Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 29
June 19, 2020
Wyoming Series is now complete!
Quick background for anyone who doesn’t know, this series was originally called the Wild Hearts Series, and I wrote Book 1 with Stephannie Beman. Book 1 was called The Stagecoach Bride. It was published in 2013 (I think). So much has happened in that time that it’s hard to remember exactly. Anyway, this was it:
[image error]The original cover and title
We did start Book 2 together, but about halfway into it, I realized that I just am not the kind of author who works well with others on collaborative projects. I want to note that Stephannie Beman is one of the nicest people anyone could work with. She’s flexible and willing to listen to other people. I, however, am not easy to work with. I’d like to sugar coat things and say I’m super sweet in all areas of life, but that would be a lie. When it comes to writing, I like things a certain way, and I don’t like sharing a story with other people. This is why I don’t do multi-author series or anymore co-written books.
I handed the rights to the books and characters to Stephannie. I tried to put the series on the back burner, but my mind kept going back to it. So I ended up going to Stephannie and asking if I could have the rights to it. We worked through a suitable arrangement, and in 2017 (I think), I started the rewrite on The Stagecoach Bride. I used the same basic plot, but I adjusted it to fit what my vision for the series was going to be. I will add here that Stephannie pretty much laid out the direction the series was going in, and she created the Gray family. All I did was flesh this all out. So this series still has her influence in it.
In January of this year, I published the rewritten version of Book 1, which I changed to The Outlaw’s Bride.
[image error] Wyoming Series: Book 1
After some consideration, I gave the series name “Wyoming Series”. Not very original, but I figured I had a Nebraska Series, a South Dakota Series, the Montana Collection, the Virginia Series, and an Omaha Series. So why not go with a Wyoming Series?
It looks like Amazon finally put this book to free. It’s already been free on other retailers, but Amazon was dragging it’s feet for the longest time. So if you haven’t read the new version yet and would like to, you can find the links to your preferred retailer here.
Next is Abby’s romance, and I have that coming out on June 27.
[image error] Wyoming Series: Book 2
Abby’s book bridges the events in Book 1 and Book 3. It’s heavily given from Abby’s point of view, but I do include Jeremiah’s point of view and a little of Lillian’s point of view. This is a complete romance novel. I don’t leave anyone wondering what happens to Abby and Thayne (the hero and heroine of this story). What you’re left wondering is if Wade will get the ranch back. That has been the subplot through this entire series.
I have this up for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple if you’d like to order it now. You can click here to find the links at your preferred retailer.
Yesterday, I finished the first draft of The Fugitive’s Bride. This is Wade’s romance.
[image error]Wyoming Series: Book 3
This will be out August 29. I just started initial edits today.
This wraps up the Wyoming Series. A couple of people have asked if Jeremiah will get his own book. No, he won’t. He does get a happy ending, but it’s not the happy ending you’re used to seeing. His character doesn’t require getting married to have his happily ever after. It did require something else, though, and I don’t want to spoil it by saying what it is.
This is my favorite book of the series. I really enjoyed working with Wade and Millie. They started acting like an old married couple and gradually worked their way to falling in love. It was fun to watch their relationship transform as the story progressed. This book is spicier than what I typically do, but the storyline required it. So the cover accurately reflects what you’ll be getting yourself into when you pick it up. Abby’s romance is tame compared to this one.
***
This is one of my all-time favorite series. I am so glad that Stephannie let me work on this. (Thank you, Steph!) Being able to work on this series and finish it has been one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had as a writer.
June 17, 2020
I’m back on Facebook…But only for the writing groups.
I’m only making this post in case someone on Facebook sees my new profile and thinks it’s an imposter. I’ve had incidences of people pretending to be me over the past few years.
I searched around for good writing groups where I could keep updated on the latest stuff happening in the publishing industry, tips on fine-tuning writing, and different promotional techniques, but it turns out, Facebook has the best groups for this information. So I bit the bullet and created a new account.
This account is strictly for business. I’m not going to engage with anyone in a social manner where I go to their timeline and comment on their posts. I have MeWe for that. Facebook will be for my books and that’s it.
I know Facebook is supposed to be for social engagements, but that part of it is too divided with a lot of fighting. That’s why I left. I’m going to give this new strategy a try.
Everything I do on Facebook is going to be business all the time. Some authors get reported on Facebook for promoting their books. Some authors don’t. I don’t know what triggers the system. So, if you are the type who gets annoyed by authors promoting their books all the time, do not friend me over there.
That disclaimer aside, here’s my new profile. I’m starting from scratch. I feel it’s best to have everything brand new. The old account is completely wiped out, and for that, I’m grateful. So we’ll see how things go.
In the meantime, if anyone knows of a good writing group over there, let me know.
June 15, 2020
My Thoughts on a Survey about “How Readers Pick What to Read Next” (This is a Post for Writers)
I love Written Word Media. It’s my favorite place to run ads. I use their Freebooksy ad option a couple times a year. They have other promotional opportunities, too, but that’s the one I’m familiar with, which is why I mention it.
Anyway…
Once in a while, they will run surveys and share their findings to authors. These findings can help authors with marketing. I thought this particular survey was interesting, so I decided to add my two cents from the viewpoint of a writer. This survey was on how readers pick what to read next.
Without further ado, here we go…
1. A book’s description and cover trumps the reviews.
This is good news since we can’t control who reviews our books or what those people say in the reviews they leave. If your book gets enough readers, you will end up with someone who doesn’t like it. Why? Because taste is subjective, and there isn’t a single person in this entire world who likes every thing they come across. Since reviews aren’t the key factor in whether readers take a chance on a book, this should give us all a sigh of relief.
We can control the book description and the cover. Between these two, book descriptions were more important than covers. That tells me that our time will be best spent tweaking and improving our book descriptions. Some authors have an easy time with book descriptions. I don’t. I struggle with them. I’ve even had outside help. But if you’re going to devote time and attention to one thing to get a reader’s attention, the description is where you want to focus your energy.
2. A reader’s enjoyment of a book depends on the story.
Okay, at first glance, this is a “duh” statement, right? But when you consider the debate of writing to market vs. writing for passion, this takes on a whole new dimension. The article from Written Word Media specifically says this, “Books with robust plots and interesting storylines will resonate with readers.”
The keywords here are “robost plots” and “interesting storylines”. In other words, these are not cookie-cutter stories that have been done to death. Books written to market are cookie-cutter stories. The reason they are cookie-cutter stories is that the authors writing them are piggybacking off of tropes and trends that are popular. These authors are not going to take risks. They are going to play it safe. In the long run, safe is boring.
Writers who embrace passion will take risks. They will venture into new territory. They will turn stereotypes upside their head. They will pick storylines and characters that aren’t done all the time. They will create the stuff that is far more memorable in the long run. They will offer something different and fresh. In my opinion, they will create the stories that readers will enjoy the most.
Now, you still have the issue of getting people to take a chance on you, but once you do, and if you deliver a story that a reader loves, that reader will buy your other books. It’s not about getting into a bunch of people’s hands as soon as you publish something. It’s about building a loyal fanbase by offering something of value. This is why I think it’s key to embrace passion. If you write a book that excites you 100%, chances are the right reader will be 100% excited by it, too. Writers who are motivated by writing to the market are writing for other people, and they will not be 100% invested in their work. They might get enjoyment out of it, but there is a world of difference between the quality of your story when you write for yourself (which is passion) verses writing for money (which is the market).
3. Average review score is important.
The average is how the book rates overall. It’s not looking at the individual reviews but at all of them together. The way you get a good average review score is by getting enough readers who enjoy your specific genre to read your book. There are three hassle-free ways of getting reviews for your book.
One, offer the book for free. This comes with some risk. Readers who don’t even like your genre will grab the book. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve seen this happen because they’ll leave reviews like, “I don’t even like this genre”, when they leave the 1 or 2-star review. Those reviews aren’t helpful because they come from people who don’t like the genre. But they will leave stuff like that, so be prepared. Overall, though, this has been the best way I’ve been able to boost up the number of reviews on my books.
Two, use a site like Booksprout that will allow you to post ARCs of your book that people can read with the expectation they’ll leave a review. This has boosted my review count. Not everyone who claims an ARC will leave a review, but some do. I believe you can block people from getting future ARCs if they don’t leave a review. The nice thing about Booksprout is that it delivers the ARC to the reader for you. It means you don’t have to find the readers yourself, and you don’t have to explain how to upload a book to their device. Their service is free to use, but it also has paid plans that will give you more features. BookFunnel is another site you can use, but there is no free option with this one. You have to pay for it. BookFunnel does offer other promotional things like newsletter swaps and sales.
Three, ask for reviews at the end of the book. I don’t feel comfortable using this method, but for authors who do, they have told me they get more reviews this way.
Now, a hassle method of getting reviews is to offer free books directly to readers in exchange for an honest review. The reason it’s a hassle is that you have to find them yourself, and most of the time, they never review. So you’re doing a lot of work and not getting much of anything in return. I stopped doing this method years ago.
Whatever you do, do NOT pay for reviews. This is going to earn you a bad reputation if you get caught.
4. Readers are interested in the inspiration for characters and storylines.
If you’re looking for something to make a blog post about or something to share on social media or in an email list, consider doing some kind of trivia to go with the book. Examples would be, how you came up with the plot, how you came up with a character, anything in the book that reflects something in real life, or if there was a sudden change in the story that went against your original plan.
I didn’t think this kind of thing would be interesting to readers until I did a trivia post. I did it on the whim after reading trivia on a movie. I enjoyed the trivia that went behind the movie, so I thought, “Why not do it for one of my books?” I was pleasantly surprised by the positive responses I got.
You can do this on a social media site like Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, or Parler by doing something like, “Book X’s plot was based on a dream I had two years ago. In this dream, I was being chased by a group of wild animals,” or “Character X was named after an old friend who liked to ride horses.” These little trivia bits don’t have to be in one long post. You can separate these trivia bits out. Or, you can put them in a newsletter.
5. Many readers are Kindle Unlimited Subscribers.
That’s not a surprise for most of us. We’re aware of the perks Amazon has rolled out for readers. Depending on your genre and your goal for your books, you may or may not want to put your book into Kindle Unlimited at Amazon. But please beware that if you put your book in KU, it can only be on Amazon. Trying to get away with putting it in KU and on other retailers will run you the risk of getting caught, and if you’re caught, Amazon may do something with that book or even your account that won’t be pleasant.
It’s fine to be in KU, but exclusivity isn’t for all of us. I never liked the idea of only being in one place. I like to be in as many places as possible. The good news is that not every reader is on Amazon. There are those that prefer other retailers, and they are loyal to those retailers.
Where will you make more money? There’s no way to know for sure unless you try KU and then try wide. This is going to vary for every author. Some authors make more outside of Amazon, and other authors make more on Amazon. Some of this is dependent on the genre you write and how frequently you publish books. In the end, though, it’s also about whether your book takes off or not. It’s like tossing a coin. In my opinion, what matters most is your comfort level. How comfortable are you being reliant on one retailer? If you’re fine with it, then go into KU. If it makes you squeamish, you might want to try wide and see how things go.
6. Ads Matter.
Ads from places like Freebooksy, Amazon, Facebook, etc, do help you gain visibility. Remember, visibility is your biggest obstacle. People won’t buy your books unless they know you exist. But what I found interesting in this survey was that most people look at newsletters like the ones Freebooksy sends out in order to find new books to read. This is more effective than a search on Amazon, Goodreads, referrals from people one knows, and even social media. My guess is that this is because the newsletters go directly into the inbox.
I feel the need to add a word of caution. Never go into debt to buy an ad. Debt is not your friend. I’ve heard of authors putting ads on their credit cards and not selling enough books to cover that expense. For example, I recently found out someone paid $1000 for an ad but made about $450 in sales. Imagine having that happen and seeing the credit card statement come in with an interest rate of 18-29% for that $1000. (I’ve had credit card offers with interest rates that high, and it’s just insane. I don’t have credit cards. In my house, we are not good about always paying them off every month. So we just don’t use them.) But when I hear of authors who go into debt for ads that end up not paying off, my heart hurts on their behalf.
What I recommend is tucking aside money until you can afford the ad. There are two times when I think ads are most effective. One, is when you’re not going to have a new release for a while. This helps your sales to be steady between the last book you published and the next one you’ll have out. The dip in income won’t be so hard if you have that visibility boost. I’ve found ads on free books to be the most effective, especially when they are the first book in a series. Another time I think ads are most effective is when you have a new book out in a series. They key is to promote Book 1. The hope is then that people will get hooked on Book 1 and will buy the other books in the series.
7. Most readers spend up to $15 a month on books.
I’d like to know if this factored in KU subscribers. Do KU subscribers pay for the monthly fee (which I think is $9.99) + $15? Or do these KU subscribers only pay $5 once they are done paying the monthly fee? I’ve had KU readers tell me that even my $0.99 books are “breaking their bank”. So I’m inclined to say that the KU readers in this survey were including the KU subscription fee into the $15 they are willing to spend on books each month.
Regardless of the situation, there are two things that I, as a writer, take away from this information.
One, each book you write should represent your best work. There’s a saying I used to hear a lot from my English teacher: “An author is only as good as their last book.” I don’t know who originally said it, but it makes sense. If you have a really good book, people will want to read more. Writing a mediocre book isn’t going to cut it for long-term readership.
Two, it’s a good idea to let people know you have other books out at the end of the book they just read. If they want to read more books you’ve written, the end of the book is the best time to let them know you have other books. This is especially true for a series, but I think adding a list of all the books you have out is also good. It might not be a bad idea to mention an email list since a few readers like them or to mention a website or place where they can find you. If this is an ebook, put in the links to the email list, your website, and your social media sites so that the reader can click directly to those places. I neglected to do this early on, but I do it with every book now.
***
Okay, that sums up my thoughts on the survey. This took me a lot longer than I expected. Sometimes I start rambling and just can’t stop, especially when I’m on a topic I really enjoy. I hope there’s something helpful in here for you to use in your future promotional plans. 
June 10, 2020
What Nathan Wants Trivia
I’m currently going back and reading this book again, and since it’s fresh in my mind, I figured I’d do trivia on it today.
The idea for the book came to me because I thought it’d be fun to write a “marriage by proxy” story. In order to have a plot (because every book needs conflict somewhere), one of the characters had to be an unwilling participant. Hence Amy’s resistance to the marriage for a good portion of the book.
I wrote most of this book at the school playground in town while my kids (4, 5, 6, and 8 at the time) would play. So whenever I go back to this book, I remember sitting on the ground with my laptop with my back pressed up against the side of the school. This was during the summer. I wrote this book within a month. This was one of those books that pretty much wrote itself. Most books take about 2 months.
There is a real building in downtown Omaha that serves as the inspiration for the building in the story where Nathan works. Every time I drove by it, I would think, “That’s a fancy building. What kind of person might be the head of that company?” This is also how Nathan’s character was born. And, if memory serves, the building was for an insurance company, not a travel one.
For some time, I did live in Florida in the Fort Walton Beach area which is along the Emerald Coast (aka the Gulf of Mexico). So the way Amy describes the beach and the water reflect my opinion of that part of the country. While it was beautiful down there, my heart is in the western part of the US, hence why I write so many historical western romances and currently live in Montana. I love the open landscapes in the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. It’s been that way since I went to visit a friend who lived in North Dakota during my college years. Once I saw that state, I was hooked and began to read and do some writing in the historical western romance world.
Danielle was my favorite character in the book. Actually, she’s one of my all-time favorite secondary characters. In my opinion, she had the best lines of any character I’ve ever done. She is the reason the book is as funny as it is. Nathan had some good lines, too, but no one comes close to Danielle. Her character was also named after a good friend I had in high school who was a lot of fun to be around.
The funny events in Amy’s life that her parents told Nathan about also happened to me. For example, I used to pretend I was Wonder Woman when I was a kid. I was born in the 70s but was in elementary school and junior high (that’s what middle school was called back then) in the 80s. I used to watch Wonder Woman (starring Linda Carter) reruns on the TV every day after school when I was in the first and second grade. When the show was over, I’d put aluminum foil around my wrists for the bands she wore to ward off bullets, put my headband over my forehead, and use my jump rope for the lasso of truth. Then I’d pretend to go around and catch the bad guys. As another example, when I was in the 7th grade (or 8th), I did leave the curling iron too long in my hair and ended up burning my bangs. There are a couple of other examples that go back to childhood, but off the top of my head, that’s all I can remember.
Some men won’t change their children’s diapers, but my husband was one of those who did, which is something I totally love him for. I have a soft spot for a man who will help his wife out.
In this story, Elizabeth (aka Beth) had a c-section. I didn’t have twins, but I had a c-section with each of my kids. In the story, Ryan said this about the c-section: “I’m not saying it made me pass out, but I never realized Beth’s insides were that colorful.” My husband told me that after our first kid was born, and I’ve never forgotten it.
Danielle’s thoughts of being pregnant are mine, too. “I enjoyed being pregnant after the morning sickness phase passed. There are no real benefits to the first trimester, except for being able to see that positive reading on the pregnancy stick. The second trimester is a lot of fun. That’s when you first feel the baby kick and start to show. I know some women complain about the last month, but I still enjoyed it. I know I can’t explain what it’s like to carry another human being and feel him moving around, but it was probably the most amazing thing I will ever experience.” One of the best things that ever happened to me was having the privilege of bringing a human being into the world.
Shady Forest is based on a real place my family and I went to quite a bit while we lived in the Omaha area, and there was a spot to sit where you could look out at the Missouri River and see downtown Omaha. And yes, I even saw that large building that made me come up with Nathan’s character.
The mini-golf course Nathan plays at with Amy’s dad is one that really exists in Fort Walton Beach. I went to it once.
Nathan and Amy named their daughter Amber. Amber was another good friend I had in high school. In case someone is wondering, the reason a writer will pick names of people they like in real life is so that the memory of those people will live on in their work. We might adjust the spelling of the name or give the character different features, but we know who the person really is, and we put that person in the story as a testament to the relationship we have or had with them. Since I’ve moved around so much in my life, I have lost touch with 90% of the people I used to know. But when I put them in my story, they are still with me, and it makes me smile to remember them and the joy they brought to my life.
June 5, 2020
Quick Updates (Regarding Release Dates and Covers)
As of today (June 5), I am almost done with the first draft of The Fugitive’s Bride, but I am only halfway (or about 60%) done with Nobody’s Fool. I don’t want to rush any book to get it out by a certain deadline. I was originally going to have Nobody’s Fool out in August. I’m going to switch Nobody’s Fool to October.
I want to make my books worth it to those of you who read them. I’d rather switch the books around in order to make them the best stories I can. More people are interested in the Regencies, which is why I was trying to finish Nobody’s Fool first, but The Fugitive’s Bride is pretty much writing itself, and because of that, the progress in the book has been faster.
So The Fugitive’s Bride is now scheduled for August 29.
[image error]This is the last book in the Wyoming Series.
I’m moving Nobody’s Fool to October 17.
[image error]This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Design Series.
****
Also, in my other post, I mentioned not doing any more “clean and sweet” romance covers. Well, I forgot all about my Husbands for the Larson Sisters Series. I love the cover for Nelly’s Mail Order Husband, and I don’t want to change it. So this series will say “no sex” on the cover, but be warned, sex will occur on the pages. After this series, though, I will do a better job of branding my work to help avoid confusion.
[image error]Book 1 in Husbands for the Larsons Sisters
The cover for Perfectly Matched (Book 2 in Husbands for the Larson Sisters Series) is equally beautiful. I just got it a week or two ago. This is going to be Patricia’s book, and I plan to start it when I finish The Fugitive’s Bride.
[image error]Book 2 in Husbands for the Larsons Sisters
This is also going to feature Val’s best friend in Nelly’s Mail Order Husband. Jim ran off before he had to marry Carla. I never got to reveal that at the end of Nelly’s Mail Order Husband, but in the first chapter of this book, he shows up on Val’s doorstep, expecting to marry one of Nelly’s “rich” sisters. Remember in Nelly’s Mail Order Husband, Val was too embarrassed to tell Jim what really happened to him out in Nebraska. I’m hoping that this will be a romantic comedy.
May 31, 2020
The #1 Problem Facing Writers (A Post For New Writers)
The question I get asked the most from new writers is how to sell books.
I wish I could offer a magic bullet, but the truth is, there is no magic bullet. There are people who’ll sell courses to help you with your marketing strategies. If you take your time to do your own research, you don’t need to pay for this information. This information can be found in Google searches on the Internet, in writer forums (in places like Facebook, MeWe, and Kindleboards), in You Tube videos, and in ebooks on marketing and promotion. So before spending hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars on courses, I recommend you do some research to find out different marketing strategies to help you in your pursuit to sell more books.
Back in 2009, it was super easy to get noticed. This made selling without much effort pretty easy. But times have changed, and now you’re going to be confronted with this ugly reality:
The #1 problem facing writers is visibility.
To date, no one has ever been able to produce a surefire way to get noticed. Without getting noticed, it’s impossible to sell books. You have tools at your disposal, but just because you use them, there’s no guarantee those tools will do what you want them to. In the end, it comes down to luck. You have to be in the right place at the right time. You have control over the content of your book, the cover, the description, the keywords, where you publish, when you publish, your pricing, and the marketing strategies you’ll use. Yes, that is a lot a things you have in your favor, but ultimately you have no control over who sees your book and who buys it. Also, way more people will look at your book than will go on to buy it. But to get them to even buy it, they have to know it exists.
The most popular strategies I know to gain visibility are offering a free book (ideally the first in a series), running ads on Facebook or Amazon, getting a promo deal with B&N or Kobo or Apple, running ads at sites with a huge list of email subscribers like Freebooksy or Bookbub, and doing cross-promotions with other authors in the same genre you’re in. Those are all good strategies at your disposal. But will they secure sales? No. They help with visibility, but they don’t automatically equate to sales.
I have the most success with having my first book in a series free and running a Freebooksy ad on that free book. I haven’t run the numbers on the follow through sales, but way more people will download the free book than they’ll go on to buy the other books in the series. This has pretty much been reported across the indie author community. I like the free book method because it gives me an inexpensive and hassle-free way to get someone to take a chance on me. Yes, you’ll end up with some negative reviews this way, and you’ll end up with quite a few people who will “nudge” you to give them the rest of your books for free since they don’t want to buy books, but the people who are willing to buy my books have been higher because of this method.
Will that method work for you? I don’t know. You have to try it to find out. Most authors I’ve come across benefit from this method, but there are those who say the method backfired on them. They did better pricing Book 1 at $0.99. Part of it will depend on your genre. Some genres naturally lend themselves to free books being a useful strategy. In romance, first in a series free is standard procedure. Enough authors offer free books to make this a viable strategy. You have to look at other books in your genre and speak to authors in that genre to find out how well the free strategy works for them. Also, with pricing, you’ll have to experiment and find out what price points work best for you. In romance, most books are between free and $3.99. Only really successful authors can push the price point higher than that. But it seems that in science fiction, fantasy, and thriller, $4.99 and up yields some great results.
Another thing to consider is if you’ll enter KU or distribute your ebooks wide. KU is an Amazon program called Kindle Unlimited. In this program, your ebooks are exclusive on Amazon. You can publish on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), which is Amazon’s platform, AND have your books be wide (on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Google Play, etc). KDP is not the same as KU. KU is a program within KDP. If you’re in KU, you can only be on Amazon. Think of KDP as an umbrella. KDP has ALL the ebooks from all authors. KU is a box under the KDP umbrella and ONLY KU authors are in that box. I’m not in KU. I’m not in the box. I’m in KDP because my books are on Amazon, but my books are also at other retailers. KU comes with some perks like countdown deals, but the biggest advantage is that readers who pay a monthly fee to the KU subscription program can read as many KU books as they want. This makes KU books “free” to them. That makes it easier for KU readers to take a chance on an unknown author who is in KU. KU authors get paid a certain amount for each page the reader reads. Amazon sets this amount each month, and the amount will fluctuate.
Wide means that an author has their ebooks on Amazon AND other retailers like Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Smashwords, Scribd, in online libraries, etc. There are small stores popping up and (unfortunately) dying off periodically, so it’s hard to keep track of them all. If you want your books to be on more than Amazon, do NOT go into KU. If you put your book in KU and put them on other retailers, Amazon might find out, and if they do, the result might not be pretty. Amazon’s been known to get tough on authors. If you’re going to be in KU, be exclusive to them unless you have a personal agreement with Amazon where you can be in KU and wide.
While KU is a tool, it is not a magic bullet. A couple of years ago, authors had a much easier time making money in KU than they do today, which I believe is to due to the amount of books in KU. There are new authors popping up all the time, and this naturally makes it harder to be discovered.
Amazon ads are a way to get added visibility in the Amazon store. These ads seem to do best on KU books. This was according to an author friend who tried ads on her KU books and ads on her wide books. Does that mean wide books don’t have any success on Amazon with those Amazon ads? No. It just means you might get more bang for your buck with KU books.
Pre-orders might be a way to gain some visibility, but you need to be proactive in letting people know the pre-order exists. Mention it in your blog, on social media sites, in an email list, and/or at the end of a book. For example, if you have Book 1 out, put Book 2 on pre-order and mention this at the end of Book 1. Or, if you don’t know the release date and don’t have pre-order links up for Book 2, you can use the back matter in your book to mention you are doing Book 2 and add a link to your email list so people can get notified when Book 2 is out. Yes, people have to read Book 1 all the way to the end to find out you have Book 2, but this is a free way to let people know this other book is going to come out.
I don’t personally do author collaborations because it turns out I’m not an easy person to work with. I have a hard time modifying plots and characters to compromise with another author’s vision of the book, the characters, and the world that the stories take place in. It turns out I am a complete control freak when it comes to writing. I even have trouble working in a series where different authors take on other books in that series. For example, I was offered an opportunity to participate in a 50 book series where I would only have to do one or two books among other romance authors. It was an awesome opportunity, but you had to work with some authors on what is happening with other people’s characters and you had to try to keep everything straight on the timeline with what happened in other books. That was just too complex for me. So I had to decline the offer, though it was an honor to be invited to do this.
That all said, if you are the type who can do collaborations, I think this would be an awesome way to boost visibility. You will be promoting other authors in this collaboration to your readers, and they will (hopefully) do the same for you. Most collaborations have benefited the authors extremely well, but I have heard of one horror story where one author in a thriller genre pretty much did all the work. So be careful who you’re doing this collaboration with. Another thing, the goal of the collaboration is to expand your readership. Be sure the authors you’re doing this with have the same audience you do. For example, clean historical romance authors should only do collaborations with other clean and wholesome historical romance authors. An erotic author will not be a good fit for a collaboration with clean romance authors.
After all that rambling, my advice is to think long term. Visibility is a long-term game. There will be an author here and there that will publish their first book or series, and their book(s) will just take off. I understand that it takes good books and some marketing savvy to make this happen, but it also takes luck. You have to be in the right place at the right time. People who are interested in your books need to be able to find you. So, use the tools that fit best with your budget and your interests, but also keep the long-term focus in mind. This is why I believe in writing books I love instead of writing books that I believe will sell the best. Writing to market is a tool you can try. But writing books you’re most passionate about is what will keep you going even when sales suck.
The part of the post where I go beyond the monetary worth of books.
Honestly, when we look at books as a price tag, we’re neglecting the possibility of a book having timeless value. I’m all for writers being paid for their work while they’re alive. Writers have every right to earn money with their books. But there’s also the side of the equation that looks beyond the money. You never know if someone will read your books and be positively impacted by it. You have no idea how many lives you might touch in a meaningful way simply because of the story you created. There is an emotional component to creating books that all the money in the world will never fill.
Also, there might be a spiritual component to why you write your books. You might be doing something God has called you to do, and while you won’t reap those rewards here in this life, you might get something on the other side. This, to me, is the most compelling reason I’ve found to embrace passion in my writing. I want God to guide me in every book I write, and I want to write in way that will glorify Him. One of my prayers is that He uses me to write romances that pay honor and respect to the marital relationship because I believe it is a gift he’s given us.
I don’t know what the motivating passion is for you. It might be a cause you believe in. It might be leaving behind a legacy for your children and grandchildren. Whatever your motivation is, that might give you something beyond money to focus on if it turns out you don’t sell as many books as you were hoping to.
And my final thought is this: don’t let the genre you write hold you back. Any genre can be used. For example, I might reach someone who will never read anything but romance, and you might reach someone who will never read anything beyond science fiction. But, ironically, we might have the same message. Who knows what power our stories can have that we’ll never even know about? When we look beyond the contemporary situation we’re in, our work takes on a whole new meaning, and we find something bigger and more important than ourselves to invest ourselves in. So I urge you to have a wider view of what your book’s worth is. Yes, it has monetary value, but it also has a much deeper worth. Sales are great, but they aren’t everything.
May 28, 2020
Updates on What I’m Doing
The new covers for the books in the Wyoming Series is here!
Old covers:
[image error][image error][image error]
New covers:
[image error][image error][image error]
Now no one can pick up the book thinking they are getting a book without sex in it. When someone assumed I was writing Amish romances based on the original cover for The Fugitive’s Bride, I knew I had to update the covers. I have no interest in writing Amish romances. I like my romances spicy.
I plan to keep these covers for the Regency Series I’m currently working on (Marriage by Design Series) because I love them…
[image error][image error][image error]
…but all future covers I do will now convey to people unfamiliar with my books that I write romances that have sex in them. I figure Breaking the Rules lets people know there is sex in the book, but the other two might possibly give mixed messages. I love these covers, so I’m keeping them. I love all of my old covers, so I’ll keep those, too. (I do, however, want to eventually update Loving Eliza, Bid for a Bride, and Bride of Second Chances.) I’m happy with all of the other covers.
I have an Author Page on MeWe!
I have left Facebook, and I am MUCH happier now. If you happen to be on MeWe and would like to connect on my page, here’s the link: https://mewe.com/p/ruthannnordinsbooks.
Writing progress!
[image error]
This is Book 2 of the Wyoming Series. Book 1 is The Outlaw’s Bride.
The Rancher’s Bride is fully edited now. I need to get it formatted and uploaded. I hope to get it done this weekend. The official release date is June 27.
This book bridges the events from The Outlaw’s Bride to The Fugitive’s Bride. This book starts the night our heroes rescued the two-year-old Lloyd. As you’ll recall, Abby ended up taking him, and no one knew what happened to them, so we’re left wondering if Abby and Lloyd are okay. This is her romance, so naturally, they’re fine, but she does sustain an injury that requires a doctor’s attention. As luck would have it (because I happen to be the author of this book), Thayne was a doctor during the Civil War. He no longer performs surgery because of the psychological effects the war left on him. Meanwhile, Wade is stuck at his hideout, and since he was also injured, he can’t search for Abby and Lloyd. Jeremiah does the search for him. There are a lot of serious moments in this book, but I also balanced them out with Thayne’s ten-year-old niece who says the darndest things at the worst possible times. When things get to be too depressing in a book, I like to boost things up with some humor.
[image error]
This is Book 3 of the Wyoming Series. (This is the last book in the series.) Book 1 is The Outlaw’s Bride. Book 2 is The Rancher’s Bride.
I’m over the halfway point, and I’m going to be sad to see this book end. Of the three, this one is my favorite. The whole series is one of my top favorites. The Nebraska and South Dakota Series are my top favorites, and now this one is right there with them. There’s an emotional connection I’ve felt for all of these characters, and my favorite couple of the three books in the Wyoming Series is Wade and Millie. From The Outlaw’s Bride, we’re introduced to both characters.
Wade is bitter brother who wants nothing more than to kill Charles because Charles killed his wife, kidnapped his son, and stole his ranch. He has a lot of issues to work through, and it has been fun to watch him evolve from someone who is embedded in bitterness into someone who lets that destructive emotion so he can truly love and have joy again. Millie was Lillian’s traveling companion at the very beginning of The Outlaw’s Bride. Charles had abducted her from the stagecoach because he needed a woman to take care of Lloyd. At the end of The Outlaw’s Bride, Wade rescued her from Charles while he was rescuing Lloyd. So that’s how she ends up at the hideout with him. Millie is Wade’s perfect match. She’s compassionate, but she’s no doormat. Sparks fly between them, and that has made the romance portion of the book so much fun.
As a side note: I’m not writing a book for Jeremiah. Jeremiah does get his happy ending, but his doesn’t require a romance to make that happen.
I don’t know if I should publish this in August or wait until October like I had originally planned. Right now, Nobody’s Fool is slotted for August. It all depends on how much interest there is for The Rancher’s Bride.
[image error]
This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Design Series. Book 1 is Breaking the Rules.
Poor Emilia is having the hardest time convincing the very besotted (and geeky) Benjamin that they would be better off living in separate townhouses. A wife has never had more trouble getting her new husband to fall out-of-love with her. She’s tried being a wallflower, being argumentative, and being a spendthrift, but so far, to her bewilderment, nothing has worked. This is a cute romantic comedy. I realize people are going to immediately root for Benjamin because he is such a sweet hero, but our heroine will need some convincing of it, which is what the book is all about. The “book” most of the gentlemen in my Regencies receive makes its way into this one. I know some of you enjoy it when that book pops up, so I thought I’d mention it.
[image error]
This is Book 3 in the Marriage by Design Series. This is the last book in the series. Book 1 is Breaking the Rules. Book 2 is Nobody’s Fool.
This book has been a lot of fun to write. This is the classic battle of wills setup. Aaron is the hero, and we learn in Breaking the Rules that his mother had several affairs and children from those affairs. It’s made him bitter toward marriage, and he assumes all ladies are like his mother. With that background, you know he’s not going to be happy to be tricked into marriage. Our heroine had hoped to be unmarried forever, so she’s not exactly happy to be married, either. She, however, was willing to give the marriage a chance. And then he hired a chaperone to watch over her at all times. When I say “all times”, I mean “all THE time”. Our poor heroine can’t get a moment alone. He refuses to take the risk she’ll have someone else’s child.
But she’s not one to take things lying down. She hires a chaperone to watch him, saying she won’t have him siring a bunch of children with other ladies, either. From there, the battle of wills only intensifies, and at the moment, our poor heroine has been forced to wear gray dresses from the top of her neck all the way down to her ankles because our hero can’t bring himself to admit he’s attracted to her fiery spirit (and her beauty), so he is determined to snuff out anything that tempts him to cave. She’s not so tempted by him at the moment, though I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to him as uncomfortable as the restricting dresses are making her.
I’m laughing a lot while writing this. If you like my type of humor, you’ll enjoy this book. It’s a solid romantic comedy. I have no idea how these two will finally kiss, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
May 21, 2020
Is the Story Good Enough?
This is something I think every writer asks themselves once in a while. Usually, while we’re writing a story, the words flow nicely and the scenes seem to ease from one into another with no real effort at all. The story is vibrant in our minds, and we see and feel everything our characters do. Time is suspended while we’re in our world and watching things unfold as the story progresses.
And then we finish the story, have it edited, and publish it. I don’t know how many writers out there start to question the story once it’s released into the world, but I do with just about every book I’ve ever done. Did I give the characters the story they deserved? Did I leave something out that should have been in the plot? Did I add something in the plot that was unnecessary? Was the story too short? Was it too long? Did I rush something? Did I let something drag on too long? In other words, “Is the story good enough?”
There are many things a writer can doubt about their work. It’s hard to remember what made the story so awesome when we were writing it as we get further away from it. This is why I think it’s good for us to go back and reread our stories from time to time. Of all the people who ever read our books, we should be the most excited to be wrapped up the worlds we created. But try not to read the story as an editor. Read it for enjoyment.
Will there be things you see that you wouldn’t do today? Probably, but these are often small things like word choice, a way to better explain something, or a certain detail you know would be a better fit. In cases like this, I think you should take that as a sign of growth as a storyteller. I wouldn’t bother going back and fixing it. When you get enough books out into the world, there’s simply not enough time in the day to tweak old books. The best use of your time is to keep producing new work because writing new stuff is the best way to fine tune our storytelling abilities.
So when you notice those things that could have been better in the old stories, think of this as an indication that you are a much stronger storyteller today than you used to be. It’s a sign of success. Even with some hiccups in a past story that you pick up, you should still get enjoyment from reading your stories. This is why you should read them as a reader. You spent a lot of time writing it and polishing it up to get it published. Why not sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor?
Thankfully, how well a book sells or doesn’t sell is independent of the emotional satisfaction you have when you go back and reread the story. Some of the books I enjoy most are the ones that barely sold at all. Sometimes when you publish a book and realize very few people want to buy it, it’s easy to think the story sucks. The truth is, a lot of amazing stories out there aren’t getting the sales they really deserve. I don’t know why this is. But this idea that only good stories are big sellers is a myth. Just because a story is good, it doesn’t mean it’ll sell well. In the end, if you got pleasure from your own story, it is a good story. I don’t care what anyone else says. You are the only person whose opinion is worth listening to when it comes to your work. If you reread your story and love it, it is good enough.
May 16, 2020
Return of the Aliens Trivia
I know this isn’t on the list of things I had up to do next. That was The Earl’s Wallflower Bride. But I have just gotten through rereading Return of the Aliens. In light of the virus that caused almost every country in the entire world to lockdown, various politicians in the world calling for a one world government (which isn’t all that new), and the Pentagon recently releasing footage of UFO (or “unidentified aerial phenomena”, as they’re calling it), it just seemed like a good time to go back and read the book. I hadn’t read it since I published it, so I’d forgotten quite a bit of it.
[image error]
1. I got the initial idea for the book back in 2009 when I saw a You Tube video (from someone I can’t remember) who said that the US government was going to declassify UFO footage the military has taken over the years. My first thought was to laugh. But the writer in me asked, “What if it did happen? What if the government suddenly came out with alien disclosure?” And that one question led me down a rabbit trail that introduced me to conspiracy theories I’d never heard before.
2. It took over a year for me to write this book. The rabbit trail of one conspiracy theory after another evolved as I did more and more research. It led to things like the Illuminati, underground bases where strange experiments are going on, super soldiers, black-eyed kids, false flag events the government puts into place to scare people into giving up their rights, and the meaning of different colored dots in the mailboxes to signify who is a compliant citizen and who isn’t. Since these were conspiracy theories, it was hard to separate fact from fiction. But those theories made for good storytelling.
3. Now, I do believe the Bible and the prophecies that point to the rapture of the church, the Great Tribulation period, and the second coming of Jesus Christ to this Earth. I also believe there is a spiritual world going on around us composed of angels and demons. I have not had visions or dreams or anything like that. I just study the Bible and go by what it says. I do, however, have a friend who is attuned to the spiritual world. I know it exists. I just don’t have any personal stories to share about it. Anyway, Return of the Aliens was written from the “What if….” standpoint. What if the conspiracy theories are true? If they were true, how might they collide with Bible prophecy?
4. It was a lot of fun playing with all of these neat ideas, but it was also very draining. The book took over a year to write because I had to keep taking breaks. I was wiped out by the time it was done. The extensive research I did for this book was more than I want to do with any other book, and this is why I have no intention of writing anything else like it.
5. Autumn’s name comes from the lateness of the hour since autumn is the season where the leaves die and fall off the trees. It represents the end of one era (summer), and it also represents a transition into the next (winter that leads into spring). This story begins the end time events. In Bible prophecy, preachers often say that the hour is late and we’re very close to Jesus’ return. I realize they were saying that even in Peter and Paul’s day, but this virus has shown me how connected people are on a global scale. I’m seeing things I thought I’d never see, and it sets the stage for what happens in the Book of Revelation.
6. Devon was meant to be a bad guy who stayed the villain. I picked his name because it was close to “devil”. He was supposed to represent the evil forces in the world. That’s why Autumn saw the demon hovering around him. However, about 1/3 of the way into the book, I realized he was going to turn into a hero. No one was more surprised than I was by the turn of events.
7. Alex was supposed to end up with Autumn, but that changed on me, too. Alex had two choices to make, and he chose to hold onto his anger. Vanessa was very hard to write, too. I liked both of these characters, but they made their choices, and I had to follow the results of those choices to their conclusion. While Alex’s choices were based in resentment and bitterness, hers were made out of fear.
8. The alien stuff is pure speculation. I was listening to some people at the time who held the theory that our “saviors” would appear to us as aliens but they really were fallen angels. Having watched the movie Mission to Mars where the astronauts learned that aliens planted our DNA on Earth, I decided to go with that approach to explain the aliens’ appearance in the book.
9. I enjoyed writing the scenes with Devon the most because it allowed me to explore various techniques in working with psychological suspense and horror. In my opinion, psychological suspense and horror have the strongest emotional impact than the slasher kind of stuff. That all said, this is not a book for children. It’s for adults. I wanted to write something for a mature audience because the subjects I tackled were dark.
10. The scenes with Alex and the gray alien freak me out even to this day. While I wrote them, I was seriously spooked and would imagine all kinds of crazy things happening in the house. I was relieved to get past those scenes, and when I reread the book last week, I skimmed those parts. I think it’s because demons were tormenting him, and since I believe demons are real, that just hit too close to home. The conspiracy theory stuff Devon went through were more of a “maybe/maybe not” scenario, so it’s easier to brush that off.
11. I didn’t get to all the seal, bowl, or trumpet judgments mentioned in the Book of Revelation. I originally set out to do that, but there was so much already going on in the book that I couldn’t have possibly fit everything in. Instead, I focused on the four main characters (Autumn, Devon, Alex, and Vanessa) and dealt with their specific stories.
12. The original set up for this book was six installments, so it started out as a serial. I later dropped the individual small books and put everything into one book that is what you get today.
May 9, 2020
Updates on What I’m Doing
Remember an anthology I was in years ago called Bride by Design? The novella I wrote was under my pen name, Barbara Joan Russell. This is the cover to help jog people’s memory.
Original Cover Under My Pen Name:
[image error]
Okay, so Catherine Lynn (my friend and fellow author in that anthology) and I got our rights back from the publisher to take our books and republish them. I decided to publish my story under my real name because I use Barbara Joan Russell for YA Fiction these days.
A Tale of Two Sisters
Our stories do slightly overlap. I wrote one sister’s story, and Catherine wrote the other sister’s story. One of the questions I get most is, are there any books featuring a secondary character in your story? So I want to give everyone’s that heads up. I wrote Colleen O’Hara’s story in Online Proposal. Catherine Lynn wrote Maggie O’Hara’s story in Tristan’s Redemption.
Chronological Order of the Stories
Online Proposal comes first. Tristan’s Redemption comes second. Both of these are contemporary romances that have no sex in them.
[image error]
Online Proposal is mean to be a cute and fun afternoon read. There’s some humor in it. And as I mentioned earlier, there’s no sexual situations in it. (As you know, I tend to add spice in my books. So this is one of those rare stories where I don’t do that.)
Please note: I was able to make this free on every retailer but Amazon. Amazon won’t let me go under $0.99. It might be at some point they’ll make it free, but right now, they won’t. So please go to the other retailers I’m linking to if you want this for free.
Tristan’s Redemption comes next in the duet. This one is by Catherine Lynn.
[image error]
This is a heartwarming and sweet story about Maggie who is drawn to a homeless man who’d given up on life. If you like the kind of feel of the Little House on the Prairie or Touched by An Angel TV shows, you’ll like this one.
***
More Boxed Sets are Up
Once in a blue moon, people will ask me about boxed sets, so I’ve been slowly adding them. I have four to mention at the moment.
1.
[image error] [image error]
I believe I already mentioned the Marriage by Scandal Boxed Set, but just in case I haven’t here it is. This is already available.
2.
[image error] [image error]
The Marriage by Deceit Boxed Set is available right now, too.
3.
[image error] [image error]
The Marriage by Arrangement Boxed Set is on Pre-Order. It’ll be out on May 17.
4.
[image error] [image error]
The Marriage by Bargain Boxed Set is on Pre-Order. It’ll be out on June 7.
***
I’m still working on the three books I started in mid-March. It’s been slow going because all the kids are home with the schools closing for the rest of the school year. I had to give up on trying to help the deaf one during the weekdays. There simply is not enough time in the day to do it all, so I devote the weekends to seeing about getting him caught up with his schooling. Weekdays had to go back to homeschooling the one and catching up on my writing since that’s how I make money. Authors only make money when they publish books, and they can’t publish books unless they write them. So like any other parent who is working and trying to meet the demands of long-distance learning, I do what I can.
The Rancher’s Bride is still in edits, but it is set for a late June release.
This is Book 2 in the Wyoming Series.
[image error]
Cover will be changing soon.
I’m in Chapter 6 on Nobody’s Fool.
This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Design Series.
[image error]
This is a cute romantic comedy about a lady who is desperately looking for ways to dissuade her new husband from falling in love with her. The hero is incredibly geeky but also very sweet, so it’ll be fun to see at what point she’ll change her mind. (It’s a romance. We all know she’ll end up falling in love with him. The fun is finding out “how”.)
I just started Chapter 7 in A Deceptive Wager.
This is Book 3 in the Marriage by Design Series. (This is the last book in the series.)
[image error]
I wasn’t sure what direction this book would take when I started it, but it’s turned into a funny battle of wills between a headstrong gentleman and an equally headstrong lady who have been forced to marry. For those who like strong heroines who won’t let a gentleman walk all over her, this will be a good one.
I’m in Chapter 10 in The Fugitive’s Bride.
This is Book 3 in the Wyoming Series. (This is the last book in the series.)
[image error]
Cover will be changed soon.
It has been really fun to finally see the characters find their happily-ever-afters after all these years. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Stephannie Beman for allowing me to complete the series. This is one of my favorite series of all the books I’ve done. A lot of moments have made me cry because the topics presented have been serious ones, but there’s been sprinkling of humor as well. (We all need some comic relief in order to keep things from getting too grim.) But this series is one that really comes from the heart, and I believe it represents my best work. But I want to give credit where credit is due, and Stephannie set the foundation with the characters and the main theme of the overall series, which is to rescue a vulnerable child and eventually get the ranch back.
For people who like romances like Brave Beginnings, Loving Eliza, Bid for a Bride, Eye of the Beholder, and His Redeeming Bride, the Wyoming Series books have a similar range of depth and emotions embedded in them.
