Kristie Cook's Blog, page 47

Five for Friday

It's October!! Which means Halloween-y fun! Halloween also happens to be Tristan's birthday, but, shhh, he doesn't like to acknowledge it. We might just have to anyway...but more of that later.

There are tons of things happening all over the blog-o-sphere this month, including giveaways, blogfests, scary stories from your favorite authors and more. Here are just 5 to get you started:

1. Haunted Halloween by Jessica at Confessions of a Bookaholic & Lisa at A Life Bound By Books - I will have a scary story posted there later this month, including a giveaway!!

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2. Book or Treat to support UNICEF!









3. Halloween at the Haven (Paranormal Haven)




4. Halloween Giveaways at From the Shadows




5.Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick's Countdown to Halloween

My First Ever Book Show

I've been to an author festival and school book fairs, but never to a trade show. This past weekend, my publishing team and I made the trek to Daytona Beach for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) annual trade show. Holy cow! What fun!!!!

We had no idea what we were getting into. We realized before even going that we should have had a booth. See, the publishers have the booths and the indie store owners do the browsing. Probably should have been obvious, but we just didn't know. Besides, by the time we joined SIBA, it was too late anyway. So this was entirely a learning experience.

We romped the show floor, hung out in the lobby and bar and met lots of people and made some great contacts. And now we know what to do next time. Yes, there will definitely be a next time.

I handed out a few copies of Promise and lots of literature. Hopefully some of these indies will be selling Promise soon.

But almost as good (okay, a part of me says even better, but don't tell my publisher), this:
Saturday's haul by all three of us. We added nearly this much on Sunday.

And this:

My own personal loot...spread out...and not including tote bags and other fun items. Yes, those are Nightshade and Across the Universe ARCs!!! And many more I can't wait to delve into!All stacked up...except for the book I brought home for The Man, which he's already reading in the other room.Oh, yeah. I have lots of reading to do and reviews to write. Still can't decide where to start. For now, though, I'm finishing up edits on Purpose so it can go to the printer for ARCs. Yep, you read that right. Purpose ARCs coming soon. I see a contest in the near future...

Monday Marketing - Part 8: Price

Last week, we learned the basics of setting Price for a Product. This week we get more specific - setting Price for your Product. What's your Product? For most of us, it's ourselves - either as blogger, writer/author or employee; and it's our books or our blogs.

Your Blog as the Product
If your Product is your blog, you most likely don't have any Price to set. Unless you charge a subscription or for advertising, which is rare for most bloggers. So if a blog is your only Product, then you can le...

Meet My Guest! Meredith S Wood

Today we welcome the always funtabulous Meredith S Wood, young adult author of Panthan's Crucible and the upcoming Panthan's Abyss, among other forthcoming books of awesomeness. If you aren't familiar with Panthan's Crucible, it takes you into a unique world of familiar and not-so-familiar creatures, including the panthans - "they're like angels...but bloodthirsty."

In a world where humans are no longer the hunters, but now the hunted, Laura Morgan discovers she's a pawn between two of its...

Book Trailer Contest

Just a quickie to ask you to check this site out: http://yougottareadvideos.blogspot.com/ Vote for your favorite video trailer (um...maybe Promise? :-)), now until Sunday, 9/26.

If you have a book trailer, enter it for their next contest. Entry instructions are on the site's right-hand column.

Thank you!

Monday Marketing - Part 7: Price

I don't know about you, but I think we've covered Product enough in these Monday Marketing posts. LOL Check the sidebar for archives if you need to get caught up. ;-) And feel free to ask questions in the comments if I didn't cover something you're confused about or would like to know more about.

Let's move on to the next "P" or "C" in the Marketing Mix: "Price" (from the marketer's perspective) or "Cost" (from the customer's perspective).


Price refers to what the marketer needs to charge to co...

Five for Friday

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's Saturday. I was in meetings all day yesterday, though, and then had a ton of emails to catch up on. But I didn't want to miss this post completely.
As I posted on Tuesday, this past week was Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Besides Confessions of a Bookaholic, here are 5 more fantastic book blogging sites you should follow (in no particular order):
Ex Libris A Life Bound By BooksBook CrazyParanormal HavenBooks With Bite
Okay, I can't leave it at five! More:Lavendar Lines

BBAW - Interview with Jessica at Confessions of a Bookaholic

Yesterday I was meandering through the blogs I follow and stumbled upon a mention of Book Blogger Appreciation Week. My stomach sank. How did I not know about this before??? Where had my head been??? (Well, deeply buried in Purpose - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
I love book bloggers. In fact, I really want to be one. They have the loveliest blogs, tons of fun reading all kinds of frawesome books and play a significant role in helping out new authors. I really wish I had time for a ...

Monday Marketing - Part 6: Product

Last time, we discussed why Product is important to us as writers, bloggers and job seekers - because we actually have control over the Product. We don't get this luxury very often, in other work and life situations. Control is empowering, but it is also a responsibility. We have to be sure to create and produce the highest quality Product we possibly can.

Part of Product is packaging. When it comes to your actual book, if your goal is to be published traditionally, you won't have much, if any...

Amazing Opportunity for Writers

Cassandra Marshall, freelance editor and literary agent intern, is offering a FREE edit of an ENTIRE manuscript for one lucky winner. Do you have any idea the value in this??? Whether you think you're ready to start querying but just aren't sure or you have been querying with less than satisfactory results or, like me, you're indie and can appreciate a professional edit...this offer is incredible!!!
I really, really want to win...but if you do, instead, it's a win for me, too. :) So go enter! ...