"Borrowed" from Holly Jahangiri

     I borrowed the following blog post from Holly Jahangriri with permission:


May 18, 2013 Posted by HollyJahangiri on May 18, 2013 in Bits & Pieces, Featured, Writing

Interview with Vivian Zabel, Founder/Owner of 4RV Publishing

Interview with Vivian Zabel, Founder/Owner of 4RV Publishing

I recently chatted with my friend Vivian Zabel, founder of 4RV Publishing, the company that published my first two children’s books, Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy.
“Tell me a little bit about 4RV Publishing,” I asked.
“4RV Publishing came into being when as an author I realized that writing had few choices: a major publisher through an agent, subsidy publishing, self-publishing, or vanity presses. I wanted the opportunity for good writers to be able to have quality books published, traditionally. Authors also deserved to have a personal connection to the company that adopted their ‘babies.’” Vivian smiled, knowing that’s the number one reason I chose 4RV Publishing for Trockle, a story which I had written for my son and one that I did not want to sell all rights to or lose all creative say over.

“How many books do you publish each year?”

“How many we publish each year depends on several conditions: staff availability, funding needed, and what submissions are worth producing. In the less than six years we’ve been in existence, we have published a total of 101 books, some of which are no longer under contract (we put a limit on the number of years we have publication rights). We have 26 more titles to prepare and publish this year. We’ve had to close submissions for children’s picture books until 2015, except for authors under contract or invited to submit, because our illustrators can only do so many books during a year.”

Staples is celebrating small businesses in May and they are awarding digital marketing prize packages each worth $50,000 to three small businesses as part of the Staples PUSH It Forward Contest. 4RV Publishing has entered this contest, and you can help! By voting every day for your favorite small business, you increase your odds of being randomly selected to win a $1,500 Staples Voter Prize Package. Voting ends May 31.
Link to vote for 4RV Publishing: http://tinyurl.com/a7hrdmv

“What awards has 4RV Publishing or its books won?”

“We have received a number of awards and honors the past few years,” said Vivian. Asking her to talk about the accolades earned by books her company has published seems to give her almost as much pleasure as asking her to talk about her grandchildren’s accomplishments. “The most recent were two books which received the Children’s Classical Literature Choice Award: Life on Hold by Beverly Stowe McClure – a book is now in the running for another CCL award – and Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi, illustrated by Aidana WillowRaven, which won a CCL silver medal also. Viji Chary’s Porcupine Seeds, illustrated by Bridget McKenna, received the Mom’s Choice Award for Excellence.

“The 2009 Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction went to Kirk Bjornsgarrd for Confessions of a Former Rock Queen.

“We had a number of books place in the Homeland New Day book competition: your book, Trockle, illustrated by Jordan Vinyard, took 1st in Children’s Books, and A Puppy, not a Guppy, illustrated by Ryan Shaw, received 2nd in Tween books. Another author’s books took 1st in Novel and in Young Adult. One book received 2nd place at the North Texas Book Festival. Aldric & Anneliese, by Harry E. Gilleland, received honors from the Military Writers organization. Time Pullers, by Horton Deakins, placed in the top five for the USA Book Awards for Science Fiction. We have books entered in other competitions that haven’t released the winners list yet.”

“‘Another author’s books’? Don’t you remember the titles and who wrote them?” I pressed. I know Vivian doesn’t forget the names of the authors who’ve written award-winning books published by 4RV Publishing. It turns out, they were hers.

“Sure, I remember the titles: 1st in Novel was Midnight Hours by…me. 1st in Young Adult was Prairie Dog Cowboy by…me; 2nd at North Texas was Base Stealers Club by…me.”

I laughed. Vivian is a retired teacher, a mom, and a grandmother. She’s proud of her own books, but would rather shine the spotlight on others’ accomplishments. As the owner of 4RV Publishing, those are the kudos she’d rather promote. Next, I asked the million-dollar question: “Do you charge authors anything to publish their books?”

Vivian shook her head. “No, we do not charge authors anything to publish their books, or for any of the services needed to prepare their books once under contract.”

“I hear things are kind of rough in the publishing industry, these days – even some of the big publishing houses are opening subsidy imprints.”

“One reason publishers get in financial difficulties is the return policy. If a bookstore orders many more copies than they know they will sell, they can return left over copies years and years later and have their money returned. Publishers have to pay that money back, either through Ingram or their own distribution system. 4RV finally did away with returns after being hit with a huge bill for books returned that we could find no record of being bought, much less when they were bought. Major publishers pay millions every year for returned books. Of course that hurts. People aren’t buying books as much as they once did, and it has nothing to do with eBooks being available. It’s the economy. So many Big Guys are opening subsidy imprints. They need the income.”

“So why don’t you do the same?”

“Yes, we need the income, too, but we want the best books possible to be under our imprint. Once we accept payment for doing our job, putting out quality books, we lose at least some control over what is published under our name. We want the authors who deserve to be published to have their books in print and then in electronic format without a black mark against their names, which, no matter what some people say, still exists for self-published books. We try to give our authors the best chance to be successful we can.”

“Is it true that even the editors and illustrators work for royalties? So if books don’t sell well, they don’t get paid, either?”

“True and true. However, the owner of the company doesn’t even take royalties, nor does the head of the editorial department. We believe in the company enough that we leave what earnings we have in 4RV. What staff we have are dedicated to our cause. Of course we lose people quite often. They use 4RV to build a good resume and go on to bigger and better things. I can’t blame them, just ask they leave nicely without putting the company in a bind with unfinished projects. However, some stay even when they get positions elsewhere and do a few projects a year.”

“You’re an author, too – does owning the publishing house mean automatic acceptance and fast-track to print for your books?”

“Excuse me as I laugh. All submissions are sent to acquisition editors anonymously, no identification anywhere on the manuscript. One of my submissions was rejected — yep, rejected with malice. The head of the editorial department asked if the manuscript should be sent to a different acquisition editor, and I said, “No, she had valid reasons, and when I have time, I’ll revise and resubmit.” I’ve never had time. In fact, since 4RV was created, I have had only five books published by the company, and they were back when we had few submissions. I will have the first book come out later this summer, the first since early 2010, and that one was in the works for three years.”

“So, 4RV is entered into the Staples PUSH It Forward Contest – what would you do with the prize money if you win?” Personally, I can’t think of many businesses that are more deserving of this “push” from Staples.

Vivian has big ideas on a shoestring budget. $50,000 lets her dream bigger – and lesser-known authors stand to benefit, too. “We need to upgrade all our technology and use digital accounting and record keeping. We would be able to create more eBooks. We need to hire people trained in digital marketing and promote our books even more effectively. The prize money from Staples would give us the “push” we need to compete in today’s publishing world.”

Help 4RV Publishing Win Staples’ PUSH It Forward Contest

You can help a deserving small business win $50,000 – and maybe win $1500 for yourself, while you’re at it! Voting is easy:

1. Go to http://tinyurl.com/a7hrdmv – this is Staples’ Facebook page already set up for you to vote for 4RV Publishing. If you have not already “Liked” Staples’ page on Facebook, that’s the first step; please click the Like button:
   
2. Next, you’ll be taken to this page, where you can Vote for 4RV Publishing – just click Vote now > :
   
   You will be asked to give Staples’ app some permissions (Might as well – you can always revoke them later, but they ask only for access to your public profile data – something everyone can see, already – and to your friends’ list, presumably so that you can share this with them and promote the contest via Facebook. I have plenty of friends participating and have not seen any of them “spamming” me in the name of Staples, so I feel pretty confident in granting the requested permissions.)
   
3. Last, but not least, when you vote, you’ll have a chance to enter to win $1500 for yourself – how cool is that? Just for helping a small business achieve more. We could all use this kind of “push,” right?
   

Want Some Good Books?

Shop direct from the 4RV Publishing book store from the comfort of  home at http://4rvpublishingcatalog.com (many of these titles can also be found on Amazon and BN.com, as well, though I prefer to shop direct when possible).
Submissions guidelines can be found at http://www.4rvpublishing.com/manuscript-art-submissions.php

Questions?

I’ll bet Vivian Zabel pops over here from time to time, and would be happy to answer them! You might also enjoy reading her blogs: 4RV Reading, Writing, & Art News or Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap.


      Remember, everyone can vote once a day, and voting ends May 31. Thank you, Holly, for the interview and for allowing me to use it.

2013 OWFI Writing Conference Update

     I don't remember how many years I've attended the OWFI writing conference, but I believe it's been at least eleven or twelve years. During that time, I've been the BasketWars chair for eight years or more. BasketWars is the silent auction that raises money for scholarships for the next year's conference. This year's total raised broke all records, and we'll be able to give at least nine scholarships for the 2014 conference, Create, Compose, Commit.

     This year, the conference had exhibitor tables, and 4RV Publishing had an excellent location for its. We had a limited number of titles available due to the lack of space, but many people were impressed with our books. Too bad more didn't buy copies. However, we did sell some, and people took cards so they could go to our bookstore site. Rita Durrett, whose book Borrowed Time will come out next year, and vehoae, whose nonfiction book Conscience: Breaching Social Amnesia is out, helped man the table. Others associated with the company did, too. Tony LoPresti and his daughter Rimanda helped vehoae, who worked the table both days. Rimanda helped all day Saturday. I didn't get photos of everyone at the 4RV booth, but Wayne Harris-Wyrick worked shifts both days. Vickey Kennedy Malone, one of the 4RV editors, worked at least two shifts, and Suzy Koch helped all afternoon Friday. Other authors who took shifts included Janet Brown and Kathleen Gibbs. Jacque Graham, as usual, aided. 

     Janet Brown and I posed for a picture after the Friday night banquet. Kathleen Gibbs joined Jacque Graham, her son James, Dianne Sagan, and Kimberly Black at the Pen and Keyboard Writers reserved table Friday night. Dianne writes for Love Inspired regularly, and I always watch for her books. Kim's first novel came out this past year. For me, meeting and seeing again other authors, some who are quite famous, is exciting. I may only see some of these people once a year, some times not ever every year, but they are friends.

Kathy Gibbs and Dianne Sagan

Dianne Sagan and Kim Black

James Graham and Jacque Graham

      I was able to attend part of Jordan Dane's session, and if anyone can help writers at each stage of their career, Jordan can and does. I enjoyed seeing her again, but I didn't get to visit much. We need her back in Oklahoma, not way down in southern Texas. 

     One returning speaker, Jack Dalton, leaves everyone wanting more. I told him that as far as I was concerned he had an open invitation to join us every year. Other speakers attracted writers interested in their areas of expertise. We had graphic novel speakers, fantasy speakers, experts in the eBook arena and in social media. 

          I enjoyed seeing friends and making new ones.

          

OWFI, Here We Come

Writers! Authors! Agents! Publishers! Editors! Books!     

    Next week, May 2-4, is the Oklahoma Writers' Federation Conference at the Norman, Oklahoma Embassy Suites. So far, I've been able to attend the conference every year for the past 11 or 12 years, and I'm looking forward to this year's event.

     No, I'm not a speaker. No, I wasn't invited to be on a panel, not even the small press panel. No, I'm not included in those taking pitches -- at least officially. Yes, I have tons of work to do: BasketWars, the 4RV Publishing table, and as a judge for the poetry slam. Yes, I won't get to attend sessions, even though I earned a full registration and paid for a hotel room.

     Yes, I'm still excited and want to go. I may be able to squeeze in part of one of the sessions I want to attend. I may get to visit some of the people who are speakers, such as Jordan Dane, Jack Dalton, and Mark Coker (founder of Smashwords). Of course, I'm always glad to see the people I don't get to see otherwise. We may be once-a-year friends, but we're still friends.

     This year, the conference is offering exhibitor tables for people, businesses, etc. to rent for Friday and Saturday (set up Thursday). 4RV will have a table, and several of our authors will man the table in shifts, therefore giving the attendees and public the chance to buy their books and to have the books signed. Some of the books attending will not be accompanied by their authors but will be available because their writers helped make the event possible. Also, four books will make their debut: Tales from Mike's World by Mike McNair; A Wandering Warrior by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.; Boo's Bad Day by Penny Lockwood; and Building Your Life by the Owner's Design by Danny Von Kanel.

     Vehoae, with her book Conscience: Breaching Social Amnesia, will be at the table both days. Suzy Koch will join Vehoae Friday afternoon (Being Jacob: First Day of School and Being Jacob: A Day at the Zoo). Other authors include Wayne Harris-Wyrick (Why Am I Me?), Tony LoPresti (My Cat), Kathleen Gibbs with her new novel Journey of the Cheyenne Warrior, Janet Brown (Victoria and the Ghost), Jacque Graham (contributor to Walking the Earth), and me (Stolen, Midnight Hours, Prairie Dog Cowboy, and two Base Stealers books). Helping us will be Rita Durrett, who has a book coming out next year, and Vickey Kennedy, who is a 4RV editor.

      Books by other 4RV authors will also be avaible: Stephanie Burkhart, Holly Jahangiri, and Beth Reinke.

       I hope anyone anywhere close will come by and visit us. To know more about OWFI and the conference, visit the website http://owfi.org.

 

 

    

Don't try this at home -- funny, but sad

     Saturday, April 20, 2013, Rebuilding Together scheduled a work day to renovate our house. Since there would be dust and paint, I had to leave because of my asthma. I spent the day at my son and his wife's house (Randy and Janelle) while they and their sons Colby and Shane helped the Faith Bible group. 

     I couldn't understand how a house could be renovated in one day, but we were told numerous times that a crew of 40 - 50 people would swarm the place and do the work; that they would put everything from the house into a POD in the driveway; that they would fix, paint, clean; and that they would put everything back in place. Wow! What a major undertaking.

     Apparently the plan worked -- in other places, for other projects. The project leader was left frustrated and bewildered because very few showed. I don't know all the names, but about ten to twelve teens hauled things to the POD and painted. The project leader and his wife worked hard. One couple worked outside replacing the siding above the brick. Another woman helped. Rather short of the number expected. Randy, Janelle, Colby, Shane, granddaughter Keri, her husband Jarrod, and great-grandson Kurtis worked all day. Robert's friend Chris did, too, and he is recovering from surgery.

     When I arrived home, I was rather surprised at what had or hadn't happened. One big problem resulted in the big bath room having to be completely torn out and replaced, but only part could be done because of time and lack of help. 

The wall between Robert's closet and the bathroom, and  around the tub, were full of mold. The walls and ceiling will have to be completely removed, as will the tub. The room will have to be completely rebuilt. Not something anyone expected. Needless to say, the room is not finished, nor is any room in the house.

The living room with new fan and light, still needs ceiling work

     With the lack of help, the house is far from livable yet. We'll have to live in it as is until the work can be finished. The POD in the drive holds most of our things, and we have 30 days to empty it. Hopefully, we can find friends and family to help.

      We do have a beds in place, and we have our refrigerator, range, oven, and microwaves (we need to plug those in). 

One view of bedroom showing where door was and is

      This view of the bedroom shows part of the small bath, part of the hall through the new door, and the wall where the door used to be.

Hall from bedroom

      The view from the bedroom down the hall shows the "new" wall on the right where the door to the bedroom once was.

     Now comes the humor: My senior-citizen cat, Funny Face, knew where the door should be. After all, he had gone through that door all of his 16 years of life. The following pictures are ones I took when he studied the wall where the door once was located. I wish I could have gotten more shots because he studied that space for quite a spell, looking up one side, down the other side, up, down, and then staring straight ahead.

     I could almost hear him thinking, "I know that door was here."

     "I'm not crazy. That door was here before."

     "Where did the door go?"

     I don't know that I would want to go through this process again, but hopefully all will be finished some day and will give us a better place to live. So far, we have a new roof, new exterior doors, and exterior siding. Some of the inside is painted, some repair work, and a new electrical panel.

        We gratefully appreciate all that the people did who worked here Saturday, and for the ones who completed the projects, such as the roof, which were completed earlier.

 

     As stated in the subject of this post, this really is not something to try at home, at least not while trying to live in the place.

My first picture book -- Cover revealed

    I've written many children's books, ones I read to grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but I Like Pink is the first accepted for publication and with an illustrator who has been able to apply time and effort enough to have a tentative release date. This book is the first that uses the name Vivian Zabel, rather than V. Gilbert Zabel or Vivian Gilbert Zabel.

     I entered the manuscript in the OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.) yearly competition. As per the guidelines for the contest, I waited until after the entry deadline to submit it to a publisher. 4RV accepted it immediately. I can hear your thoughts, you know. You're thinking, "What's the big deal. You are the head of 4RV Publishing." Ah, but I don't have any say in what is accepted. All submissions go to an acquisition editor anonymously, even mine. In fact, many of you know the story of one of my manuscripts being rejected, and it's still rejected until I improve it -- some day when I have time.

     Now, back to the subject at hand: I like Pink. I submitted the manuscript, which was accepted within two days. I contacted (yes, here is where I used my position and knowledge of our illustrators) Ginger Nielson, one of our fabulous illustrators, and asked her if she would take the project. She agreed, gave a timeline (tentative release June, 2013), and began work. Ginger finished the cover as one of the first steps, but I couldn't reveal it or even the title until I knew all judging of the OWFI category was finished. I didn't want to influence any judge, whether for or against my entry.

     Until now, no one had seen the cover except Ginger, me, and Sonia Gensler. I'm soooo excited. I think it's gorgeous. 

     The book is based on something my great-granddaughter Haylee told me at the family Thanksgiving get-together. Therefore, she had to be the main character. The book is one that helps little ones learn colors, but guess which color is Haylee's favorite? Oh, now she has added purple, too, but pink is still first. Haylee informed me, "I like pink: dark pink, light pink, and almost white pink." That from a three-year-old begged for a story, didn't it?

Puppy-sitting as Roof Replaced

     Our roof needed replacing for some time. The result -- leaks, leaks, leaks, and more leaks. Our ceilings are shot in many places. Also, Robert needs certain adaptations to allow for his power chair. He had to be able to get into certain rooms, so he made rough changes in doorways. The wheels on his chair tear up the carpet. Maintenance that he did over the years before becoming chair bound didn't happen. Our poor house is falling down around us.

     However, a wonderful organization called RebuildingTogether helps refurbish houses for the elderly and disabled. They chose our house for one of their Spring projects this year. Starting today, our house will be renovated, fixed, and made whole. The first step, replacing the roof, begins today. After all, repairing the insides wouldn't help if rain ruined it. 

     The dust and dirt from the junk being thrown from the housetop into the trash bin below would aggravate my breathing problems, and the excessive pounding would probably drive us crazier than we already are. Therefore, Robert has set his van on the street, with an electrical cord for a heater, so he can use the seat-bed and be comfortable. I'm going to my son's to puppy-sit, taking my antique laptop and Kindle Fire with me so I can take care of some business and writing, maybe some reading.

     We appreciate the wonderful people of RebuildingTogether who donate time, effort, and funds to help others who otherwise wouldn't have the house conditions they need. Aegis Roofing of Edmond, Oklahoma is doing our roof. The good people from Faith Bible Church, led by Bart Richey, will renovate the inside, making it handicap accessible, with some help from family members. I never heard the name of the electrician who will handle that part of the process. I don't know who will do the plumbing. The one thing I know for sure is the world has some wonderful people, and God blessed us by bringing us together.

     Thank you, RebuildingTogether. 

Frustration with social network posts

     As an author, an editor, a publisher, and a retired English teacher, the number of errors (not just typos, we all have those) found in posts by "authors" on social sites makes my teeth clinch in agony.

     There is used in place of their or they're, or one of the others is used incorrectly. It's and its are interchanged incorrectly, as are your and you're. Those examples are simply a few of the grammar mistakes I read every day.

     All right (and that's another mistake, using alright for all right), some people don't know grammar well, but writers definitely should. I don't know that I would want to read a book by someone who can't manage to understand the difference between homonyms and/or what version of a pronoun is used as the object of a preposition. For example, I often hear (hear not here), "That's important to Mary and I." Really? He would say, "That's important to I"? Actually, that is what he did say. A compound object is the same form pronoun as a singular object. And I have heard and read that problem from so called well-educated people.

     I know some people think that using correct grammar isn't important, not even for writers. After all, editors are responsible for making a writer's work "pretty." Wrong. Many publishers do not edit. Whatever the author wrote, the way he wrote it, goes in print, if accepted.

     Not only are writers expected to use their own language correctly, but businesses are expecting their candidates for employment to use grammar the right way. "Experts" say the use of correct grammar shows intelligence, creativity, and a desire to communicate effectively: traits that employers want in those hired.

     I fought high school students for nearly thirty years, trying to help them understand and use their language correctly. I cringe when I read what some of them write on social sites because I know they should know better. However, I shudder more when people who call themselves authors slaughter grammar.

     As I said, we all make typos, especially when auto-correct kidnaps our words, but correct grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure do matter.