Jennifer L. Armentrout's Blog, page 13

Publishing Stuff I: Lets talk about ebook pricing

Someone posted on my Facebook wall a few weeks ago and asked me to post about my writing and publishing process since I work (or worked) with small, independent publishers, big traditional publishers, and I self-publish and tend to publish multiple titles a year. So, I figured today was a good day to start talking about publishing and stuff.

 

First a disclaimer:

My first book was published in 2011. Since then, I’ve had close to 40 (give or take a few) books published through multiple methods. I am but a flash in the pan in the big scheme of things. Even with my experience, I’m still not the best person to dispense advice. I mean, I know some things. I pay attention. I educate myself. I never make assumptions when it comes to publishing or different types of publishing. But there are authors out there doing this thing for DECADES. Decades, people. I’m still just a baby at this, and that’s something to keep in mind when an author has only a handful of books or a handful of years and are speaking from a place of authority. Even if someone has a ton of success in a short period of time doesn’t mean they’re the disembodied voice of the publishing gods. Success is a strange, fickle beast, and it does not always mean someone is well-experienced.

And a second disclaimer:

There may be typos in here. I’m human.

 

So, if for whatever reason you still want to hear me talk about publishing after knowing that I’m basically entering kindergarten level of publishing, then by all means, please continue.

Let’s talk about pricing of books.

Did you know that average ebook prices have jumped from 30% to 60% in 2015? Or that the average price of ebooks has nearly doubled? Mostly on the traditional publishing side and probably (now this is a bit of an assumption) having to do with limited shelf space for print books and overall reduction in print runs.

I’m not making that info up. Its actual research done that easily findable on Google. Anyway, according to DBW, the average ebook on a bestseller’s list are priced $7-$8 buckaroos. That’s a range of several weeks. The days of pricing your full-length book at .99 cents and a 1.99 to hit a list (come on, let’s not pretend that wasn’t happening) are long, long gone.

Now that may seem like too much for a digital book. We can almost already hear the chorus of people shouting I never pay above XYZ for an ebook. That’s cool. I mean, there are only two or three authors that I will pay above $10 for an ebook. And when I do, I have no regrets about this. Nor do I think it’s overinflated of a price. Why? Because typically ebooks that are priced that high or either:

 

A traditionally published ebook that is releasing simultaneously with a hardcover/paperback that CANNOT (the print book) cost significantly more upon release .

Why does that matter? Because you CANNOT undercut the physical copy by offering a super cheap ebook. Why would any store carry a book and attempt to sell it when an ebook costs only a few dollars? Book sellers keep an eye on these things. Why would sales teams bust their behinds (and they do) to get a store to carry a book in stock if they know that they ebook is going to be so much cheaper that all the sales are going to slide that way? I know that there are people who believe print is dead. It’s not.
A TON of money goes into distributing a traditional book and even sometimes small press book. Sales reps. Marketers. Advertisers. Shipping. Stocking. Off set printing (opposite of print on demand). Purchasing end caps. Purchasing towers.
When books are published by a publishing house, there is a very large team of people typically involved and all of them like to get paid. Editor. Assistant to your editor. Senior Editor. Copy editors. Proofers. Formatters. Cover designers. Publicist. Head of Publicity. Marketing team. Sales reps. These are all teams of people who work directly on your book. An author may never speak to half of them. Sometimes you do. But they are there.


The book is millions of years’ old or some obscure non-fiction title

I have no idea why that effects ebook pricing, but if the book is as old as dirt or some random financial book written in the 80s, then you’ll see some high prices.


Publishing is a business

It’s a business. People are trying to make money. And when more people are involved, of course, they are trying to make enough money that the whole process makes sense.

 

That info above is important, because I remember way back when (only a few years ago), it was unheard of to see a digital book priced below $9.99. Oftentimes, the digital and print (paperback) were the same price. Maybe because I remember this, paying $7 or $9 for a ebook here or there doesn’t shock me.

Self-publishing revolutionized ebook pricing. I mean, I think it did and a lot of people did. Which is an amazing thing. For a lot of readers, high prices cut them completely out of the market. Not only did it expand the market, it also forced publishers to start looking more closely at their prices. Indies are no longer the only ones selling brand spanking new books for less than a value meal at a fast food joint. More readers means more authors means more books. LOTS OF BOOKS about LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS. Gatekeepers don’t have as much influence. Books that the status quo said there was no market for found their markets and did so without having to cringe when typing in the credit card info.

And then there is the downside of this.

Cheap ebook prices have begun cannibalizing print sales and losing print is not good for the overall market. Very few people in any form of publishing would be happy with that happening. Books are expected to be cheap and then even cheaper until an author is making about .30 cents per full-length book. Which you’d have to sell a crapton of .99 cent books to make a decent income. The value of a book has gone down. The value of the work that goes into a book has gone down. Authors find themselves pressured to continuously lower the price of their books or find themselves justifying why their book is above a certain price point. The market oversaturates, and while a lot of options is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be a tough thing for the creators of that market.

What has happened in publishing is a lot like what has happened to the housing market. Authors/publishers are the sellers and the readers are the buyers. It’s a buyers’ market.

Which to readers isn’t a bad thing. At least for now. Let’s hope it stays that way.

So all of this rambling nonsense brings me to some important points about pricing for authors and/or readers:

What is the value of an ebook?

I don’t have an answer for that. No one really does. But let me tell you what goes into writing a book for me. It’s probably the same for a lot of authors. The average book for me is around 90k to 105k words, sometimes more. It can take me anywhere from a month and a half to three months to write a book. That is typically 7 days a week where I am writing about 8 to 10 hours a day, sometimes more and sometimes less. At any given point during the writing process, I hate everything about the book, about me, about the characters, about my house, about the plot, and about everyone I know. At any given point during the writing process, I love everything and everyone and everything is made of unicorn farts. Just like any job at there, there’s a ton of ups and downs, and like any other job out there, it takes time away from family, from loved ones, and from doing whatever you want to do. Writing is like any other job. And after I finish one book, I start another. It’s not a 3mths out of the year kind of job. I hope that all that work and time is worth more than $4.99, but it is hard to put a price on that work. Those who read me know I have books that range all over the price scale. Sometimes I don’t even control that price to a certain extent.

Is there a cost to an ebook?

For some reason, there’s this belief that hitting publish on an ebook doesn’t cost anything. I think that comes from the fact that an ebook is not a tangible, hold in your hands thing. But yes, besides all the stuff listed in the point above, that book needs to be (and SHOULD BE) editing by a professional, then line edited/copy edited buy a professional, and then proofed. There will probably still be an odd typo here or there or things that are thought to be typos but aren’t. There is the cost of a cover design. Then there are costs of marketing and advertising this book. This goes for traditional and indie. It does not cost nothing to publish an ebook.

What should I price my ebook at if I’m indie?

Don’t look at me or really any one author in particular for that advice. Do some research. Go look at other books in your genre and page length/word count. Make sure you’re not undercutting yourself out the gate and setting expectations. Make sure you’re not pricing yourself out of the market. May I repeat this? Do not rely on authors to give you the best advice here. Do the leg work. Go to Amazon and B&N and look at the average prices. You may be surprised by what that is.

What about traditionally published books and small presses?

The publishers set that price, so please before getting shouty caps at an author for pricing, check to see who published it. They may not have had a say in this. HOWEVER I once did take a lower advance to get the publisher to sell the digital book at the lower price point, because I knew my readership was going to be like LOL at that price. BUT remember that stuff I listed way back up there? There’s a lot of money going into that book. And I didn’t even mention the fact that advances can play a role in pricing. But it can.

But Author Jane Doe said that an ebook shouldn’t be—

Ask yourself, is that author a household name that has been in the business for decades and pretty much can sell poop on paper for $25.00 and that poop covered ebook sells 100k copies in a week? No. Then no. Just nope. Like a bucket of nopes. What works for them is great. That does not mean you need to do it or that it will work for you. The same goes for a reader. One author or reader may never price a book below or above a certain price point. That’s them. Their way isn’t wrong. Their way also isn’t the standard. There is NO standard. The moment there is, that’s like a slippery slope of price fixing.

[image error]

Does pricing my ebook above XYZ mean I’m a sell out or not passionate enough?

Not passionate enough for what? To be able to pay your bills and put food on the table for your family? I’m sorry. Is there a land of free stuff that artists have access to that I’m unaware of? Creative content has always suffered from this idea that to be truly passionate about your work, you don’t do it for the money. Then by that same belief…. Doctors who are truly passionate about saving lives should be doing it for free. Or the cashier who truly loves their job should clock in for their 12 hour shift and not expect to get paid. You see where I’m going with that? Charging more than 2.99 doesn’t mean you’re a sell out, ripping people off, or not passionate. You’re trying to carve out a living during the work you love, just like anyone else out there.

But what if I only want to buy books priced under XYZ and this author charges above that?

That’s totes your choice and rightfully your choice. No one should side-eye you. They ain’t paying you, right? So they don’t get to determine what you can or choose to afford. BUT you can’t expect an author to price their book a certain way, indie or traditional. The best thing I can tell you is to subscribe to Book Bub, that author’s newspaper and their social media sites, because if their book is priced too high for you, it will likely go on sale eventually.

Pricing is a tricky beast to discuss between authors and readers. It’s kind of like talking about politics in a room full of strangers. Just remember, not all authors books are going to be priced the same and what someone may or may not pay may not be a reflection of what they think your book is worth. Everyone has something different that works for them.

In future posts I think I’ll talk about:

Traditional, Hybrid, Indie OH MY

Releasing multiple titles a year

PR and advertising companies

Signings and events

How to stop yourself from rocking in the corner

How to enjoy time rocking in the corner

Bestseller Lists

Author Friendships

Ghostwriting and Book Packaging (apparently an explanation that’s badly needed)

Final words: There is no one way or right way to publish a book. Every journey is different. And if you write, you’re an author. Embrace it, baby.

And don’t forget to sound off in the comments. Let people know what factors determine how much you pay or how much you charge?

The post Publishing Stuff I: Lets talk about ebook pricing appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Fire In You is finally here!

It’s finally release day! Fire In You is now available!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2eOjEh6

B&N: http://bit.ly/2bVLCXB

iBooks http://apple.co/2bdWMWy

Bonus Content Form: https://a.pgtb.me/M7KhMC

It feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this! Fire In You can be read as a standalone. You do not need to read the previous books that takes place in the same world. This is, however, this is the last book that takes place in the same world I randomly came up with while taking a shower in January 2013. I hope you’ve enjoyed the characters as much as I have.

Jillian and Brock have always held a special place in my heart. I think a lot of people can relate to Jillian, to that moment when you realize you’re not truly living but only existing. Fire In You is about the strength it takes for forgiveness and the hope that’s needed for second chances.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, here is the official trailer for Fire In You. Love it!

I have a big giveaway for you in celebration of Fire In You!

Lots of stuff in this prize! Signed books by me, including an ARC of my next release Till Death. I also have signed books from Amy Briggs. LB Dunbar, Mikey Lee, BT Urruela, Gina Sevani, and Kami Garcia.

A Kindle Fire is also included, along with a BT signed Honor the Sacrifice calendar. There is a Fire In You notebook, stickers for those who like to plan, and other neat stuff.

Contest is International.

Ends 12/3 11:59pm

Winner must respond to email provided upon entry within 48 hours to claim prize.

Author is not responsible for lost or damaged prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Fire In You is finally here! appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Giving Thanks!

Today is Thanksgiving!!

Which means I can never wash away the scent of raw turkey all day. While the bird is roasting and before I start making all the side dishes, I thought I’d do a BIG giveaway for readers in order of Thanksgiving and the upcoming release of Fire In You.

YES! Fire In You comes out on 11/28/2016. Just a couple of more days.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2eOjEh6

B&N: http://bit.ly/2bVLCXB

iBooks http://apple.co/2bdWMWy

Bonus Content Form: https://a.pgtb.me/M7KhMC

Fire In You can be read as a standalone contemporary romance. It is the last book in the Wait for You world, but if you haven’t read the previous books, you can start with Fire In You. They can be read in any order.

Here’s a little more about Fire In You

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun.  It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when  sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

Have you’ve seen the amazing trailer?

So It’s time for the contest. Here is what’s up for grabs.

Contest Rules

Ends 11/28/2016 11:59am

International

Author is not responsible for damaged and lost prizes.

Winner must respond to email giving at entry within 48 hours to claim prize or prize is reassigned.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Giving Thanks! appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

The Fallen Kingdom Cover REVEAL

I am so excited to reveal the cover for one of my favorite series written by one of my favorite people (who actually got me to try haggis) today!

The Fallen Kingdom

by Elizabeth May

Releasing June 13, 2017

Pre Order Now!

Amazon

B&N

When we last saw her, Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, had been resurrected by the Cailleach in a desperate attempt to preserve the ancient line of the most powerful fae. Now Aileana has returned with no memory of her past and with dangerous powers she struggles to control. She now has access to the minds of any fae she chooses, and—despite her good intentions—finds a troubling new taste for ruthlessness and cruelty. Worse still, Kiaran has been forced by the evil fae Lonnrach into his true form, the deadly Unseelie King, who is cursed to either kill or be killed by his sister Aithinne, the Seelie Queen. One of them must die, or else the human and fae worlds will be destroyed forever.

Their only hope to break the curse is hidden in an ancient book guarded by the Morrigan, a faery that was imprisoned by the Cailleach and, it is said, cannot be killed. Aileana has one last chance to save the world and the people she loves: she must learn to harness her dark new powers even as they are slowly destroying her, find the book, and kill the Morrigan, breaking the curse once and for all. This final installment in the Falconer trilogy is a breathless, harrowing, and page-turning read that brings Aileana’s story to an epic conclusion.

Look at how gorgeous they are together?

If you haven’t checked out this amazing high octane fantasy with tons of action and swoon inducing romance, then pick up the Falconer and Vanishing Throne now.

Elizabeth May resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband. THE FALCONER was her début novel. For more information, follow her on Twitter @_ElizabethMay or visit her website www.elizabethmaywrites.com

The post The Fallen Kingdom Cover REVEAL appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Celebrate The Lovely Reckless!

The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia is out today!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia, a gritty contemporary romance full of loss, love and redemption…

Haunted by memories of her boyfriend’s death and her inability to identify the killer, Frankie would do anything to forget the past. She now lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. After a reckless mistake, Frankie must leave her privileged life in the upper class Heights to enroll at a public high school in the Downs, where fistfights are common before first period and some students drive in illegal street-races at night.

Marco Leone is the best racer there is. Tough and dangerous and entirely captivating, he makes it difficult for Frankie not to feel. But the lengths Marco goes to in order to survive in the Downs threaten to have devastating consequences. When Frankie is confronted with his secret, she must decide if she is willing to let her tragic past determine her future. Can she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

BUY NOW

I loved this book! Trust me, you’re going to want to read it. To celebrate it’s release, I am giving away a signed copy of The Lovely Reckless and The Problem With Forever

Contest is international

Ends Monday October 10th 11:59pm

Author not responsible for lost or damaged prizes

Winner must claim prizes within 48 hours.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Celebrate The Lovely Reckless! appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Something I think about everyday

Something occurred to me a few days ago. It was kind of epiphany moment as I was sitting in my office feeling bad because I hadn’t been able to work out the last couple of days because of numerous factors that are valid and also because I’m lazy.

(Actually, I regret that order of cheese fries, but whatever)

It struck me then that I’ve spent the last twenty-some years fixated on my weight and appearance. Like seriously. Not even exaggerating. I clearly remember the first time I felt like my thighs were too big. I was thirteen and I was playing softball. I was a catcher, so the straps on the leg gear created bulges. I can’t even tell you how many times I bought into those diet ads in the back of magazines and convinced my mom to order them for me. Look, this was before the Internet. I spent my entire high school concerned about my weight, and I wasn’t actually overweight. I wasn’t skinny either. I was in that in-between stage—the average stage. And I was consumed with diet tricks and being thinner. Well, consumed wasn’t the right word for it, because I never stuck to a diet. Ever. I like food. A lot.

(me to food)

So I worked out. A lot. Then during my first year of college ephreda hit the market and I gobbled that shit down like it was candy. I worked out twice a day, went to school, AND worked my part time job. I got skinny. Like so skinny that it was all people complimented me on. I’d finally made it… except then I got too skinny and a good friend of mine told me I looked like I was sick. That was also a positive affirmation, because come on, jellies! But then I was getting changed one day and was bending over. In the mirror I saw every single bump of my spine. Every one. When I straightened, I saw my hipbones. There was really no muscle tone. See, all I need was cardio and eat ephreda and swiss cheese. I have no idea why, but I was big on swiss cheese, cheerios, and chewable Sprees back then. I blame college. Being a psychology major, I recognized that I had tipped over the scale so to speak. I was entering eating disorder territory. Actually, to be honest, I probably had one. It’s hard to even admit that.

(cries!!!)

I stopped popping ephreda and working out twice a day. Hello, cheese fries get in my tummy. But those thoughts never stopped. College came and went, relationships began and ended, marriage happened, a great career started, and those thoughts are still there, every fucking day. Not one single day had gone by without me thinking I wish I was this, whatever this was. And that is insane. Holy crap, it’s unbelievable. Like if I was thinner than am I, like, going to write better or something?

But those thoughts get so tied up with every other aspect of your life, it infects like a virus. The thing is these concerns, these voices and worries don’t start at thirteen anymore for girls. They are starting younger and younger.

I ask myself why this has always been a thought, a worry, a concern in the back of my head, at least once a day and usually more than that. The easy answer would be to blame media and advertisement, but those things respond to what the people want—basic supply and demand. Sure, this could be a vicious cycle or a case of what came first, and while media and culture do have a huge impact, we have to acknowledge that each of us is a part of that culture. We helped create it in one way or another. We feed into those nagging voices in the back of small girl’s head or a grown woman’s mind every time, and by we, I’m talking about us women.

When it comes to self-image and self-worth and how we view ourselves, the words and opinions of other women, carry so much more weight. Our words regarding each other oftentimes cut so much deeper, because we should know better. Right? Most of us females share the same struggles, insecurities, and thoughts. We should be able to emphasize and sympathize with those quiet voices that says you shouldn’t wear this, do I have a roll when I do this, or you shouldn’t think that or only if you fit into this or so on and so forth.

Some of the worst posts I’ve come across on the Internet usually involves women commenting on other women’s appearance, anywhere from telling a woman she should cover up while telling a guy to show any number of body parts (hello, slut shaming and you’re welcome double standards) to openly discussing how a women has aged or if she’s gotten plastic surgery or if she’s too skinny or too fat (hello, body shaming). I think sometimes we comment so freely about celebrities because we don’t see them as human beings. They aren’t friends or family. They are these untouchable and unreachable people, but not only do we forget that these people are in fact human beings we’re so openly criticizing or laughing at, we also forget is that female friends and families are seeing these comments. You may think discussing a celebrities’ appearance is no big deal, but all of that feeds into this culture of nearly unattainable perfection. Those harmless comments about someone ruining their face or losing too much weight become a fuel for that noxious brain fire.

I mean, sweet baby Jesus in a tuxedo, recently Alicia Keys trended for like DAYS, ya’ll, DAYS, because she didn’t wear makeup. SHE DIDN’T WEAR MAKE UP. And do you think it was men all over those posts congratulating Alicia or telling her she really needed to cover up those circles because she looked haggard or that she was using BB cream so it didn’t count? LOL. Nope. The vast majority of commenters were women. Even a well-known ‘feminist’ website slammed Keys no make up choice, and I’m over like what in the holy fuck of all fuckdoms do we care this much about what another woman is doing with her face. Her. Face.

Body shaming is a thing that does occur. It happens sometimes by accident. It happens sometimes by purpose. It’s not a product of a P.C. culture. Just like slut shaming, rape culture, and double standards are all very real things. None of these things should really be made light of or dismissed, because they do very real damage to people. We criticize each other when people take steps to change the things people have deemed unattractive, rather it be through natural or artificial ways. It’s literally a no win situation for many. You lost weight? It must’ve been through surgery. Your changed those squinty eyes? Why did you ruin your face? You gained weight? You’re lazy. It goes on and on.

I think to myself that I don’t want to spend another couple of decades worrying about weight and appearance, but I know that’s not going to change, no matter if I’m a size 4 or size 20 or how good I get at contouring and hiding those crow lines. And I think about all the times I’d fed into those thoughts myself. That I still do.

And to those who are a hundred percent happy with themselves and have no negative thoughts, then kudos to you. I do not mean that sarcastically. I strive to be like that one day.  Truly. And to the people who don’t believe you when you say you’re that way?

I’m kind of a lost cause when it comes to this facet of my life. It’s always going to be in the back of my mind. I don’t mean that as a sad thing. Realizing that was kind of a relief in a way.  That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying. Mostly means the exact opposite.

But maybe it will be different for your daughters or their daughters. I guess that’s something to think about before we decide to comment on another person’s appearance. We may not be able to change those voices in us, but maybe we can stop those voices from forming in girls and in boys so they don’t spend decades struggling with never good enough, never whatever enough.

PS. I may be an author, but you’ll probably find typos and grammatical errors here, because I’m human and I have really good editors.

The post Something I think about everyday appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Book News!

I have news today! Book news!

Yes, really.

I have a new book series coming out from HarperCollins Avon. Here is the official Publisher’s Market Place (PM) announcement. I believe publication will be in early 2018.


“”NYT bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s MOONLIGHT SINS, the first in a new romantic suspense series, in which a young woman takes a caretaker job at the mansion of an infamous wealthy family known as “the Kennedys of the South” and finds herself pulled into a web of secrets, rumors–and murder, to Tessa Woodward at Avon, in a three book deal, by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (World English).





For those who have followed me, you might remember seeing me post about getting a creeptastic idea after watching an episode of The Dead Files.





The episode involved tainted/cursed land and for some bizarre reason that spun into this idea about a very wealthy family with a very messed up past, and from there I came up with three brothers– the de Vincent brothers– nicknamed Demon, Lucifer, and Devil. This is an adult romantic suspense series.

Let me tell you about the de Vincent family…

Some people believe that there are gateways to hell all around the world, tainting the land and cursing anyone who dares to build there. The de Vincent Mansion, home to one of the wealthiest and oldest families in America is rumored to be such a place. For all the riches and power in the world, the blue-blood family has been plagued with insanity, strange and unexpected deaths, odd disappearances, and even rumors of cold-blooded murder.

On the surface, the darkly handsome de Vincent brothers have only lived a life of extreme privilege. The three of them: Devlin, Gabriel, and Lucian attended the most prestigious private schools and colleges, drove only the fanciest and fastest cars, dated the most beautiful women from all around the world, and one day would control a vast and powerful fortune. Their wild and primitive ways rightfully earned them the nicknames of Devil, Demon, and Lucifer. Nicknames that appeared terrifyingly fitting, because beyond the lavish grounds of the de Vincent mansion, behind the marble columns and underneath the opulent quarters, it is said the home is haunted, and the secrets and sins of generations past fester, rotting the family from the inside out.

Where superstition runs rampant, it is rumored that those ghosts drove their mother to leap from the roof of their home on a stormy, summer night—the same night Madeline, their sister, disappeared, no one knows if she is dead or alive. All of this gives credence to the belief that there is something very evil that prowls the grounds there, but for the de Vincent family, their demons are very much flesh and blood.

These guys are bad.
And these guys are really, really good at being bad.

In MOONLIGHT SINS, you will meet Lucifer, the youngest and wildest of the brothers, and let’s just say he’s a handful and a half, in more ways than one… or five.





I believe (or hope) there will be some more book news that involves a new YA series (whole new thing that I am dying to talk about but can’t) by the end of the year or beginning of next.

The post Book News! appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Fire In You Cover Reveal

Super excited to share the final cover for Fire In You, along with official description, because we’ve been waiting FOREVER for this book, right?

Fire In You releases 11/28/2016

You can pre order now thru

iBooks

Amazon, B&N, Kobo pre orders coming shortly!

***

From the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun.  It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the past sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

***

I love the final cover which was photographed and designed by Sara Eirew Photography and features the amazing BT Urruela and Solène Ollivier. It blends in wonderfully with the rest of the books in the Wait for You world.

Fire in You can be read as a standalone romance, but for those who are familiar with the world that it takes place in, you will get to see some favorite faces–Cam and Avery, Teresa and Jase, Calla and Jax, Steph and Nick, Roxy and Reece, Abby and Colton, and yes… Katie makes an appearance, along with the tortoises and more.

Cannot wait for you guys to follow Brock and Jillian’s story.

The post Fire In You Cover Reveal appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Hitting Bestsellers’ lists… and Not

Spoiler Alert.

Today is Wednesday.

            To those outside of the publishing industry and those authors who don’t have a recent release, it’s just hump day—the day where people are usually posting pictures of random dude butts. I’m not going to share a random dude butt, but here is something infinitely better.

But to those in publishing and those authors who’ve had a book come out within the previous week, today is BESTSELLER LIST day. A day where wildest dreams can be made and dreams can ultimately be crushed—crushed in a manner which is akin to having your lady parts’ hair removed with rusty pliers. This is the day where publicists and editors and agents all around the world are hastily refreshing the USA Today Bestseller’s list page, and authors are waiting to see if their phones will ring anywhere between 4:00pm EST and 6:00pm EST to see if they’ve hit the New York Times List.

            Getting that phone call is a pretty amazing experience. I’ve been lucky. Out of the thirty-some books I’ve published, I’ve had that phone ring over a dozen or so times. Sometimes I was shocked. Hell, there has been times when my editor was shocked. There were times when I knew the call was coming. And there have been times when I just knew that call would be coming and it didn’t. There have also been times when I just knew that call wasn’t coming and it didn’t.

            Hitting a list is an outstanding, wonderful accomplishment, one that should be celebrated with posts and tweets and dinners and drinks, but this post isn’t about hitting a list. This post is about when that call doesn’t come. When that email doesn’t hit your inbox with “congrats!!!!!” and attachment to a list.

            Let me get this out of the way. I don’t have a recent release that would qualify for the list. The reason I’m clearing the air is because talking about not hitting a list sometimes gets chalked up to sour grapes and bitterness. Like with advances and print runs and sell-through numbers, bestsellers’ lists are not something we’re supposed to talk about unless it’s about hitting them. To acknowledge disappointment is tantamount to admitting failure or something far worse. What, I haven’t figured out, but authors are groomed in very strange ways when it comes to bestsellerdom. We are told constantly by, like, everyone in the industry that hitting a list doesn’t matter. We are told that no one really pays attention to those lists anymore and publishers/agents are more focused on long term growth, but—and there’s a very large but here—when we do hit the list, we’re praised, new contracts are easier to secure, sometimes invites to super awesome-special events come through, and you get to update your bios on all your social media accounts. The thing is, what everyone is saying before you hit the list and when you don’t is true. And how you may be treated after hitting a list is also true. It’s a weird thing.

            But you’ve got to have your I-just-lost-the-Oscar-and-these-damn-cameras-are –in-my-face smile on. If you’ve hit lists and then don’t hit them again or if you never hit them, publicly you’ve got to be all gracious and cool while inwardly you may be panicking that you’re career is over and everyone hates you. Worse yet, you’re told constantly that writing isn’t a competition when there are lists that literally pit books against one another, and it sort of feels like a competition. And if you feel like it’s a competition, you feel like a douchebag because everyone is constantly saying that it’s not. When it comes to not hitting lists, you’re groomed to not feel bad about it, but you still might.

            Hey, some of you might not even care about those lists. If that is you, stop reading right now. This post isn’t for you, you damn unicorn. Okay, you’re not unicorn. You just have your head on straight in a world where everyone else’s head is on backwards. But again, this isn’t for you.

            This is for the ones who feel bad.

            I’m here, as I am sure many others are, to tell that it’s okay to feel that disappointment. It’s okay to have that mini-freak out. It’s okay to feel like writing sometimes is the Olympics and you’re the guy whose sitting on the couch eating cheese fries and scribbling in your notebook while watching the ‘true’ writers pass you by, hyped up on Starbucks and typing away on their shiny Macs.

            Most of us feel that way at some point and sometimes quite often.

            Even those who’ve hit lists multiple times. And this isn’t a case of the pretty girl crying because people hate her because she’s pretty kind of thing. There is a whole different set of pressure that lands on the shoulders of authors who hit lists and are expected to keep doing that—expected to stay on the list and expected to hit higher and higher with the next book and then the next. That pressure keeps mounting until it’s all you focus on and you forget why in the hell you’re doing this anyway. And sometimes that pressure isn’t coming from any outside influences. Your editor, your agent, your friends, and your team of cool people really mean that they still think you’re awesome and want to work with you even if they book didn’t hit, but you don’t believe them. That’s not on them. That’s on you, because that pressure is coming from inside you.

            The pressure to hit a list, to stay on one, to be all that you can be (you sang that, didn’t you?) keeps building until you lose the joy.

            You lose the love of writing.

            And how do you know that’s happening? I can tell you. Because I’ve been there, lived that more than once or twice… or thrice. I wanted to say ‘thrice’ just so you know. Anyway, here’s how you know you’ve fallen down a Bestseller Rabbit Hole of Doom. I’ll list it out for you.

You’ve had a pretty awesome week of sales, but you didn’t hit any bestseller list, therefore you’re convinced you suck donkey butt.
Your second book has more sales than your first and you see growth, but still no list, so you’re like everything was all for nothing.
You’ve had a pretty amazing week of sales, but you’ve ONLY hit the USA Today Bestsellers list and not the NYTiimes, therefore you’re of the Ricky Bobby frame of mind, and scream, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”
You’ve hit USA Today and New York Times, but… it wasn’t in the top 10, so you’re just a loser who kind of got the pity-date. You find yourself making a run for the # 1 spot and if you never hit the # 1 spot then somehow you’ve never achieved success. (Take it from someone who has hit # 1 here and overseas, nothing changed. Like legit nothing. Hitting number one didn’t mean I was going to be a career bestseller.)
You’ve hit USA Today and New York Times, but you fell off both lists like a comet speeding to earth the second or third week, so you’re success wasn’t real. It was a fluke. Only real successful authors stay on the list for 1268 weeks.
You find yourself making career decisions based on whether or not (did I use that right, bc seriously that’s a tough one) it will increase your chances of hitting a list. AND MAN, THIS IS A MAJOR RED FLAG OF FUCKDOM LET ME TELL YOU.
You find yourself paying attention to what is hitting the list and deciding that’s what you need to write, because without a byline, you’re no one. Yeah, most of us have probably done that in some sort of fashion. But you’re forcing yourself to write something you publicly made fun of a year before AND SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOREVER, MS. AND MR. AUTHOR.
You start to realize that none of your friends what to be around you during the release and the week after because they’re actually kind of afraid of you. And they really don’t have it in them to tell you just one more time that you, your book, your goldfish, and your great-aunt-betty lou are amazing.
You find yourself doubting why you’re even writing. You give up. You give up on your passion and joy because of a ranking. That may sound drastic, but it has happened.
You find that normal career jealousy, which most everyone experiences, turns into something more, something bitter—something that destroys you from the inside out, laying waste to friendships and sometimes even your career.

            I could keep going. There are more examples, but if you’ve experienced any one of these things, it’s time to prioritize. It’s time to remember why you’re writing before you find yourself chasing the NEXT LIST AND THE NEXT LIST AND THE NEXT LIST.

            And it’s hard to pull yourself out of the funk. Trust me. I think it helps to remember, though—to remember when release day simply meant a book birthday. That the work you sweated, bled, maybe cried over, and most definitely hated and equally loved at some point was finally out in the world? You weren’t looking toward the following week, stressing if you sold enough units in the right format from the right vendor to trigger a list. Remember what it was like to just know that people were spending their money on something you created?

            Remember what it was like to know that someone was actually reading your books. Someone who wasn’t a family member or someone you forced to read. That there are people out there actually buying your book and spending the evenings engrossed in the world you created.

            Remember that shock and awe when you received your first reader email or first review or first ANYTHING that was such a hugely important milestone? Remember how it felt, how it made you feel like you truly pursuing a dream?

            Remember that humbling feeling you experienced when the first reader told you that you helped them get through something?

            Remember what it was like to look forward to writing simply because you needed to write. You had this desire burning through you to tell stories that didn’t necessarily include hitting a list, rankings, and all that other noise? When writing was about losing yourself in your work so others could lose themselves?

            It’s hard to remember these things. Even more so on days where peers and strangers are rightfully celebrating successes. On these days, on a hundred Wednesdays, getting wrapped up in hitting lists can steal the joy of writing and interacting with other authors and readers right out from underneath you before you even realize it.

And I want to tell you that it’s okay to want to hit the list once, twice or a million times. There is NOTHING wrong with that being a goal or caring about hitting a list. Do not let anyone shame you for that. But I think you have to be careful if the goal overrides your joy and passion.

            So I guess the purpose of this post is not just for the author out there stressing what will happen if their next book doesn’t hit a list or doesn’t stay on a list or just for the author who is stressing over any number of things (marketing, rankings, units, preorders, advances) it’s also a good reminder to myself to become more aware of when I’m going down that dark and dank rabbit hole that can be so incredibly painful to pull yourself out of.

            As cheesy as it sounds, we all sometimes need a reminder of why we do this. And sometimes we all need to make more of effort to remind ourselves, because most readers, they really don’t care about any of that noise. They honestly don’t. They just want your next book. That want your next story you had to tell, and at the end of the day, the feeling a reader has when they close your book and hold it to their chest is going to have a hell of a more impact on someone’s life than hitting a list is going to do.

And in closing, be like Jensen.

The post Hitting Bestsellers’ lists… and Not appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Final Giveaway for Torn!

 

Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in on Ivy, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Print

B&N

iBooks

Kobo

Today you can win another one of my favorite series – Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent plus the Lux Series and a copy of Wicked.

Contest is International

Winner must respond w/in 48 hours to email to claim prize

Author is not responsible for lost or damaged prizes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Final Giveaway for Torn! appeared first on Jennifer L. Armentrout.