B.E. Sanderson's Blog, page 70
December 20, 2015
Because It's Christmas Week
Because it's the days leading up to Christmas, I'm going to take a break from talking about work - which means no informational posts, no marketing posts, and no mayhem posts. Just quiet enjoyment of life in general.
I will say to look for a special post on Christmas that will be kinda markety, but fun. (At least, I think it'll be fun. But I'm not a typical person, so your mileage may vary.)
Today, tell me something you have that you would want under your tree if you didn't already have it. For me, last year, my husband gave me the gift of supporting me in my decision to self-publish. He's giving it to me again this year. Yay. But if I didn't have that gift, I sure would be happy to see it under the tree. With a pretty bow.
How about you?
I will say to look for a special post on Christmas that will be kinda markety, but fun. (At least, I think it'll be fun. But I'm not a typical person, so your mileage may vary.)
Today, tell me something you have that you would want under your tree if you didn't already have it. For me, last year, my husband gave me the gift of supporting me in my decision to self-publish. He's giving it to me again this year. Yay. But if I didn't have that gift, I sure would be happy to see it under the tree. With a pretty bow.
How about you?
December 16, 2015
One Track Mind
Yeah, I know when people say someone has a 'one track mind', they usually mean the person is thinking about sex. That ain't this.
I have a one track mind right now. It's books. All books all the time. Writing, editing, cover art, marketing. It probably makes me pretty boring to some. But I can't help it. I don't really do anything else. Unless you want to hear about my trip to the grocery store or what I saw in the woods today. I'd talk about what I'm reading, but right now, I'm reading my own book because I'm editing.
Yeah, 'cleat-covered shoes' ain't really a thing.
But you see, to me, all of this is interesting and exciting. I sat down with my Kindle last night. And a notebook. And a red pen. I dove into Fertile Ground. And I saw how much I I believe in this book and, while it needs work, I can make this something awesome. I'm 16% in and I have three pages worth of notes - tweaks and fixes and plot holes to fill and things that need clarification. But it's GOOD stuff. Meanwhile, In Deep Wish is with the editor and I got another view of my cover this morning. (SQUEE!)
I guess what it boils down to is this: I have a one track mind. It's books. Which, for my readers, is a good thing because it means they'll have more books to read as quickly as I (and my budget) can get them out. For everyone else? I'll try to come up for air every once in a while and have something else to talk about. But I can't promise anything. ;o)
I have a one track mind right now. It's books. All books all the time. Writing, editing, cover art, marketing. It probably makes me pretty boring to some. But I can't help it. I don't really do anything else. Unless you want to hear about my trip to the grocery store or what I saw in the woods today. I'd talk about what I'm reading, but right now, I'm reading my own book because I'm editing.
Yeah, 'cleat-covered shoes' ain't really a thing.
But you see, to me, all of this is interesting and exciting. I sat down with my Kindle last night. And a notebook. And a red pen. I dove into Fertile Ground. And I saw how much I I believe in this book and, while it needs work, I can make this something awesome. I'm 16% in and I have three pages worth of notes - tweaks and fixes and plot holes to fill and things that need clarification. But it's GOOD stuff. Meanwhile, In Deep Wish is with the editor and I got another view of my cover this morning. (SQUEE!)
I guess what it boils down to is this: I have a one track mind. It's books. Which, for my readers, is a good thing because it means they'll have more books to read as quickly as I (and my budget) can get them out. For everyone else? I'll try to come up for air every once in a while and have something else to talk about. But I can't promise anything. ;o)
December 14, 2015
Making the World a Safer Place One Story at a Time
Years ago, a writing acquaintance and I were talking about something or other with regards to writing crime and how other people might view us. I pointed out that crime writers are probably the safest people in the world to be around. We get all our violence and frustrations out on the page rather than acting on them in real life.
Think about it. We get pissed at someone, we write furiously and end up with a scene where a person gets horribly murdered. (And if we're really good, the dead person in the book in no way resembles its real life counterpart - except in our minds.) We don't rush out and kill someone, or even rush out and assault someone. Fictional people die and the world is a safer place.
Sure, there have been instances where a writer has gone off the rails and actually committed the crime. But it's rare. And I'd venture those whackos weren't very good writers anyway. Or at least not very smart criminals because when the story you wrote mirrors the crime you committed, it's a trail of breadcrumbs that leads the police right to your door. Duh.
I know I've managed to put a lot of my frustrations to bed by banging it out on the keyboard. Sometimes even when I'm not writing a murder scene, just the act of writing keeps me from going postal*.
So, like I said, I figure crime writers - and writers in general - are probably the safest people to be around. Unless you somehow happen to get in between us and our coffee. Then all bets are off. ;o)
*Obviously, it's not the only thing that keeps me from going postal. There's this thing called knowing right from wrong. And personality responsibility. And believing in the sanctity of life. You know, simple stuff murderers forget or ignore.
Think about it. We get pissed at someone, we write furiously and end up with a scene where a person gets horribly murdered. (And if we're really good, the dead person in the book in no way resembles its real life counterpart - except in our minds.) We don't rush out and kill someone, or even rush out and assault someone. Fictional people die and the world is a safer place.
Sure, there have been instances where a writer has gone off the rails and actually committed the crime. But it's rare. And I'd venture those whackos weren't very good writers anyway. Or at least not very smart criminals because when the story you wrote mirrors the crime you committed, it's a trail of breadcrumbs that leads the police right to your door. Duh.
I know I've managed to put a lot of my frustrations to bed by banging it out on the keyboard. Sometimes even when I'm not writing a murder scene, just the act of writing keeps me from going postal*.
So, like I said, I figure crime writers - and writers in general - are probably the safest people to be around. Unless you somehow happen to get in between us and our coffee. Then all bets are off. ;o)
*Obviously, it's not the only thing that keeps me from going postal. There's this thing called knowing right from wrong. And personality responsibility. And believing in the sanctity of life. You know, simple stuff murderers forget or ignore.
December 9, 2015
Goodreads Contest, Etc.
For those of you who don't follow me elsewhere, I had a Goodreads contest start this morning for a paperback copy of BloodFlow. It's so pretty in paperback form. All shiny and new. Well, not shiny, since it has a matte cover. But it's definitely pet-able.
452 pages of thrillery goodness. Signed by me. Natch. And although the contest doesn't say so, it'll have a postcard and a bookmark along with it. (Not mentioned because I didn't have those in hand when I set up the contest. But I have them now. Yay.)
The postcards are basically the cover on one side with the blurb on the other and plenty of space if you want to send it to someone. The bookmarks highlight all four of my books this time. Basically, the image is the same as my FB Page header:
With contact info on the back.
Anyway, that's about it today. Oh, wait, I did get In Deep Wish to the Awesome Wonderful Editor last night. So, I've got that going for me.
Thanks for stopping by. If you're interested in receiving a postcard or a bookmark, say so in the comments and I'll do some kind of drawing. I'll send out five. If I get less than five comments, everyone wins. More than five, I'll draw names out of a hat or something.
Have a great day! Me, I'm going to take the day off. Read something, maybe. Veg in front of the TV. I'll still be around the computer, but no workie for me. (Okay, probably some marketing because I can't help it.)
452 pages of thrillery goodness. Signed by me. Natch. And although the contest doesn't say so, it'll have a postcard and a bookmark along with it. (Not mentioned because I didn't have those in hand when I set up the contest. But I have them now. Yay.)
The postcards are basically the cover on one side with the blurb on the other and plenty of space if you want to send it to someone. The bookmarks highlight all four of my books this time. Basically, the image is the same as my FB Page header:
With contact info on the back. Anyway, that's about it today. Oh, wait, I did get In Deep Wish to the Awesome Wonderful Editor last night. So, I've got that going for me.
Thanks for stopping by. If you're interested in receiving a postcard or a bookmark, say so in the comments and I'll do some kind of drawing. I'll send out five. If I get less than five comments, everyone wins. More than five, I'll draw names out of a hat or something.
Have a great day! Me, I'm going to take the day off. Read something, maybe. Veg in front of the TV. I'll still be around the computer, but no workie for me. (Okay, probably some marketing because I can't help it.)
December 6, 2015
Inexpensive Marketing Venues
Hey all. I just wanted to leave what I hope is a helpful post for writers looking for inexpensive ways to advertise. And for readers, who might be looking for new places to locate reading material. These, of course, are my opinions and experiences, and your mileage may vary.
And, of course, verify all this with their sites. I may have gotten stuff screwed up in my head, so any mistakes in this are entirely mine.
Authors' Billboard - $5 - they accept only .99, free, or new release titles. You fill out the form and pay before Tuesday and the ad will go in the newsletter for Friday of the following week. (I assume. I misread it last week and thought my ad would be in the newsletter following that Tuesday. Since it wasn't in Friday's newsletter, I'm guessing this coming Friday. If it's not there, I'll contact the newsletter owner.) You can submit an ad every thirty days per book. No data on this one yet. Seems legit. Newsletter looks good.
ReadCheaply - Free (for now) - they accept only .99 or free titles. Fill out the form and they'll let you know which date you'll be on. (Usually, I get first available within my chosen timeframe.) You get one ad every thirty days - regardless of titles. With this one, though, they only take blurbs of less than 300 characters (with spaces), so you might have to tighten that up a bit. I did this one back in October for Dying Embers' .99 countdown and saw no measurable jump in sales. I did this again last week for Wish in One Hand and saw a nice little jump. Newsletter looks good.
eBook Deals Daily - $5 for each target (i.e. $5 for Kindle, $5 for Nook, $5 for UK) - only accepts .99 or Free titles. I haven't tried this one yet, but I've got it on my to-do list. The newsletter, etc. looks fair. A lot of links, but not many covers.
Omnimystery News - pricing depends on what you want to do (a month long ad is $49, but there are free options, too) - not really caring what price your book is, but it needs to have a suspense, thriller, or mystery element. I've done cover reveals and book excerpts here (free) and those seem to do okay. I've also done the $49 thing and haven't seen much uptick. Newsletter is link heavy, but informative.
Goodkindles - $19.95 or less - doesn't really care about pricing, but obviously needs to be available for Kindle. For the $19.95 option, I got my book on their site permanently, a listing in their newsletter, and the option to bump my ad to the top after 30 days. Everything looks good. Not sure of the sales gain here.
Indie Author News - a lot of options so contact them for their rate sheet. I did this once, but I can't remember which option I chose. I think I ended up with a sidebar ad and didn't see any sales from it.
Every Writer's Resource - $10. Permanent. They say their ads are free, but then you have to wait for a spot and there's no guarantee. You pay them $10 and they pay attention. Professional looking full page for your book. Not sure what sales this has brought me, but the listing is there forever, so who knows.
Kboards - different options for different things (the link goes to their 'bargain book' promo page - $20) I did the 'book discovery' promotion ($15) twice. Once for Dying Embers back in February. Crickets. And again for Wish in One Hand. Again with the crickets. But I have heard Kboards can be an amazing place to advertise. Not sure why my experiences haven't been amazing. Maybe you need to be active on the Kboards forum. Maybe it's not the target market for my books. :shrug:
Ereader News Today - check out their rate sheet. It's dependent on your genre and the cost of your book. The books have to be discounted in some way, and they're more favorable to free or .99 books. I did a Suspense ad for Dying Embers and a Mystery ad for Accidental Death. Both gained me upwards of 100 sales each, so it was worth the cost. However, ENT is extremely picky about who gets to advertise with them, and it's not always clear exactly what they want. Dying Embers had more reviews when they accepted the ad than Accidental Death, but AD only had 3 reviews when they accepted it. However, I can't beg an ad for Wish in One Hand, which has 5 Amazon reviews. Even after I changed the cover. So who knows?
There are, of course, way more places to advertise and their pricing varies widely. If you know of any inexpensive advertising venues, help a fellow indie out and leave a link. And if I discover any others or find more information about any of the above, I'll let you know.
Good luck.
And, of course, verify all this with their sites. I may have gotten stuff screwed up in my head, so any mistakes in this are entirely mine.
Authors' Billboard - $5 - they accept only .99, free, or new release titles. You fill out the form and pay before Tuesday and the ad will go in the newsletter for Friday of the following week. (I assume. I misread it last week and thought my ad would be in the newsletter following that Tuesday. Since it wasn't in Friday's newsletter, I'm guessing this coming Friday. If it's not there, I'll contact the newsletter owner.) You can submit an ad every thirty days per book. No data on this one yet. Seems legit. Newsletter looks good.
ReadCheaply - Free (for now) - they accept only .99 or free titles. Fill out the form and they'll let you know which date you'll be on. (Usually, I get first available within my chosen timeframe.) You get one ad every thirty days - regardless of titles. With this one, though, they only take blurbs of less than 300 characters (with spaces), so you might have to tighten that up a bit. I did this one back in October for Dying Embers' .99 countdown and saw no measurable jump in sales. I did this again last week for Wish in One Hand and saw a nice little jump. Newsletter looks good.
eBook Deals Daily - $5 for each target (i.e. $5 for Kindle, $5 for Nook, $5 for UK) - only accepts .99 or Free titles. I haven't tried this one yet, but I've got it on my to-do list. The newsletter, etc. looks fair. A lot of links, but not many covers.
Omnimystery News - pricing depends on what you want to do (a month long ad is $49, but there are free options, too) - not really caring what price your book is, but it needs to have a suspense, thriller, or mystery element. I've done cover reveals and book excerpts here (free) and those seem to do okay. I've also done the $49 thing and haven't seen much uptick. Newsletter is link heavy, but informative.
Goodkindles - $19.95 or less - doesn't really care about pricing, but obviously needs to be available for Kindle. For the $19.95 option, I got my book on their site permanently, a listing in their newsletter, and the option to bump my ad to the top after 30 days. Everything looks good. Not sure of the sales gain here.
Indie Author News - a lot of options so contact them for their rate sheet. I did this once, but I can't remember which option I chose. I think I ended up with a sidebar ad and didn't see any sales from it.
Every Writer's Resource - $10. Permanent. They say their ads are free, but then you have to wait for a spot and there's no guarantee. You pay them $10 and they pay attention. Professional looking full page for your book. Not sure what sales this has brought me, but the listing is there forever, so who knows.
Kboards - different options for different things (the link goes to their 'bargain book' promo page - $20) I did the 'book discovery' promotion ($15) twice. Once for Dying Embers back in February. Crickets. And again for Wish in One Hand. Again with the crickets. But I have heard Kboards can be an amazing place to advertise. Not sure why my experiences haven't been amazing. Maybe you need to be active on the Kboards forum. Maybe it's not the target market for my books. :shrug:
Ereader News Today - check out their rate sheet. It's dependent on your genre and the cost of your book. The books have to be discounted in some way, and they're more favorable to free or .99 books. I did a Suspense ad for Dying Embers and a Mystery ad for Accidental Death. Both gained me upwards of 100 sales each, so it was worth the cost. However, ENT is extremely picky about who gets to advertise with them, and it's not always clear exactly what they want. Dying Embers had more reviews when they accepted the ad than Accidental Death, but AD only had 3 reviews when they accepted it. However, I can't beg an ad for Wish in One Hand, which has 5 Amazon reviews. Even after I changed the cover. So who knows?
There are, of course, way more places to advertise and their pricing varies widely. If you know of any inexpensive advertising venues, help a fellow indie out and leave a link. And if I discover any others or find more information about any of the above, I'll let you know.
Good luck.
December 1, 2015
Wicked Wednesday!
No matter what other things get in the way, the wicked continues. Today, we have the story of Carl "Charlie" Brandt.
In 1971, a 13-yr old Charlie took a gun, shot his father in the back, and slaughtered his mother. He beat his sister severely, but she escaped. He spent a year in a psych hospital and for some reason, was released into the custody of his father who promptly moved the kids to Florida. They were never to speak of it again.
Flash forward to 2004. Charlie and his wife, Teri, lived in the FL keys, but a hurricane was approaching, so Teri's Niece, Michelle, invited them to hunker down at her home in Orlando. They were only supposed to stay a couple days. When no one could reach the couple or the niece, a friend was sent over to check on them. The front door was locked, so she went around to the side. And through the garage door windows, she saw good ol' Charlie hanging from the rafters with a bed sheet around his neck.
She called police. Thank goodness for her, she did not go inside.
The police found Teri first. She'd been stabbed multiple times in the chest. Further inside the house, they found Michelle. She'd been stabbed, decapitated and her heart had been cut out.
Every considered Charlie a quiet but quirky man. They never envisioned the kinds of horrible things he was capable of. But once they knew what he could do, the authorities looked for other things he might've done. And they found similar crimes elsewhere. Apparently, the head cutting off and heart removal thing was his MO. Twenty-six unsolved murders have been attributed to this one man.
And it all could've been halted with the death of his mother in 1971. If only someone had been paying attention. If only someone had realized that a psychotic teen is not going to grow up to be a well-adjusted member of society.
Indications are Teri, at the very least, knew what her husband had done all those years ago. Whether she thought she could change him or he convinced her he was 'cured', no one will ever know. Perhaps the night he came home covered in blood - he claimed to have been 'fishing' - if she had reported him to the police, more women wouldn't have died at his hands.
There's a registry for sex offenders in the United States. Why isn't there one for murderers?
Just wondering.
In 1971, a 13-yr old Charlie took a gun, shot his father in the back, and slaughtered his mother. He beat his sister severely, but she escaped. He spent a year in a psych hospital and for some reason, was released into the custody of his father who promptly moved the kids to Florida. They were never to speak of it again.
Flash forward to 2004. Charlie and his wife, Teri, lived in the FL keys, but a hurricane was approaching, so Teri's Niece, Michelle, invited them to hunker down at her home in Orlando. They were only supposed to stay a couple days. When no one could reach the couple or the niece, a friend was sent over to check on them. The front door was locked, so she went around to the side. And through the garage door windows, she saw good ol' Charlie hanging from the rafters with a bed sheet around his neck.
She called police. Thank goodness for her, she did not go inside.
The police found Teri first. She'd been stabbed multiple times in the chest. Further inside the house, they found Michelle. She'd been stabbed, decapitated and her heart had been cut out.
Every considered Charlie a quiet but quirky man. They never envisioned the kinds of horrible things he was capable of. But once they knew what he could do, the authorities looked for other things he might've done. And they found similar crimes elsewhere. Apparently, the head cutting off and heart removal thing was his MO. Twenty-six unsolved murders have been attributed to this one man.
And it all could've been halted with the death of his mother in 1971. If only someone had been paying attention. If only someone had realized that a psychotic teen is not going to grow up to be a well-adjusted member of society.
Indications are Teri, at the very least, knew what her husband had done all those years ago. Whether she thought she could change him or he convinced her he was 'cured', no one will ever know. Perhaps the night he came home covered in blood - he claimed to have been 'fishing' - if she had reported him to the police, more women wouldn't have died at his hands.
There's a registry for sex offenders in the United States. Why isn't there one for murderers?
Just wondering.
November 29, 2015
Rambling About Marketing, Paying Back, and Meeting Expectations
I read a couple really interesting posts over at Mad Genius Club over the weekend - Bestsellers, and writing to market and Writer, Market, Reader. They both go back to the marketing things I've been talking about off and on. (Seriously, if you're not subscribed to this blog, you're missing stuff.)
Most of the people who stop here are writers. (:waves at the readers: Hope I'm not boring you, dears. I'll try to have something more reader-focused on Wednesday.) And it's hard being a writer - especially an independent one - and I'm trying to help out my fellow inmates as much as I can.
Pay it forward, so to speak. (Except I hate that movie so much, just using the phrase makes my skin crawl.)
Over the past 9 years, so many other authors have helped me in so many ways, I kinda want to give back and encourage others to do the same.
Anyway, sales have been slow from what I've heard and seen. Everyone hates marketing. And I'm wondering who I have to kill to get an ad for Wish in One Hand at ENT. (4 requests, 4 rejections - ugh) It really got me down over the weekend. Down to the point of being unable to work on In Deep Wish because all I could think of is 'why am I busting my ass when the first book in the series is tanking?'
Eh, I got over it. I think. I have to do this because I have promised people it would be coming out in March. Local people who could hunt me down and snip off things of tertiary importance to writing until I produced the book they want. And out there in the world people who could merely be disappointed and then not care when the book finally does come out.
I'd rather not disappoint any of them.
So, I'll be editing like a madwoman. And marketing - because as much as I'd like to follow through with my oft-uttered 'screw this shit', I cannot, in fact, screw that shit.
First, though, errands! I need smokes. No smokey, no worky.
Most of the people who stop here are writers. (:waves at the readers: Hope I'm not boring you, dears. I'll try to have something more reader-focused on Wednesday.) And it's hard being a writer - especially an independent one - and I'm trying to help out my fellow inmates as much as I can.
Pay it forward, so to speak. (Except I hate that movie so much, just using the phrase makes my skin crawl.)
Over the past 9 years, so many other authors have helped me in so many ways, I kinda want to give back and encourage others to do the same.
Anyway, sales have been slow from what I've heard and seen. Everyone hates marketing. And I'm wondering who I have to kill to get an ad for Wish in One Hand at ENT. (4 requests, 4 rejections - ugh) It really got me down over the weekend. Down to the point of being unable to work on In Deep Wish because all I could think of is 'why am I busting my ass when the first book in the series is tanking?'
Eh, I got over it. I think. I have to do this because I have promised people it would be coming out in March. Local people who could hunt me down and snip off things of tertiary importance to writing until I produced the book they want. And out there in the world people who could merely be disappointed and then not care when the book finally does come out.
I'd rather not disappoint any of them.
So, I'll be editing like a madwoman. And marketing - because as much as I'd like to follow through with my oft-uttered 'screw this shit', I cannot, in fact, screw that shit.
First, though, errands! I need smokes. No smokey, no worky.
November 24, 2015
Release Day!
Well, it finally happened. BloodFlow is out in the world now. And you can get a copy of your very own. My copy hit my Kindle this morning. (Yes, I buy a copy of my own books.) So pretty.
If you've been following along all these years, you may remember this one as Nanotechnology. I started it in 2007. Spent the next two years off and on writing a first draft. Spent the next few years shoving it into a corner because I was afraid to edit it. It was such a behemoth with so many plot twists and turns and I wanted it to be perfect but I wasn't sure how to make it so.
I finally knuckled down, deleted a bunch of stuff, made it tighter - better, stronger, faster - and sent it through the editing process. My editor calls it a political thriller. She's probably right. After all, she knows it as well as I do, but from the outside, so she's more objective. I like to think of it as Vince Flynn meets Michael Crichton meets Tess Gerritsen inside my head and we all have a party. Woohoo.
So, without further ado, I give you BloodFlow:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Createspace
If you're elsewhere in the world, it's available through whichever Amazon site you use. Check there for price and availability. If I read/wrote other languages, I'd be able to help you, but I'm English-only - as are my books.
Oh, and it's available for the Kindle Unlimited program. If you're a subscriber, you get to read it without any additional cost to you. Yay.
If you've been following along all these years, you may remember this one as Nanotechnology. I started it in 2007. Spent the next two years off and on writing a first draft. Spent the next few years shoving it into a corner because I was afraid to edit it. It was such a behemoth with so many plot twists and turns and I wanted it to be perfect but I wasn't sure how to make it so.
I finally knuckled down, deleted a bunch of stuff, made it tighter - better, stronger, faster - and sent it through the editing process. My editor calls it a political thriller. She's probably right. After all, she knows it as well as I do, but from the outside, so she's more objective. I like to think of it as Vince Flynn meets Michael Crichton meets Tess Gerritsen inside my head and we all have a party. Woohoo.
So, without further ado, I give you BloodFlow:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Createspace
If you're elsewhere in the world, it's available through whichever Amazon site you use. Check there for price and availability. If I read/wrote other languages, I'd be able to help you, but I'm English-only - as are my books.
Oh, and it's available for the Kindle Unlimited program. If you're a subscriber, you get to read it without any additional cost to you. Yay.
November 23, 2015
The Balance Between Intriguing and Annoying
I have a book release tomorrow. I want to shout it from the rooftops, tweet about it every ten seconds, leave comments on other people's blogs with buy links, tell everyone I pass on the street...
Umm, yah.
So, I'm sitting here this morning wondering where the fine line is between intriguing someone enough to get them to buy your book and annoying them so much they wouldn't read your book if it was free.
If I send a tweet out first thing in the morning, am I missing the opportunity to market to people who are only on Twitter at night or in the afternoon? If I tweet all three of those times, am I annoying the person who saw it the first time?
If I post about it on Facebook once a day, is that too much? Too little?
If I mention it on my own blog every time I post, am I driving people away? If I don't, do you forget? Or does it seem like I don't care enough about my own book to pimp it?
If I mention it in the comments of someone else's blog, am I breaking some rule of internet etiquette? Or is that just smart marketing? (Without the buy link. I would never be so forward.)
I know the regular people who stop here don't seem to mind, but you're my supporters. (And supportive you are. :hugs:) Let's say it's not me. Let's say it's someone you've never heard of. When does marketing cross the fine line between intriguing you and annoying you?
*Yeah, I worry too much. What else am I supposed to do after I get into bed at night? Sleep??
Umm, yah.
So, I'm sitting here this morning wondering where the fine line is between intriguing someone enough to get them to buy your book and annoying them so much they wouldn't read your book if it was free.
If I send a tweet out first thing in the morning, am I missing the opportunity to market to people who are only on Twitter at night or in the afternoon? If I tweet all three of those times, am I annoying the person who saw it the first time?
If I post about it on Facebook once a day, is that too much? Too little?
If I mention it on my own blog every time I post, am I driving people away? If I don't, do you forget? Or does it seem like I don't care enough about my own book to pimp it?
If I mention it in the comments of someone else's blog, am I breaking some rule of internet etiquette? Or is that just smart marketing? (Without the buy link. I would never be so forward.)
I know the regular people who stop here don't seem to mind, but you're my supporters. (And supportive you are. :hugs:) Let's say it's not me. Let's say it's someone you've never heard of. When does marketing cross the fine line between intriguing you and annoying you?
*Yeah, I worry too much. What else am I supposed to do after I get into bed at night? Sleep??
November 20, 2015
News
Hey All! Sorry the newsletter still hasn't gone out. I'm working on it, but I'm up to my underoos in alligators and pretty much everything else is taking precedence. I had been wondering when I would officially get too busy. The answer is now. And here's why...
BloodFlow releases on Tuesday for all intents and purposes. I did go ahead and approve the paperback, so it's already available from Createspace. If you pre-ordered on Amazon, the ebook will hit your Kindle on the 24th. If not, you can order a copy on that day and it'll be there lickety-split.
The new cover for both the ebook and the print copy of Wish in One Hand are here and ready for purchase. And I dropped the price of Wish in One Hand to 99 cents for the remainder of 2015. And through the power of Draft2Digital, I made Wish in One Hand available to Kobo, Apple, and B&N. So, if you were hesitating because you don't do Kindle, you can now get a copy - and for just 99c. Sometimes it pays to wait.
So, I've been trying to do marketing for both of those books. Contacting various advertising venues, setting stuff up, etc. Twitter tweets. Facebook posts.
AND updating the blogs to reflect the changes.
Plus, I'm finally getting back to work on editing/rewriting In Deep Wish. Which means typing and changing what needs to be changed. This is due to the editor by the first week of December. And I'm beginning to work with my cover artist to make that happen, too.
Dump in regularly scheduled work stuff. Add in life stuff. Mix thoroughly.
Poof!
(that was the sound of my head imploding)
The newsletter will go out by Monday. Promise.
BloodFlow releases on Tuesday for all intents and purposes. I did go ahead and approve the paperback, so it's already available from Createspace. If you pre-ordered on Amazon, the ebook will hit your Kindle on the 24th. If not, you can order a copy on that day and it'll be there lickety-split.
The new cover for both the ebook and the print copy of Wish in One Hand are here and ready for purchase. And I dropped the price of Wish in One Hand to 99 cents for the remainder of 2015. And through the power of Draft2Digital, I made Wish in One Hand available to Kobo, Apple, and B&N. So, if you were hesitating because you don't do Kindle, you can now get a copy - and for just 99c. Sometimes it pays to wait.
So, I've been trying to do marketing for both of those books. Contacting various advertising venues, setting stuff up, etc. Twitter tweets. Facebook posts.
AND updating the blogs to reflect the changes.
Plus, I'm finally getting back to work on editing/rewriting In Deep Wish. Which means typing and changing what needs to be changed. This is due to the editor by the first week of December. And I'm beginning to work with my cover artist to make that happen, too.
Dump in regularly scheduled work stuff. Add in life stuff. Mix thoroughly.
Poof!
(that was the sound of my head imploding)
The newsletter will go out by Monday. Promise.
