K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 138

Personalizing Promotion

What’s the best way to promote a new release?
That question has been plaguing authors since online promotion became the way to get your books out to readers. Just how do you attract new fans while letting those devoted to you know there’s a new release?
One way to personalize that promotion on release day is to see what kind of holiday is coming up. Or perhaps there’s a big event in your life, such as a birthday or anniversary. Instead of setting up a standard “buy my book” post, you can give your fans a gift.
What have you just done by using this style of promotion?
First, you’re using something thousands of other authors aren’t using in our quest to find new fans. If you create catchy, brightly colored images in conjunction with the promotion, you’ve conquered the first hurdle—getting attention.
Second, your fans will be grateful that you recognize how important they are to you. They’ll see that you’re not taking them for granted and look into your book. Maybe even buy a copy.
Third, oh yes, you might not get many sales on release day from this promotion. It’s new and different. People will swear they don’t like seeing the same thing all the time, but they do enjoy their comfortable spot in the world.
Of course, after catching that image with “It’s my birthday but this gift is for you.” they’re going to go back. Look it over. Smile a little. And if you are very lucky, they will click on the link you’ve made sure is with the image in the post. That’s the first step in getting people to buy your book.
Once you’ve got them on your page at whichever sales venue you’re using, you need to make sure you can entice them to make the actual purchase. Here’s where all the promotion tricks are over. It’s all about the work you’ve done prior to uploading your book comes into play.
That, of course, is a subject for another day. What you need to examine now, while you’re going through all the pre-publication work, is how do you plan to promote your book to gain new readers.
Specializing your promotion, reaching out to your readers personally, can do that for you. They’ll see you as a serious author, someone they will probably like. The rest is all about remaining calm…
Well, calm is good unless you’ve cracked that all important best seller rank. Then you can squeal and prance on social media, letting everyone know that you think they’re the best. An honest squeal post can also attract new readers, to find out what all the fuss is about.
Promotion can be a drawn out drag or it can be fun. It’s all in how you plan it. 

Canoples Investigations Exposes Space Dodger

Welcome to the 2017 #SundayBookBlog for teens! 




The Canoples Investigations series was created for teens, to give them a hero who doesn’t stand to the side and let the galaxy run over them. BD Bradford and his sidekicks take off on a new adventure and make some new friends in the process! Look for more from this group in the coming year!




Get Canoples Investigations Exposes Space Dodger on Amazon! 

There’s a carnival on the station, with all kinds of “legally” cloned animals, more than a few zero-G acrobats, and miniature clowns. BD’s ever present suspicious mind latches onto one thing when the advance team for Galactic Carnival arrives to begin preparations for a weeklong visit. The ringmaster looks familiar, but the man swears that he has never been to Canoples Station before. Even worse, children five and under are disappearing. A bit of investigating on BD’s part clues him in to the fact this has happened on every station Space Dodger Space Circus has visited so far. He’s determined to uncover the true identity of the ringmaster and solve the mystery of the missing children, but at what cost. Is BD willing to lose his lifelong friends to solve this case? Will they prove Jenna Rock, Wade’s girlfriend, isn’t involved?




The normal sounds of the promenade seem wrong. I have a sensation of impending doom, much like the moments before the space pirates showed up. The desire to leap into action is very strong, so much so that I’m literally leaning forward with my fists clenched at my side.
“Easy,” Carl murmurs. “You don’t know for sure it’s him.”
Of course, I know this man we’re watching is our quarry. How can I not know that? Not that his appearance is anywhere close to his daughter, who right now is aboard Fomalhaut for a very long stay. Erin Markus did lead Spacers Rule, a galaxy wide ring of splifters, but she wasn’t in charge.
Oh, no, she was far from in charge of those thieves. The person with that responsibility has just entered Canoples Station and is talking with none other than our less than ethical governor, but I have no definitive way of proving that.
“Back off, BD,” Terry says in a low voice. “You can’t be sure, not with that man wearing what he is.”
He’s wrong. Terry is as wrong as wrong can be. Of course, I can tell that the clown talking to Governor Tulane is Dr. Janos Markus. That white makeup on his face, the frizzy deep red hair, and meteors racing across his nose in an attempt to disguise his identity don’t fool me. 

New Year, New Me

For many, many years, authors were told they had to pick a genre and stick to it. Nothing they wrote could be outside that genre. In today’s writing world, authors are genre jumping or genre mixing on a regular basis. It’s not unusual for romance to be historical or fantasy, even paranormal. This is just one example of genre mixing. Authors are also writing books in many genres—they’re going where the story follows instead of hidebound rules. And they’re using the same pseudonym on their books. Not at all like years past when authors had separate pseudonyms for each genre, because, horror of horrors, how could anyone imagine purchasing a horror novel written by the same person who pens cozy mysteries.
Yes, we are branching out. Authors have learned their fans have varied tastes. Once your fans decide they like your work, they will stick with you. Now, give them what they’re looking for, what they desire.
As the new year approaches, some authors are saying they can’t come up with anything new. They’re bored with what they’ve been writing. They want to expand their horizons and try a new type of book, but they’re afraid.
Afraid of what you ask?
They’re afraid their fans will abandon them if they switch genres. They’re terrified they’ll lose the respect they’ve worked so hard to earn. Mostly, they’re afraid they won’t be as good with another genre as they are with the one they’ve safely ensconced themselves in for years. Yet, they also don’t feel they can approach a new project using the same formula they’ve used for years.
Personally, I’ve never stuck to a single genre. I don’t stick to just one viewpoint either, but that’s another post for another day. I write the story as the characters demand of me. They are in control, hence the name of my blog, Out of Control Characters.
Now, I’m not saying that I let my characters take over everything. I do outline. Sort of. Okay, the outline is out the window by chapter three every single time. Those characters are set on what they will have happen and they don’t let me forget that.
Now that I have that confession off my chest, I have to admit that it’s fun not having to stick to an outline. Sure, I like the basics of a story noted before I begin, but not much more than that. Do I know the ending? Usually, but those pesky characters have been known to change that too.
This new year, try a different route with your writing. Expand your horizons. Write a short story in a genre you’ve long wanted to try. You might just find that you do have the ability to switch up your work.

Canoples Investigations On Trial

Authors are always working on the next novel in a series, but unless you are well known your fans are not going to wait a year or three for you to finish and give them a taste of what’s next. That’s where the short story or novella can assist you. These tales renew interest in your story, may attract new sales of your current novel, and give you a chance to use that tiny sub plot everyone has told you won’t work in the latest adventure you’re churning out in your spare time.
 Get Canoples Investigations on Trial at Amazon!
BD, Cassie, Carl, and Terry are back on the case—only this time it’s a case they have to solve fast. Turns out Sally Wild, intrepid reporter, has an agenda and it all has to do with making the C.I. team look bad before the Space Pirates trial. Can BD and crew prove they’re not making up stories and beat a clock that’s moving fast?





“We have to fix this.” Cassie works her PocketPad, her answer to taking care of a problem. “I won’t let that reject from a Uranus mine make me look like a fool.”
That’s my girl.
I think that a lot when she is around. Our relationship can be considered rocky at best, especially when I’m acting the idiot, but she’s a loyal friend and is always there for the team. Carl, Terry, and I depend on her to get our collective butts out of trouble, once we dive into a situation where we should stand back and think first. She’s never failed us… until now.
“Sis.” Carl sighs. “Give it up. You’ll never figure out a way to make Sally Wild look bad.”
“I will.” Cassie glares at him. “Don’t you dare give up.”
That last sentence sends me spiraling back to the frightening moment when I thought I’d finally gone a step too far. Not long before we confronted the space pirates, I laughed at her and called her a girl, as in a loser. My intent at the time was to get her attention and make her realize that being a cheerleader was worthless. The events afterward are seared into my memory as a good way to die in the most painful manner possible if I ever get that stupid again. 

Treat Them Right

Who is your best bet for an award winning novel? Most authors will say they are, because no one knows their work as well as they do.
Those authors are selling themselves short. They are forgetting the large group of people behind the scenes who ensure their book is publication ready.
Who are these people?
Why they are your editor, proofreader, cover artist, and the staff at your publishing company. These people are as responsible for your book being as good as it is as you are. They put in many hours and a lot of effort to ensure your book is ready for the world.
Many authors I know equate a book going from idea to publication as the same as giving birth to a child. We think of our books as our children, and they are. We care for them while in the process of plotting. The actual writing brings sweat and tears, often times we will do both during intense scenes. Once we finish, we aren’t actually done. We have to go back and parse every word, examine each sentence, and study every paragraph in an effort to make the elements so important to our book better than they already are.
The rare author is the one that acknowledges the staff at a publishing company for having put out so much effort in producing a book. We work behind the scenes, quietly ironing out the wrinkles and shaking out the dust that clutters up the plot. Senior staff is usually seeking places where the author can promote their book, to increase the chances of improved sales. In essence, by signing with a publisher, you have gained a new family—parents and siblings who will be with you for the long haul.
That all being said, you, the author, must remember to treat your newfound family as you would like to be treated. Instead of becoming irritated at the least problem, remember these people are humans too. They have their good days and their bad days. What might seem like a brush off to you could in actuality be an editor dealing with a sudden loss. Curt responses could because your editor in chief or another senior staff member is dealing with a personal issue they’d rather keep private. Instead of going off in a huff, remember the times when you had to interact with the public when you would have rather been hiding, or how you felt lost for some reason or another.

One More Christmas

This story, the final post for 2016, for the #SundayBookBlog for teen readers will break your heart. It brings into focus what many families endure through the holidays.




Today, we focus on One More Christmas. Fifteen-year-old Dawn just has one holiday wish—that her mom will survive until after Christmas, so her younger brothers and sisters don’t have to remember this as a time of sadness and loss.
 Get One More Christmas on Amazon!




One more Christmas is all Dawn wants. Is that too much to ask?
With a little more than a week before the holiday, fifteen-year old Dawn and her dad share a heart-wrenching secret about her mom. She’s dying of leukemia, but no one suspected a thing; they all just thought she was tired. All Dawn has to lean on is a prayer—that her mom won’t die before or on this special day, so her five younger siblings don’t have to remember that during the holidays in the future. Will she receive her wish?




Robby Ryan got off the bus ahead of me. Not that I was that far behind him. We had the whole walk home, about a quarter mile on paved sidewalks, and no reason to hurry. He stopped and glanced at me, a sly smile on his face.
“Come on, Dawn. Quit being a slowpoke.”
We’d had a sort-of-friends relationship all our lives. He lived across the street and a few houses up from me in our little hometown of Monrovia, California. Robby was an older man, all of seventeen. I was fifteen for a couple more months, and that was the worst age to be in 1974. My parents were so old fashioned, saying I couldn’t even think about having a real boyfriend until I was sixteen—in February.
“I’m not a slowpoke,” I said to him, grinning. “Why are you rushing anyway? It’s not like we have anything to do except boring old chores.”

Holiday Tales

The holidays are filled with shopping, parties, and a lot of rushing around. Many people don’t have the time to sit down and read a full novel. In fact, most will claim they’re far too tired after everything they have to do that they can’t conceive of finding the time to sit still long enough to absorb a book by their favorite author.
Yet, you, the author, are more than willing to provide your readers with a new holiday themed story. How can you do this and be assured that you’ll have sales of this story?
Have you ever thought of a short story based on the characters in your soon to be released novel? Or maybe generating more interest in your series by providing a short tale based on a scene that was cut from your next installment? Maybe you can create a holiday meal where the characters gather and reminiscence about their experiences and relive those exciting moments.
Are the juices flowing yet? Is a story forming in your head? Just what holidays should you concentrate on in order to grab a reader by the throat and have them interested after a day of work, shopping, cooking for family or friends, and maybe even spending an evening baking goodies to give away.
Now is when your talent as an author and promoter of your own work comes into play. Your readers do have the time to read a short story. They’re standing in long lines at the stores, waiting on a cashier to be free. Most people carry smart phones, which come equipped with apps that allow them to read your tale easily. In order to make their onerous wait easier to bear, offer them the opportunity to lose themselves in your story.
Oh yes, this is Promotion 101. You, the author, need to seek out ways to invite your readers or potential new fans, to enjoy your work in different venues. Point out their long wait in line will be so much shorter if they’re checking out a new book. Why, their concentration on a story might elicit conversation with the people around them, to find out why they’re smiling or their eyes are popping out of their head at a special moment. That could begin a conversation where your name is bandied about as an author who has provide them a way to pass the boring time in line by reading.
The modern author must be adept at switching promotional techniques in order to garner interest in their work. We have to be able to change step and wave that proverbial apple in front of the fan’s nose to entice them into grabbing our work and reading in unusual situations.
Think of the recent success of Pokemon Go. Perfect strangers walking the streets, seeking one of the elusive Pokemon and adding them to their collection. Well, why can’t that work for an author seeking more sales? Instead of wandering, your fan will be wiling their time in line away by enjoying a story they’ll talk about for a long time.

Realms of Fantastic Stories Vol 1

Fantasy tales range from rosy visions of the past to a future fraught with troubles. Sword fights to cats crossing the rainbow bridge evoke pleasant memories of our own dreams.
Get Realms of Fantastic Stories Vol 1 on Amazon!
Cats await a new arrival…
A queen in hiding…
Much more than an attic…
And other fantasy tales
Debbie De Louise, Margaret Egrot, KateMarie Collins, Rick Ellrod, Rocky Rochford, Stephen St. Clair, and K.C. Sprayberry will bring enjoyment to your day with these fantastic stories.





Old Tom the tabby was at the Gate. Next to him stood Shadow, a black shorthair who had been summoned while sun bathing on the Bridge. Shadow knew the reason Tom wanted to speak with him. It could mean only one thing, another resident was arriving.
“Sorry to disturb you,” Tom said. “But I’ve had orders from above that Kate Stewart’s  Siamese cat, Sam, will be joining us. He’s had a long life and much happiness with her, but it’s his time. Please alert Kate’s other cats about the new arrival.”
Shadow nodded his dark head. “I will be on it right away, sir. When is the welcome party scheduled?”
“Looks like tomorrow morning around six. Remember, it takes time for the soul to reach us.”
“Who will be in charge of the party?” Shadow knew that, according to Bridge rules, the last cat admitted from a human’s family was the next in line to welcome the incoming resident. A year ago, a car hit Shadow after he stupidly ran out the door when his human, Ben, came home from a doctor’s appointment. There had been no cats in Ben’s family on the Bridge or at least none  with whom he had forged the forever bond, so Tom had welcomed Shadow. Now it was Shadow’s job to notify the last member of each incoming cat’s family until the admittance of another first-timer.

Proofreading

Yes, I’m talking about this subject today. No, you don’t get to ignore it. Yes, proofreading your book after it’s been through so many beta readers, your critique group, and several rewrites sounds like the last thing you want to do.
But you will do it. And you will smile while you take days to go through each sentence and word, making sure they belong and aren’t misspelled.
Why?
First, you need to ask yourself why you’re even asking this question. Don’t you remember that old saying about putting your best foot forward?
A bit of history here, because I adore history. Put your best foot forward is linked to a line from a poem by Sir Thomas Overbury, circa 1613, The Wife.
“Hee is still setting the best foot forward.”
What this means is very simple. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Therefore, you need to act or appear at your best when meeting someone for the first time.
How does this apply to proofreading?
Quite simply, you are handing your work off to a publisher, attempting to earn a chance to be part of their house. If you are so lazy that you can’t take the time to proofread your book, if the submissions manager is continually seeing grammatical and/or spelling errors, what kind of impression do they get of you?
More than likely, this person believes you aren’t someone willing to work hard to assist the editor and proofreader in fixing the issues they discover. The submissions manager will deduce that you don’t care enough about your work to check out every sentence to ensure there are no mistakes.
In other words, you have failed to put your best foot forward and will more than likely find your book declined by said publisher.
This line of work we’re in is a tough one. It requires a dedication not seen in most jobs. Successful authors will say this over and over again—one must not just write, we must edit and revise, we must check and triple check, and only then can we allow the world to see our work.
Before you decide your work is good enough for a publisher, please take the time to proofread and double check everything.

Right Wrong Nothing In Between

Introductions to The Curse of Grungy Gulley and the Paradox Lost series, two stories to grab your interest and tickle your senses. Random A. Ransom proves that he’s always been after Tuck, Sue Anne, and Earl Lee, going all the way back to the middle ages. James discovers his mistake might change the course of history to where his ancestors will destroy the world.





Get Right Wrong Nothing in Between on Amazon! 
Sometimes the past and the future aren’t so different after all. Consequences catch up with everyone. Even if you’re a prophet who sees salvation. Even if you’re a demon set on destroying the world.




He stood on the banks of the Coosawhatchie River. The man of many years stared across the small waves causing a rowboat at a pier to bob up and down. The boat seemed to represent his life, from the day he arrived, throughout his own education where he felt as if Travelers made up the rules as they went along, and into his ownyears actively traveling through time.He had been graced with the name of Dennis James Sullivan. Dennis for his father, the greatest fire chief in San Francisco’s history, and James for his mother’s brother, a banker in the Midwest.Both had contributed to his youth, but James, as he was called, learned more from the father he’d planned to emulate, until fate in the form of a Gateway changed everything seconds before the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906