Sarah R. Yoffa's Blog: -sry's Goodreads Blogosphere, page 7
November 30, 2012
Webbiegrrl's 30,000 Hit #Giveaway Has 50 #free #ebooks from over 40 #Authors + Still Counting!
It's been so exciting over the last 24 to 48 hours as I've pulled together this giveaway event using Rafflecopter's great little widget and of course, posting solicitations for submissions far and wide! I feel like such a spammer...do I take a shower now that I've reached and surpassed the goal of 30 books by Nov. 30th?
Yep, we have 50+ titles from over 40 different authors and I'm still taking submissions (please use the Facebook Event Page to submit a new title now). Readers began entering this morning and can continue to enter -- as often as you like! -- right up until Dec 13th.
Then on Friday, Dec 14, I'll start picking winners and will announce them here on the blog, over on the Event Page and even over on my Webbiegrrl Fan Page. The Rafflecopter widget does the actual picking of a winner's name but I'll pick the prizes they win in the order in which the books are listed on the Giveaways Page here on the blog.
If you want to win a specific book, (a) cross your fingers and pray and (b) post a comment on the Giveaways Page and ask the author of the book to consider gifting you a copy in the spirit of the giveaway. You never know unless you ask, someone might give away an extra copy! I guarantee if you don't speak up, you will not get a copy that way (LOL)
I'll post here with updates as the giveaway progresses, but right now, I need to get my Monday Marketing blog ready and then I'm off to work Day Job No. 1 all weekend.
Thanks for stopping by!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
Yep, we have 50+ titles from over 40 different authors and I'm still taking submissions (please use the Facebook Event Page to submit a new title now). Readers began entering this morning and can continue to enter -- as often as you like! -- right up until Dec 13th.
Then on Friday, Dec 14, I'll start picking winners and will announce them here on the blog, over on the Event Page and even over on my Webbiegrrl Fan Page. The Rafflecopter widget does the actual picking of a winner's name but I'll pick the prizes they win in the order in which the books are listed on the Giveaways Page here on the blog.
If you want to win a specific book, (a) cross your fingers and pray and (b) post a comment on the Giveaways Page and ask the author of the book to consider gifting you a copy in the spirit of the giveaway. You never know unless you ask, someone might give away an extra copy! I guarantee if you don't speak up, you will not get a copy that way (LOL)
I'll post here with updates as the giveaway progresses, but right now, I need to get my Monday Marketing blog ready and then I'm off to work Day Job No. 1 all weekend.
Thanks for stopping by!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 28, 2012
Webbiegrrl's 30,000th Hit #GIVEAWAY - Indie Authors Enter UR Books Now + kickstart ur seasonal sales
By joining this giveaway, you'll be helping me to deliver more quality products to my readership. I have a milestone coming up: 30,000th hit here on the blog. I'm actually at 28,958 right now this second so I think I might hit the 30,000 mark sooner than expected.
In any case, I'm starting to take entries on November 30th for the 30,000th Hit Giveaway and I'd like to have at least 30 titles to offer my readers. Multiple titles by one author are okay, any author, any genre, any time, so long as you're willing to give it away and it is an eBook (sorry I can't do the paperback thing here on the blog...maybe on Goodreads?)
If you'd like to join in, please let me know. How?
Leave a comment here on this blog postLeave a comment on the Blog Giveaways Page Leave a comment on the Webbiegrrl Writer Facebook Page Leave a comment on the Facebook Event Page for the Giveaway (This is my preferred method of contact as the Events Page is the core of the event *duh*)What should you say in your comment? Tell me the title of your book(s), how many copies of each you'd like to donate as prizes and provide the link to the book page (preferably on Smashwords where I can pick up the image and everything else I need). If your book is exclusive to Amazon, you'll have to provide a clean, unbranded image and description of the book but we can do it.
If you know of any authors who could use the exposure to boost or kick off their seasonal sales, please pass this onto them (any of the above links).
Thanks! Hope you'll join in ^)^
-sry
@webbiegrrl
In any case, I'm starting to take entries on November 30th for the 30,000th Hit Giveaway and I'd like to have at least 30 titles to offer my readers. Multiple titles by one author are okay, any author, any genre, any time, so long as you're willing to give it away and it is an eBook (sorry I can't do the paperback thing here on the blog...maybe on Goodreads?)
If you'd like to join in, please let me know. How?
Leave a comment here on this blog postLeave a comment on the Blog Giveaways Page Leave a comment on the Webbiegrrl Writer Facebook Page Leave a comment on the Facebook Event Page for the Giveaway (This is my preferred method of contact as the Events Page is the core of the event *duh*)What should you say in your comment? Tell me the title of your book(s), how many copies of each you'd like to donate as prizes and provide the link to the book page (preferably on Smashwords where I can pick up the image and everything else I need). If your book is exclusive to Amazon, you'll have to provide a clean, unbranded image and description of the book but we can do it.
If you know of any authors who could use the exposure to boost or kick off their seasonal sales, please pass this onto them (any of the above links).
Thanks! Hope you'll join in ^)^
-sry
@webbiegrrl
WRITERS' WEDNESDAY #WW Next Big Thing Blog Hop #indie #author #ebooks #nextbigthing #bloghop
Welcome to the Next Big Thing blog hop on this fine Writers' Wednesday. I was tapped by Barb at Creative Barb's Wire to join in and I'm tagging a few writerly tweeps at the end of my post. Big thank you to Barb for including me in her list.
The idea of this blog hop is to introduce readers to our own current or upcoming project and then recommend our readers to those Indie Authors whose work we think they might find interesting. The genres all might be different from each other, but I think you'll find the writers I've linked at the bottom of my post to be interesting people.
Click through the jump break to find out what I'm going to work on next!
Sarah R. Yoffa's Next Big Thing
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
Well, I had to struggle with how to answer this one--that is, under which of my 3 pen names I'd be answering the questions for this blog hop. I've decided to talk about the Banbha Series which will be a Romantic Suspense series published under the pen name "Sarah R. Yoffa." The name of the series is also the name of the first book in the series.
The name Banbha is an Irish Gaelic word and I went searching databases of Irish girl's names to find it. As a word, it means "unplowed land"; however, Banbha was the name of the patron goddess of Ireland and initially, she could have been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess. She is an Earth-Goddess so it seemed a proper name to use for the island base that my main male characters build from which to spawn their future lives.
That is, several of these lethal guys (and gals) get together, buy a fictional uninhabited island in the Azores and build a nice little private military training base there. Surrounded by pelagic sea life and pirates, they have an "interesting life" (in the Chinese sense of the word). Banbha's "symbol" is the triskele, together with her 3 sister-goddesses.
As noted on the Facebook Page for the Banbha Series, this is how I got the names for the first 3 books of the series:
Banbha means "unplowed land" == Book 1Fodhla means "sod of the Earth" == Book 2Eriu means "land of abundance" == Book 3
2) Where did you get the idea for that book?
Oddly enough, I had a dream about Lacey and Rainey, the stars of what will be Book 2. I first imagined Ze'evi and Mags (the couple in Book 1) back in 2003 but I didn't feel a burning desire to write their book because I didn't know where the series was headed, just that it would be a series...of some kind. Then, 3 years later, enter Lacey and Rainey into my dreams.
They're both world-class killers, very lethal and scary people and in the dream, they were having sex involving BDSM-play (Rainey was tying Lacey up but she was topping from the bottom--the two of them can never decide who's in charge, it's hilarious) when *wham* someone's broken into the flat and is trying to kill them. It was hilarious to watch the two of them (in my dream) argue about who's in there, who's trying to kill whom (they both have enemies and actually bicker in a competitive way over whose enemies might have found them), and don't even get me started on the whose gun's better argument! When I finally woke up, I was physically exhausted and just lay there, waiting and listening to the silence to be sure it was really a dream. Or that I was really awake now.
I had never ever had a dream about a book or a character before this (summer of 2006) and I don't usually remember my dreams at all, but this one was very vivid, very real and left me certain it was more than just a dream. I haven't remembered a dream since I was a kid, and whenever I do, they seem to come true, so this was more than a little creepy to remember in such vivid detail. I mean who wants to meet lethal world-class killers? Not to mention meeting them in the middle of their sexual encounter. Write about them? Yes! Meet or dream about them? Not so much. Yowza! Lacey and Rainey both had my full attention from that morning on.
So I dreamt about them again. And again. Sigh. After dreaming about that scene half a dozen times again in the next 3 months, it was obvious I needed to write about these people or they'd never let me have a solid night's sleep again. It was truly starting to annoy me so I wrote about them for Nanowrimo 2006. I churned out 95,000 words of a first draft of the (working title) "Lacey / Rainey Story" and finally stopped dreaming about them. Now I was thinking up all kinds of plot lines instead.
The Lacey / Rainey story will be Book 2 of the series (Fodhla) not Book 1 (Banbha) and I'd like to tell the story of Zachary "Ze'evi" Levinson and Marlena Magdalene "Mags" Dietrich first so I'm not going to really finish Banbha as my Next Big Thing but they are definitely going to be the anchor characters for this series.
3) What's the genre of the book?
Oops, already answered this: Romantic Suspense.
4) What actors would play the lead characters in your story?
Hmm...for Lacey Townsend, this is easy: a very young Catherine Deneuve, how she looked in the 1980s: that elegant beauty and classy style with the cool, calculating demeanor. Think Deneuve in the movie
The Hunger
(co-starring David Bowie). That was perfect! Lacey has the same innate lethality mixed with a sexual charisma and apparent lack of knowledge about her own sex appeal. She knows she's alluring, and can use it as a power to control and manipulate others, but Lacey has no clue
why
others find her so attractive. She also doesn't care. She simply uses what she's got to get the job done. She's a sniper with a perfect record. Only one man has ever been in her crosshairs and lived to tell the tale: Charles Rainford--and if she'd wanted him dead, he'd be dead ((ggg)) She never misses!
For Rainey (Charles Rainford), I'm not sure. I'd say Irish model Jamie Dornan, but he's definitely not bulky enough--or "Black Irish" enough. Still, he's got that magnetic sexy prettiness about him.
Rainey has dark black hair and eyes with the fair complexion of the classic Celtic coloring while Dornan has brown hair, light eyes and yes, a pretty face but nowhere near enough muscle. Maybe Rainey's more like this shot of Colin Farrell but without the facial hair? Rainey has a thick growth but he's constantly shaving it off (he cracks me up with how the 2-hr stubble aggravates him). I also think Colin Farrell's too lean and lanky for Rainey. Add about 20 kg of solid muscle to Colin Farrell or put Colin Farrell's face and attitude onto John Cena's body and that's totally "it" for Rainey! Yeah, right. LOL. If anyone knows who that is, please send me a photo!!
5) How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words or less)?
Welcome to the island paradise, Banbha--where life's a killer!
6) (a) How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie Publishing methods? (b) If you're an Indie Author, will you be publishing through your own Indie Publishing company or in a collective with other Indie Authors?
I'll be Indie Publishing the book myself, using Beta Readers during development, possibly, during proofreading but I'll almost definitely use an outside editor for the final polish. I'll probably use an outside graphics designer for my covers though I have some good ideas (and would really love to use this Lori Earley painting for Lacey). Those haunted eyes and hunted posture are soooo Lacey! Alas, I cannot remotely afford to purchase / commission an original cover art piece by Ms. Earley. She's way above my price range (by several thousands!)
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book?
As noted, I churned out a bit of the first draft in November of 2006 during Nanowrimo, the international event where writers try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I finished on Day 12. I passed 68,000 words on Thanksgiving Day and I hit 95,000 words on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7th) at which point I stopped because I was no longer going to get to The End of the same story I'd started. My focus on killing people sidetracked me. I Tuckerized 39 Barflies in fun, fun ways but that completely distracted me from the actual plot of the story!
I write very quickly and it's always been that way for me, so it's no big deal to trash that first draft and just start again. I'd like to outline first this time. I need to find the time to focus on just one project at a time, too. I typically have 5 or so projects going at once, however, plus now I'm working 2 days jobs (yep, not one but two) so getting things done is something of a challenge these days! I think the reason the Banbha Series keeps getting put on hold is that I want to do it justice and I can't really do that with only 1/5 of my attention.
8) What other books within your genre are similar to yours?
I'd like to think none but it's pretty likely I've been influenced by both Elizabeth Lowell (and her St. Kilda Consulting series though I dislike that series, oddly enough), Ann Maxwell (another pen name for Lowell) and of course, by Suzanne Brockmann, whose intricate plots with multiple storylines are definitely a model I follow. I like the tone and edge in Shannon McKenna's McLeod Brothers books, too, though I doubt my sex is quite as searing hot as Shannon's ...well, close :) I certainly do not pull punches or close any bedroom doors on my readers! In the Lacey / Rainey sex scenes, of course, as I noted there'll be some BDSM play. In Mags and Ze'evi's sex scenes there won't so it's a good thing that's Book 1, eh? ^)^
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
See my remarks under #2 above. It was either excise these two by writing their story down or keep dreaming about them having sex. It was really starting to get to me so I disgorged them. Rainey tends to pop up every now and then whenever I start writing about another man, though. I guess he's the possessive Alpha Male type. Hah!
10) What about your book will pique the reader's interest?
I think my characters are going to draw readers in and hook them so deeply, they won't be able to put the books down. That's usually the case with my writing and I hope it is this time, too! The plots will center around issues like human trafficking (the stopping thereof) and child abuse because Lacey and Rainey both were orphaned at the age of 5--and then molested by the adult world around them. I purposely paralleled Lacey and Rainey's "life story" circumstances to show how totally different people, suffering the same events, can turn out totally different as adults. It's all about how you cope and what you do with what you're given.
Rainey was a child prostitute "by choice" (can a child ever really "choose" to sell his body and soul?) but grows into a fairly well-grounded and self-confident adult who basically tries to save the world--or at least every child in it.
Lacey was kidnapped as a child by "Uncle Roger" (a man who married into her family by seducing and then murdering her aunt, then subsequently murdering her parents in order to steal her). She grows up with internal turmoil and self-loathing for allowing Roger to control her but she "martyred" herself as a kid in order to save her little brother, Mark, from suffering the same assaults. Later in life, she continues to protect Mark and his family.
The Lacey / Rainey story coincides with when Lacey finally tries to break free of Roger's blackmailed hold on her soul, while still trying to save Mark's children from becoming Roger's new focus. Of course, Roger Townsend will have to die :) It's just a question of who gets to kill him (haha). So many bullets. So little time!
You can read some snippets from the Banbha Series here on the blog. Just use the tag cloud to search for "Lacey" or "Rainey" or "Ze'evi and Mags and you should get a handful of snippets to read - samples that are totally out of order, totally out of context and totally out of date. Drafts change without notice!
That's it for my Next Big Thing. The following list of Indie Authors will be writing about their current or upcoming projects on Wednesday, December 5, 2012. You can click through right now and follow their blogs to be sure you hear about their Next Big Thing when it's published!
Even if they are unconfirmed participants in the Blog Hop, I really think you'll find their blog writings interesting to check out so click through all 6 of these author links for a treat.
Regan Black - http://www.reganblack.com/
Bob Tyler - http://www.karthlake.com/
Juliette Hill - http://onevintageheart.com/
Sessha Batto - http://sesshabattousai.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
Junying Kirk - http://www.junyingkirk.com/ (unconfirmed for 12/12)
Vanessa Wu - http://intensesensations.wordpress.com (unconfirmed)
What's Next....
Next Monday I'll have some more remarks on the Fall of Advertising and Rise of PR. I hope to see you then!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
The idea of this blog hop is to introduce readers to our own current or upcoming project and then recommend our readers to those Indie Authors whose work we think they might find interesting. The genres all might be different from each other, but I think you'll find the writers I've linked at the bottom of my post to be interesting people.
Click through the jump break to find out what I'm going to work on next!
Sarah R. Yoffa's Next Big Thing
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
Well, I had to struggle with how to answer this one--that is, under which of my 3 pen names I'd be answering the questions for this blog hop. I've decided to talk about the Banbha Series which will be a Romantic Suspense series published under the pen name "Sarah R. Yoffa." The name of the series is also the name of the first book in the series.
The name Banbha is an Irish Gaelic word and I went searching databases of Irish girl's names to find it. As a word, it means "unplowed land"; however, Banbha was the name of the patron goddess of Ireland and initially, she could have been a goddess of war as well as a fertility goddess. She is an Earth-Goddess so it seemed a proper name to use for the island base that my main male characters build from which to spawn their future lives.
That is, several of these lethal guys (and gals) get together, buy a fictional uninhabited island in the Azores and build a nice little private military training base there. Surrounded by pelagic sea life and pirates, they have an "interesting life" (in the Chinese sense of the word). Banbha's "symbol" is the triskele, together with her 3 sister-goddesses.
As noted on the Facebook Page for the Banbha Series, this is how I got the names for the first 3 books of the series:
Banbha means "unplowed land" == Book 1Fodhla means "sod of the Earth" == Book 2Eriu means "land of abundance" == Book 3
2) Where did you get the idea for that book?
Oddly enough, I had a dream about Lacey and Rainey, the stars of what will be Book 2. I first imagined Ze'evi and Mags (the couple in Book 1) back in 2003 but I didn't feel a burning desire to write their book because I didn't know where the series was headed, just that it would be a series...of some kind. Then, 3 years later, enter Lacey and Rainey into my dreams.
They're both world-class killers, very lethal and scary people and in the dream, they were having sex involving BDSM-play (Rainey was tying Lacey up but she was topping from the bottom--the two of them can never decide who's in charge, it's hilarious) when *wham* someone's broken into the flat and is trying to kill them. It was hilarious to watch the two of them (in my dream) argue about who's in there, who's trying to kill whom (they both have enemies and actually bicker in a competitive way over whose enemies might have found them), and don't even get me started on the whose gun's better argument! When I finally woke up, I was physically exhausted and just lay there, waiting and listening to the silence to be sure it was really a dream. Or that I was really awake now.
I had never ever had a dream about a book or a character before this (summer of 2006) and I don't usually remember my dreams at all, but this one was very vivid, very real and left me certain it was more than just a dream. I haven't remembered a dream since I was a kid, and whenever I do, they seem to come true, so this was more than a little creepy to remember in such vivid detail. I mean who wants to meet lethal world-class killers? Not to mention meeting them in the middle of their sexual encounter. Write about them? Yes! Meet or dream about them? Not so much. Yowza! Lacey and Rainey both had my full attention from that morning on.
So I dreamt about them again. And again. Sigh. After dreaming about that scene half a dozen times again in the next 3 months, it was obvious I needed to write about these people or they'd never let me have a solid night's sleep again. It was truly starting to annoy me so I wrote about them for Nanowrimo 2006. I churned out 95,000 words of a first draft of the (working title) "Lacey / Rainey Story" and finally stopped dreaming about them. Now I was thinking up all kinds of plot lines instead.
The Lacey / Rainey story will be Book 2 of the series (Fodhla) not Book 1 (Banbha) and I'd like to tell the story of Zachary "Ze'evi" Levinson and Marlena Magdalene "Mags" Dietrich first so I'm not going to really finish Banbha as my Next Big Thing but they are definitely going to be the anchor characters for this series.
3) What's the genre of the book?
Oops, already answered this: Romantic Suspense.
4) What actors would play the lead characters in your story?
Hmm...for Lacey Townsend, this is easy: a very young Catherine Deneuve, how she looked in the 1980s: that elegant beauty and classy style with the cool, calculating demeanor. Think Deneuve in the movie
The Hunger
(co-starring David Bowie). That was perfect! Lacey has the same innate lethality mixed with a sexual charisma and apparent lack of knowledge about her own sex appeal. She knows she's alluring, and can use it as a power to control and manipulate others, but Lacey has no clue
why
others find her so attractive. She also doesn't care. She simply uses what she's got to get the job done. She's a sniper with a perfect record. Only one man has ever been in her crosshairs and lived to tell the tale: Charles Rainford--and if she'd wanted him dead, he'd be dead ((ggg)) She never misses!
For Rainey (Charles Rainford), I'm not sure. I'd say Irish model Jamie Dornan, but he's definitely not bulky enough--or "Black Irish" enough. Still, he's got that magnetic sexy prettiness about him.Rainey has dark black hair and eyes with the fair complexion of the classic Celtic coloring while Dornan has brown hair, light eyes and yes, a pretty face but nowhere near enough muscle. Maybe Rainey's more like this shot of Colin Farrell but without the facial hair? Rainey has a thick growth but he's constantly shaving it off (he cracks me up with how the 2-hr stubble aggravates him). I also think Colin Farrell's too lean and lanky for Rainey. Add about 20 kg of solid muscle to Colin Farrell or put Colin Farrell's face and attitude onto John Cena's body and that's totally "it" for Rainey! Yeah, right. LOL. If anyone knows who that is, please send me a photo!!
5) How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words or less)?
Welcome to the island paradise, Banbha--where life's a killer!
6) (a) How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie Publishing methods? (b) If you're an Indie Author, will you be publishing through your own Indie Publishing company or in a collective with other Indie Authors?
I'll be Indie Publishing the book myself, using Beta Readers during development, possibly, during proofreading but I'll almost definitely use an outside editor for the final polish. I'll probably use an outside graphics designer for my covers though I have some good ideas (and would really love to use this Lori Earley painting for Lacey). Those haunted eyes and hunted posture are soooo Lacey! Alas, I cannot remotely afford to purchase / commission an original cover art piece by Ms. Earley. She's way above my price range (by several thousands!)
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book?
As noted, I churned out a bit of the first draft in November of 2006 during Nanowrimo, the international event where writers try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I finished on Day 12. I passed 68,000 words on Thanksgiving Day and I hit 95,000 words on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7th) at which point I stopped because I was no longer going to get to The End of the same story I'd started. My focus on killing people sidetracked me. I Tuckerized 39 Barflies in fun, fun ways but that completely distracted me from the actual plot of the story!
I write very quickly and it's always been that way for me, so it's no big deal to trash that first draft and just start again. I'd like to outline first this time. I need to find the time to focus on just one project at a time, too. I typically have 5 or so projects going at once, however, plus now I'm working 2 days jobs (yep, not one but two) so getting things done is something of a challenge these days! I think the reason the Banbha Series keeps getting put on hold is that I want to do it justice and I can't really do that with only 1/5 of my attention.
8) What other books within your genre are similar to yours?
I'd like to think none but it's pretty likely I've been influenced by both Elizabeth Lowell (and her St. Kilda Consulting series though I dislike that series, oddly enough), Ann Maxwell (another pen name for Lowell) and of course, by Suzanne Brockmann, whose intricate plots with multiple storylines are definitely a model I follow. I like the tone and edge in Shannon McKenna's McLeod Brothers books, too, though I doubt my sex is quite as searing hot as Shannon's ...well, close :) I certainly do not pull punches or close any bedroom doors on my readers! In the Lacey / Rainey sex scenes, of course, as I noted there'll be some BDSM play. In Mags and Ze'evi's sex scenes there won't so it's a good thing that's Book 1, eh? ^)^
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
See my remarks under #2 above. It was either excise these two by writing their story down or keep dreaming about them having sex. It was really starting to get to me so I disgorged them. Rainey tends to pop up every now and then whenever I start writing about another man, though. I guess he's the possessive Alpha Male type. Hah!
10) What about your book will pique the reader's interest?
I think my characters are going to draw readers in and hook them so deeply, they won't be able to put the books down. That's usually the case with my writing and I hope it is this time, too! The plots will center around issues like human trafficking (the stopping thereof) and child abuse because Lacey and Rainey both were orphaned at the age of 5--and then molested by the adult world around them. I purposely paralleled Lacey and Rainey's "life story" circumstances to show how totally different people, suffering the same events, can turn out totally different as adults. It's all about how you cope and what you do with what you're given.
Rainey was a child prostitute "by choice" (can a child ever really "choose" to sell his body and soul?) but grows into a fairly well-grounded and self-confident adult who basically tries to save the world--or at least every child in it.
Lacey was kidnapped as a child by "Uncle Roger" (a man who married into her family by seducing and then murdering her aunt, then subsequently murdering her parents in order to steal her). She grows up with internal turmoil and self-loathing for allowing Roger to control her but she "martyred" herself as a kid in order to save her little brother, Mark, from suffering the same assaults. Later in life, she continues to protect Mark and his family.
The Lacey / Rainey story coincides with when Lacey finally tries to break free of Roger's blackmailed hold on her soul, while still trying to save Mark's children from becoming Roger's new focus. Of course, Roger Townsend will have to die :) It's just a question of who gets to kill him (haha). So many bullets. So little time!
You can read some snippets from the Banbha Series here on the blog. Just use the tag cloud to search for "Lacey" or "Rainey" or "Ze'evi and Mags and you should get a handful of snippets to read - samples that are totally out of order, totally out of context and totally out of date. Drafts change without notice!
That's it for my Next Big Thing. The following list of Indie Authors will be writing about their current or upcoming projects on Wednesday, December 5, 2012. You can click through right now and follow their blogs to be sure you hear about their Next Big Thing when it's published!
Even if they are unconfirmed participants in the Blog Hop, I really think you'll find their blog writings interesting to check out so click through all 6 of these author links for a treat.
Regan Black - http://www.reganblack.com/
Bob Tyler - http://www.karthlake.com/
Juliette Hill - http://onevintageheart.com/
Sessha Batto - http://sesshabattousai.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
Junying Kirk - http://www.junyingkirk.com/ (unconfirmed for 12/12)
Vanessa Wu - http://intensesensations.wordpress.com (unconfirmed)
What's Next....
Next Monday I'll have some more remarks on the Fall of Advertising and Rise of PR. I hope to see you then!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 27, 2012
TUESDAY TIP Join me for the Big Reveal of the Next Big Thing #WW #nextbigthing #bloghop
Sorry, but there is no Tuesday Tip this week. Instead, I'm joining the "Writers' Wednesday" blog hop for the Next Big Thing. Please stop back tomorrow to learn more about my own Next Big Thing and to check out the links to those Indie Authors whose current or upcoming projects I think will be of interest to you.
Thanks for stopping by!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
Thanks for stopping by!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 26, 2012
MONDAY MARKETING
It's Cyber Monday. Not sure what that means? It's the Monday after "Black Friday" which is the Friday after Thanksgiving, an American Christian holiday held on the 4th Thursday of November. Don't get me started on discussing what, exactly, the date purports to commemorate. I'm too much of an indigenous people's advocate!Anyway, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. The last few years, the shopping frenzy has begun on Thursday night, around midnight, after everyone's stuffed to the gills with gobble-gobble turkey. Yeah, after "being thankful for all they have" people go out and shop for every little thing they have not. It's a little ironic in my mind but it's an American tradition. Go Capitalism, eh?
Black Friday is a madhouse in the retail world, which is why it's called Black Friday and not Red Friday--businesses are put "into the black" just from this one day's sales! I experience my first-ever Black Friday working in retail this year and OMG, we did 3 times the normal "big day of sales" in just 10 or so hours.
A few years ago, a new trend started: Small Business Saturday, when shoppers were encouraged to support small businesses by shopping with them on Saturday instead of buying everything from large businesses on Black Friday.
Our POTUS, Mr. Obama, went out shopping for books to give as gifts this year and made a point of being photographed and filmed doing so inside a small business bookshop in the D.C. area. I guess he's never going to be above milking the camera for good PR, eh?After Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, being a Christian country, the majority of Americans stay home on Sunday--I mean, "go to church" (yeah, that's what I meant)--and finally on Monday, when white-collar workers return to work, they get online to buy whatever little thing they might've missed on Friday or Saturday because heaven forbid they not buy every last thing there is to buy.
So we have Cyber Monday, nearly as big for online shopping as Black Friday is for brick-and-mortar shopping. In the Digital Publishing world, of course, Cyber Monday is more important than Black Friday, since our sales are primarily online sales of eBooks. Click through the jump break for tips on how to maximize your own photo opps and good PR--or at least, how to focus your efforts to maximize your Cyber Monday and holiday season sales for 2012.Publicity and Branding, Not Advertising and Sales
Publicity and advertising are actually working at cross-purposes when it comes to shopping extravaganzas like the "Black Friday-Small Business Saturday-Cyber Monday" weekend. Advertising tells people what is on sale and for how much--or how little--but they have to already know they want this one and not that one because everything's on sale this weekend. Advertising works for "spreading news about a known brand" whereas publicity works for announcing the arrival of a new brand. Trust me, as an Indie Author, even if you have 5 or 6 books up for sale, you are still a new brand to most people. Well, unless you have over a million existing customers already? No? I didn't think you'd be reading my blog if you did ((GGG))
So what's the difference? That's the biggest obstacle most Indie Authors have, figuring out which is which and what to do with "this business and marketing stuff." Let me try to simplify it for you: publicity not advertising, branding not sales. Not sure what each of those four terms really means or how they differ from each other? Read on.
Don't advertise an unknown brand.
Create an Author Brand and publicize it to make it known.
Allow your Author Brand Name to sell your products
Advertising is output, from you to the world, blasting your message and hoping the prospective customers (prospects) are listening (to you and not your competition). Publicity is the opposite, it's input, when others talk about you and send you prospects who actively seek out your products to buy. That's the dream, right? That's also Immutable Law of Branding (for Indie Authors) Law 3: Law of Publicity. There are some excellent examples beyond those links of publicity that worked (i.e., Apple's launch in the 1980s was history-making). Check out Law 4: Law of Advertising, too.
Publicity is not something that happens "to" you but rather, something you actively generate for yourself--by choice. It's easy to do when you have a branding platform on which to stand. You must define and strengthen a brand, however, to have something around which to center your PR efforts.
If you are focused on your current book and the selling of it (or selling it and the 5 that came before it) but you have stopped seeing sales, you must be scratching your head wondering why. After all, you're pitching your book like crazy, right? Promo tweets abounding? Risking being called a spammer on Goodreads?
Your mistaken assumption is that advertising will generate sufficient interest--buzz or hype--that total strangers who've never heard of you will somehow be willing to shell out hard-earned money for your product. You need to have credentials before you can advertise to get sales (Immutable Law of Branding 6: Law of Credentials). That comes from publicity, not from advertising.
I've adapted the Immutable Laws of Branding for our special industry, here, along with the Immtuable Laws of Marketing), which you can also buy as a paperback book from CreateSpace if you prefer to read offline (Blasphemy! decries the Indie Author.)
Why Branding and PR?
When you get people talking about you and your products, you want them to focus on your brand's uniqueness, not the new and specific plot points of just one book. Prospects need to focus on the you that makes your books different from, say, mine. That's how you get people to buy "everything this author writes"; you get them to buy your brand, not your books. Isn't a dedicated "True Fan" the ideal goal here? So rather than advertising a product, build publicity around a brand.
What's Next....
Tomorrow I'll be skipping the Tuesday Tip so that on Wednesday, I can participate in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop being run by Indie Authors planetwide. I was invited to follow along in the chain by Barb of Creative Barb's Wire. I'll be telling you about my own "Next Big Thing" and then linking you to a handful of possibly-new-to-you Indie Authors I think are working on interesting projects. You may or may not agree but I hope you'll stop back on this week on "Writer Wednesday" (#WW on Twitter) to learn more.
Thanks for stopping by today!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 20, 2012
TUESDAY TIP @ReganBlack Author Interview + #Giveaway Winners Announced #paranormal #romance #ebooks #author #indie
Today's blog is a dedicated feature for Indie Author, Regan Black, who writes Romantic Suspense with paranormal elements as well as YA Fantasy genre books. Check out all of Regan's books here and read my review of Tracking Shadows just published here. Before we do anything else, however, the winners of Regan's giveaway are as follows:
Grand Prize: Julie Day (wins the set of 5 books -- that is, the first 3 books in the series plus 2 short stories)
1st Runner up: Maria (wins a copy of Tracking Shadows)
2nd Runner up: Sheila Deeth (wins a copy of Tracking Shadows)
Congratulations to all three winners! You should have already gotten a short message from me telling you that Regan will be contacting you shortly to arrange delivery of your books. For those of you who celebrate it :) have a great Thanksgiving weekend! Okay, onward we go. Click through the jump break to learn more about Regan.
Author Interview
I just read Tracking Shadows (Book 4 in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series) and had no idea it was a series book. In fact, I thought this was the first book of a new series until I check the description again part way through. Because I can see how Regan built up this world, and yet I still had so many questions about the world she built, I focused my interview questions on the world-building aspects of the series.
Webbiegrrl (WG): You’ve written 5 books and a couple of short stories in this series. Do you think you have more to write in the world of 2096?
Regan Black (RB): Definitely! This whole universe still intrigues me and is consistently a surprise, which makes the process more fun for me. When I wrote Tracking Shadows (Book 4), I realized Mira (the mysterious healer who has a cameo in all of the previous Shadows of Justice novels) needed her own story.
While I was working on her book, Shadows to Light (Book 5), I discovered another supporting character who is clamoring for me to tell her tale. That will be the next novel in the series.
WG: Which characters, if any, still have a story you want to tell in the future world of 2096? Will you eventually tell their story?
RB: Well, Julia from Shadows to Light is next up on the 2096 agenda, but there is an original novella in the Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance (January 2013) that introduces a whole new set of problems involving the children of soldiers who were exploited by Dr. Kristoff (the 2096 equivalent of today's Surgeon General). That novella stands alone, but when my beta readers and critique partners went through it, they urged me to explore the fate of these kids.
WG: Where did you first get the ideas for the future world depicted in your 2096 books? Was it the event that triggered the world or the people in it that caught your attention first?
RB: This entire series launched from one character, Jaden Michaels, and she was propelled into 2096 by a contemporary short story I wrote for a contest. The short featured one of Jaden's earlier lives and her short-lived victory over the predatory demon.
Though never published, the story won the contest and became the framework for Justice Incarnate (Book 1). I tried to write the story as a contemporary novel, but I felt like was cheating on Chicago and doing a disservice to the men and women in the military. Pushing the story out to 2096 set my imagination free and with the 'creative license' of writing in the future, things really came together for the characters and storylines.
WG: What is it that happened to cause the USA to ban certain things as “contraband”? Is this explained in one of the other books of the series?
RB: Well, the illegal coffee thing started as a joke between my critique partners as I was writing Justice Incarnate (Book 1). I was drinking more coffee than water to make my deadline, but it was such an amazing rush. (The story process, not just the caffeine). And I knew if caffeine was ever regulated, people like me would create a viable black market – and voila, Slick Micky, the smuggler, was born.
The rest of the 2096 contraband issues sprouted from the intense anti-carb 'diet' of that time. People would practically shun you if you dared to eat bread in public. I thought if that's where we were in 2004, it wouldn't be too long before we had actual regulations restricting our favorite foods and ingredients. In the books, these extreme regulations are blamed on an overzealous government appointee, who is the equivalent of the Surgeon General.
WG: Why is it only the USA that has banned these things? Why not anywhere else in the world?
RB: I never looked at it like that, but it probably feels that way because of my tunnel vision when it comes to keeping the 2096 world centered on Chicago.
(Editorial note: I am an avid Science Fiction reader and, as such, pay meticulous attention to the world-building of any story I read to be sure it makes sense and follows the physical laws of the universe. Deviating requires me to suspend my disbelief, so I noticed immediately that the limits of definition here stopped at the borders of the USA. I kept wanting to know what happened in other countries and to other cultures on Planet Earth during the same time period--especially, given as the USA is such a strong influence on socio-cultural choices today)
Aside from that, I believe in personal accountability when it comes to the choices we make. Showing the 2096 USA under such extreme restrictions that citizens allowed the government to impose, might be interpreted as a snarky commentary on what happens when people don't exercise their common sense, though it wasn't done on purpose.
WG: Will you ever consider writing a story set in 2096 outside the USA showing what the rest of the future world thinks of us and our “contraband bans”?
RB:That certainly has potential! I hadn't thought about it until now, but research is a wonderful excuse for a lengthy 'vacation' in another part of the world. ;)
WG: How did you go from writing paranormal romantic suspense (the 2096 series) to children’s stories?
RB: When my husband deployed while I was writing Veil of Justice (book 3) the military angles and the 2096 world itself just got too dark. I was writing well, but I was exhausted at the end of the day – and not in a good way.
I needed something less intense to feed my creativity and the Hobbitville gardens filled that void. Those stories were initially geared to be a serial project for my publisher that would lead to a full length book, but things fizzled on that front for a variety of reasons and the Hobbitville adventures got pushed to the bottom of my to-do list.
Eventually I hope to release novels with those characters, but so far, I'm not completely happy with the first manuscript.
WG: Do you want to write in any other genres? Which one(s) do you think you’ll try next?
RB: One of the other projects I worked on during that deployment was a cozy mystery. I love the foundation of the story and the first draft is complete, but I'm not sure how readers would take to a story from me without the paranormal angle. So it, too, is sitting in the 'maybe someday' file.
(Editorial Note to Regan: This is precisely why G*d created Pen Names! Please read my marketing series on "Line Extension" and additional articles in my branding series on how, why and when to use pen names to your advantage for precisely this activity--trying out new genres to "test market" yourself there. You are exactly correct that using one name for multiple genres is not a good thing--hence my confusion as to why a Paranormal Romantic Suspense writer was also publishing children's fantasy books.)
WG: What one thing do you love most about writing?
RB: The surprises, hands down. When I'm working on a scene and a character says or does something unexpected, or uses some gadget like the stealth suit Slick Micky uses in Tracking Shadows (Book 4), it thrills me. Writing in 2096 gives me endless opportunities for moments like that, which is another reason I know I'm not yet done with that world.
WG: What one thing do you wish you did NOT have to do as a writer?
RB: Plotting. I enjoy the discovery as I'm writing and while I've learned to trust my process, some amount of plotting is necessary and helps with the continuity of a series.
Readers probably expect me to say 'editing' but that's not so bad for me. Getting comments back and seeing what I left off the page helps me avoid the same mistake in the next draft. My goal is always to make the next book better than the last one.
(Editorial note to readers: Regan's plotting skills are fantastic so she's obviously quite good at editing and clearly doesn't mind doing it.)
WG: Anything else you’d like to add?
RB: I'll just add a big THANK YOU to you and your readers for this terrific interview opportunity and giveaway event. It's a joy for me to chat about my books, the series, and the characters who are so special to me.
You're welcome, Regan! It was a pleasure having you here. Thanks for helping to create a fantastic giveaway, too!
Regan Black is the award-winning author of action-packed paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels featuring kick-butt, alpha female heroines. In addition to the Shadows of Justice series, several short stories, and blogs, she’s also authored the non-fiction Adopt A Greyhound Guide and Goal Setting for Writers, a book based on her popular online workshop.
Contact Regan:
Twitter: @ReganBlack
Web site: http://www.reganblack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReganBlack.fans
Email: black.regan@gmail.com
Buy Regan's books at the following eTailers:
(click an icon for a direct link to her books at that eTailer)
If you're an Indie Author and would like to be interviewed, have your book reviewed and/or have me do a Giveaway for your books, please visit my Author Features Page to learn how to sign up! I'm filling my calendar but seem to be getting through the review queue faster than anticipated!
What's Next....
Next week's Tuesday Tip will be delayed a day (until 11/28) so I can bring you my entry in the "Next Big Thing" blog hop chain on "Writer Wednesday" (Twitter hash #WW, which also stands for Worth Watching but who's counting?)
Here's to a Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
Grand Prize: Julie Day (wins the set of 5 books -- that is, the first 3 books in the series plus 2 short stories)
1st Runner up: Maria (wins a copy of Tracking Shadows)
2nd Runner up: Sheila Deeth (wins a copy of Tracking Shadows)
Congratulations to all three winners! You should have already gotten a short message from me telling you that Regan will be contacting you shortly to arrange delivery of your books. For those of you who celebrate it :) have a great Thanksgiving weekend! Okay, onward we go. Click through the jump break to learn more about Regan.
Author Interview
I just read Tracking Shadows (Book 4 in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series) and had no idea it was a series book. In fact, I thought this was the first book of a new series until I check the description again part way through. Because I can see how Regan built up this world, and yet I still had so many questions about the world she built, I focused my interview questions on the world-building aspects of the series.
Webbiegrrl (WG): You’ve written 5 books and a couple of short stories in this series. Do you think you have more to write in the world of 2096?
Regan Black (RB): Definitely! This whole universe still intrigues me and is consistently a surprise, which makes the process more fun for me. When I wrote Tracking Shadows (Book 4), I realized Mira (the mysterious healer who has a cameo in all of the previous Shadows of Justice novels) needed her own story.
While I was working on her book, Shadows to Light (Book 5), I discovered another supporting character who is clamoring for me to tell her tale. That will be the next novel in the series.
WG: Which characters, if any, still have a story you want to tell in the future world of 2096? Will you eventually tell their story?
RB: Well, Julia from Shadows to Light is next up on the 2096 agenda, but there is an original novella in the Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance (January 2013) that introduces a whole new set of problems involving the children of soldiers who were exploited by Dr. Kristoff (the 2096 equivalent of today's Surgeon General). That novella stands alone, but when my beta readers and critique partners went through it, they urged me to explore the fate of these kids.
WG: Where did you first get the ideas for the future world depicted in your 2096 books? Was it the event that triggered the world or the people in it that caught your attention first?
RB: This entire series launched from one character, Jaden Michaels, and she was propelled into 2096 by a contemporary short story I wrote for a contest. The short featured one of Jaden's earlier lives and her short-lived victory over the predatory demon.
Though never published, the story won the contest and became the framework for Justice Incarnate (Book 1). I tried to write the story as a contemporary novel, but I felt like was cheating on Chicago and doing a disservice to the men and women in the military. Pushing the story out to 2096 set my imagination free and with the 'creative license' of writing in the future, things really came together for the characters and storylines.
WG: What is it that happened to cause the USA to ban certain things as “contraband”? Is this explained in one of the other books of the series?
RB: Well, the illegal coffee thing started as a joke between my critique partners as I was writing Justice Incarnate (Book 1). I was drinking more coffee than water to make my deadline, but it was such an amazing rush. (The story process, not just the caffeine). And I knew if caffeine was ever regulated, people like me would create a viable black market – and voila, Slick Micky, the smuggler, was born.
The rest of the 2096 contraband issues sprouted from the intense anti-carb 'diet' of that time. People would practically shun you if you dared to eat bread in public. I thought if that's where we were in 2004, it wouldn't be too long before we had actual regulations restricting our favorite foods and ingredients. In the books, these extreme regulations are blamed on an overzealous government appointee, who is the equivalent of the Surgeon General.
WG: Why is it only the USA that has banned these things? Why not anywhere else in the world?
RB: I never looked at it like that, but it probably feels that way because of my tunnel vision when it comes to keeping the 2096 world centered on Chicago.
(Editorial note: I am an avid Science Fiction reader and, as such, pay meticulous attention to the world-building of any story I read to be sure it makes sense and follows the physical laws of the universe. Deviating requires me to suspend my disbelief, so I noticed immediately that the limits of definition here stopped at the borders of the USA. I kept wanting to know what happened in other countries and to other cultures on Planet Earth during the same time period--especially, given as the USA is such a strong influence on socio-cultural choices today)
Aside from that, I believe in personal accountability when it comes to the choices we make. Showing the 2096 USA under such extreme restrictions that citizens allowed the government to impose, might be interpreted as a snarky commentary on what happens when people don't exercise their common sense, though it wasn't done on purpose.
WG: Will you ever consider writing a story set in 2096 outside the USA showing what the rest of the future world thinks of us and our “contraband bans”?
RB:That certainly has potential! I hadn't thought about it until now, but research is a wonderful excuse for a lengthy 'vacation' in another part of the world. ;)
WG: How did you go from writing paranormal romantic suspense (the 2096 series) to children’s stories?
RB: When my husband deployed while I was writing Veil of Justice (book 3) the military angles and the 2096 world itself just got too dark. I was writing well, but I was exhausted at the end of the day – and not in a good way.
I needed something less intense to feed my creativity and the Hobbitville gardens filled that void. Those stories were initially geared to be a serial project for my publisher that would lead to a full length book, but things fizzled on that front for a variety of reasons and the Hobbitville adventures got pushed to the bottom of my to-do list.
Eventually I hope to release novels with those characters, but so far, I'm not completely happy with the first manuscript.
WG: Do you want to write in any other genres? Which one(s) do you think you’ll try next?
RB: One of the other projects I worked on during that deployment was a cozy mystery. I love the foundation of the story and the first draft is complete, but I'm not sure how readers would take to a story from me without the paranormal angle. So it, too, is sitting in the 'maybe someday' file.
(Editorial Note to Regan: This is precisely why G*d created Pen Names! Please read my marketing series on "Line Extension" and additional articles in my branding series on how, why and when to use pen names to your advantage for precisely this activity--trying out new genres to "test market" yourself there. You are exactly correct that using one name for multiple genres is not a good thing--hence my confusion as to why a Paranormal Romantic Suspense writer was also publishing children's fantasy books.)
WG: What one thing do you love most about writing?
RB: The surprises, hands down. When I'm working on a scene and a character says or does something unexpected, or uses some gadget like the stealth suit Slick Micky uses in Tracking Shadows (Book 4), it thrills me. Writing in 2096 gives me endless opportunities for moments like that, which is another reason I know I'm not yet done with that world.
WG: What one thing do you wish you did NOT have to do as a writer?
RB: Plotting. I enjoy the discovery as I'm writing and while I've learned to trust my process, some amount of plotting is necessary and helps with the continuity of a series.
Readers probably expect me to say 'editing' but that's not so bad for me. Getting comments back and seeing what I left off the page helps me avoid the same mistake in the next draft. My goal is always to make the next book better than the last one.
(Editorial note to readers: Regan's plotting skills are fantastic so she's obviously quite good at editing and clearly doesn't mind doing it.)
WG: Anything else you’d like to add?
RB: I'll just add a big THANK YOU to you and your readers for this terrific interview opportunity and giveaway event. It's a joy for me to chat about my books, the series, and the characters who are so special to me.
You're welcome, Regan! It was a pleasure having you here. Thanks for helping to create a fantastic giveaway, too!
Regan Black is the award-winning author of action-packed paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels featuring kick-butt, alpha female heroines. In addition to the Shadows of Justice series, several short stories, and blogs, she’s also authored the non-fiction Adopt A Greyhound Guide and Goal Setting for Writers, a book based on her popular online workshop.Contact Regan:
Twitter: @ReganBlack
Web site: http://www.reganblack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReganBlack.fans
Email: black.regan@gmail.com
Buy Regan's books at the following eTailers:
(click an icon for a direct link to her books at that eTailer)
If you're an Indie Author and would like to be interviewed, have your book reviewed and/or have me do a Giveaway for your books, please visit my Author Features Page to learn how to sign up! I'm filling my calendar but seem to be getting through the review queue faster than anticipated!
What's Next....
Next week's Tuesday Tip will be delayed a day (until 11/28) so I can bring you my entry in the "Next Big Thing" blog hop chain on "Writer Wednesday" (Twitter hash #WW, which also stands for Worth Watching but who's counting?)
Here's to a Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 19, 2012
MONDAY MARKETING Competition in Digital Publishing #indie #marketing #branding #pubtip @ReganBlack #giveaway
Last time we chatted about the "branching" effect of categories, the essence of the 10th Immutable Law of Marketing (for Indie Authors): Law of Division. If left to follow its natural course, a category will eventually divide into subcategories. The driving force behind division is actually competition--that is, healthy competition makes a category ripe to divide whereas lack of competition drives a category to stability and sometimes, worse, diminished activity. Click through the jump break to learn more about competition and categories.
Categories
The Law of Category, or Law 2 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors) advises us to create a new category in which we can be the leader--establish it from scratch. Law 10, the Law of Division, tells us that we can create this new category when there is sufficient competition to support a spawning off of a small fragment of the audience. There must be sufficient competition, however, to follow you into the new category or you'll be alone, without competition and, therefore, without any comparative measures which consumers can use to choose you over your competition. In simple English, customers gotta have several choices or they'll choose nothing versus "the only choice." It's a sort of rebellion, asserting one's free will ^)^
Here's an example of how and when competition spawned not just one new category, but a veritable industry of new categories. One of the most competitive food categories is breakfast cereals. There used to be just two kinds: "hot" and "cold" cereal. Now there are a dozen or more subcategories of cold cereal (all natural, unprocessed, marshmallow puffs, uncoated, sugar-coated flakes, granola-like clusters, cereal with dried fruit - the list goes on!)
And there at least a handful of subcategories for the hot, as well: oatmeal, cream of wheat, porridge, grits, others I'm not thinking of right now. The demand for choices drove the "hot" and "cold" categories to divide.
Choices, or competition, are the key. Two competitors cannot successfully market the same choice within a category or there's no choice to be made. A consumer must be able to distinguish one brand's product from the other's. This is where Laws 9 and14 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors) come in. Law 9, or the Law of Opposites, uses Law 14, the Law of Attributes, to identify which things are most-easily compared--and contrasted--with your competition.
Only when there is a clear distinction between you and the competition can the customers choose you. When both brands appear to have the same product, customers will determine which brand survives and which simply dies a natural death--and one brand must die. Two identical (in the minds of the consumer) brands cannot co-exist, despite all the bumper stickers in the world.
Test Marketing & Competition
Some marketing professionals will consider test marketing--trying out a product in a small way to see if there's an interest for it before pouring time, energy and money into launching a new category in which to sell it. This is a mistake. The biggest problems with this approach are
(a) wasted time "testing" rather than delivering a market-ready product and
(b) tipping off your competition to your intended direction. If your competition launches the new category before you do, then they are first, not you.
According to Law 1 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors), you want to be first. Being first automatically makes you the leader. In Digital Publishing, where time to market is so incredibly short, it becomes critical not to tip off your competition to anything. Besides, some of us Indie Authors are both prolific and fast. A slower Author might be better, but if they are late arriving in the market, they are not first, not the leader, and not able to avoid being compared to what's already out there. It's far better to be first - to be original.
Traditional marketing focuses on giving consumers what they want "better, faster, cheaper" as I noted last time. In our new and improved marketing strategy, however, we are focused more on being first, being the leader, being consistent and being narrowly focused on our brand's definition. Don't try to be everything to everyone or try to get every last word into the first book.
Focus on writing the best book you can in the time you have. The competition can never be you if you are unique--and every person is unique so as an Indie Author, being yourself makes you impossible to displace through traditional marketing methods.
Another problem with test marketing will be the overstimulation of demand. As noted, if you are not first to the marketplace, you'll be compared to what's already out. This is what happened when a trend flared into a fad, as was the case with the flood of Stephenie Meyer wannabes in the Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy market today. Rather than over-stimulating the demand for shiny vampire stories, new authors wanting to compete with Meyer should be trying to spawn a new subcategory for their own take on the vampire myth.
No one's going to stop another category split--only lack of trying. Maybe come up with a new spin instead of over-stimulating the demand some more. I've seen several vampire-zombie stories tossed around. They're not to my taste at all but I see a high interest in the combination. You could be the first to name the new category and if you are, you will own it. Be first. Be original. Be you.
What's Next....
Tomorrow's Tuesday Tip will be a special Author Feature. I'll be interviewing Regan Black and announcing the winners in her giveaway of Paranormal Romantic Suspense books in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series. I'll also be releasing my review of Book 4 of the series, Tracking Shadows (heads up: I loved that book and rated it a "4 out of 5 stars")
If you haven't entered the giveaway yet, you have a few hours left until midnight tonight (Eastern Time/USA) to do so. Just click here to enter. You can enter as many times as you like but I'm pretty sure Rafflecopter filters out all but one entry from each email address for each day/date.
Next Week, I'll be moving the Tuesday Tip to Wednesday in a special Writers' Wednesday (Twitter hash #WW) featuring the "Next Big Thing" blog hop chain. I hope to see you then!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
Categories
The Law of Category, or Law 2 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors) advises us to create a new category in which we can be the leader--establish it from scratch. Law 10, the Law of Division, tells us that we can create this new category when there is sufficient competition to support a spawning off of a small fragment of the audience. There must be sufficient competition, however, to follow you into the new category or you'll be alone, without competition and, therefore, without any comparative measures which consumers can use to choose you over your competition. In simple English, customers gotta have several choices or they'll choose nothing versus "the only choice." It's a sort of rebellion, asserting one's free will ^)^
Here's an example of how and when competition spawned not just one new category, but a veritable industry of new categories. One of the most competitive food categories is breakfast cereals. There used to be just two kinds: "hot" and "cold" cereal. Now there are a dozen or more subcategories of cold cereal (all natural, unprocessed, marshmallow puffs, uncoated, sugar-coated flakes, granola-like clusters, cereal with dried fruit - the list goes on!)And there at least a handful of subcategories for the hot, as well: oatmeal, cream of wheat, porridge, grits, others I'm not thinking of right now. The demand for choices drove the "hot" and "cold" categories to divide.
Choices, or competition, are the key. Two competitors cannot successfully market the same choice within a category or there's no choice to be made. A consumer must be able to distinguish one brand's product from the other's. This is where Laws 9 and14 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors) come in. Law 9, or the Law of Opposites, uses Law 14, the Law of Attributes, to identify which things are most-easily compared--and contrasted--with your competition.
When you make your brand clearly not whatever your competition is, then you are easily compared by consumers.
Only when there is a clear distinction between you and the competition can the customers choose you. When both brands appear to have the same product, customers will determine which brand survives and which simply dies a natural death--and one brand must die. Two identical (in the minds of the consumer) brands cannot co-exist, despite all the bumper stickers in the world.
Test Marketing & Competition
Some marketing professionals will consider test marketing--trying out a product in a small way to see if there's an interest for it before pouring time, energy and money into launching a new category in which to sell it. This is a mistake. The biggest problems with this approach are
(a) wasted time "testing" rather than delivering a market-ready product and
(b) tipping off your competition to your intended direction. If your competition launches the new category before you do, then they are first, not you.
According to Law 1 of the Immutable Laws of Marketing (for Indie Authors), you want to be first. Being first automatically makes you the leader. In Digital Publishing, where time to market is so incredibly short, it becomes critical not to tip off your competition to anything. Besides, some of us Indie Authors are both prolific and fast. A slower Author might be better, but if they are late arriving in the market, they are not first, not the leader, and not able to avoid being compared to what's already out there. It's far better to be first - to be original.
Traditional marketing focuses on giving consumers what they want "better, faster, cheaper" as I noted last time. In our new and improved marketing strategy, however, we are focused more on being first, being the leader, being consistent and being narrowly focused on our brand's definition. Don't try to be everything to everyone or try to get every last word into the first book.
Focus on writing the best book you can in the time you have. The competition can never be you if you are unique--and every person is unique so as an Indie Author, being yourself makes you impossible to displace through traditional marketing methods.
Another problem with test marketing will be the overstimulation of demand. As noted, if you are not first to the marketplace, you'll be compared to what's already out. This is what happened when a trend flared into a fad, as was the case with the flood of Stephenie Meyer wannabes in the Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy market today. Rather than over-stimulating the demand for shiny vampire stories, new authors wanting to compete with Meyer should be trying to spawn a new subcategory for their own take on the vampire myth.
No one's going to stop another category split--only lack of trying. Maybe come up with a new spin instead of over-stimulating the demand some more. I've seen several vampire-zombie stories tossed around. They're not to my taste at all but I see a high interest in the combination. You could be the first to name the new category and if you are, you will own it. Be first. Be original. Be you.
What's Next....
Tomorrow's Tuesday Tip will be a special Author Feature. I'll be interviewing Regan Black and announcing the winners in her giveaway of Paranormal Romantic Suspense books in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series. I'll also be releasing my review of Book 4 of the series, Tracking Shadows (heads up: I loved that book and rated it a "4 out of 5 stars")
If you haven't entered the giveaway yet, you have a few hours left until midnight tonight (Eastern Time/USA) to do so. Just click here to enter. You can enter as many times as you like but I'm pretty sure Rafflecopter filters out all but one entry from each email address for each day/date.
Next Week, I'll be moving the Tuesday Tip to Wednesday in a special Writers' Wednesday (Twitter hash #WW) featuring the "Next Big Thing" blog hop chain. I hope to see you then!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 18, 2012
REVIEW: Tracking Shadows by @ReganBlack #paranormal #romance #ebook #review #indie
Book 4 in the Shadows of Justice series.Read my interview with the author here.
Genre: Romantic Suspense w/Paranormal Elements
My Usual Genre? Yes on the Romantic Suspense; no on the Paranormal elements but that was just some psychic powers, not weird creatures of the night or demons, so that aspect of the book didn't bug me much.
My Rating:
(4 out of 5 stars)Why I Read This: Cover caught my eye during a free giveaway (a year ago) from a Twitter contact that I did not (at that time) know very well, so I figured why not? Actually, I solicited her for the name of her cover designer and we ended up chatting ever since. Still took me a year to get to her book. Click through the jump-break to read my review.
My Review:
From the start, the author's voice is gripping and original. I absolutely loved the opening scene of the book. Interestingly, I didn't realize this was Book 4 of a series until I remembered to go add it to my currently-reading shelf on Goodreads. That's when I noticed it was part of a series, so I guess that says the book opens independently enough I don't feel I've missed something in an earlier book of the series.
On the downside of that same coin, however, the story jumped right in without any backfill on the series' events, the world or the characters' previous history in the series. I didn't "need" this info to follow the story in this specific book, but in retrospect, I think some series connectivity would have improved the early chapters of this book. For instance, I was starting to get confused with the vague references to "Slick Micky" or "the Slick Micky." Not only did I keep wanting to spell it "Mickey" but the presence of "the" (as a title rather than a name) made me wonder who or what this person was and/or how many of them are there? It was obviously part of the mystery of the story but I think it was one of those cases where the author withheld just slightly too much and left the reader uncessarily confused. It was just slight, though, not enough to ruin my entire reading experience.
One of the things I loved the most--and right out of the starting gate--was the author's voice. Regan paints rich word pictures and uses a gritty gumshoe tone to build a suspenseful ambience against which the story unfolds in layers. It's not quite peeling an onion but there is definitely a detective novel feel to the start of this book.
With the introduction of a new character, Trina Durham, in Chapter 2, I found myself really liking someone and not caring that I didn't know where or when I was or what made the world the way it seemed to be. The fact that the character distracted me from my analysis proves her richness and depth. I did remember reading in a description of the book that there was a psychic assassin or something like that and at the time, I recall I'd rolled my eyes at the idea, but the more I read, the more I became a fan. The scene where Trina is a veritable killing machine was awesome - a very crunchy fight scene worthy of a milfic novel. The "psychic" skills definitely enhance Trina's killing abilities.
Unfortunately, in Chapter 3 when the POV changed, I got distracted again by the lack of time, place, setting details. I kept wanting to know when this was--obviously in the future, but the date is never stated--and what it was that happened between now and then. The future world was changed, not quite dystopic but there was talk of sugar and coffee being outlawed. It sounded like a joke at first (satire?) but it quickly became apparent that Regan intended it to be a part of the future world. I spent too much energy trying to figure it out to stay really invested in the story.
Given how completely Trina's character sucked me in during Chapter 2, losing me in Chapters 3 and 4 due to world-building seemed off. The quality of writing was superior to this level of mistake. It was at this point I took off one star from my 5-star rating and sadly, I kept myself "on guard" for the rest of the book, looking to see if this star could be redeemed or if I needed to take away another. I would have preferred to just read the book and not be on the lookout for issues. Had the world building been solid in the first few chapters, I would definitely have just read for the sheer joy of this book and how well it was written.
There was one other instance of "author withholding" that definitely caught my attention and would have distracted me but thankfully, Regan answered the question right away, around the 25% mark. It has to do with the Slick Micky character's real identity. I'll refrain from giving away that spoiler here. It's a good one, though.
After this point, I just loved all of the crossed paths plotting! The pacing in the middle really picked up and since I was finally, fully-invested in the two main characters, I started flying through the book, yearning to read more when I had to go to work or do something else. Thinking about a book when you're not reading it is always a sign of a writing job well-done.
In the second half of the book the story turns, changes tone slightly from the gumshoe detective novel into a more classic romance novel. This is pretty much the definition of a classic Romantic Suspense novel. The two MC's have an awesome first kiss and I just loved the plot twist about Joel's appearance due to his prior injuries. I like to have flawed Heroes that are so attractive inside you just don't care what they look like. I found the whole "kiss in darkness" to be iconic.
Then, finally, when I got to the big sex scene, it was just as hawt as had been promised by that first kiss. The romance novel side of this book was completely rewarding, while there was very little actual sex. It was more romantic than it was sexual, which honestly, I prefer (despite being known for my own steaming hot and explicit sex scenes).
Finally, we come to The End and Regan still managed to impress me one more time. See, I love symmetrical plotting--those times where we come, at The End, to the same scene we visited at the beginning but with a new outcome. I often try to do this myself, as a Romantic Suspense author, but it's not as easy as it sounds. When it clicks into place for an author, it's magical and this really clicked for Regan.
The ending left me satisfied with Joel and Trina's romance, satisifed enough with the mystery-style plot but still interested in reading more about this world and the people in it.
My one and only gripe, even at The End, was that I still had no world-building backfilled anywhere. I have to subtract one full star for that lack; otherwise, I could find no flaw or fault with this book. It was exceedingly well done from plotting, pacing and character development through to the imaginative ideas and original voice. And my final word on this? I would definitely read more by this author.
-sry
Sarah, The Webbiegrrl Writer
@webbiegrrl
Buy Regan's books at the following eTailers:
(click an icon for a direct link to her books at that eTailer)
November 14, 2012
Still on Hiatus...Back a-Buzzin on November 19, 2012
Just wanted to post a quick note for my regular readers to let you know I'm nearly done moving and have started one of my two jobs (which is crazy-busy this time of year). I'll be back to releasing blogs next week.
On Monday, November 19, 2012 I'll have a new Monday Marketing blog for you; and on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, I've got a fabulous giveaway of books in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series by Regan Black.
You'll need to enter the giveaway no later than midnight (ET/USA) Monday night. I'll be announcing the winners on Tuesday's blog (where I'll also feature an interview with Regan and share my review of her book Tracking Shadows (Book 4 of the series). Hope to see you next week!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
On Monday, November 19, 2012 I'll have a new Monday Marketing blog for you; and on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, I've got a fabulous giveaway of books in the SHADOWS OF JUSTICE series by Regan Black.
You'll need to enter the giveaway no later than midnight (ET/USA) Monday night. I'll be announcing the winners on Tuesday's blog (where I'll also feature an interview with Regan and share my review of her book Tracking Shadows (Book 4 of the series). Hope to see you next week!
-sry
@webbiegrrl
November 6, 2012
TUESDAY TIP Nanowrimo 2012 Tips + Tricks #nanowrimo #amwriting #amediting #myWANA #selfpub #indie
Okay, it's that time of year - Nanowrimo - or National Novel Writing Month. The objective is to write 50,000 words (about half of a full-length novel) in one month. Not just any month, however, it has to be November 1-30 which is a fairly busy month (at least for most Americans) because the Christian holiday season gears up towards full-swing. There are only so many tips and tricks one person can give you on how to tackle this challenge, but click through the jump-break to read my take on it for 2012.Bottom Line First
I think what it comes down to is either you can churn out 50,000 words in 30 days or you cannot. You need to be honest with yourself about these 30 days, too. If you live in the USA, your month of November is ridden with pitfalls and distractions. The second half of the month is the beginning of the Christian holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving (which comes early this year) on the third Thursday of the month: November 22, 2012. By then, just one week away, you'll need to be less than 10,000 words from your goal. Will you be?
1) Don't stress it. Remember this is supposed to be fun, supposed to help you and supposed to end up in a good place, not a self-loathing destruction that leaves you unable to write anything for the next year.
2) Don't stress it. Yeah, I already said that but it's worth repeating. So many nano'ers just focus on the numbers and forget to just write. Just let go of all the stress and all the demands and all the expections and just...write. Anything. Whatever enters your mind. Do a little freeform association. You can edit it later--after November 30th.
3) If you don't already have a plan, just write without one. Don't stay fixated on getting a plan or creating or sticking to an outline. Today, as you're reading this, we're already a week into the challenge. If you don't start catching up with your word count, you're never going to hit 50,000 by November 30th, and you know what? See #1 and #2 above ^)^
4) If you had something you always wanted to try but never had time to do, just try it now. See what happens. From writing in the first person to trying multiple POV for the first time, Nanowrimo can be a real growth experience for you as a writer--even if you "fail" the challenge. You can get things out of this exercise besides and beyond just churning out 50,000 words, you know?
5) Be a little selfish. I know it feels like you are all the time anyway--writing is a solitary activity and writers are, generally, self-centered (though not necessarily selfish) people. We have to be. If we aren't centered around ourselves, how can we possibly pour ourselves out into a book? Know thyself is not just a watchword for a writer, it's a necessity. Allow yourself this one month a year to really focus on you. Who are you? What do you like? Why do you like it? Answer those questions and now you have a main character with traits and motivations just waiting for a plot in a setting :) It's really THAT easy!
I think those 5 tips are the best advise I can give you right now. I did have a lot more ideas last year and you can read my Nanowrimo 2011 tips to see some of them now but I strongly urge you to stop reading and get writing!
Good luck (and may the odds be ever in your favor *haha* nonowrimo, DO NOT write another Hunger Games lookalike!!)
-sry
@webbiegrrl
