Reena Jacobs's Blog, page 49

eBox Lovin'

It's been a while since I've gotten anything in my mailbox. At least it seems like a while for me. It's been tougher and tougher to purchase books these days. So many choices, but it's really potluck out there. Anyway, I've been forcing myself to read some of the books on my shelves instead of seeking the unknown elsewhere. And with NaNoWriMo in November, I didn't even bother with entering contests. It just took too much time. And these days I haven't been in the mood to keep up with them either. If you notice, I took down the contest widgets. Blah blah blah.

I snapped out of my contest blues for a short time this week and entered two contests hosted by Susan Bischoff. And won two eBooks!

I know this is bad, but when I entered this contest, I thought it was a book by Susan Bischoff. After reading Hush Money (review here), I was giddy about getting reading another novel written by her and a bit surprised she had one available. I swear I read the post, but for some reason my mind fixated on the name Susan Bischoff. Later I realized I'd heard of Imogen Rose on Zoe Winters' blog. Even then the story line had interested me. So I'm a expecting a winner with this book even though I had a brain fart when entering the contest.

Now this contest I entered and knew what was going on (I think). Ms. Benefiel is the same author who wrote the Zellie Wells series. I've mentally had her books on my to-read list but haven't graduated her to an official list yet. Pretty excited to have this eRead, cause it gives me a chance to sample her style. Plus, it's an erotic work. So yummy yummy! Maybe I'll read this one next and it'll give me that push over the edge into Glimpse.

My Software Tools

I haven't tried any new software for awhile. Mostly because I have what I need and playing around for a review is quite time consuming. Especially when I end up having to transfer the information back and forth. Instead of a software review, I'm going to offer a list of my tools as well as go through my creation process using those tools.

Once I'm ready to really break into a piece of work, I start with Character Writer (reviewed Part One April 14, 2010 and Part Two May 12, 2010). I absolutely love this program. By the time I finish running through the prompts, my characters have enough personality my husband gets angry when I invite them for dinner. Besides the character development feature, it also has a plotting tool. Oh how I heart the plotting feature. It's not in-depth, but helps ensure I have a beginning, middle, and end plus plot points. I'm still searching for a program that'll help me expand in detail. Power Structure (reviewed November 3, 2010) wasn't too bad, but the mechanics of it didn't quite fit my style.

So I have my characters and plot, what's next? Writing of course. For that, I turn to StoryBox (reviewed June 16, 2010 and October 6, 2010). This software has come a long way since I reviewed it six months ago, and Mark Fassett is constantly adding new features. StoryBox is heavily influenced by Scrivener (previously only for Mac but now in beta for PC users). I took a look at Scrivener last month (didn't toy around with it too much) and see a lot of similarities. Using StoryBox instead of MS Word has simplified my writing process. I'm able to flip through chapters, scenes, outlines, and storyboards quickly, making searches simple. Anyone who's dealt with a 80k document in MS Word knows what a pain it is. Or worse, keeping each chapter/scene in a separate document and searching for the right file. Oh bother. I still venture outside StoryBox for grammar and spelling checks (spelling check is included but doesn't quite work the way I want yet), but for the most part, my stories have found a comfortable home with this product.

Next stop, editing. This is really a me versus words kind of deal. But once I'm fairly satisfied with a scene, I run it through AutoCrit (reviewed March 31, 2010).The online tool has made me more aware of my problematic areas and helped me vary my writing a bit more. Love it, love it, love it! I do a little tweaking with the AutoCrit recommendations at my side then pull out my last tool. Text-to-speech.

There are a lot of programs available, but I'm a bit of a cheapskate financially conservative. Originally, I used a macro in MS Word. You can find one on the web and create your own. Just google "text to speech macro word." Most recently, Mark Fassett added the text-to-speech feature to StoryBox. So once again, I find myself happily sitting in his software. So what's the deal with text-to-speech? Editing one's own work is difficult. We expect to see/read what we meant to write. With text-to-speech, the writer hears what he/she actually wrote. I find it invaluable for catching errors.

That's pretty much my writing process with the tools I use. Besides those, I also have a few miscellaneous products I find useful. First up StoryBook (reviewed May 5, 2010). My ideas come in series. With StoryBook, I'm able to keep all my ideas in one document and make sure the plots and characters mesh correctly. No resurrecting dead folks because I forgot they kicked the bucket. And since I'm one to change character names midstream, having a reference point doesn't hurt either.

Then there's my newest toy, WordWeb (reviewed October 27, 2010). My precious. This tool eliminates the need to copy and paste to word or Visuwords (reviewed April 21, 2010) for a thesaurus. WordWeb runs in the background and pops up whenever I hit the designated shortcut keys. Doesn't matter which application I'm using. WordWeb is always at my beck and call.

So that sums it up for me. For those who want to try out some of these tools, all of them offer a try-before-you-buy option.

What software tools do you use in your writing process? Anyone have a plotting software tool they swear by?

Special Post: Tuesday Teaser

Once in a while I babble about my WIPs. Today is one of those days. I'm deep into editing Shadow Cat and hope to finish by the end of the month. In the meantime, I'm offing you a bit of a teaser. If you haven't read chapter 1, have at it here. Today, I give you Chapter 2:

[image error]Chapter 2

New York City

Three weeks later

Erickson Randall froze as the words on the menu turned into meaningless letters. Surely he'd misunderstood his assistant.

"Eric, did you hear me?" Bryan Hayes asked above the low drone of diners laughing and talking in the background. "I said they also lost the permits."

The muscles in Eric's jaws tightened. Lost the permits? Deported? He lowered the menu and released a controlled breath. "Everything is riding on this. The researchers were deported to Taiwan over a week ago, for Pete's sake! And I'm just hearing about it now?"

The corners of Bryan's mouth twitched in an uneasy smile. "Look, we can fix this. I have a few contacts…"

Bryan's voice blended into the steady drone of the other patrons. On and on he rambled, each syllable jabbing like a stick prodding an open wound. Eric closed his eyes, trying to focus on a way out of the mess, but a single word continued to crop into his head: Failure. It was just a matter of time before everything his grandfather worked to achieve crumbled to dust.

"…Perhaps they'll reinstate the research permits," Bryan continued. "I can—"

"We can't afford setbacks. Not with pharmaceutical sales going down the crapper. Hell! Nora Tech has already lost a shitload of money this year. This can't be happening." If Eric could reach through time and space and strangle those researchers, he would. No one in their right minds would clear a section of the rainforest without proper authorization. No one! And the ramifications. Holy hell! "The stockholders will have a field day if the money we've spent getting those scientist into Malaysia goes down the drain. Shit… William will be all over this."

Bryan rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you worry so much. The board voted you in, not him. Besides, William Fitzgerald is an idiot. I don't think I've heard one intelligent word come out of his trap." Arms crossed, he settled deeper in his chair. "Anyway, your grandfather founded Nora Tech."

"You're joking, right?" Eric gave a half laugh. "The stockholders don't care about my personal business; they care about making money." He muddled through his options, and came up with only one lame-ass solution. And he couldn't even claim it fully as his own. Leaning forward, he clasped his hands together and planted his elbows on the table. "Whatever you've got planned for the week, drop it. It'll have to wait. This is what's going to happen, Mr. 'I've got connections'. You are going to book yourself a plane to Malaysia and talk the government into giving us back those permits. I want you on the first flight tomorrow morning. Got it?"

"Yeah. Sure. I'm on it, boss."

Eric frowned at the nonchalance on his assistant's face. "Boss? Are you being sarcastic?"

Bryan's lips twitched into a smile.

Eric couldn't help but return it. "Is everything fun and games with you? Serves me right for hiring a college roomie. You were a crackpot then. And you're a crackpot now. What was I thinking?"

Bryan broke into a full laugh. "You were thinking I was the best of the best. Don't worry about the Malaysia thing. I've got this."

Eric looked his friend dead on. "I'm counting on it."

"Here you go." The waitress arrived with their drinks, sloshing liquid over the rim. "Sorry." A smile quivered on her lips as she tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. "The first course includes a choice of—"

"Actually." Bryan picked up his menu, and his eyes trailed down the fare. "I'll start with the rack of lamb—rare, then the prime rib—also rare, and the cheeses for dessert."

"Oh. Uh. Sir?" She walked behind Bryan and leaned over his shoulder. Using her pen, she tapped a staccato beat against the menu. "The rack of lamb isn't a first course appetizer. It's an entrée, along with the prime rib. You see?" The waitress turned her head, and her lips almost grazed Bryan's cheek. A few flutters of her eyelashes, and she straightened, biting the side of her lip. She flushed a pretty shade of pink and returned to the front of the table, all the while following Bryan with her eyes.

Bryan closed his menu and handed it to her with his winning smile—the one which got him out of more trouble than Eric could remember. "Is there a problem with my order?"

"Uh… I…" She blinked. Her cheeks took on more color as she swallowed hard, scribbling on her pad. "No… I guess… I guess not." Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she worried her bottom lip through a smiled and glanced at Eric. "And for you, sir?"

He hadn't even decided yet. Damn Bryan and his news. He scratched his eyebrow and picked up the menu. "Uhm… how about the sea bass.…" Shit. Appetizer then entree. Why did Bryan order everything at once? "No… the risotto, sea bass, and uh… just bring the dessert menu around when we're done. Okay?"

"Of course." The waitress grinned at Bryan, already dismissing Eric. His blockhead friend gave her a wink, and she giggled like a silly schoolgirl.

"I'll just take this." She collected Eric's menu and walked away with a spring in her step. She paused after a few feet and turned, pierced her lips together and blew an air kiss then disappeared around a corner. So much for fine dining and professionalism.

Eric shook his head. "Bryan… Bryan… Bryan."

"What?" His friend reached under the table and pulled documents from his briefcase.

"Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

"What do you mean?" He laid half the stack of papers on the table and pushed them toward Eric.

"The waitress?"

Bryan shrugged, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "She said it was no problem." Flipping through the sheets, his brows creased as he studied the pages, seriousness replacing the smugness.

Eric shook his head. His friend had no qualms about using looks to his advantage, unscrupulous about it really. His features were proportioned in a way women might find him attractive… if they were into boyish looks on a grown man, that was. He still had a full head of hair, a plus. Too bad the light brown color bordered on red which had earned him the nickname "redheaded stepchild" on the college wrestling team. Of course on the mat, he'd had a way of getting them to call him 'uncle.' And those funky hazel eyes. How Bryan, part Malay, ended up with that hair and pale greenish-orange eyes was a mystery. The only thing he really had going for him was height. At six-four, he had a full inch on Eric.

"But Bryan, two entrées?"

"I need the protein. What are you worried about? We'll burn it off in karate tonight." All through college Bryan had been an even match for Eric on the wrestling team. Likewise, he made an equally impressive Jeet Kune Do sparring partner. Bryan patted the stack of papers he'd set on the table. "Will you look at those?"

Eric picked up the pile. "What am I looking at?"

"Expense reports."

"Great. My favorite," he said under his breath and sifted through them. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

Bryan reached across the table and pulled the papers down. "You need to suggest cuts at the meeting tomorrow."

"Couldn't this have waited until after we ate? You really know how to ruin a meal."

Bryan shuffled through his own copies. "Page three, item four."

Eric flipped through and found the number—The Norabelle Randall Foundation ($10M—Scholarships). "Okay, what about it?"

"Maybe cut that in half or even down to a million… perhaps a full ride to just five select candidates."

"You're crazy." He flung the papers on the table. "You want to cut costs by scrapping the foundation my grandfather established in honor of my grandmother?"

"It's not like that. I'm not saying to cut it entirely… just… cut back a little until the company is doing better."

"Forget it. We'll find another way."

Bryan crossed his arms, crushing papers under his bicep. "Where?"

"I don't know." Eric snatched the top sheet, wrinkling the edge in his fist.

"Don't you think you're being a bit obsessive?"

"No!" Eric slammed his fist on the table, and the drinks sloshed, adding to the stains on the white linen. He leaned forward and tried to keep his voice controlled. "I will not dishonor my grandparents' memories by trashing the things that meant the most to them."

Of all the people, Bryan should understand—he'd gotten through college on a scholarship. Eric closed his eyes and pressed his fist to his forehead as he concentrated on calming his breathing. One. Two. Three. Four— Who the hell came up with the count-to-ten crap anyway? It didn't do shit. He opened his eyes to find Bryan staring, mouth dangling open. Sweeping his gaze around the room, he found the rapt attention of almost every patron in the restaurant on him. Shit.

"Okay." Eric flattened the crumbled paper on the table, avoiding the curious glances of the other diners. "Let's go over this line by line. There's got to be something else." He grabbed his drink and swirled it under his nose before downing it in one gulp. The slight burn of the scotch trailed down his throat and momentarily distracted him from the stresses at hand. He closed his eyes and relaxed as the smoky finish saturated his senses—a respite in the chaos.

"Well, well, well… look what we have here." Bryan's voice pulled him out of the moment. The lazy smile on his friend's face had Eric twisting in his chair to see what was worthy of so much attention.

A woman. Just like Bryan to let a pretty face sidetrack him from business. With her back to them, she allowed a slight, grey-haired man help remove her coat. Free of the heavy faux fur, she ran her hand up the back of her neck and under her hair, letting the auburn mane cascade in waves over her shoulder.

Eric frowned as he tried to place the vaguely familiar figure then smiled as recognition hit him. "Is that Angelica?"

"You better believe it," Bryan said.

The man with her passed the coat to the attendant before addressing the maître d. Eric would know that face anywhere—William Fitzgerald.

"Speak of the devil." Eric turned back to Bryan. "Could things get any worse?"

Bryan smirked. "Now that you mention it, they're heading this way."

"Great." Eric struggled to keep a straight face, as the heavy stench of cologne invaded every molecule of his personal bubble and announced William's impending arrival.

"Fancy meeting you here." William sneered down his nose, flaring nostrils with hairs sorely in need of clipping. Fitzgerald was of old money and played every bit the part. Only the best for him, the custom-tailored, Logsdail suit said it all. If he only knew his salt and pepper hair, slicked back with oil, emphasized his ever-thinning hairline. Old money? Yes. But sleazeball, nonetheless.

Angelica linked an arm through William's, scanning the table cluttered with papers. Her stiletto heels put her head to head with the old coot, though she couldn't be taller than five-four barefoot. "I wish I had known you two would be here. Have you already eaten?"

William patted her hand, not turning his attention from Eric. "Angelica, surely they have personal business to discuss. Let's not intrude."

"Of course. You're right, Daddy." She winked at Eric. Her father, so focused, missed the gesture entirely, and Angelica's mouth curled in a secret smile. Her red-painted lips glistened, adding the perfect contrast to her pale skin. The effect—naughty with just a hint of nice.

"Maybe next time," Eric offered.

"I'll hold you to that promise." Angelica's eyes sparkled mischievously as she walked away, sashaying her hips as she approached the head waiter standing at a discrete distance.

Eric's gaze traveled up her legs and ended on her pert ass, her red dress enveloping it like a tight sleeve.

"I'll see you at the meeting." William glowered, his dull green eyes promising trouble.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Don't you always?"

"Humph." William about faced and joined his daughter.

The host directed the Fitzgeralds to a table directly in Eric's line of sight. The only upside was when Angelica took the seat facing him, leaving the one opposite for her father. Thank God for small favors. Looking at William's ugly mug was the last thing he wanted to do while enjoying his meal.

Angelica caught Eric's eyes. Smiling, she gave him a single-fingered wave and mouthed something to him. He squinted to catch it. Did she say, later?

"What was that all about?" Bryan's voice broke his concentration.

Eric casually fiddled with the papers in front of him, musing over what 'later' might entail. "What are you talking about? You know how William is."

"No, I mean Angelica."

Eric jolted in his seat, his full attention on Bryan. "Huh? What?"

"I'm talking about that wink."

Eric couldn't help the smile that played on his lips. Sweet, delicious Angelica. He played with fire but had to admit, she was hot with her curvy figure and full breasts, such the daddy's little girl in public, though anything but in the bedroom.

Bryan grinned. "Now, I definitely want to know what that look means."

"Nothing."

"Right." Bryan twisted in his seat and stared in Angelica's direction. "Sometimes it amazes me that William could produce a knockout like her."

Eric grabbed his papers and turned to a random page. "We're wasting time. What about this?" he asked, leaving the topic of Angelica behind.

Novel Review: No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon was my first love when it came to Paranormal Romance. A bookstore clerk introduced her to me after Anne Rice stopped writing her vampire series. The Dark Hunter series completely captivated me. And I was lucky. By the time I got to Kenyon, she probably had ten books published in the series. So getting my fix was no problem. I wasn't so fond of the Dream-Hunter accompanying series, but I got over it and pushed on. All was good until I hit Bad Moon Rising, the novel prior to No Mercy. I'm not going to go into Bad Moon Rising, other than say I was sorely disappointed. In fact, I questioned whether I'd ever buy another Kenyon novel after that.

Well, instead of spending my hard earned money on the next questionable Dark Hunter book, I decided to enter giveaways. And wicked awesome! I won a copy of No mercy in a Dark Faerie Tales giveaway! So, before I get into what I thought of Kenyon's latest Dark Hunter release, a blurb from her blog:

Dev ~ A bouncer and self-proclaimed bodyguard for Mama and Aimee, Dev keeps a close eye on all the females at Sanctuary to make sure no one harasses them (unless they want to be harassed with the exception of Aimee–no one touches her).

Samia ~ Samia puts "hunt" in the word Dark-Huntress. She loves a good chase and thrives on toying with her prey.

As lethal as she is beautiful, Sam enjoys her job and lives for the nighttime where she is free to roam the streets. But unfortunately her immortality comes with a steep price that has made her slightly insane…

She is one of the infamous Dogs of War. Hunters so bad, they are constantly watched.

The story starts shortly after Bad Moon Rising. So for those of you worried about getting a repeat of a prior Dark Hunter novel, don't worry. You're okay with this one. Though I was apprehensive going in, I got more and more excited about this work as familiar names cropped up. It was like going to a high school reunion and thinking, hey! I know him! Absolutely loved it.

As far as the romance, I wasn't so much into it. It was lust at first sight, which I totally dig. However, it was tainted with thoughts like, what is it with this guy/gal which attracts me? Hello, maybe it's the hot bod? I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But if I'm into a dude, I totally know the reason behind it–he's drop dead gorgeous, he's masculine to the point it makes me drool, he's got sexy glasses, he's smart… whatever. I hate when characters play like they don't get it.

On the other hand, if I take the romance out of the equation and stick to the Urban Fantasy portion, I say this book was pretty fun. Kenyon detoured into a few secondary point of views (POV). And I know I've mentioned hating that in the past. But with the romance falling flat with Dev and Samia (we all know how Kenyon books end with shifters), the secondary POVs held more excitement.

Striker returned all bad ass and such. Plus we got a teaser from his ARC. I'm totally itching to find out what's happening next with him. Nick… oh so sexy Nick made an appearance. Oh how we love Nick. I'm hoping Kenyon builds him up like she did Acheron. Cause really the entire series fell kind of flat after Ash's novels. Maybe Nick will help give it that umph it's been missing.

At times it seemed as if Ms. Kenyon might have written herself into a corner. Some of the solutions seemed a bit far-fetched with no precedents. And it's rather lame to have all-powerful Acheron available to save the world as needed. As much as I love Acheron, I hope he gets imprisoned so folks can work their own way out of the tough situations.

One thing I didn't like was the Greek symbols. It's one thing not knowing a language but recognizing letters. The phrases here, I couldn't even sound out because the symbols were foreign to me. And no glossary in the back. It'd be like me sticking stuff like 안녕하세요 in my posts and saying it pretty much means "hi" then moving on. The quick references were quite irritating to me. For those who are curious 안녕하세요 is Korean which literally means are you at peace? The English spelling would be anyong haseyo.

No Mercy had quite a bit of slapstick humor. Some lines were pretty cheesy, but I had quite a few favorites. Tough job only sharing a few, but here goes:

"Last time a woman read my thoughts, I got bitch-slapped so hard, my ears are still ringing from it."
"I keep telling you, Papa eats the dumb ones."
And that common sense begged him to tell Thorn to shove it up a part of his body he was sure Thorn kept clenched tight enough to form a diamond.

Bottom line: This wasn't Ms. Kenyon's best book. However she did redeem herself after Bad Moon Rising. I might not run out to buy her next release, but I do plan to get around to it eventually.

No Mercy is available at the Book Depository!

A Round of Words in 80 Days #ROW80 – Goals

After the intensity of NaNoWriMo, Kait Nolan came up with wonderful writing challenge called A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). In this challenge, authors set their own writing goals for the next 80 days. This totally works for me, cause I'm a slacker at heart, while having public accountability motivates me. Set your clocks, peeps. ROW80 starts January 03, 2011.

What's doin' with me?

I've never been great at setting realistic goals. So why start now? Looking through my idea collection, I see I have a few stories already started. It's time to make some progress on them. Each month, I plan to start a new project. So here goes.

Jan: Finish the rough draft of Trinity's Awakening (New Adult – Suburban Fantasy)

Trinity's Awakening is an utter mess. I'm not sure when I started it, but it was before I got some writing tools under my belt–namely show versus tell. That skill is still a work in progress, but I'm getting better. Last I looked at Trinity's Awakening, I cringed at the overwhelming task of editing it. Honestly, I chose not to deal with it. Okay, so I'm still not going to deal with the editing portion. I'm just going to pick up where I left off and finish the darned thing. I have it planned as a trilogy, though the second and third books are not outlined. The only thing I really know about the second book is how it ends. The third book, I only know the character growth she'll experience. I'm pretty excited about this trilogy though. Not sure what I'll name the trilogy, but I've got the names picked out for all three books. Trinity's Awakening has a pretty decent outline and about 23k written.


Feb: Finish the first draft of Alley Cat and complete the first round of editing – 3rd and final book of the Striped Ones series (NaNoWriMo WIP – Contemporary Fantasy/Romance)

Okay. You might wonder why I'm writing the Striped Ones series out of order. NaNoWriMo. That's why. Start a book from scratch and finish it in 30 days. Well, I'd already started Stray Cat, so it was a no go. In fact, I have a lot of books I've started and not finished. Gosh I love starting books. How I'd love to have someone else complete them for me. Anyway, Alley Cat seemed the next logical choice. I already know how Stray Cat will end and pretty much the journey. So skipping to Alley Cat wasn't such a huge issue. The reason I'm working on the 2nd draft instead of finishing Stray Cat in February is because I hate editing. I'm hoping if I sandwich it between something I enjoy (like writing), I might be able to make greater progress and maintain motivation. Alley Cat is short 2-5 scenes plus a chapter from a complete first draft.


Mar: Finish the rough draft of Stray Cat – 2nd book of the Striped Ones series (Contemporary Fantasy/Romance)

It goes without saying, I need to wrap this up since it needs to head out before Alley Cat. Not much to say about this other than I think the beginning is pretty strong. It has a skeletal outline, and I've written about 9k.

Interested in joining? Well it's not too late to sign up.

Interview: R.C. Rutter on Marketing

R.C. Rutter was kind enough to visit us for a second round of questions. If you missed his first interview on Editing, check it out here. Please, welcome him back as he takes us through marketing strategies.

Last time you were here, you told us about your novel Cave of Forlorn available on Kindle and Lulu. What do you have planned for readers in the future?

Thanks for the opportunity Reena to return and offer more advice.  I am currently working on the sequel to Cave of Forlorn entitled "Shabb's Revenge".  A side project is also in the works that comprises short stories.  You might be wondering why I would write such a book.  It is all about marketing!  The more books you have available, the easier it is for readers to find you and I have several short stories that are already complete.  Plus it demonstrates that you are serious about your craft.

I will mention several web sites.  Please note that I am not affiliated with nor have any financial interest in any of these sites.  These are sites that I use to further my writing career.

Marketing: Big topic… When should authors start marketing their book?

If you think it is when the book is published, you have missed some great opportunities.  There are some reviewing sites that will not review a published book.  They require a five to six week advance copy of the book.  Their goal is to release their review the same time as the publishing date to maximize their impact.  Be prepared to send paperback copies of your book to reviewers.  Not everyone accepts ebooks.  I use www.lulu.com for POD (print-on-demand) and I like the quality.  Verify the text layout and covers (front/side/back) before sending out a copy.  There is no up-front cost.  Some of the other small printers require you to purchase a package with x amount of books for x amount of cost.

What are some organizations that review books?  I won't mention them.  Selecting a book reviewer is a serious and personal decision.  You must do some research.  Do they review books in your genre?  I am not going to send my fantasy book to someone who reviews civil war history.  You must read their prior reviews.  Will they like your style of writing?  Have they reviewed similar authors?  Are they too hard on books?  Some reviewers have a scale of 1 to 5 but never award a 5.  The ideal is to have an impartial review.  Does the reviewer charge?  That is a dangerous area because their judgment might be swayed by their bank account.  There are many avid book readers that are willing to do this for free.  Don't compromise your principles.

Do you have a web site?  Answering in the negative is NOT an option.  A web site is a single source for everything comprising your authoring world.  You will find yourself on blogs, book sites, social sites, etc.  You will need one location that references everything.  That way you can always refer a potential customer to an easy location.  From my web site, you can not only read about me, but you can buy my book from three different sources, view my photography and book covers, and keep up with the latest news about me.

Should you have more than one web site?  Some have an author web site and a book web site.  Are you looking to build an author brand or a book brand?  Perhaps both?  Let me caution you before it gets too overwhelming.  It takes quite a lot of time to promote your book.  It is not unheard of to work two hours a day doing promotion.

I always have business cards in my pocket so whenever the opportunity arises, I can refer people to my web site.  It has my name, web site, title of my published book, and title of my upcoming release.  www.vistaprint.com is my choice for business cards.  They are well-done professional cards for a very low cost.  On the back of the cards is a one-line advertisement for vistaprint.  I know a lot of people who use these.  When I am out with friends, I will often get introduced to strangers as "Allow me to introduce R.C., he is a published author."  That is without any prompting on my part.  When I hear that, I am reaching into my pocket for a business card.  (I try not to self-promote too much as it can try the patience of friends).  I am a semi-pro photographer and if I am out in public, I will offer to take photos of people in the tourist areas.  I tell them to e-mail me and I will send them the picture for free (as I am handing them my business card!).  Yes, this has resulted in sales.

I hear the term branding often. What is it, and how does it play into marketing?

Harry Potter
Twilight
James Bond
Mark Twain

None of the above requires an explanation and all project an immediate image to you.  That is marketing a brand.  You become the sole source for that identity of location and characters.  Once the brand is established, it garners more attention.  Success in branding is accomplished by understanding the needs and wants of your readers.  Basically, you are writing for your customers.  Marketing is getting your product (book) in front of as many people as you can.  Branding is combining an identity with your marketing.

Your brand then resides within the world of your customers and they become fans.

Do release dates play a role in marketing? And if so, how?

There are review dates as discussed previously.  Traditional publishers send out a catalog several times per year.  If you miss their fall catalog, you would then be forced to wait a year to have your Christmas book available (for example).  With self-publishing, that is not a concern.  You can flex your timing.  Would you rather release a ghost story in the springtime or around Halloween?  A pirate book now or should you wait until the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie is released in 2012?  How about a vampire book?  Did you notice how many were released very quickly once Twilight became popular?

Simply telling readers to "buy my book" isn't effective, so what kind of promo ideas are effective in reaching readers?

If I could just get Oprah Winfrey to hold up my book and say "Buy this!" I could retire.

You have to let people know your book is available.  I take every opportunity that comes my way to do an interview about being a published author.  Of course, www.reenajacobs.com and I have also interviewed with David Wisehart http://www.kindle-author.blogspot.com and I have been featured on www.bargainebooks.blogspot.com.  So we now have a cross-promotion situation.  I am promoting these very websites in my interviews; the interviews drive traffic to the sites which drive more people to view my books.

Google is very good at adding pages to its database.  If you do a search for "r.c. rutter cave of forlorn" without the quotes, you will see pages and pages of references to me.  Bear in mind that I only published my first book this past September.

I have lost count of how many friends and family members promised to buy my book once it was released.  I have heard this from other authors as well.  Simply telling people to buy your book is ineffective.  The best method is word of mouth – a recommendation from someone they know.  Your fans are your best marketing tool.

Some options are to join a site such as www.goodreads.com and promote your book with a book give-away or Amazon gift card.  A new idea I have seen recently is to have people "like" your page on www.facebook.com where a drawing is held for a prize from all the people who signed up.

There is not one size fits all scenario for this unfortunately.

How can an author use social media to their advantage?

I do a pre-announcement and post-announcement on my web sites for anything related to my life as an author.  I announce up-coming interviews, posted interviews, new reviews, etc.  I do this on www.facebook.com, www.rcrutter.com, www.lulu.com, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.com (message boards).  In between, I give updates on my writing progress and snippets of the storyline.  I have a master list of places to update so I don't miss any.  It can be confusing at times keeping track of all your sites.

What are some of the cost considerations for marketing?

You will have to pay for a web site, business cards, paperback copies of your book, and a quality book cover.

Cost of the web site.  I use www.fatcow.com and their customer service has been excellent!  A high quality book cover is part of your marketing.  Expect to pay in the several hundreds of dollars.  This is your first impression and don't overlook the readability of the thumbnail image.  Most readers will scroll through the list of books viewing thumbnails until one catches their eye.  If it is blurry or not readable, you might loose that sale.

You need to have printed books available for reviews and for purchase.  My book costs $14.00 to print.  As an author, I can purchase them a little bit cheaper but not by much.  So when I give away a book, I can feel it in the wallet.  I have to add $ when I ship the book to reviewers.  I have given away some as door prizes at social events but can't really tell if that has made a difference.  It has generated talk about the book but I don't know if that directly translated into sales.  Taking the book to a social function does allow me to carry it around.  You can spot the avid readers in the group.  They will make eye contact then do their best to ascertain the title of the book you are carrying.

What are some brief tips on obtaining book reviews?

Use www.google.com and www.facebook.com to search for book reviewers in your genre.  Read their specifications for submittal.  Read their prior reviews.  Ask about their expected completion and posting timeframe.  Use the message boards the various sites requesting reviews, again checking on their previous reviews.

Any final comments on marketing?

I was unprepared for how much time was involved in marketing.  Of course, this is occurring at the same time that I am writing the sequel.  It can be challenging at times but I feel it is definitely worth the effort.  I can now add "published author" to my name.  Once I sell the movie rights, I will add "Ferrari owner" to my name too J.

Thanks again for the opportunity Reena.  I really appreciate it!

For more information, where might folks find you?

www.rcrutter.com

Facebook

author@rcrutter.com

Thanks a bundle for sharing your tips with us, R.C.

Novella Review: Here There Be Monsters by Meljean Brooks

I originally purchased this book because it included a short story by Nalini Singh. The anthology included a few bonuses. I'd wanted to read an Angela Knight and Meljean Brook novel for quite some time. Well, I haven't read Ms. Singh's novel yet. But her novella will come soon enough.

I have a horrible memory; I really should write stuff down. Well, a few months ago I asked for recommendations for a steampunk novel. And someone asked if I'd read Ms. Brook's steampunk in Burning Up. Wasn't I lucky to have already purchased it. I finally got around to reading it. So the blurb from Ms. Brook's Website:

Meljean Brook launches a bold new steampunk series as a desperate woman strikes a provocative — and terrifying — bargain to gain overseas passage.

The first thing which stood out about Here There Be Monsters was the writing. The smallest name and at the bottom of the list. I'd expect it to be the worst story of the bunch, but the writing was excellent. If this is the bottom of the barrel, I can only imagine the rest of the stories will blow my mind.

So my first steampunk novel: what did I think? Well it wasn't so much different from other romances. If it didn't have the artificial limbs, airships, and mechanical gadgets, I'd say it was just another pirate story. In fact, the steampunk portions seemed more of a flavor than anything. Not really important to the overall theme. My first impression of steampunk is I can take it or leave it. Still, it did pique my interest in terms of pirate novels.

I'm afraid I didn't take too many notes with this read. The stakes were set early. And the pacing was great. Ivy and Eben were strong characters who I could really root for. The only thing I didn't understand was Eben's infatuation with Ivy. It wasn't something which grew. Eben seemed obsessed with Ivy straight from the beginning with no insight into why. I'd hope it'd come to light at the end of the story, but no explanation was given, making it the weakest element of the plot.

I had so much fun with Ms. Brook's novel, I'm definitely looking forward to reading the Iron Duke.

I purchased my copy of Burning Up from the Book Depository!

Guest Post: Elizabeth Kolodziej on Self-Publishing

Today, Author of Vampyr Kisses, Elizabeth Kolodziej, joins us today to talk about Self-Publishing. I came across her after reading her experience about getting her books into brick and mortar stores. Please give Ms. Kolodziej a friendly welcome.

Vampyre Kisses is an enthralling story about a young woman named Faith, who was content with her life, but deep down craved more excitement. Then a mysterious man named Trent enters her life and everything changes. Surprising to Faith, Trent is a green-eyed vampire from Ireland. She is even more surprised to find out that she is a witch, and the last of her kind.

Faith finds out that she is destined to restore her witch line and becomes more powerful as she gains confidence and knowledge, but danger lurks everywhere. Especially when unknown assailants steal the most important gems from the vampire master and werewolf royalty.

Now surrounded by a world full of mystifying vampires and werewolves, can Faith gain enough power to help her friends and rescue the stolen gems?

"Kolodziej created a mystical tale full of magic and mystery. It's a fascinating world, completely unique compared to the cookie cutout worlds most vampire authors use." – Vampires.com

"The storyline was full of action and excitement, clearly described, and I would be interested in reading more about Faith and Trent's continuing journey." – Mary at BittenByBooks.com

Ebook available at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27943

Paperback available at: http://amzn.to/aGDg3w

Self Publishing: Your Not Just An Author Anymore

Hi everyone, so glad to be on this terrific blog doing a guest post! I thought long and hard about what I would write about and a certain subject came to mind.

You see I was talking with my publisher about Barnes and Noble buying copies of my book. Let me first say, I didn't realize how big a deal this was for a self-published author, now I do! It's such huge news!

Anyways! This person from Strategic Publishing said to me:

"Seriously, I cannot tell you how much I wish all of our authors were exactly like you! You should be our official poster child! ".

Well, I had the biggest grin on my face and thought, "there is my ego boast for the day!" Ha ha.

But seriously, I wrote her back saying this:

"Thank you so much. I think a lot of self published authors don't understand that not only are they an author but they are now there number one promoter, marketer, everything! They gotta take charge and learn the business the best they can. And make tons of author, writer, publisher, and editor friends. Cause they can give you the best advice sometimes and help you through a certain marketing or writing task. I have learned so much from all the books I read, sites I visit, and people I talk to."

So this is my advice to every writer, author, soon to be author, aspiring author, you get the point. Please learn the business behind your craft. It is so important. Learning about the business side will keep you from being scanned, wasting money, and much more. It will also make you look that much more professional! When self-publishing you are becoming on entrepreneur. Any good entrepreneur doesn't learn half the business but all of the business.

What makes something like learning the industry so easy is the real simple fact that just about every author or person in the business is really helpful. Though getting an agent or getting published by a big publishing house can be cut throat or you may have your bad experiences, people in this world are just so nice and want to help you succeed.

Now for something even more fun! Here is a book I would recommend if you want to learn more about marketing and promoting. I think it's the best book to begin with. If I remember correctly he recommends other books you can look into as well. I totally trust this author.

Plug Your Book by Steve Weber

(not only is this a brilliant book made easy to follow but you can actually get in contact with the author to ask questions!)

Along with that here are some sites that if you aren't a part of yet you should be. Going to websites like yalichat.com, shewrites, bookmasons, writerspace, goodreads, etc are some terrific place where you can not only meet other like minded people that can become great friends, but it will be a place where you can learn, be taught, and teach.

These are the basic principles that I think more writers should know from the beginning. Yet, so many don't because, like me, you don't realize it's out there to do! Or you just don't know what your getting yourself into when you self-publish. I really hope this helps lots of people out there though.

And remember, you get what you give so be kind to others and help them out as much as you can.

Last thing I promise! You should also remember one thing when it comes to promoting. Do not let it affect your ability to write your best book:

"…The more anxious you are about forcing success through self-promotional effort, the less creative energy you have for the writing itself.

Simple Guideline:

Do what you can without

A)    taking away from the quality of your writing time

B)    taking away from the quality of personal relationships

C)     taking on debt"

(pg 243-244, The Art Of War For Writers, Bell, James Scott)

Happy Promoting!

Liz ^_^

You can find Elizabeth Kolodziej on her website (www.vampyrekisses.com), Twitter (@ejkolodziej), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/kweenkitten)

Today, Author of Vampyr Kisses, Elizabeth Kolodziej, joins us today to talk about Self-Publishing. I came across her after reading her experience about getting her books into brick and mortar stores. Please give Ms. Kolodziej a friendly welcome.

Indie Appreciation: Winner!

I have to admit, with everything going on these past two weeks, I almost forgot we had a giveaway going. Okay. I did forget for a few days. And it was only that someone else posted a giveaway post that I remembered I had my own to post. So what did we have up for grabs? Hush Money, which I thought was absolutely wonderful (see review here). Behold!

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I'm really looking forward to the next novel in this series "Heroes 'Til Curfew." Head to Susan Bischoff's website and check out the nifty cover art for it. Okay, enough drooling. The winner of Hush Money is

JL Jackson!

Congratulations! I'll get an email out to you straight away. You have until Friday, December 3, 2010 (midnight EST) to respond. Otherwise, I get to select another eager winner.

Thanks for all who participated.

Hush Money is available on Smashwords and a whole bunch of places. Head to Ms. Bischoff's website for a complete list.

NaNoWriMo – Recap

I meant to have one more post on NaNo for next Tuesday, but I didn't expect to finish my 50k a week ahead of schedule. As such. This is the last NaNo post from me this year.

[image error]This was my first year participating in NaNoWriMo, and I chose to write the third and final novel in my Striped Ones Series. The first novel, Shadow Cat, is complete and in the final stages of editing. Feel free to read the excerpt here. Still looking for beta readers, by the way. Or if you would like to review it, drop me a note (reenajacobs at reenajacobs dot com). The second in the series, Stray Cat, only has about 10k written. But since NaNoWriMo is about writing a novel from start to finish, I skipped to the end. And so we have Alley Cat. A quick look at my stats.

Current Word Count: 52,029
Date hit 50k: 11/23/2010
Highest word count in a day: 3397 (November 12, 2010)
Lowest word count in a day: 685 (November 25, 2010)
Wrote for 25 days straight

For the record, I haven't written since November 25, 2010. So what do I have to show for my 25 days worth of work? I have a nearly finished rough draft of Alley Cat. I have yet to write one chapter, possibly a epilogue, and two or three scenes I skipped. For now, I'm setting Alley Cat aside. I'll fill in the missing chapters when I return for a second pass in a few months.

Sure winning NaNo is great, but truly the biggest advantage of participating in it is the rough draft. I finally feel like a real writer. Why? Because now I have two stories under my belt. After writing Shadow Cat it was more of a hobby feeling–yeah, I did it. One more thing I'd tried. This time around it was more of a feeling, I did it, and Shadow Cat wasn't a fluke.

I'm sure lots of folks have tips and tricks on how to win NaNo. I won't even pretend I have some secret ingredient, but I'll share what worked for me.

Set goals: Despite not having a day job other than chasing my rugrat around the house, I knew writing 16 hours a day seven days a week wasn't for me. So I set a goal to write 5 days a week M-F, which came to about 2300 words a day. I managed to meet that goal all but two days. Though I didn't schedule writing for the weekend, I managed to squeeze some in anyway. I set a tentative goal of 1667 words, which is the daily word count suggested by NaNo. If I didn't meet it, no big deal, but it was always a boon when I did.
No excuses: I'm not talking about family emergencies and such. Real life can definitely get in the way of writing. I'm talking about the lame excuses which really are about lack of motivation and the desire to procrastinate while diminishing the guilt. There were days I didn't want to write. It would have been so easy to say I had church that day, had to play with my son, or had to prepare for my Thanksgiving guests (who stayed from November 25-28). Sure I had all those things in my life, but really church doesn't take up 24 hours of my day, my son naps and doesn't need me to entertain him 24/7, and preparing for Thanksgiving doesn't take 30 days. Granted, most folks don't have as lax of a schedule as my SAHM one, but in the end it's about dedication. Even if people don't have the time on their hand or the typing speed to crank out 1667-2300 words a day, I bet they have at least 10-30 minutes they can squeeze in somewhere to add a few words to their manuscript.
Outline: A couple of days before NaNo started I created character profiles for my hero and heroine. Kind of a get to know you session. Then I created a thorough outline, plotting every scene I planned to write. Shadow Cat I wrote by the seat of my pants. I'd tried outlining in the past and have quite a few on standby. But Alley Cat is the first story I've finished from beginning to end using an outline. Having an outline was useful because when I hit scenes I didn't want to write (and I had quite a few of them), I could skip ahead to a scene which interested me without worrying about plot integrity. I will admit my outline changed slightly as I progressed. I eliminated one plot arc dealing with scenes I'd previously skipped. I figured if I couldn't interest myself to write them, no one else would be interested in reading them. haha
Knowing the best times to write: I'm a night owl, and mornings and I don't get along. In fact, I can remember the last time I went to bed at 6 am, but can't remember the last time I woke up at 6 am. Getting any significant writing done in the early afternoon didn't work so well for me. But about 4 pm, my brain woke up, and we were revved to go. Knowing that, I didn't force myself to write early in the day. In fact, most of my major writing occurred past 8 pm.

So now that NaNo is over, what's next? I gave myself the rest of November off. I'm not going to pretend. Writing like a maniac for 25 days wore me out. Come December 1st, I'll be back to putting the finishing touches on Shadow Cat. I'm setting a goal of 1 scene a day, no excuses. I have 20-30 scenes left, so finishing it up in December should be no problem. Come January, I plan on doing my own personal NaNo and knocking out book two of the Striped Ones series.