Sacha T.Y. Fortuné's Blog, page 24

Self-publishing & the Learning Curve

There’s less than a week to go for Book 2 of my series, so I’m doing a million things at once. So please forgive the mini-rant!

I took some time to reflect on parts of the journey that have been the hugest learning curve for me.

Super-solid Photoshop skills

I appreciate that my Photoshop skills have definitely improved over the past six months!

This certainly wouldn’t have happened if I had loads of money to spend on graphic design for teasers and promos, so this journey has been well worth...

Faulty Freebies & My Book Characteristics Wish-List

One of my goals for 2019 is to read more. And review more — especially indie authors!

After all, it’s not fair to be begging for reviews when you’re not passing it forward yourself.

So over the last couple of weeks, I’ve given myself a huge kick in the pants to get this goal underway…

Hunting for Freebie Gems

I downloaded at least 50 books running free promos (to add to the at least 30 “TBR” pile already on my Kindle).

My strategy to stick to the freebies is a situational thing. I’m poor, but...

Giving Away the Glory – my “KDP Free Days” experiment

It seems counterproductive, but a huge part of being an indie writer is that, at some point, you’ll have to give away your book for free.

…In a BIG way.

Never mind the fact that you took 15+ years to publish the damn thing.

Never mind the fact that you’re still at the point where you’re jumping for joy when you see even ONE sale pop up on your dashboard.

Never mind the fact that one measly sale only makes you like US$1-2, if you’re lucky.

None of that matters.

If you want to get your name out...

“Pandora’s Poison” – countdown: 6 weeks!

EEEK! Are you ready? I sure am.

Today we are officially 6 weeks away from the launch of Book 2 of my Hart & Cole series!

I wish I could release it NOW, but I know I need to be thorough with my editing — plus, I also need to be patient and have an actual marketing plan this time around! LOL.

First on this plan is putting it up for pre-order, which I just did today.

It’s a little scary to commit to a date when you know you’re still FRICKING EDITING THE DAMN THING, but I did it!

Jan 22nd is my...

Romantic Cliffhangers: Will my story survive the “Big Chop”?

Yeah, yeah, I know. The blog post title is misleading since I always make a big deal about the fact that “I don’t write romance. I write relationships. I write people.”

But for all intents and purposes, my Hart & Cole series is about love. It’s a lot MORE than romance, and it covers all KINDS of love, but the relationship is a driving force here.

And there is a huge aspect of ‘romance’ though I classify it more as a ‘Women’s Fiction’ genre since it doesn’t follow the usual trends of a romance...

Pantser vs. Plotter – The Tipping Point

“I am not typically a fan of first person viewpoint writing but for this book, it works very well. The author managed to create two individual people within the story and tell a first person view from each of them and they did not get lost in each other, nor did one overpower the other.” (Red – see full review here.)

This is perhaps one of the best compliments I’ve gotten so far on my debut published novel Climbing The Walls (Hart & Cole Book 1) – one I didn’t even think of, when writing.

Bec...

The Conflation of Motherhood

Motherhood is a HUGE theme in my Hart & Cole series, and I thought it would be worthwhile to focus on this theme for discussion.

In our society, a woman’s worth is often conflated with her ability to not only bear children, but to then selflessly raise them without a thought for herself.

This is the crux of the drama for the first couple in my series, Kris and Nicole.

 

Nicole: “I could do that whole… mom… thing”

Nicole can do the “dutiful wife” part; that’s easy – she’s always wanted Kris; t...

Let’s Hurt Tonight: “Bring The Pain” Writing

“Tell me all of the things that you couldn’t before
Don’t walk away, don’t roll your eyes
They say love is pain, well darling, let’s hurt tonight…”

— One Republic: “Let’s Hurt Tonight”

Every time I hear this song, I think of my Book 2 main characters Darren and Luisa.

My beta readers already know the scene I’m talking about!!!

It happens about midway through their full story — when they each come to their explosive point and all the trauma of their relationship — all the elephants in the ro...

“Do I Need an Author Website?”

When I saw the question, quite innocently posed on a Facebook Author group, my biggest surprise was that the responses were NOT a resounding “YES”!

To me, it was. I mean, of COURSE you need a website.

Granted, I make a living building and managing websites, so I may be a *wee* bit biased, but this one should be a no-brainer!

For any business — and, make no joke about it, being an author (particularly a self-published one) is a BUSINESS! — you need to have a website.

 

Don’t be at the mercy...

Fear & Flight with Writing

I hate flying.

But if you’re a traveller, you have to bear with the means of transport to get there. Yep… airplanes.

I began writing this post while on an airplane kicking off my mega-vacation — Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A. and my old stomping ground of London, England. 4 flights and 3 weeks later, I’m now back home — and yep, I’m still not a fan of flying!

I could tell you a zillion things I don’t like about flying. Off the top of my head:

Getting to the airport early and waiting foreve...