Elle Casey's Blog, page 12
March 16, 2013
Every Review Counts
I noticed that the majority of my readers who read all of my books will leave reviews on just one or two of them, and I really wish that wasn’t the case. I wish they’d leave reviews for all of the books they’ve read, whether they’re mine or someone else’s. I risk sounding ungrateful in this post, which is NOT what I want because I appreciate each and every review, and I think my readers know that. I’m just going to ask for your patience as I explain.
Amazon is a tricky beast. She’s like a dragon: powerful, mystical in her awesomeness, sometimes cranky, and always unpredictable. Just when you think you have her figured out, she changes her mood and you’re left in the dark again. With a single beat of her mighty wings, she will leave you standing there alone on a windy cliff. All you can do is watch as she sails away and disappears into the clouds.
Okay, enough with the corny metaphors. My point is, Amazon’s a bitch. There are algorithms always working behind the scenes over there that tally all the data on a book, including its reviews, and decide whether to highlight the book for other readers or to let it fall into obscurity. Amazon’s goal is undeniable and admirable: put books that readers will like on their radar. That’s it.
If you think my books should be on other readers’ Kindles (or in their hands), then you can make that happen. It’s as simple as leaving a review. The more high-star reviews a book has, the more Amazon’s algorithms pay attention to it. There’s a category called “Highest Rated” over there that my books qualify for if my average rating is higher than books in the same genre. Sometimes, Amazon will take a book that others love and offer it on special promotion, sending out emails to readers or putting it on Amazon’s front page. You only qualify for these highly-coveted positions if you have the reader support to put you there.
This is why it’s especially important that you leave a review if you loved a book. It seems like people who didn’t love a book will take the time to leave a review sharing that opinion, but they won’t do it if they loved it. How do I know this? Well, you can go see for yourself. I have a few low-star reviewers who mention they loved my other books but didn’t love the one they reviewed. And you can see in their review history that they didn’t bother reviewing the books of mine that they did like. I guess some people just feel like warning people away is more important that encouraging people forward. Regardless, it doesn’t give readers who might like my work the opportunity to learn about it because of those dang algorithms. The algos don’t care if this person read all my books. It only cares that he left me a 1-star review.
So, here I am on bended knee, asking you to please review all the books you’ve read. If you loved them, say so. Share your opinion with the mighty Amazon dragon so that she might deign to sprinkle a little magic on my books and make them appear before the readers who might be tempted to read them. And use different reviews for every book; don’t cut and paste. The algos recognize a cut and paste and then deny any weight to them. Review all the books you liked, for all the authors out there hoping to find new readers. It’s really a self-serving thing when you think about it. The more you support your favorite authors, the more you motivate them to write. And then you can feed your inner dragon more of the good reads you so crave.
March 1, 2013
Apocalypsis Buddy Read is now on!
In preparation for Book 4 of the Apocalypsis series, coming at the end of this month, some readers have gotten together over on Goodreads for a “Buddy Read” event. It’s kind of like an online book club. Should be super fun!! I’ll be lurking, possibly using your comments to build the 4th book, so don’t miss out!!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1232137-let-the-buddy-read-begin#comment_id_68879091%22%3ELet
I hope to see you guys over there.
February 28, 2013
New Release!!! ACES HIGH with Jason Brant is PUBLISHED!
It’s here, y’all. And readers are already snatching it up!
Go get your copy and let us know what you think. Jason and I are very excited about this project, and we really appreciate your support.
February 18, 2013
Elle Casey’s Inner Sanctum. Come join me …
Hello, readers. I’ve decided to kick my career up a notch, and I can’t do it without you. Here’s where the rubber meets the road. Where we get a little win-win action going on. Where I give you cool free stuff, invite you into my super secret inner sanctum, and treat you to all kinds of fabulous members-only treats … all in exchange for something you may already be giving me right now. Your soul assistance.
Street Team: Elle Casey’s Inner Sanctum of Awesome
See, as an indie author, the only way we sell books and push our careers out of the dark depths of obscurity and into the bright light of best seller stardom is through the help of our readers. Readers who will talk about our books with their reader friends or the people sitting next to them in the waiting room or the fellow book store shopper browsing the aisles searching for a good book to read, or pretty much anyone else who will listen.
“Do you like YA post-apocalyptic novels? Oh, do I have a suggestion for you, then. Elle Casey’s Apocalypsis series. I promise, you’ll love it.”
Several authors I know have put together “Street Teams” of super fans who will go out and tell the world about their favorite author’s work. You can be a member of more than one street team at a time, as long as you have the time and the inclination.
Consider this your formal invitation to join my Street Team!
Anyone who joins my Street Team will get:
membership in a private online meeting place where I will hang out with you and you can hang out with each other,
swag (aka: free books, book marks, jewelry, t-shirts, mugs, trading cards, and other cool stuff),
members-only benefits (pre-publish copies of books for pre-review and promotion, called “ARCs”, first look at any new releases and covers, input on future stories, character naming privileges)
private face-to-face meetings at book signing locations when they happen,
invitations to cool events, online and otherwise,
prizes of things I will think up as I go along, but they will be cool I can promise you that
the undying gratitude of me as your author buddy, as you help send my career to new levels.
Obviously this takes some time on a weekly basis. You’d have to be a big fan of my work so you can confidently and happily recommend it to other readers. You’d need to be comfortable telling others online and in person about my books. I don’t expect anyone to go overboard – just to do what’s comfortable for them when they have time. An hour a week would be a great minimum commitment from my perspective. There is no age limit. You just have to be old enough to read. 
So if you want to join, or you’re interested in learning more, just email me using the contact form here! Once I have you all on an email list, I’ll have you vote on a name for our group. Then I’ll form a secret members-only group on Facebook and invite you all in, and we can get started on the awesome!
I am so friggin excited about this! I hope to see you there!
February 17, 2013
Fun little side project. FREE new story for ya, readers.
I’ve got some ideas that are swimming around in my head, bothering me, harassing me, now to the point that I need to do something with them so I can focus on my planned work.
And so my Wattpad adventure is born: www.Wattpad.com/ellecasey
I have a New Adult Romance/Comedy started on there, and it’s available for FREE. At least for now. Check it! And feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. I’ll be developing further chapters with YOUR input. Gotta love that crowd-sourced writing stuff. I’d sincerely appreciate you sharing it with friends if you like it. xoxo
February 16, 2013
Elle Casey Books Now on iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
Yeah, that’s right. War of the Fae is now on a bunch of other sites. I’m working on getting the rest of my stuff there too. And when I say I’m working on it, I really mean my husband is.
Join my newsletter list and get news and free stuff:
http://www.ellecasey.com/fan-club
Links to books here (ebooks and paperbacks)
Buy my books on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/d3zwa78
Buy my books on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/brf3yao
Buy my books on Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/c9usttz
Buy my books on Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/caafmuo
February 9, 2013
No, I don’t get my ideas from my dreams like Stephenie Meyer does.
People often ask where I get my book ideas from. Many of them know Stephenie Meyer’s story, how she woke up from having a dream about an innocent girl and a vampire boy lying in a meadow of flowers discussing how badly they needed each other and yet how much he wanted to suck her dry, leaving her but a husk. These people ask me: Do you get your ideas from dreams, like Stephenie Meyer does?
Er, no.
Let me tell you about my latest dream, so you can fully appreciate that no I just gave you.
I wake up in this little high rise apartment. It’s dingy white with scratches in the paint and ugly furniture. It’s tiny, and something tells me it’s not in the best part of town. I realize I have to get up to get to work. Where do I work? I have no idea. But I have to go there.
I listen to people out in the hallway, busy going places, using the stairwell that must be nearby. I stare at the lock for a while and wonder if I remembered to lock it. I figure since I’m still alive and seem to have my stuff, it no longer matters. I go out the door (unlocking it first, because, yes, I did remember to lock it, apparently), and realize there’s an elevator just outside my door. How convenient! I use it to go down to what I think is the ground floor. But it’s really like the second floor, so in order to get outside, I have to take an escalator down the rest of the way.
I’m no longer in a residential apartment. Apparently, I live above a shopping mall. The elevator has delivered me to the second level of a mall; to go to work, I must take an escalator down to the ground floor. I walk around this semi-circle with a clear glass balcony surrounding it to get there. Lots of faceless strangers are busy going places, passing me by, paying me no attention. I’m invisible to them, some strange, smallish young girl with a messenger bag over her shoulder.
When I’m almost on the escalator, a group of rowdy boys gets on in front of me. About five of them. They have a plastic bag with food in it. Is their plan to eat this food or do something else with it? I don’t know. But I’m shy, so I just watch them as we go down this very long and quite slow escalator. They notice me and nudge each other. I’m not afraid, but I also take pains not to make eye contact. Some of them are cute, but one more than the others.
Suddenly, one of the not-as-cute ones drops the bag. It’s full of cheddar cheese slices. We’re near the bottom of the escalator and the cheese hits that spot where the stairs disappear into the jaws of death – the ones your mom always warned you not to get your shoelaces caught in or the machine would eat your foot off. The cheese starts flying around, like it’s in an out of control cheese grinder. Flip, flop, flip, flop! The cheese is jumping all over the place.
The guys laugh and start rapping. They make up an impromptu rap melody about losing part of their food. So inspired by their verve and abandon, I launch into the last line of the rap, using my amazing vocal skills and talent for rhyming on-the-go: “And then he said, pass the cheese, please! Oh no, it’s down there by my knees!” I riff off another couple lines, kicking ass and taking names, and they all just stare at me.
I’m not sure if they’re staring because I’ve just blown their minds with my awesomeness, or because they think I’m an asshole who totally blew their kickass jam. It doesn’t matter much, though, I think; because they’re leaping over the bag of flopping cheese slices and so am I. Our trip on the escalator is over.
I walk around the corner, heading for another one of those semi-circles, thinking I’m on the ground floor, but for some reason, I’m not. I’m still one level above where I want to be. I have to go around the railing to get on the stairs so I can go outside … to get to this mystery job I know nothing about, including its location.
The guys follow me. I’m a target now. I’ve opened myself up to their harassment. I’ve totally asked for it. I should have known better than to bust a rhyme! One of them – the cute one of course – the leader of this cheese gang, calls me out. I ignore him, lecturing myself silently about how I should have just kept my rhyming skills to myself. Could I have done better? Yes, right now, I can think of at least two better rhymes I could have used. But the ones I selected aren’t bad, I tell myself. Not bad at all.
He grabs me and tells his friends he’s going to take me for a spin. Ha! I think to myself. He has no idea who he’s messing with. I have a large brother. He did shit like this to me all the time when I was younger. I’m ready for him.
He grabs me and starts spinning me around in a circle. My legs fly out and my messenger bag dangles down between us.
I know he thinks I’m going to scream, but I don’t. I can totally handle the spinning, spinning, spinning, and the tickling of my stomach. And then I get ready to rock his world. I do the unthinkable. His friends are hootin’ and hollerin’, and I just make it happen. I start doing fancy moves with my legs.
That’s right. I’m like in the ice capades now, or Dancing With the Stars. I’m graceful and awesome, even though in this dream I’m a younger version of my real self, chubby thighs and belly and all. But this guy sees me doing my thing, and he’s instantly captivated by my grace and style. He flips from being the guy who’s trying to harass and torture me, to the boy who wants to protect me from the mean gang of cheese droppers who are now staring at him in envy. He knows his friends are jealous, and he’s worried he won’t be able to keep me for himself. Oh, how the tables have turned.
He slows down the spinning and puts me on my feet. Miraculously, I am not tipsy, punch drunk, or even a tiny bit woozy. I give him a knowing (adorably cute) smile and start to walk away. He comes running after me to ask if I’ll meet him again. He wants to spin with me professionally. He thinks we have a shot at the gold.
I agree. And the next thing I know, we’re at spinning practice, and I’m flying in circles doing the moves that no one can do, flipping and dipping, a veritable centrifugal swan. And he’s in love. Of course he’s in love. And I’m on top of the world.
And then my kid who’s sleeping next to me starts burping because she has a terrible stomach ache. She wakes me up from my dream, and my spinning Romeo disappears, fading into wisps of dream-smoke.
Dammit.
But!! … I suddenly remember that while I might not be a younger version of myself, spinning in the arms of my One True Love, I am a writer! And this idea is GOLD! PURE GOLD! I quickly rehash the entire dream in my mind, grinning from ear to ear in my half-sleep, knowing I’ve finally found my opus, the literary masterpiece that will have my name on people’s lips for the next two decades at least.
And then, as the misty shroud of dreamland completely falls from my consciousness, a process hastened by my daughter’s moans of discomfort, I realize. I am not Stephenie Meyer. And I do not get good ideas for books from my dreams. Oh my god, no. I get tickets to the looney bin, should I dare share them with anyone.
Shhhhh. Don’t tell.
But seriously. I was so friggin awesome at that spinning thing.
February 8, 2013
An Interview of Elle Casey
I answered a bunch of questions for these lovely ladies over at Writing 4 Two blog. Check it out!
http://writing4two.blogspot.fr/2013/02/feature-friday-with-elle-casey-and-4.html
Cover Reveal & Sneak Peek at ACES HIGH, my joint project with Jason Brant
Here it is! I’m super excited about this project. ACES HIGH with Jason Brant, publishing at the end of February. Below is the kickass cover, and you can CLICK THIS MOTHER for a sneak peek at the first 2 chapters. Enjoy!
Get $50 off a Kindle Fire!
Just type in FIRELOVE into the coupon code at checkout!
Make sure you see the discount before you pay. ENJOY!
CLICK HERE TO GO RIGHT TO THE PAGE.
