Erica R. Stinson's Blog, page 3
September 28, 2021
It's Almost Time...
Just a few more days until Dissemble releases!
The early reviews are in and it seems to be a hit! Check it out...
#preorder Dissemble today! Amazon (or other retailers) #murder #mystery #crime #thriller #book #ebook #bookstagram #suspense
The early reviews are in and it seems to be a hit! Check it out...
A Master Storyteller!
Detective Millicent Harvey is back and finds herself involved with the apparent suicide of a young teen, possibly for online bullying. But the evidence doesn’t sit well with Millie and when she finds a police officer doing everything to stop her involvement, it only spurs her on. With a multitude of suspects, no one is safe until the last few pages as one twist after another has the reader doubting themselves who the real villain truly is.
An exciting mystery that has the pages tumbling to the tragic end.
#preorder Dissemble today! Amazon (or other retailers) #murder #mystery #crime #thriller #book #ebook #bookstagram #suspense
June 14, 2021
Contest Announcement!
Win an Advance Reader Copy of Millicent Harvey's next case file, #Dissemble. The contest ends June 30th! Visit my website for book info and link to #contest . Good Luck! #detectiveseries #crime #thrillerbooks #mysterybooks #detectivebooks #detectivemillicentharvey #whokilledelsa
May 27, 2021
Review of "Never Tell Them" by Norma L. Hinkens
Hi guys!
This is a book by one of my new favorite authors in the suspense and thriller genre. I could not put it down!
Check it out
Never Tell Them by N.L. HinkensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them, so this was no exception. I found that the story was fast-paced, suspenseful and it caught my attention quickly as I got pulled into the story. I have to admit, Norma threw me off guard once the real story came out and I began to see what was really going on. Well done! I am a suspense and thriller author myself so when I read other authors I am always thinking outside the box when I read a good thriller, trying to see if I can figure out what the surprise element of the story is. Did not see that ending coming! I am eagerly awaiting the next book by Norma Hinkens in November!
View all my reviews
April 9, 2021
New Landing Page Is Up!
Hi guys!
Check out my new landing page here!
I have had a few setbacks over the past few months, what withCovid and all. Thankfully, we didn't get sick but many of our friends and family were not so lucky. Hope that you all are well and that you have not suffered through unforeseen loss as a result of Covid-19.
but I am now getting back on track. I had to delay my upcoming book release, Dissemble: A Detective Millicent Harvey Case File , due to some familial obligations that including me moving from my lifelong home to an apartment. (More on that later)
But keeping it short and sweet, just wanted to let you know that I have revamped my website and all, so head on over there.
But be sure to sign up first because I have a contest or two coming up soon.
You won't be sorry!
For your trouble, you will get a sample prologue and chapter of one of my favorite books to date, "The Doctor: An Oliver Perritt Thriller" , which is soon to be part of a series. Oliver was so popular, I decided to let readers hear more about him.
Stay tuned for that...
Take care!
Erica :-)
October 14, 2020
Episode 6 - Many Hands Make Write Work - Book Launch!
Hi guys!
So here we are, at the finish line for the creation of a novel. Again, I want to thank you for following me through this writing project.
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
Once we have a word document(or whatever program is used to write out the story)now comes every author's nightmare: formatting(ugh) But it doesn't have to be hard at all.
Formatting is how you put the word document together in which it can be formed into an eBook, PDF or mobi (a type of file used for the kindle reader) file. It's also important that the word document transfers over to ePub(or whichever)with things in the right place, hence the term formatting. Sometimes formatting will change how your file is laid out and the document won't look 'right'. To solve this issue, many authors use an automated style of formatting through various software programs and apps designed just for formatting.
Since I want to reach as many readers as possible, I use a specific(and free :-)) software called "Calibre" which will allow me to format my word document in as many ways as possible since different readers access books in different ways.
Here's some of the skinny on Calibre:Save time on managing your e-book collectionUse it everywhere and with anythingComprehensive e-book viewerDownload news/magazines from the webShare and backup your library easilyEdit the books in your collectionSatisfy every e-book need and get support
By using this nifty software, it allows me to successfully make my word document into pretty much any format I need.
After the formatting is done, then we can now focus on setting up pre-order marketing. The easiest one to do and get some attention on an upcoming book is Goodreads .
Some of you may know about Goodreads as readers, but there is also an author dashboard feature(once you sign up to become a Goodreads Author)that will allow you to add all of your books. (also free!)
I generally start the marketing on my books at around three months before the release, which is about now for Dissemble since it's due to release December 8th. This includes pre-scheduling posts on social media. I am currently on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Blogger. For ease in promoting all of my books at once, I also have an Amazon page on Author Central, as well as an account for Books2Read(an all-in-one weblink in which a reader can buy a book from whatever retailer they choose.)
What I use to do that, is a little gem web site/app called "Buffer", which allows me to schedule posts for multiple social media outlets all at once. So basically I set up promotional graphics for the book, different types to get better engagement, waaaay ahead of time to release when I want them to all social media I chose.
For instance, some of the graphic banners have a countdown type of wording to gently remind potential readers about the book and when it will be available. Other promos have a link to download a free preview(usually in exchange for their email address - in which I will be able to target subscribers on my mailing list as I release new books, have contests, beta-reader opportunities, etc. all for the sake of increasing overall engagement) or to an eBook giveaway to promote reviews before the release. Another little (free)gem I use to get early reviews in Booksprout, in which readers can request ARC(advance reader copy)of my book in exchange for leaving an honest review. In the free account, I can allow up to 20 copies. Paid accounts allow for more copies, which equals more reviews(potentially). I am looking into upgrading because an author can NEVER have too many reviews!
Word of mouth is also very good, in casual conversation when you run into people on the street and is one that I try to use(without sounding too "sales-y, mind you)when I am about to start promoting. I also try to promote my backlist or catalog of books that I already have out. For instance, recently(and in an effort to make them all sell better) I took all of my standalone books and paired them up to create different series:
Code Pink is Millicent Harvey's first appearance and I published it back in 2015. Dissemble will feature her prominently and I am hoping to do more with Millie down the line. Fun fact, Millicent Harvey was my paternal great-grandmother's name :-)
The Doctor , which I released in January of this year, introduced people to Doctor Oliver Perritt. Another book of mine published in 2017, Mirror Mirror , is currently being altered to include that main character's interaction with Oliver to form another series. I had two romantic suspense(mostly suspense) books that I published in 2015( Broken Pieces was my first, the novella Swept Away came afterward) that was already a series. Shelter is my only standalone book now(one of my favorite stories)and has also been made into an audiobook. The Doctor is currently being produced as I write this.
So, as you can see, I have been busy, busy, busy. And I'm not done yet so stick around and I will have more books coming out(faster)over the next year or two.
And remember, be sure to sign up for my emails to know when the pre-order link will be ready for Dissemble.
I will also be posting an extended epilogue to "The Doctor" and "Mirror, Mirror" to the backs of both books as well as on my website for free download (if you've already read them).
And that's about it, everyone! I want to thank you again for following along my writing journey and I do hope that I have provided some valuable tips if you are thinking of becoming a book author. If you do, then one last goodie is to be sure that you join really good writing groups, such as Indie Author Support or 20 Books to 50K(both of Facebook), and tell them I sent ya!
When NYPD Homicide Detective Millicent Harvey is assigned to assist local authorities with a case involving the sudden death of 14-year-old Elsa Butler, she learns that the victim was being bullied by a mean-girl clique.
As she examines evidence at the lake where Elsa's body was found, it becomes apparent that the authorities have missed a major clue and things may not be as they seem.
Probing deeper, Millie is met with open hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from everyone in the sleepy, upstate New York town as the case becomes a high-profile one involving some of the state's wealthiest families.
But amidst credible threats against her during the investigation, new information from an anonymous source makes Millie realize that there was more to Elsa than anyone ever could have imagined.
What really happened to Elsa on that fateful day and who wanted her dead?
More importantly....why?
This is a Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel.
For fans of Rachel Abbott, Danielle Girard, and Stuart James, Dissemble is a tense, suspenseful crime-fiction thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
Be sure to check out Detective Millicent Harvey's first case, Code: PINK, available now.
Pre-Order Dissemble
Erica :-)
^=taken from the calibre web site at https://calibre-ebook.com/
So here we are, at the finish line for the creation of a novel. Again, I want to thank you for following me through this writing project.
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
Once we have a word document(or whatever program is used to write out the story)now comes every author's nightmare: formatting(ugh) But it doesn't have to be hard at all.
Formatting is how you put the word document together in which it can be formed into an eBook, PDF or mobi (a type of file used for the kindle reader) file. It's also important that the word document transfers over to ePub(or whichever)with things in the right place, hence the term formatting. Sometimes formatting will change how your file is laid out and the document won't look 'right'. To solve this issue, many authors use an automated style of formatting through various software programs and apps designed just for formatting.
Since I want to reach as many readers as possible, I use a specific(and free :-)) software called "Calibre" which will allow me to format my word document in as many ways as possible since different readers access books in different ways.
Here's some of the skinny on Calibre:Save time on managing your e-book collectionUse it everywhere and with anythingComprehensive e-book viewerDownload news/magazines from the webShare and backup your library easilyEdit the books in your collectionSatisfy every e-book need and get support
By using this nifty software, it allows me to successfully make my word document into pretty much any format I need.
After the formatting is done, then we can now focus on setting up pre-order marketing. The easiest one to do and get some attention on an upcoming book is Goodreads .
Some of you may know about Goodreads as readers, but there is also an author dashboard feature(once you sign up to become a Goodreads Author)that will allow you to add all of your books. (also free!)
I generally start the marketing on my books at around three months before the release, which is about now for Dissemble since it's due to release December 8th. This includes pre-scheduling posts on social media. I am currently on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Blogger. For ease in promoting all of my books at once, I also have an Amazon page on Author Central, as well as an account for Books2Read(an all-in-one weblink in which a reader can buy a book from whatever retailer they choose.)
What I use to do that, is a little gem web site/app called "Buffer", which allows me to schedule posts for multiple social media outlets all at once. So basically I set up promotional graphics for the book, different types to get better engagement, waaaay ahead of time to release when I want them to all social media I chose.
For instance, some of the graphic banners have a countdown type of wording to gently remind potential readers about the book and when it will be available. Other promos have a link to download a free preview(usually in exchange for their email address - in which I will be able to target subscribers on my mailing list as I release new books, have contests, beta-reader opportunities, etc. all for the sake of increasing overall engagement) or to an eBook giveaway to promote reviews before the release. Another little (free)gem I use to get early reviews in Booksprout, in which readers can request ARC(advance reader copy)of my book in exchange for leaving an honest review. In the free account, I can allow up to 20 copies. Paid accounts allow for more copies, which equals more reviews(potentially). I am looking into upgrading because an author can NEVER have too many reviews!
Word of mouth is also very good, in casual conversation when you run into people on the street and is one that I try to use(without sounding too "sales-y, mind you)when I am about to start promoting. I also try to promote my backlist or catalog of books that I already have out. For instance, recently(and in an effort to make them all sell better) I took all of my standalone books and paired them up to create different series:
Code Pink is Millicent Harvey's first appearance and I published it back in 2015. Dissemble will feature her prominently and I am hoping to do more with Millie down the line. Fun fact, Millicent Harvey was my paternal great-grandmother's name :-)
The Doctor , which I released in January of this year, introduced people to Doctor Oliver Perritt. Another book of mine published in 2017, Mirror Mirror , is currently being altered to include that main character's interaction with Oliver to form another series. I had two romantic suspense(mostly suspense) books that I published in 2015( Broken Pieces was my first, the novella Swept Away came afterward) that was already a series. Shelter is my only standalone book now(one of my favorite stories)and has also been made into an audiobook. The Doctor is currently being produced as I write this.
So, as you can see, I have been busy, busy, busy. And I'm not done yet so stick around and I will have more books coming out(faster)over the next year or two.
And remember, be sure to sign up for my emails to know when the pre-order link will be ready for Dissemble.
I will also be posting an extended epilogue to "The Doctor" and "Mirror, Mirror" to the backs of both books as well as on my website for free download (if you've already read them).
And that's about it, everyone! I want to thank you again for following along my writing journey and I do hope that I have provided some valuable tips if you are thinking of becoming a book author. If you do, then one last goodie is to be sure that you join really good writing groups, such as Indie Author Support or 20 Books to 50K(both of Facebook), and tell them I sent ya!
When NYPD Homicide Detective Millicent Harvey is assigned to assist local authorities with a case involving the sudden death of 14-year-old Elsa Butler, she learns that the victim was being bullied by a mean-girl clique.
As she examines evidence at the lake where Elsa's body was found, it becomes apparent that the authorities have missed a major clue and things may not be as they seem.
Probing deeper, Millie is met with open hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from everyone in the sleepy, upstate New York town as the case becomes a high-profile one involving some of the state's wealthiest families.
But amidst credible threats against her during the investigation, new information from an anonymous source makes Millie realize that there was more to Elsa than anyone ever could have imagined.
What really happened to Elsa on that fateful day and who wanted her dead?
More importantly....why?
This is a Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel.
For fans of Rachel Abbott, Danielle Girard, and Stuart James, Dissemble is a tense, suspenseful crime-fiction thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
Be sure to check out Detective Millicent Harvey's first case, Code: PINK, available now.
Pre-Order Dissemble
Erica :-)
^=taken from the calibre web site at https://calibre-ebook.com/
September 8, 2020
Episode 5 - Many Hands Make Write Work - Book Marketing
Hi guys!
Are you starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in creating a novel? I am and it feels exciting because that means I am close to releasing another story to my readers. :-)
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
Let's talk about book marketing and promotion.
This is KEY in order for a book to do well. Can I write a story and just put it up on KDP(more about that in a moment)
Sure!
But if no one is seeing my story or knows who I am and where to find it this kind of makes my book pointless unless I do something about it.
So, here's what happens when the story creation, blurb, cover, and beta-readers/editors have torn through everything to give you a basically completed copy of a book:
You can go two ways.
Choice one, if you are publishing through amazon, is Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP for short.
Choice two, if you want to publish to other retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, etc., is Draft2Digital or D2D for short.
**What is Draft2Digital?
*=Information taken from Wikipedia**=Information taken from Reedsy
Are you starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in creating a novel? I am and it feels exciting because that means I am close to releasing another story to my readers. :-)
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
Let's talk about book marketing and promotion.
This is KEY in order for a book to do well. Can I write a story and just put it up on KDP(more about that in a moment)
Sure!
But if no one is seeing my story or knows who I am and where to find it this kind of makes my book pointless unless I do something about it.
So, here's what happens when the story creation, blurb, cover, and beta-readers/editors have torn through everything to give you a basically completed copy of a book:
You can go two ways.
Choice one, if you are publishing through amazon, is Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP for short.
*Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon.com's e-book publishing unit launched in November 2007, concurrently with the first Amazon Kindle device. Amazon launched Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), originally called Digital Text Platform, to be used by authors and publishers, to independently publish their books directly to the Kindle Store.
Authors can upload documents in several formats for delivery via Whispernet and charge between $0.99 and $200.00 for their works.[1] These documents may be written in 34 languages.[2]
In 2016, Amazon also added a paperback option, which uses print-on-demand technology with the goal of offering digital and print to self-publishers. Amazon has been promoting to its authors the capability of publishing both e-books and paperbacks through the same platform.
Choice two, if you want to publish to other retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, etc., is Draft2Digital or D2D for short.
**What is Draft2Digital?
While not the first e-publishing aggregator on the market, Draft2Digital (D2D) has become Indie Publishing’s preferred method for “wide” distribution since it launched in 2012.
How does Draft2Digital work?Draft2Digital’s service offers a simple way to directly sell ebooks with (almost) every major retailer. Instead of creating separate accounts with Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, etc., you can:
Set up a single Draft2Digital account; Upload your manuscript files; Let D2D publish your ebook to over a dozen of the biggest retailers; andManage your pricing and payments through your D2D dashboardThis approach to ‘wide’ distribution can save authors hours of work every week by taking the task of monitoring and managing multiple accounts off their hands. This leaves you more time to run ads, write your next book, or do your laundry (whichever’s more important on any given day).
Marketing a book is difficult if you lack funds, but not impossible. There are many ways to market your book(free)and still get a good result. Believe me, I am living proof of this. I am no-where a NYT(New York Times) bestselling author that has a specific or even a (ha-ha wishful thinking!)unlimited marketing budget
One way is to market towards your mailing list(don't forget to join mine here if you haven't already) Social media is definitely important and handy when it come to marketing the book. I am onFacebook, Instagram and Twitter. Goodreads too(as both an author and a reader, because I am an avid reader)Goodreads also shows me which authros in my genre are popular and I sometimes try to analyze their marketing methods.Refreshing an older book by updating a cover is a marketing method I've used. In fact, I've recently turned a standalone book(Code Pink)into a series based on the female detective. My upcoming book, Dissemble, is a story featuring the same detective.
I tend to do an eBook promotion at least once a month. This gets me new readers that are interetsing in reading my type of stories. Also great for expsore are newsletter swaps,. A swap is when I feature another author's book on my newsletter and that author does the same for me on their newsletter.
It's a win-win!
Be sure to check out the final episode where I will talk about launching the completed book!
*=Information taken from Wikipedia**=Information taken from Reedsy
August 11, 2020
Episode 4 of Many Hands Make Write Work - Book Cover
Hi guys!
Thank you for sticking with me through this project as I am hard at completing work on my upcoming novel, Dissemble.
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
The creation of the book cover is probably my favorite part of doing a writing project because it's where I am really comfortable, outside of the actual writing of course lol.
I actually have a graphic background and in the past, I have done web sites and other graphic projects.
So when I decide to start working on a cover, of course by now I know exactly how the story is going to go. This is very important because the cover should convey the overall feel/theme/tone of the entire story.
A bad cover can make or break a sale, meaning that I could potentially miss reaching the type of readers that may have enjoyed my book if they could have simply gotten past the cover.
Last time we spoke about the blurb(book description) and its importance but a great cover is what will ultimately get a reader to pick up a book in the first place to read the blurb.
I start by finding a few images from stock photo web sites, usually Shutterstock or some other website devoted to thousands of suitable graphics for whatever project you are working on. Some of the photos are very inexpensive to purchase, and often times I will need more than one depending on what I am going for.
The reason for this is because I will end up using four or five different photos, layering them, trimming around objects to overlay over others and things like that.
For instance, these were the photos I used to make my last book cover for "The Doctor."
Looking at the cover, it appears as if I managed to find a good cover but believe it or not it's all broken up!
Let me show you:
I knew I needed a woman trapped/locked up...
I knew I needed a strong-looking, metal door for her to be trapped behind...
I knew I needed an electronic keypad to keep her locked up, which I hand-made with simple squares and numbers and added a 'glow' effect around it...
And I wanted to put all of, or overlay, the graphics on top of an ominous-looking hallway as a sinister backdrop, which I altered the hue and saturation rate to achieve a very popular teal color that many suspense and thriller book covers are known for.
Hue will change the color of an object to just about any color in the rainbow you can imagine.
Saturation will make the strength of colors in the photo very, very vibrant to the point of being neon almost. Or taking away the strength of saturation can take all of the colors away so that it appears as black and white or grayscale.
Pretty cool, huh? :-)
While it does take some time to actually put the pictures together as I arrange the different overlays, titles, etc. the longest, most tedious part of doing a cover is finding just the right photos.
And the same thing goes for the font, which is a style of lettering, that makes up the book's title, author name and tagline if applicable.
You wouldn't use a flowery-looking font on a horror book or a bloodstained font on a science fiction novel.
Each book genre has certain fonts that are appropriate for proper use so I often try to find the best ones for thriller books. As for specific recommendations, the fonts which work great in this genre are Univers, Gotham, Helvetica, and Bebas Neue.
The best way that I learned to do this was to look at other books like mine and study their covers. What colors did they use, fonts? Did they use the right type of pictures based on their blurb and so on.
Most people use a variety of different graphic programs and I actually use a very simple (and old)one called Fireworks 8.
Fireworks was part of the Macromedia(now Adobe)company. I have just recently graduated to a more sophisticated program called Affinity Photo since I plan to help other authors with their book covers. Even though I've always been a writer at heart, my traditional job role was that of an executive administrative assistant and an office manager. I actually do virtual assistance work when I am not writing, which includes creating book covers for others - this is a new service I am offering and I am very excited to be doing so!
Next time, I will be talking about the ever-important marketing and promotion of the book while it's in pre-order status. Stay tuned for episode five and I'll see you then!
Erica ;-)
Thank you for sticking with me through this project as I am hard at completing work on my upcoming novel, Dissemble.
If you are just joining me and you want to read what I've talked about so far, by all means, click here so you can catch up. Also, you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming books, contests, events, and more.
The creation of the book cover is probably my favorite part of doing a writing project because it's where I am really comfortable, outside of the actual writing of course lol.
I actually have a graphic background and in the past, I have done web sites and other graphic projects.
So when I decide to start working on a cover, of course by now I know exactly how the story is going to go. This is very important because the cover should convey the overall feel/theme/tone of the entire story.
A bad cover can make or break a sale, meaning that I could potentially miss reaching the type of readers that may have enjoyed my book if they could have simply gotten past the cover.
Last time we spoke about the blurb(book description) and its importance but a great cover is what will ultimately get a reader to pick up a book in the first place to read the blurb.
I start by finding a few images from stock photo web sites, usually Shutterstock or some other website devoted to thousands of suitable graphics for whatever project you are working on. Some of the photos are very inexpensive to purchase, and often times I will need more than one depending on what I am going for.
The reason for this is because I will end up using four or five different photos, layering them, trimming around objects to overlay over others and things like that.
For instance, these were the photos I used to make my last book cover for "The Doctor."
Looking at the cover, it appears as if I managed to find a good cover but believe it or not it's all broken up!
Let me show you:
I knew I needed a woman trapped/locked up...
I knew I needed a strong-looking, metal door for her to be trapped behind...
I knew I needed an electronic keypad to keep her locked up, which I hand-made with simple squares and numbers and added a 'glow' effect around it...
And I wanted to put all of, or overlay, the graphics on top of an ominous-looking hallway as a sinister backdrop, which I altered the hue and saturation rate to achieve a very popular teal color that many suspense and thriller book covers are known for.
Hue will change the color of an object to just about any color in the rainbow you can imagine.
Saturation will make the strength of colors in the photo very, very vibrant to the point of being neon almost. Or taking away the strength of saturation can take all of the colors away so that it appears as black and white or grayscale.
Pretty cool, huh? :-)
While it does take some time to actually put the pictures together as I arrange the different overlays, titles, etc. the longest, most tedious part of doing a cover is finding just the right photos.
And the same thing goes for the font, which is a style of lettering, that makes up the book's title, author name and tagline if applicable.
You wouldn't use a flowery-looking font on a horror book or a bloodstained font on a science fiction novel.
Each book genre has certain fonts that are appropriate for proper use so I often try to find the best ones for thriller books. As for specific recommendations, the fonts which work great in this genre are Univers, Gotham, Helvetica, and Bebas Neue.
The best way that I learned to do this was to look at other books like mine and study their covers. What colors did they use, fonts? Did they use the right type of pictures based on their blurb and so on.
Most people use a variety of different graphic programs and I actually use a very simple (and old)one called Fireworks 8.
Fireworks was part of the Macromedia(now Adobe)company. I have just recently graduated to a more sophisticated program called Affinity Photo since I plan to help other authors with their book covers. Even though I've always been a writer at heart, my traditional job role was that of an executive administrative assistant and an office manager. I actually do virtual assistance work when I am not writing, which includes creating book covers for others - this is a new service I am offering and I am very excited to be doing so!
Next time, I will be talking about the ever-important marketing and promotion of the book while it's in pre-order status. Stay tuned for episode five and I'll see you then!
Erica ;-)
July 7, 2020
Episode 3 of Many Hands Make Write Work - First Draft and Book Description
Welcome back!
If you haven't had a chance to read the previous episodes, you can do so here and dive right in from the beginning.
We are just about halfway through working out the book and today I am going to talk about finalizing the first draft .
The first draft is a sloppy, marked-up-with-red-pen sheaf of papers at this point, but we are well on the way to cleaning it up and making it suitable for reading.
This is when I would reach out to a professional editor to have them go through my manuscript with a fine-tooth comb. In all honesty, I did not always use an editor when I first started out because I didn't know any better, but now I do and it DOES make a difference.
Authors are too close to their own work to view it objectively, so an editor is definitely necessary.
Anyway, once the editor looks it over, I get it back and make the necessary changes. Then they may or may not go over it once last time to be sure that it's perfect and then it's time to look at the blurb .
A book's blurb is basically a description of what a book is about. It is always on the back of every book in order to entice readers into, well, reading it.
But the blurb has to be very carefully written in a way that will capture a potential reader's attention(after the front cover makes them pick it up in the first place, of course - more on that later).
For instance, I am working on the blurb for my current WIP(work-in-progress) titled "Dissemble".
Here's what I originally 'mapped out' some time ago when I started thinking about a book description. Maybe this was two years ago before I even wrote The Doctor:
Detective Millicent Harvey receives a case about an unpopular high-school girl bullied into committing suicide, she jumps in with a blazing desire to solve it and bring closure to Elsa Butler's family.
Tormented that she didn't know how painful things were for her daughter, the victim's mother Caroline wants the students to be held accountable.
Hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from both the school administration and parents of the accused prompt Millie to dive deeper into the situation.
What really happened to Elsa Butler? Who wanted to kill her and more importantly, why?
This is A Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel.
But after looking at it recently, I decided I could make it sound a little more exciting, so I came up with this. I have a basic formula I use when I do a blurb:
(hook the reader with a strong opening line)
How far would you go to solve a murder and bring a killer to justice, even if it meant risking your career and your life?
(talk up your main character, the one whose point-of-view the story will be told from)
When NYPD Homicide Detective Millicent Harvey is assigned to assist local authorities with a case involving the sudden death of 14-year-old Elsa Butler, she learns that the victim was being bullied by a mean-girl clique who call themselves The Hive.
(set up the story, but don't give away too much or make the blurb too long)
As she begins to examine the evidence at the pond where Elsa's body was found, it becomes apparent to Millie that things have been staged to make the girl's death look like a suicide.
(now we build the tension....)
As she digs deeper into Elsa's background, Millie is met with open hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from everyone in the sleepy, upstate New York town as both the parents of the girls involved and the private school's administration do their best to shield them from accountability.
(and then raise the stakes by the introduction of a very important character)
Amidst credible threats against her during the investigation, new information from an anonymous source point the detective past The Hive to the last person who actually saw Elsa alive - another teen who has perfected the art of evasion as Millie struggles to hunt the student down.
(set the overall tone of the story)
What really happened to Elsa on that fateful day and who wanted her dead?
More importantly....why?
This is A Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel. (and then to add onto the blurb to seek out readers who like books like mine, I would add something like the below to further get them to pick my book)
For fans of Rachel Abbott, Danielle Girard, and Stuart James, Dissemble is a tense, suspenseful crime-fiction thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
(then I finish it off with a CTA - Call To Action - to be sure that they are going to purchase the book before it comes out. Pre-orders, sold at a lower price prior to the book launch, will help it rank high on Amazon and other retailers based on this number. The higher a book ranks, the more likely it will sell well so this is important!)
Get Dissemble today at an exclusive pre-order price of ($).
(pushing an earlier book in the series definitely does not hurt here!)
Be sure to check out Detective Millicent Harvey's first case, Code: PINK, available now.
So, what do you think? Would you be tempted to pick up this book? If no, then please feel free to share why not. I love hearing from readers.
Now that you have a better understanding about book blurbs I just know that you will enjoy episode 4 - book cover creation. I will too because this is my favorite part since I have a graphic background. :-)
See you then!
Erica
If you haven't had a chance to read the previous episodes, you can do so here and dive right in from the beginning.
We are just about halfway through working out the book and today I am going to talk about finalizing the first draft .
The first draft is a sloppy, marked-up-with-red-pen sheaf of papers at this point, but we are well on the way to cleaning it up and making it suitable for reading.
This is when I would reach out to a professional editor to have them go through my manuscript with a fine-tooth comb. In all honesty, I did not always use an editor when I first started out because I didn't know any better, but now I do and it DOES make a difference.
Authors are too close to their own work to view it objectively, so an editor is definitely necessary.
Anyway, once the editor looks it over, I get it back and make the necessary changes. Then they may or may not go over it once last time to be sure that it's perfect and then it's time to look at the blurb .
A book's blurb is basically a description of what a book is about. It is always on the back of every book in order to entice readers into, well, reading it.
But the blurb has to be very carefully written in a way that will capture a potential reader's attention(after the front cover makes them pick it up in the first place, of course - more on that later).
For instance, I am working on the blurb for my current WIP(work-in-progress) titled "Dissemble".
Here's what I originally 'mapped out' some time ago when I started thinking about a book description. Maybe this was two years ago before I even wrote The Doctor:
Detective Millicent Harvey receives a case about an unpopular high-school girl bullied into committing suicide, she jumps in with a blazing desire to solve it and bring closure to Elsa Butler's family.
Tormented that she didn't know how painful things were for her daughter, the victim's mother Caroline wants the students to be held accountable.
Hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from both the school administration and parents of the accused prompt Millie to dive deeper into the situation.
What really happened to Elsa Butler? Who wanted to kill her and more importantly, why?
This is A Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel.
But after looking at it recently, I decided I could make it sound a little more exciting, so I came up with this. I have a basic formula I use when I do a blurb:
(hook the reader with a strong opening line)
How far would you go to solve a murder and bring a killer to justice, even if it meant risking your career and your life?
(talk up your main character, the one whose point-of-view the story will be told from)
When NYPD Homicide Detective Millicent Harvey is assigned to assist local authorities with a case involving the sudden death of 14-year-old Elsa Butler, she learns that the victim was being bullied by a mean-girl clique who call themselves The Hive.
(set up the story, but don't give away too much or make the blurb too long)
As she begins to examine the evidence at the pond where Elsa's body was found, it becomes apparent to Millie that things have been staged to make the girl's death look like a suicide.
(now we build the tension....)
As she digs deeper into Elsa's background, Millie is met with open hostility and a blatant lack of cooperation from everyone in the sleepy, upstate New York town as both the parents of the girls involved and the private school's administration do their best to shield them from accountability.
(and then raise the stakes by the introduction of a very important character)
Amidst credible threats against her during the investigation, new information from an anonymous source point the detective past The Hive to the last person who actually saw Elsa alive - another teen who has perfected the art of evasion as Millie struggles to hunt the student down.
(set the overall tone of the story)
What really happened to Elsa on that fateful day and who wanted her dead?
More importantly....why?
This is A Detective Millicent Harvey Case File novel. (and then to add onto the blurb to seek out readers who like books like mine, I would add something like the below to further get them to pick my book)
For fans of Rachel Abbott, Danielle Girard, and Stuart James, Dissemble is a tense, suspenseful crime-fiction thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
(then I finish it off with a CTA - Call To Action - to be sure that they are going to purchase the book before it comes out. Pre-orders, sold at a lower price prior to the book launch, will help it rank high on Amazon and other retailers based on this number. The higher a book ranks, the more likely it will sell well so this is important!)
Get Dissemble today at an exclusive pre-order price of ($).
(pushing an earlier book in the series definitely does not hurt here!)
Be sure to check out Detective Millicent Harvey's first case, Code: PINK, available now.
So, what do you think? Would you be tempted to pick up this book? If no, then please feel free to share why not. I love hearing from readers.
Now that you have a better understanding about book blurbs I just know that you will enjoy episode 4 - book cover creation. I will too because this is my favorite part since I have a graphic background. :-)
See you then!
Erica
June 9, 2020
Episode 2 of Many Hands Make Write Work - Plotting and Outlining
Welcome back!
If you haven't read the intro from last month, you can check it out right here before you read any further.
So, does it all begin at Chapter One, Page One?
Hardly!
That's a part of it, but for me, that doesn't come until a bit down the line.
Where it actually starts is at 'inception'.
Inception is when I start getting weird and crazy thoughts in my head that swirl around in there, sometimes for months, as I try to think up the next big suspense or thriller plot that hasn't already been done or overdone. Sometimes I'll bat stories around for months before I even write a single word.
With my very first book, a romantic-suspense called "Broken Pieces", I had written on that story off and on for about ten years. The reason it took long for me to publish it was fear. Fear that it wasn't good enough or people would laugh or worse, they wouldn't want to read it at all.
I pride myself on being able to come up with these wild and nutty ideas to create an environment that will enthrall and sustain readers(I hope, which is why reviews are extremely important) so that they will want to read more and more of my stories. Writing a book often involves a fair amount of research.
For instance, when I decided to create Oliver Perritt and write his disability into the story, I actually went to a rehabilitation center out on Long Island to physically see and touch various hand prosthesis so I could understand how they work.
This, by far, was the coolest 'field trip' I have ever taken for the sake of a project and the technicians and CEO of the center couldn't have been more awesome. Because of them generously allowing me access to a behind-the-scenes look on how these 'robotic hands' are created, it gave me a much better understanding which allowed me to make Oliver as life-like as possible when I wrote him.
So, the first thing I usually do after getting a general idea for a story is to try and work out the beginning, middle, and end.
Sounds simple, right? Yeah, it's not....at least not always.
Let me explain.
Some authors write and make up the story as they go along while others are tackle this differently by 'mapping' things out to guide how they are going to actively write the entire thing.
This is supposed to make life easier, but what happens when you suddenly come up with a better idea for things to work out in a scene better than what you planned?
That happens to me sometimes, and if I can pull off a scene in this way to make it more effective (i.e. enjoyable to the reader), then I will go for it.
To keep things straight, I get out the old poster board and my trusty container of pushpins. I hang the posterboard up on my office wall and I take the next step.
Super simple - index cards!
I take a 3x5 index card, cut it down the middle and begin mapping out Chapter 1, scene 1. When I'm done "mapping" that first scene I tack it to the upper left-hand corner of my poster board and move on to the next scene/index card half.
After a time, which is was happened to me while I wrote "The Doctor" I had a poster board full of index card halves and even a post-it or two in there for good measure to remind me of a character trait, or a character's habit.
You'd be surprised how many times an author will actually forget a minor character's name, forget that they are red-headed and not blonde, and so on. This usually happens because I am already thinking about the next thing I plan to write and my head is just FULL. Sometimes I can't even sleep at night for seeing a story play out, beginning to end, inside my head. It won't leave me alone until I write it down.
My current project, Dissemble, was plotted out about a year or so before I even wrote The Doctor. The story just wouldn't leave me in peace until I wrote a rough plot outline.
So, back to our board!
There's so much information to remember, it just happens. So I learned after a while to write it down. In fact, I create a character sheet for each character. I'll even go as far as to look at stock photos of models that remind me of a character so I have a vivid image in mind, thus making the character much easier to write
After I have all of my cards in order, only then do I start to physically type out the story.
Raw.
It will not be perfect(yet)and situations may or may not change. For instance, the original ending to "The Doctor" was a happy one, until I had one shot of espresso too many and added on a nightmare ending instead that wasn't part of the original plan. In fact, that little maneuver caused readers to email me, begging to know if Oliver Perritt would return in another story!
I am actually working on an extended epilogue of "The Doctor", moved by what an impact Oliver had on readers. For those of you who have already read the book, you know by now that Oliver is quite a character ;-)
Who knows, maybe he will return.
Maybe not.
We'll see!
So that's about it for the planning stage of things. Be sure to check in next month when I reveal the fun part of creating a catchy description for my book!
See ya then!
Erica :-)
If you haven't read the intro from last month, you can check it out right here before you read any further.
So, does it all begin at Chapter One, Page One?
Hardly!
That's a part of it, but for me, that doesn't come until a bit down the line.
Where it actually starts is at 'inception'.
Inception is when I start getting weird and crazy thoughts in my head that swirl around in there, sometimes for months, as I try to think up the next big suspense or thriller plot that hasn't already been done or overdone. Sometimes I'll bat stories around for months before I even write a single word.
With my very first book, a romantic-suspense called "Broken Pieces", I had written on that story off and on for about ten years. The reason it took long for me to publish it was fear. Fear that it wasn't good enough or people would laugh or worse, they wouldn't want to read it at all.
I pride myself on being able to come up with these wild and nutty ideas to create an environment that will enthrall and sustain readers(I hope, which is why reviews are extremely important) so that they will want to read more and more of my stories. Writing a book often involves a fair amount of research.
For instance, when I decided to create Oliver Perritt and write his disability into the story, I actually went to a rehabilitation center out on Long Island to physically see and touch various hand prosthesis so I could understand how they work.
This, by far, was the coolest 'field trip' I have ever taken for the sake of a project and the technicians and CEO of the center couldn't have been more awesome. Because of them generously allowing me access to a behind-the-scenes look on how these 'robotic hands' are created, it gave me a much better understanding which allowed me to make Oliver as life-like as possible when I wrote him.
So, the first thing I usually do after getting a general idea for a story is to try and work out the beginning, middle, and end.
Sounds simple, right? Yeah, it's not....at least not always.
Let me explain.
Some authors write and make up the story as they go along while others are tackle this differently by 'mapping' things out to guide how they are going to actively write the entire thing.
This is supposed to make life easier, but what happens when you suddenly come up with a better idea for things to work out in a scene better than what you planned?
That happens to me sometimes, and if I can pull off a scene in this way to make it more effective (i.e. enjoyable to the reader), then I will go for it.
To keep things straight, I get out the old poster board and my trusty container of pushpins. I hang the posterboard up on my office wall and I take the next step.
Super simple - index cards!
I take a 3x5 index card, cut it down the middle and begin mapping out Chapter 1, scene 1. When I'm done "mapping" that first scene I tack it to the upper left-hand corner of my poster board and move on to the next scene/index card half.
After a time, which is was happened to me while I wrote "The Doctor" I had a poster board full of index card halves and even a post-it or two in there for good measure to remind me of a character trait, or a character's habit.
You'd be surprised how many times an author will actually forget a minor character's name, forget that they are red-headed and not blonde, and so on. This usually happens because I am already thinking about the next thing I plan to write and my head is just FULL. Sometimes I can't even sleep at night for seeing a story play out, beginning to end, inside my head. It won't leave me alone until I write it down.
My current project, Dissemble, was plotted out about a year or so before I even wrote The Doctor. The story just wouldn't leave me in peace until I wrote a rough plot outline.
So, back to our board!
There's so much information to remember, it just happens. So I learned after a while to write it down. In fact, I create a character sheet for each character. I'll even go as far as to look at stock photos of models that remind me of a character so I have a vivid image in mind, thus making the character much easier to write
After I have all of my cards in order, only then do I start to physically type out the story.
Raw.
It will not be perfect(yet)and situations may or may not change. For instance, the original ending to "The Doctor" was a happy one, until I had one shot of espresso too many and added on a nightmare ending instead that wasn't part of the original plan. In fact, that little maneuver caused readers to email me, begging to know if Oliver Perritt would return in another story!
I am actually working on an extended epilogue of "The Doctor", moved by what an impact Oliver had on readers. For those of you who have already read the book, you know by now that Oliver is quite a character ;-)
Who knows, maybe he will return.
Maybe not.
We'll see!
So that's about it for the planning stage of things. Be sure to check in next month when I reveal the fun part of creating a catchy description for my book!
See ya then!
Erica :-)
May 12, 2020
Introduction to my blog series "Many Hands Make Write Work"
Hi guys!
As promised, today is the day that I begin my new blog series, Many Hands Make Write Work .
You know, I have always loved writing and creating stories from a very young age. My mother Judy, who is a retired 3rd-grade school-teacher, had me reading by the time I was four.
Dick and Jane didn't do it for me, no but I began reading books from Stephen King and V.C. Andrews by the time I was eight or so. But I also read Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, and my beloved hardcover Nancy Drew Mysteries. I eventually evolved to high-fantasy novels such as Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series and David Eddings' series of books, The Elenium, The Belgariad and The Mallorean. I actually have a high-fantasy novel that I wrote back in the early '90s that I am planning to release under a pen-name someday. So, who knows? While reading on an adult-level, I would carry a pocket dictionary with me so I could look up any words I didn't understand. Yes, I was a book-NERD! lol
But I was also trapped in countless worlds where anything could happen, so I began to feed my need to read from then on. I'd even read encyclopedias just because they were there.(nerd!) I was so captivated by reading that from a young age I tried to emulate 'real' authors and write my own stories. And by the way, there is no such thing as a 'real' author. If you have written a story, poem, whatever you ARE an author. Maybe not a well-KNOWN one(working on that)but definitely an AUTHOR.
Fun fact: I actually wrote my first 'book' when I was only nine. Sure, it was some typewritten pages banged out on my Grandma's old Smith-Corona but I made my world come to life for others to get into by reading the words forged from my over-active imagination. I still remember how I would hunt and peck my way around that loud typeset keyboard and how much I loved the sounds of my story being made. I have since lost a lot of my hearing(partially deaf) but I do remember those clacking keys as if it were just yesterday.
My fourth-grade classmates at the private, Lutheran school I attended from grades 1-8 didn't know what hit them when I not only wrote a story about a deranged man stalking a young woman, but I had created the hand-drawn and colored book cover(with help from another student) and had a third student act as editor and proofread the 'book' before I distributed it.
To this day I can't for the life of me figure out what happened to it, but I am sure it's around somewhere. After 72 years of living in the same house and in the process of downsizing my elderly mother from it, I am sure that it will turn up. Or perhaps it was confiscated, which was normal for me since I always had notes sent home for bringing 'inappropriate reading material' to school.
So now that we've got the introduction out of the way, here's a little bit about what I am planning.
I want to bring you into my world so you can get an inside look at what it takes for me to create a book. From beginning to end. What goes into planning and outlining a story, character creation(you may even get an exclusive sneak peek at a few character bios),beta readers and how important they are, cover creation and execution and more! I will share some insider secrets with you and may even ask you for some advice throughout the process. It'll be fun, so stay with me!
Hope to see you next month for episode 2
Erica ;-)
As promised, today is the day that I begin my new blog series, Many Hands Make Write Work .
You know, I have always loved writing and creating stories from a very young age. My mother Judy, who is a retired 3rd-grade school-teacher, had me reading by the time I was four.
Dick and Jane didn't do it for me, no but I began reading books from Stephen King and V.C. Andrews by the time I was eight or so. But I also read Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, and my beloved hardcover Nancy Drew Mysteries. I eventually evolved to high-fantasy novels such as Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series and David Eddings' series of books, The Elenium, The Belgariad and The Mallorean. I actually have a high-fantasy novel that I wrote back in the early '90s that I am planning to release under a pen-name someday. So, who knows? While reading on an adult-level, I would carry a pocket dictionary with me so I could look up any words I didn't understand. Yes, I was a book-NERD! lol
But I was also trapped in countless worlds where anything could happen, so I began to feed my need to read from then on. I'd even read encyclopedias just because they were there.(nerd!) I was so captivated by reading that from a young age I tried to emulate 'real' authors and write my own stories. And by the way, there is no such thing as a 'real' author. If you have written a story, poem, whatever you ARE an author. Maybe not a well-KNOWN one(working on that)but definitely an AUTHOR.
Fun fact: I actually wrote my first 'book' when I was only nine. Sure, it was some typewritten pages banged out on my Grandma's old Smith-Corona but I made my world come to life for others to get into by reading the words forged from my over-active imagination. I still remember how I would hunt and peck my way around that loud typeset keyboard and how much I loved the sounds of my story being made. I have since lost a lot of my hearing(partially deaf) but I do remember those clacking keys as if it were just yesterday.
My fourth-grade classmates at the private, Lutheran school I attended from grades 1-8 didn't know what hit them when I not only wrote a story about a deranged man stalking a young woman, but I had created the hand-drawn and colored book cover(with help from another student) and had a third student act as editor and proofread the 'book' before I distributed it.
To this day I can't for the life of me figure out what happened to it, but I am sure it's around somewhere. After 72 years of living in the same house and in the process of downsizing my elderly mother from it, I am sure that it will turn up. Or perhaps it was confiscated, which was normal for me since I always had notes sent home for bringing 'inappropriate reading material' to school.
So now that we've got the introduction out of the way, here's a little bit about what I am planning.
I want to bring you into my world so you can get an inside look at what it takes for me to create a book. From beginning to end. What goes into planning and outlining a story, character creation(you may even get an exclusive sneak peek at a few character bios),beta readers and how important they are, cover creation and execution and more! I will share some insider secrets with you and may even ask you for some advice throughout the process. It'll be fun, so stay with me!
Hope to see you next month for episode 2
Erica ;-)
