Megg Jensen's Blog, page 15

My Day on Pixel of Ink

Yesterday was my day on Pixel of Ink - and it was amazing.

I've been on Kindle Boards for most of the year now and I'd heard a lot about Pixel of Ink. A LOT. So I went to the website and saw she was closed to submissions, but that she'd reopen in April. I checked every day for a solid reopening date and once it was posted I marked it on my calendar. Then I submitted, I paid the $119 fee, and was given my date: May 10, 2011.

Three weeks seemed like forever, but it came faster than I thought. Unfortunately the universe conspired against me yesterday. My DSL went out - kaput. I desperately checked my sales as much as I could on my iPhone, but it was an inadequate substitute. Emails from friends poured in, congratulating me on my rankings. I felt like everyone was having a party and I was stuck in traffic. I even spent a decent amount of time on the phone with my dad teaching him how to take a screenshot of my rankings - this was the best comic relief of the day.

What had I expected with a POI ad? I didn't have specific goals. I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best - and my results were far beyond my hopes.

I sold 111 ebooks yesterday (108 Kindle, 3 Nook). That's more Kindle copies than I sold the entire month of April. My Facebook fan page increased by more than 30 fans. I was invited to participate in two HUGE blog giveaways (more info on that in coming days) and asked to present a session on self-publishing at a local SCBWI meeting.

Did I make back my $119 investment? No. Not yesterday, but if I can keep the momentum going, this ad could be my big break. Of course, that's yet to be determined, but I want to have positive thoughts.

One of the most satisfying results of this ad was my Kindle ranking. I hit three bestseller lists, nestling my book between the likes of Cassandra Clare and Ally Condie - two Big Six-publishing novels. Could a self-pubbed author ask for more? Well, yeah, I'd like to be #1, but I'm willing to be patient.

Anathema also ranked in the 700s of ALL Kindle books. That's crazy-awesome.

Now I just need to keep the momentum going. I wish there was a secret formula, but there isn't. I'll continue to work hard and hope that I hit it big.

Editing as an Indie Writer: Twitter Requested Topic

See that picture over there? Yeah, that's me. Well, my red hair is past my shoulders and I would never be caught dead wearing a green shirt, but the implied curse words, exasperated expression, and crumbled pieces of paper? Yeah, that's TOTALLY me when I'm editing.

I put out a call on Twitter for blog topics and ME Summer (@mesummerbooks) said: How to self-edit a story so well that it's as if it has been edited by a professional. #blogpostideaforMegg



So how do I edit as an indie author? Here's my process:

I write my novel, usually in 30 days (I like the NaNoWriMo method), and then I let it simmer for a few weeks. Then I print it out and edit by hand, with a red pen naturally. I enter all of those changes back into my document and retitle it Second Draft.

YAY! I'm done and ready to go to print!!!! Right? WRONG!

Then I send that copy out to various beta readers. As can you imagine, I have about a zillion writer friends. At this point I usually know what my novel's kryptonite is. Could be story, flow, timing, grammar, whatever. I choose beta readers specifically for their skill set. Some readers will be a beta on one book and not another. It's not because I don't like them anymore, it's simply because I know their skills and use them to my advantage.

Oubliette, for instance, just came back from four betas. You'd be surprised at the breadth of their comments. Except for a few missing words here and there, their comments were completely different! I print a fresh copy of my manuscript and I use my red ink pen to mark all of the corrections on that one copy. Then I enter all of those in my manuscript and save it as Fourth Draft.

YAY! I'm done and ready to go to print!!!! Right? WRONG!

Then I ship my book off to at least two people who proofread. I enter those mistakes into my text, read it one more time, and then it's off to print (well, after extensive formatting, but that's not relevant in this blog post).

I don't take editing lightly. In fact, editing takes far longer than the writing does. Writing takes 30 days, editing can take months. This is why Oubliette, which was originally supposed to release this month, was pushed back until the end of June. When I did my first round of edits, I slashed 10,000 words - one-fifth of my novel. Then I rewrote it. I refuse to release a product I'm not proud of. I know some readers were disappointed they had to wait an extra month to read Oubliette, but trust me, it's totally worth it.

Editing can make, or break, a novel's success. Never rush through it. Never.

My Name is Megg and I am a Gambler

There are few things I enjoy more than a game of cards. Poker, euchre, hearts, rummy, Egyptian War (or maybe that's unique to where I grew up?), if it involves cards I'll sit down at the table.

I am a gambler and when I play, I play to win. I take risks, but every single one is calculated, which is what makes me a tough opponent. No one ever knows if I'm bluffing or if I have the full house - and I like it that way.

I've approached e-publishing the same way

It was a HUGE gamble for me to become an independent author.

Gamble One: Two agents were still reviewing a full (not Anathema) and I pulled it back. Yes, I essentially rejected two agents, one of whom spent the entire day emailing with me about my choices. Guess what? She was supportive.

Gamble Two: I risked alienating some of my traditionally published friends. I think a few were miffed or horrified (someone actually called me a traitor), but to my surprise a few came out of the woodwork and fully supported me.

Gamble Three: I started over from scratch with a pen name. I could have published under my real name and perhaps had a much larger audience from the start. However I wanted to keep my fiction totally separate from my nonfiction. So far it seems to be working. Everyone in my real life knows my pen name so it's not like I'm living in the shadows.

I have more gambles, some I'm working through now and others I've saved for future dates. If there's one thing I learned in my six years of freelancing for magazines it's that the publishing industry is one big, fat gamble.

I'm willing to play, are you?

Chapter One of Oubliette is a Little Bitch

Yeah, sorry for the language in the title.

Moving on...writing the first chapter of a sequel is a pain in the ass.

First chapters should be exciting without info dump, right? But when you're writing a sequel readers need to be reminded who everyone from the first book is while being introduced to new characters while maintaining excitement while setting the scene while moving along quickly while sucking the reader in.

Huh, don't know what I'm complaining about....it sounds easy! ;)

Luckily I have fantastic readers/editors behind me and with their suggestions I'll be able to pull Chapter One together neatly. I need to finish soon - I promised a few book bloggers the chance to read an ARC of Oubliette. During launch week near the end of June they'll be reviewing the book (which is the scariest thing I've ever done because if they all hate it, I'll just die) while I run a contest in conjunction with the release. This time I'll be giving money to a charity very close to my heart - but more on that in the coming weeks.

Happy Thursday!

Megg

Worshipping at the Altar of the Agent

In 2010 when I was searching for an agent that was me:

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That's how I looked at agents. Me, a respected freelance journalist who dealt with editors on a regular basis under a purely formal guise. Those magazine editors were my employers, not objects of desire.

Yet for some reason when I began to query, I got all foamy at the mouth, googly-eyed, and starstruck. I look back at myself and I get embarrassed, for me and for the agents.

How do agents feel when they realize they're being pursued, even worshiped, by hordes of zombie writers? I say zombie because we're all exhausted, falling apart, and have only one thing on our minds - not brains, agents. ;)

Since I told myself last December that I would no longer query and I would take my career into my own hands, I've mellowed, A LOT, when it comes to agents. Do I still want one? OF COURSE. What self-respecting writer wouldn't? Yes, it's awesome to be an indie writer, but there are things we just can't do. Who's going to show your book to the movie execs? Who's going to sell it to other countries? Who's going to help you move up the ladder? Even Joe Konrath has an agent. Authors may be turning away from traditional publishing, but they aren't, and shouldn't be, turning away from agents.

I, in fact, have one novel that I still might query. The great part about all this is that in the meantime I am selling books and gaining readership. I am doing what I've always wanted to do. From now on, when, and if, I deal with an agent I want it to look more like this:

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Writing is a business and I want an agent to work with me. Of course there will be plenty of laughter and sarcasm, because who would I be without it? But I no longer worship at their feet....and I think any self-respecting agent would probably appreciate it.

What about you guys? Do you still want an agent? Are you dying to find one or is an agent another cog in your business plan? Fill me in!

Peace out,

Megg

Trailer Tuesday #5 YA Fantasy & Paranormal

The Legend of Witch Bane by Kevis Henderson

Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer

Vampire by Day Werewolf by Night by Vianka Van Bokkem

April Sales Figures

So, all the indies post their sales numbers each month. Why should I be any different?

For April I didn't have any expectations other than to beat March's total of 157. There's no magic formula to increase sales. How can I force someone to buy my book? I can't, so I just do my best and hope the word spreads.

In April I decided to reduce Anathema's price to 99 cents. Sure, there was a part of me that hoped I'd magically start selling thousands of copies a day. Who doesn't want to buy something for 99 cents? I even started this crazy little Twitter campaign where I made posts like this:

#99cents won't erase stretch marks, but it will buy Anathema, a #YA #fantasy! http://amzn.to/etHCN2 #kindle #nook #ebook

I honestly don't know if those posts did anything other than make my friends giggle. Those tweets were obnoxious at times, I admit, but that's part of my personality.

Okay, I'll get to my totals:

Feb: 82
March: 157
April: 162
Total: 401

Some people have suggested maybe I shouldn't share my sales since they aren't astronomical. You know what? Last year all I heard was, "No" from agents. Well, this year I've heard, "YES!" from over 400 people.

I think that's awesome and I'll take it! ;)

Peace out!

Megg

Teeny Tiny Twitter Contest

So I said on Twitter yesterday that if I had 650 followers by noon today I'd run a contest. Um, yeah, that was a little over-ambitious. Not to worry, though, I still want to give away copies of Anathema!

Over the next three days I'll give away three ebooks of Anathema to lucky Tweeters. I'll give away any electronic format the winner chooses. If you already own Anathema, you can win for a friend. I'll also be happy to send Oubliette bookmarks to any who enters if you DM me your mailing address via Twitter.

How do you enter? Easy. Tweet this:

I want to win an e-copy of Anathema by @meggjensen1 http://www.meggjensen.com #kindle #nook #ebook #giveaway

Retweets do not always show up in my feed. The BEST way to enter is to copy and paste the message and then tweet it.

On Friday at 5pm CST the contest will end, I'll randomly choose three winners, and contact them by Monday. Easy peasy!

GOOD LUCK!

Fine print: You may enter as many times as you like. You must be 18 to enter or have your parent's permission. Only entries that show up in my Twitter feed will be counted. Entrants will be assigned a number and winners will be randomly chosen through Random.com.

Trailer Tuesday #4 Adult Thriller/Mystery

Deep Rough by Chris Blewitt



Regret by Dan Dawkins



The Paris Secret by Angela Henry



Final Justice by Mel Comley



Death Line by Geraldine Evans

Oubliette Synopsis

Reychel thought she was finally free. She was wrong.
Everyone saw her gift of prophecy as a blessing, but her gift is controllable. No one alive can teach her to manipulate her unique gift and the answers she needs lie buried within a madman's journals.
She's thrust in the midst of a brewing war and the only uniting factor for her people is their belief in the Prophet. Will Reychel learn to control her gift or will she be forced to deliver a false prophecy that could lead her people into a violent, unwinnable war?

In case you missed it, here's the trailer...