Shelli R. Johannes's Blog, page 21

The Magic of E-Books: Rediscovering the Short Story!

Today, Rebecca Knight, self published author of over 40 short storie, writes out under various pen names and has seen so much success, she is now a full time writer.

Since I've known her a long time in the blogosphere (she was one of my first followers/blogger buddies back in the day :) - I asked her to stop by to discuss the rise of the short story in self pubbing.

Here she is :)

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Hi Shelli,

One of the most exciting things about the indie publishing movement is that it's brought one of my favorite genres back into the mainstream: short fiction.

I've always loved short stories, and some of my favorite books growing up were collections of tales by Ray Bradbury, and more recently Neil Gaiman's "Smoke and Mirrors." When I first met my husband, we'd snuggle up on the couch, and he'd read me a short, delightfully weird story from that book, and I remember loving that we could experience an entire tale together in the space of a cup of tea after dinner. 

I've always been a fan of brevity, and it shows in my own writing. I like a tale boiled down to its very bones, raw and uncluttered, taking me through the action with no fluff to distract me from the beauty or horror of what I'm reading.

In the time of Dickens, people read serial stories published weekly or monthly. Several of the great novels from those English writers were actually small installments, short stories, in their original forms.

Since then, people have never stopped wanting short fiction, but for a long time, it wasn't cost effective to sell it to them in anything other than hardbound collections. But why buy a collection of several stories when you really want just one? It's like people having to buy a whole CD for that one song that really interested them.

That is, until iTunes changed the game.

Indie publishing and the rise of e-books gives authors the freedom to sell short stories just like they would novels, and now the artform is on the rise again.

The fun of a short story to me is that I can tell a story in the length it requires, instead of trying to jerry-rig it into a longer plot to make it publishable. 

For example, most ghost stories were meant to be short and either read under the covers with a flashlight, or read aloud to a group around a campfire. The "Ghosts" section of the kindle store only has about 3000 titles in it, compared to the 22,000 in the horror genre, and I think it's because certain tales are virtually impossible to tell in long form.

Those kinds of stories, the weird ones, or the ones that have a punchy, action-packed plot and a funny ending, are the ones I love to write :). I'm so grateful that I don't have to do them the injustice of trying to elongate them into something they weren't meant to be, but can instead sell them as stand-alones for .99 cents.

Check out, NO REST FOR THE WICKED, available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes, for an example of one of my favorite short stories. It's two shorts bundled together about a Fairytale Assassin named Veronica Grim. 

Thank you so much, Shelli, for having me on your blog, and happy reading, everyone!

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You can follow her blog and Twitter.

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Get a clue and do a marketing plan

Everyone needs a plan.



Even you writing "pantsers" need a plan for marketing. Throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks is a waste of time.





Here are some basic steps on how to get started on creating the right plan for your book?



1) What is your overall goal? 

This can be in the # of books you sell or the * of responses you get on a mailing? You book's ranking? You need to set a goal for yourself and your book. It gives you something to focus on and everything you do in your planning should target that goal.





2) What is your budget? 

You HAVE to invest in marketing. Even if your publishing house does. That does not mean you have to go bankrupt doing it. Maybe it is 10 or 20% of your signing bonus. Maybe it's a percentage of your sales a a self pubbed author. Whatever it is - use it wisely. You can be smart about it and there is a lot you can do on your own - making connections, ezine interviews, bookmarkers, business cards, stationary, articles, press releases, blogs Facebook and MySpace. Save your money for things that matter like high-quality brochures, professional web sites, and ads, book trailers, podcasts, phone calls, etc.





3) Who is your target audience(s)?

Think about your market. Don't just think of kids as by age. That is over 70 million people. You need to think in segments. There are many categories you can target with your marketing if you know how to break it down. Try and choose 3-5 categories. You will market to them differently.



For example: lets say you have a YA historical mystery book that is set in NYC in the 1920s. Your target audiences could be:



teens who love mysteries
regional NYC
regional where you live (always do this one - local places love local authors)
any group that promotes anything in the 20s - retro groups etc.
historical places (museums/societies/clubs ect)


4) What are the channels for each? How do you reach these targets?

Different markets use different channels to communicate. Think about that for each audience. It might be print advertising, Public Relations, publicity, direct marketing, direct mail, trade show exhibiting.



Create a excel spreadsheet that has a worksheet for each target audience you identify. 
Then Google, Google Google that subject (ie historical societies, history clubs, retro clubs, retro teens etc) and list all the contacts you can come up with. ezines, websites, clubs, organizations...anything you can find.
What is their basic need? How can YOU help THEM?
Then rank them 1 - 5 with 1 being the best mediums and 5 being the lowest.
Always pitch 
5) Where do you start?Start with the most obvious target segment. first teens who love mysteries, then maybe your local area, then maybe historical places, then many NYC and so on. Make a place to dive into each segment sequentially.

6) Come up with a PitchCome up with a Unique Selling Proposition (what do you offer them.  Please do not call to discuss your book (zzzzzzzz). Think about what would benefit them! An article, a school visit to teach kids something, a discount. Whatever it is. Go into it offering benefits not asking for purchases. You may have to tailor it. ie mystery places - pitch a story on how to write mysteries. a history place - pitch teaching kids about writing on history or research etc. You can't pitch the same thing to everyone.



7) How can you contact all these resources? 

Start with the biggest group. Use one pitch. Contact personally - either by email or phone. Touch each contact at least 3 times (ie email, phone, and follow-up mailing). Take it in chunks so you don't spend 10 hours a day calling. Try and make 5 contacts a day at first and see how it goes. Change it up as you go to be sure it is effective. If you aren't getting any bites - regroup.



8) Which market/channel is effective? 

You will have some hits and some misses. Keep track of what works and what doesn't. Revise your plan every year.



Other tips

• Create your own story to appeal to different markets and channels

• If you ever write an article for any ezine or newsletter (etc), ALWAYS ask for a tagline. Promote your book in the tagline (XXX is author of. you can reach her at www.)

• emarketing should be a huge part of your marketing plan

• Follow up! Never assume the answer is No. Keep following up with contacts. At least 3 times. But don't be annoying.

• Offer discounts and extras. Buy your books and sell them at a discount to beat bookstores. Or offer free bookmarks etc.

• Partner with a charity or organization to cross-promote and give some proceeds to them

• Cross promote with other authors on team tours.



Marketing plans are hard. Expect to fail some and succeed some. Don't be afraid to adjust as you go.



As always. feel free to ask questions in comments!



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Marketing Pet Peeves - Change your mindset!

Authors need to change their mindset. 





Whether you are traditionally pubbed or indie pubbed. Marketing is a huge component of getting your books out there. Some of us are lucky to get tons of marketing from publishers. Most of us aren't. Most of you will do it alone with very little support. So you might as well except it and do it.





It's a matter of changing your mindset. 





Here are some of the DONTs of Marketing - in my opinion. These are mindsets that I still see and they make me smack my forehead. 





1) My web site is longer than Santa's naughty list - Don't make us page down through pages of text. The standard web rule is the user should not have to page down on a web site more than 2 times. (this is more lenient on blog posts) Your web site is an executive summary and TOC of you - not a book. You only need something short and sweet that grabs people. Web sites reflect your writing. If you drone on for pages - I might not want to read your book. Keep it simple, professional, and short. 

2) I like marketing from The Land of Cheapo. Come on! Don't put out crap. Nowadays you can get inexpensive, solid quality marketing swag from various web sites. You really don't want a plain white business card with your face on it. You really don't need a bookmark that is so flimsy it can be used as origami. Do yourself and your image a favor, invest in high quality pieces or don't do them at all. I don't want to see one more perforated business card that is black and white. Your card is your mark on someone. They might not remember you but if they see the card - it should interest them.  It is better to invest in a few key pieces than to do a bunch of bad pieces. Take pride in your materials as you would take pride in your writing or work. It is a reflection of you.

3) My target audience is children between ages of 0-18. Yeah good luck on reaching 76 million people. Everyone has more than one target audience and you need to find the smaller audiences (niches). Trust me, age is not the only way to segment your audience. There are tons of others such as by topic, by region as well as looking at the type of media, type of reader (library, bookstore, book club etc). Take some time to think through all of your target audiences and all the ways you can possibly reach them - you should be able to come up with at least 3 audiences and 3 mediums for each. For me -outdoors, North Carolina, and conservation are three additional segments I can target. Find yours. Write down three nouns your book covers - those are probably your segments.

4) I'm just gonna wing it. Everyone needs a business plan and marketing. Whether traditional of indie pubbed. Just like you need a plot for your book before you write, or plan a trip before you leave - you need a marketing plan before you can market. Some people think that winging marketing is effective. Nope! It's a shot in the dark and you spin your wheels for a while lot of nothing. I'm not talking about creating a 100 page word document here. I am talking about a process where you - as the writer - identify your target audiences, key mediums, key timelines, key events - and set up key contacts in advance. Your materials, plans, and contacts should be in place AT LEAST 6 months before your book comes out. Don't wait until your book is out before you think about it. It will be too late. Start now.

5) I don't know computers so I can't do marketing. Um it's time to learn. If you are selling books to kids, you need to learn computers. Nowadays at least 50% of marketing (and I am being generous, I think its more like 60-70%) is online. You need to know how to blog, how to do a basic web site, how to start a myspace or facebook page, and how to text/twitter. You also need to keep up with the youth trends (Ypulse is good for that) If you don't know how to use all these, they all are set up pretty easily to figure out. Some even have tutorials. This cannot be an excuse anymore - unless you don't want to sell anything.





6) No Branding. It drives me nuts to see authors not being consistent in their brand. They have one web site with gophers (which screams nonfiction), then a plain white biz card that screams (boring!) and a twitter background of lollipops. (you know who you are ;) Go can easily find backgrounds for twitter and blog that look the same. You can even use the same colors. But I should be able to recognize you online. Pulling it all together gives off the impression you have it all together - (hey fake it 'til you make it! :)





7) I just want to write. Yeah don't we all. I won't get into this too much. It's simple. Here's what I tell my kids when they ask if they have to brush their teeth. I say: "Only brush the ones you want to keep." That's what I say to authors. "Only market the ones you want to sell." End of story.





8) I don't know how to do marketing. Nope not an excuse. You didn't know how to write either but you learned. marketing can be learned. There are tons of resources, classes, books, etc. You can even pay for consulting to help you. Follow blogs, find webinars
So if you find yourself saying these things, change your mindset. Get out there, play around online, and market yourself. Try things out and have fun.

If you have any questions, post them in a comment and I will be happy to answer. :)http://feeds.feedburner.com/Faerialit...

First #indiechat tonight!

Tonight starts The Indelibles new weely #indiechat



Tonight we will have an open forum to answer all your questions about indie books, indie presses, self publishing and marketing.



This chat is NOT just about self-pubbing. It is for anyone interested in marketing online, looking at small independent presses for publishing (as opposed to the big 6), self publishing or if you are looking for good indie books.



It will be on Tuesdays on Twitter at 9PM EST using the #indiechat hashtag.



Come with questions and if we don't have answers we will make them up! Cool huh?



Sometimes using tweetchat.com is easier. You can sign in with your twitter at http://tweetchat.com/



Hope to see you all there!http://feeds.feedburner.com/Faerialit...

Marketing Round Up

A few housekeeping things:





1) I am looking for an un-paid internship for my marketing company! on the publishing side - I need someone to help me set up blog tours, blog guest posts, prepare book mailings, set up social media platforms, get mailings together, and more. (like *pinInterest, wattpad and tumblr) It may also encompass some a little for my marketing business, code calling etc.





It will be about 5 hours a week and can be remote with weekly phone call meetings.





I can offer a marketing/writing business reference (so if you want to get into publishing or marketing it would be good) and would also provide unlimited advice about marketing, the industry, self pubbing, and writing). If you are in school, I'm happy to talk to a professor about credit. I will need commitment through April - August so it should not interfere with school.





I was going to go to a local college/high school but wanted to give some writers/bloggers a chance to learn the book marketing process and some new social media.

Email me your resume at shelli@srjohannes.com if interested. I can also send a formal job description.





2) Yes, new blog design - I'm playing around so bear with me. The purple was starting to bug me :) What do you think - too boring?





3) The Indelibles are doing a weekly #indiechat, starting next Tuesday night at 9pm EST. It will be on Twitter using hashtag #indiechat. We will talk all things indie: indie books, indie presses, self publishing, ebooks and marketing. This is not just a self publishing forum as there is much more to indie publishing than that. It can encompass any genre really but it will mainly focus on MG/YA.





Marketing Round Up





My marketing round up is starting again.I can't promise it will always be on Fridays - but I think it's good to get this blog back to helping other people in marketing.





Because let's face it - the topic of me and my books will get old real fast. :)





So here are some great articles I ran across this week - 





A Blog that Matters





Joining an Online Group





PinInterest - The hottest new site





6 secrets to writing a killer author bio





Book Covers - are they important in the digital age?





Create a blog that matters





ebook pricing? how to price for readers





10 things to never do on Social Media





As always on these posts - I will take any questions you have about marketing books :)

So what's your question?http://feeds.feedburner.com/Faerialit...

Not all is equal in publishing

So a few things have come up over the last few months that have got me thinking and I wanted to open a dialogue about it.



Traditional authors and indie author book are not held or measured against the same standard.



Even though traditional authors have the SAME problems as indie authors, the standard is different.



Here is reality: 1) all books have typos. 2) not all covers are great3) not all books are as short as they should be4) not all people love the MC5) not all love interests float your boat6) All books can be too long.  7) All stories can drag. 8) All covers can stink.  All love triangles can be boring. Sequels can be disappointing.

It happens to ALL of us.



But if an indie author suddenly has a few typos,  it's b/c they weren't good enough for publishing. It's b/c they must have done it alone and not gotten any input from anyone because they were in such a rush. It must be because they decided to *whisper* self publish. And let me say - even when authors pay for copyediting - there are still typos. *sigh* and it sucks b/c it is expensive.

Even if I haven't run into some stigma as much as others - it exists - big time. And it's hard to watch friends deal with it when they have fabulous books. And it's frustrating to run into myself.

Books bought in traditional publishing automatically get an A in readers mind just b/c they got bought by a publisher. Most indie authors start out with an F and have to prove they are credible - one reader at a time. But it's not just readers, it's peers - the people you admire and respect. The organizations that support writers. The reviewers, to indies, the doors are closed.



I understand why it's at that point but it doesn't make it fair (whaaaaa!)

That is why I say if you decide to indie pub - do it right?



The more quality work, the easier to break the stigma. Don't scrimp, don't cut corners. It's not worth it in the end. You already have to prove yourself so why make it even harder. Don't get your brother to sketch a cover and don't get your mom to line edit. the odds are against you and you should do everything you can to put out the best you can. 80% of indie books sell under 100 copies. That is a lot to overcome.



This is why indie authors are much more open online about sales or awards or milestones - it is the only way to get away form the auto F grade and move up. 

Now, I will admit, in general the quality of indie pubbing is questionable. There are tons of crappy books out there in the indie world and some wonderful books in traditional pubbing.

But there are tons of crappy traditional books and there are tons of great indie books. 

Maybe it's time to judge a book by its writing...as opposed to its publishing process or path.



Being an indie author is hard. Getting past the stigma of indie pubbing is the most difficult part of this whole publishing process - for me. It makes me sad and I struggle with the double standard. The doubt. Sometimes no matter what I do - it still feels like it come up short.

Sometimes it feels like when I was back in high school - when the popular crowd wore Jordache (yes Im aging myself!)  and I could only wear Lee Jeans. Even though they looked the same...because the label was different, somehow I wasn't good enough. I even remember sewing different tags in my jeans - yes I did that. :)

Labels didn't matter then and they shouldn't matter now - but they do and that's just a reality. And being someone who likes to treat everyone equally and who hates to hurt people's feelings or make them feel less - i wish it was different.





What do you think? Is there a stigma? And is there a way around it?

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Indie View: Amy Lignor, author of Until Next Time

Today, Amy Lignor stops by to talk about her journey with her publisher, Tribute Books, and her new book, Until Next Time.

How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?



Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.



When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.



From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.

==============================



Believe it or not, my writing journey began at the age of twelve when my parents, sister and I went on vacation to Cape Cod and stayed with friends of my mom's.  This was one of those vacations where Folsom Prison would've seemed like paradise.  The little ladies we stayed with had a house where, once their cat went "nightsie," all lights, talking, TV - everything had to stop - so as not to disturb the kitty.   These ladies would take us into town (driving three miles an hour the whole way, and blaring their horn at pedestrians in the crosswalk), while my sister and I were locked in the back of the station wagon with faces pressed up against the glass.  Drivers going by must've thought we were puppies going to get fixed, considering the looks of pure desperation we had on our faces.  Because TV was unavailable, I began to write.  It was a fairly large book for a kid called, My Life:  A Comedy and a Tragedy.

In my freshman year of high school, a writing assignment came along from our history teacher about Nicholas & Alexandra.  I was the only one who wrote about Rasputin (who actually appears in one of my Tallent & Lowery adventure novels).  The teacher loved it and told me to become a writer.  She was so cute.  Four-foot-two, hair that hung to the floor and a voice that was louder than Lady Ga Ga stuck in a blender. 

I went on to write my first YA novel (Mind Made), after I brought a stunning little girl into the world named Shelby.  One day we went to the 'grand opening' of an Inn located in my very small hometown.  I picked up a coffee table book and pages began to fall out of it.  Seeing as how this place looked like it would charge guests a million dollars to stay there, I figured I'd just destroyed some priceless work of art.  When I reached down to pick up one of the photographs, it was of a girl standing outside the Inn back in the early 1900's. The tagline read, The Connecticut Home for Imbeciles, and she was leaning against a road sign that read, 'Dip.'  That girl looked up at me with eyes that literally said "Run!" and very soon after, my daughter and I fled. 

I went back to my historical routes and delved into a subject that hadn't been touched on before concerning a woman by the name of Paulita Maxwell who was said to have been the mother of Billy the Kid's son.  I moved to New Mexico to research the project and my book, Heart of a Legend, was born.

I love putting puzzles together from history with my Tallent & Lowery series. With the first book, 13, I had to find a way to link the NYPL with Jack the Ripper, Loch Ness, and the King Arthur legend - which was a whole lot of fun. 

When my father was taken away from us far too soon I began thinking about angels, and what life was like 'up there' versus down here.  Would an angel/warrior 'team' be able to survive humanity, fight for them, and stay together all at the same time?  The Angel Chronicles answers that question. 

So, in the end, I guess I owe my writing to a cat who had to go "nightsie."

Here is some more information about Amy and her book:The Angel Chronicles web site
The Angel Chronicles Facebook
Until Next Time GoodReads page:
Amy Lignor's Facebook:
Amy Lignor's Twitter
Amy Lignor's Website
Amy Lignor's Blog
Amy Lignor's GoodReads
Tribute Books Facebook
Tribute Books Twitter
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook
Amy Lignor's Bio



Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.



Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made;Tallent & Lowery 13.



She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.



Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.



eBook links

ISBN: 9780983741855
ISBN: 9781465992697
Kindle buy link
Nook buy link 
iBookstore buy link - coming soon
Smashwords buy link
PDF buy link




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Bookanistas: Guest Post by Elle Strauss (It's a Little Haywire)

Elle Strauss is the author of Clockwise (YA Time Travel) and her newest middle grade, It's a Little Haywire.

Owen True is eleven and eleven twelfths and has been "exiled" to the small crazy town of Hayward, WA, aka, Haywire, while his mother is on her honeymoon. All he has to whittle away the time is the company of Gramps, his black lab Daisy, and his Haywire friends, Mason and Mikala Sweet. They don't look so hot this year, in fact, the whole town has gone to pot since the mill shut down.

Owen has his first encounter with a real life homeless man who ends up needing Owen's help in more ways than one. But how does a rich city kid help the small town's suffering citizens?

And what is Owen to make of the fog train and its scary, otherworldy occupants that appears out of thin air on the old tracks behind Gramps' house? Do they have the answer Owen is looking for?



I asked Elle to stop by to talk about her decision to publish her middle grade.

Well, I guess the simple answer to the question, why did I indie my middle grade is because I can. I think the most frustrating thing with traditional publishing, at least for me, was having to wait for someone else to say, yes, let's publish this.

I had an agent. I actually had two agents. And for a myriad of reasons, this never led to a sale of any of my books.

My choices then were to shelve them and move on, or to do it myself. So, I did it myself. I published my YA time travel rom/com, CLOCKWISE last fall and never looked back.

When I decided I wanted to publish my middle grade, IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE, quite honestly, it never even occurred to me to seek representation for it.

Not that its easy to sell middle grade books at an indie publisher especially e-books. It's not. (And yes, I will put out a print version of It's a Little Haywire sometime this year.)

My wager is that with ereaders getting more affordable, middle graders will be reading on them. The tide hasn't hit yet, but it will. Parents are handing them down to teens and tweens, schools are picking them up. It's just a matter of time.

I realize that my buyers will be parents and grandparents, but that's usually the case for middle grade anyway.

And for me, doing it myself means it's actually going to get done and before I grow old and die. J Plus, I don't have to worry about it getting pulled off the shelf in three months. The virtual book shelf never gets full.

Go and download It's a Little Haywire - it's free but only for 22nd and 23rd.

You can find her hanging out at:Blog: www.ellestraussbooks.com

Twitter: @elle_strauss

Facebook : Elle Strauss - Author

Goodreads: Elle Strauss Goodreads Author 

Google : Elle Strauss 

Wattpad: Elle Strauss 

[image error] To read other Bookanista posts:

Christine Fonseca  interviews author L.K. Gardner-GriffieCorinne Jackson announces Change Write Now: Round 2 signups are openCarolina Valdez Miller adores UNDER THE NEVER SKY - with giveawayJen Hayley has a passion for PARTIALSDebra Driza falls for THE FAULT IN OUR STARSJessica Love shares some TIME BETWEEN US cover talkTracy Banghart jumps for CATCHING JORDANStasia Ward Kehoe contemplates middle grade seriesLiLa Roecker is enthralled with THE NIGHT CIRCUS



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Gretchen TEN Cover Reveal Contest

More good news for UNTRACEABLE - can you stand it? (are you annoyed by me yet?)





I just got notified that I am nominated for GEORGIA AUTHOR OF THE YEAR! Evidently 5 other writers are in the YA category and the formal press release is coming (can't wait to see my competition! *rolls up sleeves*) . Winner isn't announced until June (boo!)





=================





Okay now for MUCH MORE important things.





My lovely friend and awesome blurber for On The Bright Side :), Gretchen McNeil, is doing a Ten Day Countdown to her Cover Reveal. (I can not wait!) 





(If you haven't already, be sure to pick up her other book, Possess!)





Now, I read an earlier version of this YA horror book and it is A-MA-ZING! Scary and creepy. She will be the Stephen King of YA!! Mark My Words.





If you don't know about Gretchen, here are a few facts:

She is sweet as hell. (oops I mean heck.)
She is even funnier than she is sweet.
She tells it like it is. I know I can get the truth from her.
She is loyal which makes her my great friend.
She can sing her touche off and performs in an LA based circus troupe. (Yes she does it all).
I would die for her gorgeous red hair.
And she is a great writer.
TEN Contest

You can enter to win a signed and annotated copy of the unbound galley of TEN.  A one of a kind prize, out before the ARCs.  How awesome is that?





You can start the hunt from the beginning on her blog to collect ALL ten clues for a chance to enter the contest on day of the cover reveal (which is next Friday, February 24.)





TEN Synopsis

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High's most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

My Clue is "BEN"

Next in the Countdown is tomorrow with Jen Hayley so you have plenty of time to catch up!

Good luck! http://feeds.feedburner.com/Faerialit...

Be My Valentine Date - Reading Room Chat

Good News!





First of all - I have good news. I hate talking about myself but I am going to pat myself on the back for a job well done and say something profound (I hope)





1 - I just sold my 5,000th copy!! I never imagined I would get this far. I was happy with my first 100. 





2 - My little book, Untraceable finally made the top 100 books of all ebooks last night at midnight. Got up to #63 - now around #80 - over some big names.





3 - Untraceable is #3 in children/action and adventure just under The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (yes I am above MockingJay - WTF??)





Holy crap right!!!!!!!!!



INSERT PEP TALK HERE!





Guys - you will never fully know what this means to me after everything I've been through...after all the people who told me I could not do this. After those who turned their back on me...and those who felt like I wasn't good enough.







This isn't about money or fame - this is about following my heart and dream no matter what 

the naysayers had to nay about.





So I tell you - DON'T GIVE UP!


Sometimes your dream doesn't look the way you expect or may not be the way other's think it should be...

But that doesn't mean you can't make it happen! You just have to follow you heart and do what is right for you.





Thanks for all your support! I would not be here without you guys.





The Reading Room Chat Tonight!







I'd love for some of you to be my valentine tonight.







I will be on the Reading Room chat tonight.  It is at 7pm est (4pm PT) and I'M worried I'll be all alone... (wait - is that sad that my valentine is an online chat crew?? What does that say about me and my love for anything cyber.)







I will be talking about my indie pubbing experience and marketing - everything I've done over the last few months. The pros and cons - the goods and bads.







You have to join (it's free) to attend so join now!





I posted about the The Reading Room here.







I hope you join me!





To Join The Chat





The Bookanistas Book Club is where your live chat will be hosted at 7pm EST time. 

http://www.thereadingroom.com/book-club/the-bookanistas/1435



1. Members will need to sign up or sign into TheReadingRoom.com and become a member of The Bookanistas Book Club. (URL above).

2. There will be a chat icon that looks like two speech bubbles that will launch the live chat window.

The chat window will be open 30 minutes prior to the chat starting and last for about 45 minutes.



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