Kim Jewell's Blog, page 3

Self-Publishing: The Power of FREE

I posted an article in May about my new journey in self-publishing and how offering a free trial spurred a lot of downloads on Smashwords.  If I thought the boost on Smashwords was incredible, I had no idea what going free on Amazon would do for me!

It's August 7th, exactly one month after Invisible Justice went free on Amazon US.  (It finally went free on Amazon UK on 7/28.)  In just the last month, I "sold" 24,678 books (I use the quotes because a lot of these sales are for the free book).  Bottom line, in just one month I've successfully started a healthy fan base and now the sales of my two other books are starting to ramp up.  This is a major improvement from what I saw in June.  If you ask me whether it pays to have one of your books offered free…  My answer would be a resounding yes, especially if you are just starting out and haven't made a name for yourself as an author.

And the reviews are starting to come in as well.  I won't make you read them all, but I'll give you a recent sample from each book…

Invisible Justice: I usually give a book 20 to 25 pages to get me interested in the story, but this book just grabbed me with the very first page. It jumps right into the adventure. No warm up or lead in to the main characters, Sam, his sister, Lexi, and their new friend Leesha. The three teenagers who were "tampered" with as infants, and 17 years later are having side effects to the tampering. While dealing with the side effects, they are also trying to find who tampered with them and why. Along the way they run into Clint, or I should say he runs into them. The story starts strong and doesn't stop. I couldn't find a single low or slow point in the story. Read the book in about 4 hours. Can't wait to read book 2 and hopefully others after it.

Brute Justice:  I was intrigued by Invisible Justice and looked forward to reading the second in the series. I didn't expect much, thinking that the series would be geared mostly for young teen readers. To my surprise, I found that I couldn't put these books down! This second book especially seems to have moved more to an adult feel that I would expect when discussing the thoughts and feelings of 17 year olds. It was not as predictable as the first, and toward the end there were several plot twists that I didn't see coming. Can't wait for the next one!

Misery's Fire: I bought this book after reading books 1 & 2 of The Justice Series by Kim Jewell…and I wasn't disappointed. Misery's Fire was a captivating and thought-provoking story. I loved all of the characters. The main character, Grant, had such a wonderful persona…his character was well-developed and very relatable. The main plot of this book was unique – the idea of high school as hell and turning that hell into a 2nd chance was great. I will definitely be reading more books by Kim Jewell.

Ironically, most of my feedback is coming from adults.  I love that grown-ups like my YA books!  But I'm still looking for any and all teen feedback – if you know of any who love to read, feel free to pass my links along.  Thanks for the help!

New cover for Invisible Justice

Okay, I will freely admit…  Much of my creative inspiration comes from my husband.  When I'm stuck, he's usually the one to suggest a solution for me.

So over the weekend my goal was to begin working on formatting the paperback for Invisible Justice, especially since it is now taking off on the Amazon charts – thanks to the freebie promo price.  But as I started working on formatting the cover art, I realized the image I had used for the thumbnail was not high enough in resolution to blow up to book cover size.  I wasn't crazy about the image anyway, so started looking for a new one.  It was Mark's idea to find something that related better to the story – a thought not lost on me, but he got me pointed in the right direction.  (It's a great thing I have him around!)

I had been trying to find images that fit in with the character's super strengths – heightened senses, invisibility, telekinesis, super strength…  Mark's wisdom sent me looking for the source that created them: genetic engineering.  We finally decided, after pouring through many other options, on different variations of the double helix.  So here's the revised cover of Invisible Justice…  What do you think?

Yes! It's finally FREE!!!

At long last, Invisible Justice is now available on Amazon for free!  It wasn't easy, since "free" isn't a pricing option when you upload your book on Amazon, but I finally managed to get the first in this series on the Kindle free charts.  I'm not exactly sure when it finally switched over, but I woke up this morning to find more than 400 new downloads of the book.  At the time I type this, just two hours later, I've just topped 1,000 downloads!

One last note…  I thought I'd share a review I just got on Invisible Justice over the weekend on Smashwords which put a smile on my face:

"Right up there with James Pattersons' Max series. Looking forward to book 2 and hope you continue this series and not just the Misery one."

Oh, the seduction of feeling a real book in your hands!

[image error]Darn you CreateSpace and your "free proof" coupon code.  I think you may have created a monster!

Just when I was satisfied with posting my novels on the e-book channels…  And I was quite proud of myself, too!  Formatting those buggers isn't easy, mind you.  Then I get an email from CreateSpace.  "Go ahead, give it a try.  We'll even send you a proof for free."  Apparently they must have known my dream of being able to hold my work in an actual book format.  So I tried it.  And yes, this is yet another bit of formatting that you have to learn, understand, and execute flawlessly before it is approved to print.  But I managed.

And lo and behold, look what the mailman dropped off on my doorstep last night.  It's got a one minor tweak needed on the cover, which I will take care of over my lunch hour today, then I'll hit the approve button and start selling my very own paperback.  Gosh that sounds strange.

It's not on a million bookshelves, I know…  But I know of one bookshelf I'm proud to see it on!

PS to CreateSpace: Don't even think about sending me two more of those freebie coupons! 

Facebook Fan Page – Invisible Justice

I just developed a fan page for my first novel – Invisible Justice…  I'm still new at marketing my books, but was hoping to enlist the help of my Twitter and Facebook friends to spread the word.  If you read and liked Invisible Justice, or know of any teenagers that might like this book, please visit the fan page and press the "Like" button.  Thanks for sharing the link with your friends and followers!

-Kim

Attack of the killer bees!

Meet Harley.  She's a two-and-a-half-year-old Great Dane who has never met a stranger.  Bees included.  Something tells me she got a little too "up close and personal" with one this evening…

Don't worry, Benedryl has been administered and Lady Harley is now snoring like a freight train!

Meet the newest Jewells!

[image error]I just heard a collective groan at the sight of that headline.  Anyone who knows us, knows we have a soft spot for cute and cuddly little creatures.

But rest assured, this trio won't be coming inside casa de Jewell.  For the third year in a row our wisteria trellace has housed a nest of baby cardinals.  I snuck out this evening to check the eggs, and lo and behold – they had hatched! 

So there you have it – let me introduce you to Larry, Curly and Mo.

The reviews are starting to come in!

It's still early, but I'm getting pretty excited about the feedback I'm getting on my novels.  Just wanted to share a few on my blog.

Invisible Justice

Review by: Nola F on Jun. 01, 2011 : 

This book, along with its sequel (BRUTE JUSTICE) are among the best stories that I have read. The writing is consistent with the plot and the characterization is spot on. I feel like I have met kids just like these. I find that I care about all of these young people and their families. I truly hope that this author will continue with this series. Congratulations. This is a winner.

Review by: Rikki K on Jun. 01, 2011 : 

These two books are a wonderful find! Book 1 deals with the discovery and coming together of the first 4 children the evil doctor 'tampered with'. It's very well written, engaging, and completely fun to read. Technically the novels feel finished with nicely polished editing. The story was just superb, very engaging and a joy to read. If you like comic books or superhero type plots you will enjoy these two books. Great job author!

Brute Justice

Review by: Rikki K on Jun. 01, 2011 :

While book 1 introduced the character's world and set us up on a nice little adventure, book 2 continues with the struggles and sets up the road map for the kids to find more of their 'kind' in the future. The ending gave us a nice way to ease into more support for the kids so they aren't having to solo so much. These two books are very well written, they feel like polished novels. Excellent bit of literature! I am looking forward to reading more!

Misery's Fire

Interesting take on well known subject matter – on May 29, 2011


By A. Goings "truthseeker"


 

This review is from: Misery's Fire (Kindle Edition)

It's difficult to take on subject matter like hell, given the long and varied literary tradition of the subject. But Kim's approach to hell– its punishments, its tasks, its hierarchies and even its social constructs– is refreshing and, as odd as it sounds, fun to read.

This take on the afterlife and the forms it can take is a great read, at turns fun and funny and heartrending. Guaranteed to make young readers (and older readers!) ask themselves questions about their own views on life, death, vengeance and redemption.

Free really is better.

Like we didn't know that already, right?

So I uploaded my book Misery's Fire last weekend on Amazon and Smashwords for the low price of 99 cents.  I chose to start with this YA novel first because it's a stand-alone story, and I've gotten some really great feedback on it from beta readers.  It has sold several copies and gotten some positive reviews, and I am pleased given the limited marketing I have done so far.  I'm taking it slowly, learning as I go.

Last night I decided to test my other two novels – Invisible Justice and Brute Justice - to see what would happen if I offer them free for a short period of time.  Wiser people have told me you gain an advantage by having multiple books to your name, for cross-selling.  What I didn't expect, though, was the flurry of activity I encountered when my book covers hit the "free e-books" list.  It's been less than 24 hours and already I've topped the 300-books-downloaded mark! 

So when it comes to impulse purchasing, I guess free really does make a difference!

I don't deal well with rude.

I had a bad day.

I won't give you all the boring background details, but suffice it to say, last week I was working hard to get my stomach back to normal.  Not sure if it was a bout of acid reflux or the early stages of a peptic ulcer…  Either way, Dr. Jewell (that'd be me, with my medical degree by WebMD) put me on a strict diet of bland.  If you know me, you already know that's nothing short of torture.

So Friday rolls along and I'm feeling better.  Well, more than just better – for the first time in days, I'm actually hungry!  I skip to the refrigerator, anxiously looking forward to my stash of chicken salad that's barely been touched to this point.  Or so I thought.  I grabbed my container, which had clearly been labeled with my initials (as per the standard in our office), only to find it almost gone.  Someone had taken my chicken salad and… ate it.  Whoever it was left me about three bites in the bottom.  Not to quote the little girl from Full House or anything, but…

How rude!

I was horrified.  Stupified.  Anything "fied" that means stunned, shocked, gobsmacked – only amplified.  Someone had taken my food, the food my doctor prescribed, the diet that was healing me – and ate it.  Probably with a fork, double dipping.  Gross.  Then, as my stomach growled, my emotions evolved into sheer, bitter anger.  You know how people who have had their houses robbed say they feel violated?  Yep.  Totally get it.  I wanted to know who, and I wanted revenge.  I don't deal well with rude. 

So, I wrote them a note:

Side note – I found this pad of sticky notes in an art store in Chicago and just couldn't resist the impulse purchase.  And now, my impulse has totally paid off.  I felt vindicated by just writing the note.  This experience has inspired me…  I think I'm going to start a whole new campaign of revenge notes when the urge strikes.  I've got plenty left in the pad!  Stay tuned, I'll share more as they're posted.  I'm on a mission to stamp out rude.