writing and editing time?  How do you celebrate a novel's completion?

Cheryl:

Every novel is different. I would have thought that each novel would take less time, but that’s not the way it works. Each takes a bit longer because I am fitting in time to promote the last. Whale Song took about 4 months, and that’s researching, writing, editing, having 2 other editors edit, and sending it to the publisher. Divine Intervention took 4.5 months and The River took 5 months. I hear this is quite fast. But for me, when the story is ready to be put down on paper, it’s already been in my head for a while.

I usually write and edit everything up to the last chapter and epilogue. When everything else is tight and edited, I complete the novel. It is at that time that I say: “The end!” We usually go out for dinner to celebrate. And sometimes I treat myself to a massage. J

Norm:

Can you tell us what editors typically look for in a magazine/book query letter/proposal?

Cheryl:

I believe editors are looking for the “hook”. Like the first sentence of a book, your first sentence or paragraph in a query or proposal has got to hook them, make them want to read more, learn more about you. I am very conscious of my first sentence in every novel or short story I write, and in books I read by other authors. At the very least, a query has to grab them within that first paragraph or you’re sunk. I believe they want to know: what is this book about and why should I care? So writers must give them a reason to care.

Tell me which grabs your attention the most:

Dear Editor,

I have written a novel about a woman who is an alcoholic but kicked the habit, got pregnant and had a son who later was kidnapped. But she can’t say anything because the kidnapper told her not to…

Dear Editor,

Would you let a monster take your son? That’s what Sadie O’Connell is forced to do when she finds The Fog, a serial abductor, in her son’s room--with a gun to the boy’s head. “If you tell anyone you saw me,” he says, “I’ll send your kid back to you…in little bloody pieces.” What’s a loving mother to do?

Norm:

In the last few years or so have you seen any changes in the way publishers publish and/or distribute books? Are there any emerging trends developing?

Cheryl:

I think that many writers are turning to self-publishing. It is a viable option, depending on the author’s goals, their skills as a writer and the book itself. Many self-published authors have been picked up by traditional publishers. Some of the smaller independent traditional publishers have closed their doors recently. It’s a tough business, for everyone in the industry. Publishers are trying to find the next Stephen King or Nora Roberts or J.K. Rowling. And writers realize it’s a long process from querying a publisher to the possibility of getting picked up. I read somewhere that only about 2% of all manuscripts submitted are ever accepted and published. Those aren’t good odds.

And of course e-books are products that have yet to be fully realized. However, I am coming across them more and more. I think we may start to see e-books finally take off.

Norm:

How have you used the Internet to boost your writing career?

Cheryl:

I could write a book on that! And I probably will. The Internet is a GOLDMINE. And I’m not talking just sales. Not only can an author promote the heck out of a book online, you can also do research, check facts, find publishers, agents and other authors. Selling books amounts to finding readers who will read and enjoy your book and tell two friends about it. It’s like that old shampoo commercial. “They’ll tell two friends, and so on…”

These are the main ways I use the internet:

I update my main websites: http://www.whalesongbook.com and http://www.cherylktardif.com

I post on my blogs: http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com and more.

I join social groups – FaceBook, Ning, Gather, MySpace, Shelfari, etc

I submit press releases. I use http://www.24-7PressRelease.com almost exclusively for my paid

releases, and then use some of the many free release services as backup.

I read articles on writing and publishing.

I research subjects of interest for my books.

I submit my own articles and write and post book reviews.

I watch my Amazon rank go down…and then up…and then down… (it’s very addictive!)

And when I have time, I read other people’s blogs and sites for fun.

Norm:

How are you using myspace.com to promote yourself and what have been the results?

Cheryl:

MySpace is something that I came into a bit late. I had my profile up and had maybe three friends before I started searching to see who else, besides my daughter and her friends, was on MySpace. At first I perceived it for teens and twenty-somethings only, but then I realized everyone is on it! I came across avid book readers. I found book clubs and bookstores.

And then I found other authors very successful authors and added them to my growing friends list. Eventually, I contacted a few of my favorite authors on MySpace. One thing led to another and now I have great reviews from some of them. Not only do I value their support, but I truly value their willingness to share with me their experiences, and I have been paying it forward. For years I have done anything I can to help aspiring authors.

My goal is to find one or two mentors, authors I highly respect, to help guide me to the right people, the right publishers and an agent. MySpace has resulted in sales for me, great reviews and wonderful friendships. Now if I can only figure out how to make my page look mysterious and exciting.

Norm:

What's your advice to achieve success as a writer?

Cheryl:

There are varying degrees of success. For some writers, having a completed manuscript means success. For others, self-publishing the family history is success. But for a fiction writer who wants a career as a writer, you must learn the craft of writing. Once you’ve learned HOW to write, continue learning the craft. This part never ends. I’ve seen great story plots sabotaged by poor writing skills or improper grammar.

Writers of fiction need to know what a POV, tag, and beat is and how to use them. But most of all a writer needs to be persistent and focused. If you have a goal, dedicate your waking hours to achieving it. ‘See’ yourself achieving it. When I envisioned Whale Song as a novel, it became one.

The more I thought of The River as a movie on the big screen, the more film contacts I made. The more I envisioned either of these novels as a movie, being in the theatre watching it, the more I KNOW it will happen. If you want it badly enough, MAKE it happen. That means…learning the craft of writing and the business of being a published author.

Norm:

What is next for Cheryl Kaye Tardif and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Cheryl:

I am now working on three novels¯a creepy thriller/horror that will make your skin crawl (I’m not releasing the title yetJ), Submerged¯a thriller about bad choices, loss and redemption, and Divine Justice¯book two in the Divine series, about an elite group of psychic government agents. This series is temporarily on hold until I get proper placement with a bigger publisher. It wasn’t an easy decision, since I know that there are a lot of people waiting for it, but I don’t want the series to be self-published.

Norm:

Thanks once again and good luck with your virtual book tour.

Cheryl:

I have enjoyed this interview, Norm, and your insightful questions. Thank YOU for being part of my virtual book tour.

Click Here To Purchase Whale Song From Amazon