The “Short” Path to Introducing Your Novel
Jacqueline Vick is the author of humorous short fiction published by Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, Orchard Press Mysteries, and Scruffy Dog Review to name a few. Her experience with a pet psychic influenced “Calling Canine Clairvoyants”, an article for FIDO Friendly Magazine. Her story, “The Membership Drive”, appears in the “Every Day Fiction Anthology Two”, and her novella “The Groom’s Cake” is available through Wicked Ink Press (and soon on Kindle). Her novel, Family Matters, was a semifinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. She’s on the HOP Committee for the Scriptwriters Network and has been a judge for the El Paso Writers League. Jacqueline lives in Santa Clarita, California, with her husband, Foster, who busts his butt so that she can pursue her dream. She is a member of Scriptwriters Network, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Public Safety Writers Association.
First, I want to thank you, Lelia, for having me on your fabulous blog. Buried Under Books is now on my favorites, as is Creatures ‘n Crooks Bookshoppe. Another place to find mysteries? I’m a lucky girl.
Speaking of mysteries, when the Wilder Women showed up in my first mystery novel, I thought, “Gee. These gals are fun. They could carry a series, easy-peasy.” Roxanne spends her time deflecting the trouble brought on by her mother, Deanna, while her cranky sister, Vanessa, criticizes from the sidelines. But then Evan Miller showed up.
Evan’s a crime reporter from Los Angeles. He’s on the run because he’s upset a group of powerful men, and his chosen hiding place is his childhood home of Settler’s Ridge. Evan isn’t warm and fuzzy, and he’s having difficulty adjusting to his surroundings—a neighborhood of nosy geriatrics and one talkative teen.
I’m not sure where Edward and Nicholas Harlow came from. Edward is a fan of the Victorian Age, and he secretly writes the 
Aunt Civility column, a source of amusement for his younger brother, Nicholas, an unsuccessful actor.
I can’t forget pet psychic Frankie Chandler, or Father Jerry, a former Iraqi vet forced to teach religious ed at an all-girl high school. (More frightening than any night patrol.)
HOLD ON! It’s difficult enough to market one series, but now I had to introduce five. Drat. Asking people to dive into five different series would be asking a lot. Time and money are premium items. And what if readers looked over their many choices and wrote me off as a commitmentphobe, unable to stick with one character? As indecisive? A Schizophrenic?
Then I thought of the appetizer sampler at Chili’s. I was thinking of it anyway, but it seemed like a good analogy. Remember the last time that someone asked you to try a new dish? “Okay. But just a bite.” Everyone’s willing to try just a bite!
I had written several short stories around my characters, so I decided to finish a set—one short story for each character. I went to Digital Donna 
(www.digitaldonna.com) and we came up with one cover for a collection. Then, using the same background, she made separate covers featuring each individual short story.
I’ve begun to release them electronically on Kindle and Smashwords. To get the word out, I offered free copies to people who promised me a review. This is a great idea…in theory. Plenty of copies have been downloaded, but the reviews aren’t in yet on either site. The coupon code for “The Mystery of the White Revelation” on Smashwords is XA64L. Go ahead. Download a copy. Enjoy. And if you feel moved, leave a review on Amazon or Smashwords.
I’ll let you know if the experiment works out. Evan Miller’s The Body Guy should be out this summer, followed by the Wilder Women’s Special Delivery in the fall.
May 29, 2011
Posted in: Guest Blogs
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4 Responses
Jackie Vick has hit upon a great way to not only introduce her characters to the public with her individual short stories, but to also allow her to discover things about those characters herself in order to write longer stories about each one. It would be a good way for other writers to get to know their characters before tackling a novel. And Jackie’s characters are so much fun, so after the appetizer, readers will want to dive into the full meal.
Gayle has been a great resource for short story writing.
Jackie, I love your solution to the dilemma—thanks for being my guest
Five series? Wow, Jackie, how do you think up so much material? I do well to keep track of my one series. Any chance your story collection will come out in print for those of us who are technologically impaired and not into ebooks yet?
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