R.M. Prioleau's Blog, page 5
June 16, 2011
Coming Soon! "Firebrand"
I'm pleased to announce my newest fantasy novella, Firebrand, coming soon this summer! Sarah did another amazing job with the cover, which I'm excited to share. The book is planned for release in both paperback and E-Book formats.
[image error]
The blurb:
Kaijin Sora behaved like any studious child his age who constantly indulged in reading books and thirsting for new knowledge. But there was one thing that distinguished him from other children—his tenacious passion for fire.
In hopes of curbing this strange and disturbing sickness, Kaijin's parents sent him off to study magic. Unbeknownst to Kaijin, the knowledge he would glean during his years of intense study would only further kindle his inner flames.
What began as a simple childhood curiosity would ultimately transition into a blazing love so powerful, it kills….
Firebrand is an engrossing fantasy adventure filled with magic and mystery.
June 7, 2011
April – May Sales
I thought I'd follow the trend of other indie authors and post the sales progress for The Necromancer's Apprentice. The book debuted on April 7, 2011, though it wasn't made fully available on all of the other websites until a later date. Therefore, I will include both April and May's sales to make things a little easier.
Total sales (April 7-ish – May 31): 30
Here's a more detailed breakdown of the sales (in ascending order):
Amazon US: 24
Smashwords: 3
Amazon UK: 1
Barnes & Noble: 1
CreateSpace: 1
These are all digitally-bought sales (including CreateSpace, which the paperback was bought via online). There were actually a few more paperback sales which were sold offline (I would estimate about 6-7 copies). I did modest advertising and a giveaway at Goodreads towards the end of May (which so many people have added it to their 'to-read' lists!). This was all such an intimidating experience for my debut book, but all in all, I'm quite pleased with the results!
I was also pleasantly surprised to discover I actually had a sale in the UK! (I guess that makes me an international seller, right?) It's always been my dream to have my stories shared throughout the world, so seeing that sale brought out a whole new level of motivation.
Hopefully, this month will be even better.
I've already begun my next project as I eagerly await Camp NaNoWriMo later this summer. The event just can't come fast enough! I'm anticipating the remainder of this year will be event-heavy, which I am preparing for accordingly.
Looking forward to doing new and exciting things!
May 31, 2011
Progessive Weekend
Memorial Day weekend has been excellent! I got more editing done than I usually get in an entire week! I love marathon writing/editing where it becomes a snowball effect and you can't stop. What seems like five minutes turns into five hours of intense literary abandon. For example, I spent almost two days straight editing a 22-page chapter (yes, 22 pages).
In addition to my next book's edits, I also sated my other creative endeavors by making a nice little Hello Kitty-themed sleeve for my Kindle 3. I used a great tutorial at this website. There's even a printable version of the instructions!
[image error]
Homemade Hello Kitty Kindle 3 Sleeve
Camp NaNoWriMo!
I came, I donated and I feel great! I can proudly say that NaNoWriMo has been the magic behind my fervent literary endeavors. One can only begin to understand the wonders of NaNoWriMo. There's something about the event that turns me into a writing fiend, unable to stop the creative madness.
[image error]
Camp NaNoWriMo coming August 2011!
I love the Office of Letters and Light for what they stand for, what they've done and what they continue to do for so many communities around the world. So, naturally, when I heard they were going to be doing Camp NaNoWriMo in August, I got more excited than a kid during Christmas. I have a few projects that I will be working on this year, all of which will be done during NaNo-themed events.
With Camp NaNoWriMo coming up, I'll also be utilizing my NaNoWriMo blog again to post my progress and thoughts. I think it's fun, helpful and motivating to read about other participants' endeavors in their blogs, and how they overcome obstacles during the month-long challenge. Feel free to follow my NaNoWriMo journey on Twitter, too!
Two indie authors I wanted to spotlight in particular have just released debut books within the past few weeks. My friend Teresa has just released her debut children's book, Summer Jackson: Grown Up, published by HarperCollins and on sale now at major book retailers! She will also be doing a booksigning at Books of Wonder on June 18th. I am so proud and happy for her and wish her nothing but success! Another awesome author, Tiphanie Thomas, whom I've met online, has also released her debut romance book entitled, Heart Stealer. I don't know why, but I've seen Tiphanie as an inspiration. All of the things she's done since the release of her book in April has motivated me to follow in her footsteps. Her book has received nothing but high praise since its April debut. As a fellow self-pubbed author, I'm learning a lot just from reading about her own experiences in this scary, but exciting world of literary abandonment.
Nearing the home stretch of the novella edits. Some character interviews are to come soon!
May 3, 2011
May: New Plans & Projects
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Goodreads giveaway! There were exactly 1,234 people who signed up! Coincidence? Sign of great things to come? I certainly hope so! This was my first giveaway for my debut novella, and I hope to do more of them in the future. Many people have added the book to their to-read list on Goodreads, which is always motivating for me.
Sales in April were more than I could ever hope. I am still staving off the aftereffects of publishing it! I don't think this feeling ever goes away. Currently, I'm looking to do a little more marketing in and around my small town. Book signings seem to be few and far between here, so it may be a great opportunity to set something up in the coming months.
At long last, I've managed to finish the first draft of my next novella, which I've also changed the title to "Firebrand." I am now going through the first round of edits, which I've, for some strange reason, been enjoying very much. Maybe it's due to the fact of getting over that initial obstacle of completing a first draft. I'm estimating a good 3-4 months before the book is polished enough to be published.
I've also decided to test the new site, bookcountry.com, with an excerpt of the first chapter of Firebrand to see what sort of feedback I would get on it. I can honestly say the site has exceeded my expectations. I've received lots of advice and feedback, as well as connected with new friends to help me in my literary endeavors. The website is very well-made, and I was admittedly skeptical about using it after the harsh criticism I read about on Kindleboards. Book Country is a lot like Critique Circle, but I think Critique Circle has more extensive features. I like the inline critique option that Critique Circle has, which really allows you to go in-depth with your feedback. Conversely, Book Country just gives you space to type your overall critique (but you can go as detailed as you like), depending on what the author has requested (ie: plot, characters, pacing, etc.). Overall, I think I will use both Book Country and Critique Circle respectively depending on what sort of feedback I'm looking for. Both have been very helpful with improving my writing. If you're on Book Country, please add me!
One particular program that I've started using to edit my new novella has been AutoCrit. I can't begin to explain how helpful this program has been. I've used it mainly for getting rid of overused/repeated words, cliches and bad writing habits I never realized I had. I've used AutoCrit in conjunction with a thesaurus and watched the story transform and improve ten-fold. The program really forces you to think and tap into your creative ability, which is what I really love about it. The program is free to try out, and pricing starts at $47 for an entire year. This is, perhaps the most worthwhile literary investment I've made thus far. The only gripe I have about AutoCrit is that it's not a stand-alone desktop program, so you will need to be online in order to use it. You copy/paste excerpts of your manuscript into the program and it spits out the errors.
If you're looking to improve your writing skills, I highly recommend this program. Check it out here: www.autocrit.com.
April 23, 2011
Thank you!
April 21, 2011
Paperback Version Available!
The paperback version of The Necromancer's Apprentice is now available for purchase at Createspace!
Goodreads Giveaway!
The paperback version of The Necromancer's Apprentice is now available for purchase at Createspace! I'm also doing a giveaway on Goodreads for a free signed copy! You can check it out here! (or click below)
Signing up is free and the giveaway deadline is May 1st, 2011. Enter for your chance to win!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Necromancer's Apprentice
by R.M. Prioleau
Giveaway ends May 01, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
April 8, 2011
Now Available!
The Necromancer's Apprentice is NOW AVAILABLE! Buy it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and Goodreads!
Over the next few weeks, I will be doing some giveaways for chances to win a copy of the printed version of the book. Thanks for your support!
E-Books Deporting!
My heart's still pounding away when I hit the 'Publish' button yesterday at Amazon. At long last, my novella is officially 'Published' and will hopefully be enjoyed by many. I will never forget that moment of the day when I took that final leap of faith and sent my creation out to the world.
…And now the cycle begins again with another book in the works!
While I'm still staving off the aftereffects of the Kindle and NOOK publishing sites, I'm still hard at work on my next book, which still has a tentative title. The story is actually one I written a few years ago, and I liked it so much, I wanted to bring it to live just as I've done with The Necromancer's Apprentice. I will post more details about it shortly.
The Necromancer's Apprentice will be available in E-Book format on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Smashwords. The printed version will be available on Createspace and possible other online retailers. I have plans for doing some giveaways of signed copies of the book also. There are so many things in store this busy month, so stay tuned!
March 28, 2011
This Week's Theme: Creativity!
This week, I'm feeling very creative. The edits of my next novella are going smoothly, and I'm already working on brainstorming/outlining my next story that I intend to write for this year's GothNoWriMo. There's a lot going on and the work never stops! I wouldn't have it any other way.
As I recently Tweeted, I bought a Kindle 3 today. I'm hoping this will be a worthwhile investment as I've been more interested in reading material produced by indie authors these days. That was something I wasn't able to find much on the NOOK. So, I will check out the Kindle and see what all the hype is about, and hopefully get it filled up with some fresh, new indie-authored books.
…But of course, it wasn't just the indie books that were calling out to me. My geek side was calling out, as well. I've read that it's possible to develop apps for the Kindle 3 — something that I was unable to do with my Classic NOOK — which is a shame, because I was hoping that B&N would keep offering support for this great, Android-based device. But alas, the NOOKcolor has been in the spotlight, and it's really not piqued my interest, at all. I like the e-ink technology and would prefer reading my books this way than on an LCD screen like the NOOKcolor (or any other tablet device, for that matter). In my opinion, e-ink is better on the eyes.
So, with my new acquisition of the Kindle, I've noticed a lot of people on the Kindleboards have made cute little slip-cases for them (because buying them retail is ridiculously expensive). So, as this week is creative week, I've been sparked by the creativity bug to try the same. I will produce pictures of my results at a later time.
I end today's blog with one final note and word of advice: If you, as an author, receive a negative (but constructive) review on your book, take it to heart — embrace it — learn from it. People will see things that you, as the author will most likely not see no matter how many times you edit, re-edit and re-re-edit. Moreover, you can't expect to please everyone. Not only do you make a complete fool of yourself by throwing a temper tantrum over one little bad review, you also tarnish and hurt the indie-publishing industry and all those other hard-working, legitimate and mature indie-authors who struggle and scrape tooth and nail for a moment of spotlight for their works to be reviewed (whether positive or negative).
