Sandy Appleyard's Blog, page 4

Performing the KDP Select pull-out…again

Cringing as I write this post, I decided it was time to take the plunge, and pull my titles out of KDP Select once again.

In pursuing a more ‘series-based’ approach to my publishing strategy, you’ll notice that all my books are now numbered as part of a series, tying them to each other using common characteristics.

That said, I’m rolling out each of my titles as their KDP Select exclusivity period ends, and distributing them into all the other sales channels. I’ll be offering the first book f...

Free Today and Tomorrow

Book Two of my Betrayal Series, Betrayal Only Comes in Green is coming in July.

To celebrate the launch of the next book in the series…

Book One-Blessed and Betrayed-is FREE today and tomorrow only.

To get your copy now, click here.

Here is a little bit about the book

Victoria’s life is a jigsaw puzzle. Her nightmares, unfeeling mother and a secret picture of her sister are the puzzle pieces.

The ghost of her nanny and her best friend begin to help her put the puzzle together. A near fatal ac...

Magical Weddings-A Box Set You Don’t Want to Miss!

Box sets are becoming quite the trend, and it seems everyone is jumping aboard.

That being said, a very talented fellow author friend Jan Romes asked me to feature her contribution called ‘Loving Lindy’ to the box set ‘Magical Weddings’ available now for pre-order. Read on to see what all the hype is about!

In every romance or love story there’s a certain kind of magic. Sometimes the enchantment isn’t so obvious. In LOVING LINDY it’s not apparent…at first. Lindy McPherson and Gunther Justin...

As a mother, what would you do?

As an author, I create characters that readers will love. Also, I like to mix it up a bit, and create some that readers will hate. But part of that character building is placing the characters in challenging situations, and forcing them to make difficult decisions.

Denise Little, a seven year old girl, is one of the main characters in my new novel She Only Speaks to Butterflies. What makes Denise special is that she cannot speak. After witnessing the untimely death of her father, Denise is le...

I’m Back!

As an author, we have several important decisions to make.

It may seem futile to the reader, but to the author, deciding whether or not to place your books on KDP Select, therefore offering your titles on Amazon Prime as free borrows and freebies (5 days for every 90 day period-for freebies, that is), is a challenging task. Mainly because once titles are being offered special for Prime members, it means we have to sacrifice having our books being sold anywhere else (in digital form).

After mo...

Reading…the why, the how, and the what

I had some family over the other day, and a conversation suddenly erupted about reading habits. Thinking it might be interesting to put it out there, I thought I would pose the question: reading; the why, the how, and the what.

It seems like a pretty dumb question, right? But if we really take a look at the reasons why we read, we can better understand the enjoyment of reading.

So let’s start with the why…why do we read?

Personally, I read for these main reasons:

personal enjoyment helps to...

She Only Speaks to Butterflies-a new sweet/Christian romance

Her husband is dead.

Her daughter doesn’t speak.

He shows her there is more to lose

…and maybe some to gain.

She Only Speaks to Butterflies

is a story I’ve been very excited to share for a long time. It is a heartwarming sweet/Christian romance about a young widow and her special needs daughter who encounter something terrifying, but also experience much joy in the process.

I’m happy to announce that it is now available for pre-order on Kindle and Kobo

About the Book

Seven year old Denise and...

As Authors, We Have Many of These Moments

I’m an author and have been for the past nine years. And as an author, I have many moments where I’m unsure if I’ve made the right choice in my writing career. Equally or perhaps more perplexing are choices we must make as indie authors.

One of the choices we have to make, which usually leads to subsequent moments where we kick ourselves for doing such things, is when we must decide whether or not to spend money on reviews; especially paying for high-end reviews, which most of us cannot affor...

Does Being a Mom Hamper Your Writing Ability?

My pride and joy. Olivia age 9, Victoria age 6.5

If you look closely, you will notice that many female bestselling authors are not mothers. Many are as well, but sometimes if you check the numbers, it would appear that it is more the former. So this begs the question:

Does being a mom hamper one’s ability to write?

Of course, I can only answer personally, and I would have to answer a resounding no. In fact, becoming a mother back in 2006 was the one thing that truly inspired me to begin writi...

Let’s Get Visible-a Review

Let’s Get Visible is a great tool for both the newbie author and the seasoned author.

It gives a comprehensive take on what goes on behind the scenes at Amazon, plus a glance at the difference between Amazon and other marketplaces such as Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

David Gaughran explains in laymen’s terms mainly the mechanics of algorithms within the Amazon system, which is a crucial component to understanding how to get more sales. But what’s more is he includes in his explanations, hard data...