L.M. Preston's Blog, page 10
March 20, 2017
Surprise COLLIDING SOULS and RUNESUNIVERSE Teasers for You
SIGN UP FOR THE BIG, HUGE, EPICRELEASE PARTY ON FACEBOOK FREE ARC COPY for serious REVIEWERS ONLY APRIL 18TH, 2017RELEASE Party CLICK RIGHT HERE! Surprise for youThis is the WINNING COVER
This is the first draft coverBut ARGIA's personality fits better with RED
JOIN IN THE FUN AND SHARE A PICTURE OR TWO
OH MY, have we've got some fun stuff for you to share.
This is my personal favorite, can you find mine?
via GIPHY
AND THE RUNES UNIVERSE TRAILER
AND THE BANNER
THE TEASER of my COLLIDING SOULS a novella spin off of PURGATORY REIGN
Stop by our MEET THE AUTHORS page, and find out about the PAPER BACK giveaway!LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
This is the first draft coverBut ARGIA's personality fits better with RED
JOIN IN THE FUN AND SHARE A PICTURE OR TWOOH MY, have we've got some fun stuff for you to share.
This is my personal favorite, can you find mine?
via GIPHY
AND THE RUNES UNIVERSE TRAILER
AND THE BANNER
THE TEASER of my COLLIDING SOULS a novella spin off of PURGATORY REIGN
Stop by our MEET THE AUTHORS page, and find out about the PAPER BACK giveaway!LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
March 15, 2017
PATH TO OLD TALBOT cover REVEAL
PATH TO OLD TALBOTA Young Adult Fantasy
Thank you, Rue Volley, for creating this stunning cover!
Thirteen-year-old Charity can escape her unpleasant reality by stepping through the parlor closet of her mother’s new home, a mansion built in the 1800’s.
In her hometown of Talbot, New York, in the year 1880, she doesn’t have to worry about her depressed father skipping his medications or her mother flirting with her coworker. Instead, she gets to know the hatter’s son, who shows her a lifestyle of manners and pride. Few have ever accepted Charity’s old-fashioned ways…until now.
However, old Talbot can’t banish the present. Charity can stay in the mansion, with access to the hatter’s son in the past, and the prospect of a steady family unit with her mother and the new man in her mother’s life, or she can go back to her father, who has been given the option to straighten out his life and join them in their new home. Instead, his world unravels, and he spirals into violence and self-harm.
Torn between two worlds, Charity knows that if she doesn’t help him, she may lose him forever if he follows through on his threats of self-destruction.
PATH TO OLD TALBOT will be available March 24 on Amazon from CHBB.
Check out early reviews on GoodReads!
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Jordan Elizabeth is known for her odd sense of humor and her outrageous outfits. Surrounded by bookshelves, she can often be found pounding away at her keyboard – she’s known for breaking keyboards, too. Jordan’s young adult novels include ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, COGLING, TREASURE DARKLY, GOAT CHILDREN, and VICTORIAN. PATH TO OLD TALBOT is her third novel with CHBB. Check out her website for bonus scenes and contests.
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Books can be our window into the past when we don’t have a portal in our new house. In honor of PATH TO OLD TALBOT, enter for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
All winners will be notified after verification of entry at the end of this promotion. Prizes have been supplied by and the responsibility of delivery are solely that of the author and/or their representatives. Blogs are not liable for non-delivery on the part of the author. No purchase necessary.
Author: Jordan Elizabeth
a Rafflecopter giveaway LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
March 6, 2017
Announcing 1st Ever YOUNG ADULT Amazon KINDLE WORLD, RUNES UNIVERSE
Click To Visit The Runes Universe Page
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
February 14, 2017
Love is in the Air!
Happy Valentines Day!
My current obsession is watching this Hispanic biopic soap opera that has romance, excitement, entrigue and is mult-cultural.
I love it!!!
Celia! About the Cuban singer, Celia Cruz, loosely framing her rise to fame and humble, yet fierce spirit.
And if you want to just have a quick read today since it is a day of LOVE and ROMANCE, pick up some of my Novellas for a quick infusion of butterflies.
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
My current obsession is watching this Hispanic biopic soap opera that has romance, excitement, entrigue and is mult-cultural.
I love it!!!
Celia! About the Cuban singer, Celia Cruz, loosely framing her rise to fame and humble, yet fierce spirit.
And if you want to just have a quick read today since it is a day of LOVE and ROMANCE, pick up some of my Novellas for a quick infusion of butterflies.
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
February 7, 2017
Changing Book Distributor Is a Pain in My!
Being a Partner in my Publishing Business Isn't Always Fun
This time is one of the not enjoyable times. It's when my partner and I come together to plan our focus for the new release year.
We made a major decision to separate from our long time distributor. Our distributor has served us well, but our focus has changed currently.
WHAT WAS THE GOOD IN OUR DISTRIBUTION?
The reason we went with our distributor had been to get our paperback books into the bookstores. They did that for us extremely well for our last seven years.
We started in a time when doing POD was overly expensive and didn't necessarily get your book in stores or libraries. Therefore, using a small press distributor was helpful and streamlined our process and promotions.
WHY DIDN'T WE DO IT SOONER
Time. We just hadn't had the time. We'd planned on moving over backlist titles when POD prices came down, but procrastinated due to slow but consistent sales and it cost us in the end. Business is about learning and improving.
WHY CHANGE NOW?
After realizing that we wanted to update our covers, and would have to pay our current distributor to re-cover our existing backlist of books (which were now less than 2000 copies of various titles) we figured it wasn't worth the cost.
Moving those back list of titles to POD made more financial sense. Also, with the closing of many bookstores, we can no longer rely on that venue as a major sales source.
THE COST OF SEPARATION
Well, this is where I feel like it's an UGLY part of the relationship. In order to close our contract, this company is charging us for 10 months of service to close out accounts that they have to distribute our books. Yep, $40 a month, and cost to destroy the titles we have or ship them to us.
OUCH!
Yep, being both publisher and author, I realize the degree of investment a publisher makes in getting a book to the public, for selling it, for promoting it and much more.
BUSINESS MODEL CHANGE
Our business model is changing to being more supportive of our ebook promotions. From now on we will only use POD at least in the next 3 years.
HOW HAS YOUR CAREER CHANGED OR PERSPECTIVE ON PUBLISHING CHANGED YOUR BUSINESS MODEL?
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
This time is one of the not enjoyable times. It's when my partner and I come together to plan our focus for the new release year.
We made a major decision to separate from our long time distributor. Our distributor has served us well, but our focus has changed currently.
WHAT WAS THE GOOD IN OUR DISTRIBUTION?
The reason we went with our distributor had been to get our paperback books into the bookstores. They did that for us extremely well for our last seven years.
We started in a time when doing POD was overly expensive and didn't necessarily get your book in stores or libraries. Therefore, using a small press distributor was helpful and streamlined our process and promotions.
WHY DIDN'T WE DO IT SOONER
Time. We just hadn't had the time. We'd planned on moving over backlist titles when POD prices came down, but procrastinated due to slow but consistent sales and it cost us in the end. Business is about learning and improving.
WHY CHANGE NOW?
After realizing that we wanted to update our covers, and would have to pay our current distributor to re-cover our existing backlist of books (which were now less than 2000 copies of various titles) we figured it wasn't worth the cost.
Moving those back list of titles to POD made more financial sense. Also, with the closing of many bookstores, we can no longer rely on that venue as a major sales source.
THE COST OF SEPARATION
Well, this is where I feel like it's an UGLY part of the relationship. In order to close our contract, this company is charging us for 10 months of service to close out accounts that they have to distribute our books. Yep, $40 a month, and cost to destroy the titles we have or ship them to us.
OUCH!
Yep, being both publisher and author, I realize the degree of investment a publisher makes in getting a book to the public, for selling it, for promoting it and much more.
BUSINESS MODEL CHANGE
Our business model is changing to being more supportive of our ebook promotions. From now on we will only use POD at least in the next 3 years.
HOW HAS YOUR CAREER CHANGED OR PERSPECTIVE ON PUBLISHING CHANGED YOUR BUSINESS MODEL?
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
January 9, 2017
New And Exciting Deets On 2017 Releases
Psst!
I am back and in effect on board for lots of new happenings and mayhem this 2017.
There is a ton of happenings that are in the works that I'm not too sure of the solidified outcomes to let out of the bag. However, I am introducing a hot project planned for release and promo this April, 2017.
These are the amazing authors I'll be working with on birthing this HUMUNGOUS project.
Here's the lineup!
Kindle World Coming ForEdnah Walter'sRunes World Series
Participating Authors
LM PrestonJennifer Malone Wright
Nicole Zoltack
Raye Wagner
Char Webster
Jennifer L. Weil
Tawny Stokes
Ali Cross
Dorothy Dreyer
Melissa Haag
Stephany Wallace
Sarah Michelle Boyce
Please drop in and give some of these authors books a read and review until I share more great details of this adventure.
~ Happy New Year ~
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
October 17, 2016
TO FINISH writing a SERIES or NOT?
My PUBLISHING vs PASSION purposeDECIDING when to Shelve A Series
These are the two hats I tend to wear often. My passion is my writing. It is. However, being a business owner, I have to make powerful decisions about both where I cultivate my passion and where I grow my business.
A SERIES and GENRE publishing change
My career started with a Middle Grade Series book. I've written two of the five planned books of the series. However, during my merging of author and business owner my viewpoint of what to spend my time producing has seriously changed.
WHEN TO DECIDE TO SHELVE or DROP A SERIES
Our formula was based on the current sales, the cost benefit of the sales, the mode of sales, the type of sale and the maintenance cost. Also, the opportunity cost of the product.
Here's some considerations we made before shelving a series from a BUSINESS VIEW
1) Our Middle Grade books sold better in print form.
2) Supporting printing cost meant either, moving our printed copies to POD, dropping our distributor's role to maintain the print copies.
3) Touring worked best to sell our print copies and Middle Grade books. They just sold better when I was selling them in person.
4) The profits made for this series was good, but not at the amount needed to completely cover the (a) touring cost and (b) printing cost (c) promotional cost
5) Recent fans of the series have grown up. We would have to find a new group to read. Harder with Middle Grade since YA tends to also garner a large number of adult readers compared to MG.
Decisions Made Going Forward
Shelve the MG series and write YA.
We did this because at the time, YA was doing so much better on electronic media format that our sales could be better realized producing and selling ebooks. At the time YA did better in ebook format than MG books. The series will be finished, but with a POD and ebook focus.
Shorten the MG series
I didn't want to completely shelve the series, but we didn't think it would carry for five books. Therefore we are shortening it from a five part series to a three part series.
Product Novella's in YA Contemporary Romance Category
We had a request from my YA readers to see some contempory romance novels. My confidence in being able to finish an entire novel was skeptical. Therefore, we 'tested' the market with three novella's around the same theme of a 'Summer Romance'.
It worked well and we plan to put that in some of our future releases.
No Bringing On New Authors
Originally, my partner and I wanted to have at least four other strong authors in various genre. After trying out a few, we realized that the bandwidth needed to support those authors in the manner we felt was fair and profitable to all parties was not possible for us at the time.
I've got my eye on another partnering author that I plan to see some exciting stories coming soon.
So, have you seen series you've liked shelved?
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
These are the two hats I tend to wear often. My passion is my writing. It is. However, being a business owner, I have to make powerful decisions about both where I cultivate my passion and where I grow my business.
A SERIES and GENRE publishing change
My career started with a Middle Grade Series book. I've written two of the five planned books of the series. However, during my merging of author and business owner my viewpoint of what to spend my time producing has seriously changed.
WHEN TO DECIDE TO SHELVE or DROP A SERIES
Our formula was based on the current sales, the cost benefit of the sales, the mode of sales, the type of sale and the maintenance cost. Also, the opportunity cost of the product.
Here's some considerations we made before shelving a series from a BUSINESS VIEW
1) Our Middle Grade books sold better in print form.
2) Supporting printing cost meant either, moving our printed copies to POD, dropping our distributor's role to maintain the print copies.
3) Touring worked best to sell our print copies and Middle Grade books. They just sold better when I was selling them in person.
4) The profits made for this series was good, but not at the amount needed to completely cover the (a) touring cost and (b) printing cost (c) promotional cost
5) Recent fans of the series have grown up. We would have to find a new group to read. Harder with Middle Grade since YA tends to also garner a large number of adult readers compared to MG.
Decisions Made Going Forward
Shelve the MG series and write YA.
We did this because at the time, YA was doing so much better on electronic media format that our sales could be better realized producing and selling ebooks. At the time YA did better in ebook format than MG books. The series will be finished, but with a POD and ebook focus.
Shorten the MG series
I didn't want to completely shelve the series, but we didn't think it would carry for five books. Therefore we are shortening it from a five part series to a three part series.
Product Novella's in YA Contemporary Romance Category
We had a request from my YA readers to see some contempory romance novels. My confidence in being able to finish an entire novel was skeptical. Therefore, we 'tested' the market with three novella's around the same theme of a 'Summer Romance'.
It worked well and we plan to put that in some of our future releases.
No Bringing On New Authors
Originally, my partner and I wanted to have at least four other strong authors in various genre. After trying out a few, we realized that the bandwidth needed to support those authors in the manner we felt was fair and profitable to all parties was not possible for us at the time.
I've got my eye on another partnering author that I plan to see some exciting stories coming soon.
So, have you seen series you've liked shelved?
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
October 3, 2016
Pre-Release Sneak Peek #1 At Motley Education by SA Larsen
Well, I found out from the grapevine that
Motley Education releases less than 7 days
!
Here is SA Larsen's teaser that I snagged from SA Larsen's blog. I couldn't help myself.
I can't wait to read this~ Motley Education by SA Larsen.On AMAZONPre-ORDER today!
Meet Ebony 'Jade' Charmed:One of her exciting new characters
Drop in and say Hi!
S.A. Larsen, author of the MG fantasy adventure Motley Education (Leap Books Seek, Oct. 2016) & the YA paranormal romance Marked Beauty (Ellysian Press, 2017). S.A. Larsen's blog: http://writersally.blogspot.com/ LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
Here is SA Larsen's teaser that I snagged from SA Larsen's blog. I couldn't help myself.
I can't wait to read this~ Motley Education by SA Larsen.On AMAZONPre-ORDER today!
Meet Ebony 'Jade' Charmed:One of her exciting new characters
Drop in and say Hi!
S.A. Larsen, author of the MG fantasy adventure Motley Education (Leap Books Seek, Oct. 2016) & the YA paranormal romance Marked Beauty (Ellysian Press, 2017). S.A. Larsen's blog: http://writersally.blogspot.com/ LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
September 19, 2016
My Dark Characters
CREATING THE MOOD FOR DARK CHARACTERS
Is sometimes difficult when your mind isn't 'dark'.
So sometimes setting the MOODwith Music is a good start.
GANGSTA from SUICIDE SQUADand HEATHENsHelped me this version
WhaWhat do you use to deal with DARK MOODSDARK CHARACTERSDARK...places?
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
Is sometimes difficult when your mind isn't 'dark'.
So sometimes setting the MOODwith Music is a good start.
GANGSTA from SUICIDE SQUADand HEATHENsHelped me this version
WhaWhat do you use to deal with DARK MOODSDARK CHARACTERSDARK...places?LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
September 5, 2016
Wrestling with Characters
Yep, I feel like this sometimes. The development of a character is a give and take. Authors come up with various ways in which they are 'introduced' to their characters.
By dreaming about a character at night.
Day dreaming about a character.
Inspiration from a person in daily life.
An event.
An alter ego.
What ever the means is that a character is introduced. Sometimes development of the character is difficult.
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTERS
Since I am a visual person, I may go about this differently than most authors.
1) I find a picture and likeness of my character
2) I paste them on my screen or wall
3) I jot down three good qualities about them
4) I jot down three negative qualities about them
5) I write out what I want to improve in their personality
6) I play with their dialogue
7) I note their major moods
8) I list their 'ticks' or habit, repeated words they like to say
Once I've built this, I dive into writing. When I get stuck, I go to my picture and list of qualities for inspiration.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS
