C.M. Brown's Blog, page 26

WRITERS FOR WRITERS

Stephen Tremp   Christine Rains M.Pax and (myself), C. M. Brown Writers helping other writers to succeed.
Twitter hashtag: #W4WS
Find us on Facebook An initiative to promote writers and their books (that’s you)!Our Mission:• Help writers bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people• Help writers reach Amazon Top 100 in at least one category (i.e., suspense, free, etc.)• Increase sales of their book(s) after the promo is over• Drive new traffic to their blog and increase following• Create verbal and viral buzz.W4W's is held the third Monday each month!
To sign up, join the Linky List HERE!  This month our selected author is: Marta Szemi.  Visit Marta and pick up a free copy of her first book   And, tweet her posted tweets, make sure you re-tweet any tweets that come your way. Visit #W4Ws to view other posted tweets!

JUST SAYING HI!

HELLO EVERYONE,
Well I have been busy over the last couple of months and have not had the time to frequently visit my blogger friends as much as I would like, and I am taking this space to apologize! I hope, now that my life has settled down a bit to be able to spend more time visiting the sites I haven't been able to get to for a while.
So, this weekend I have spent the time updating my reviews and dropping by bloggers who have visited me during the week. I have also posted the reviews I featured during the A-Z Challenge to the sites I promised, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and Goodreads.Even updating my Shelfari reviews too!So any authors books I reviewed during the challenge will be able to find my reviews on all the above sites.
Better late than never!


Tomorrow, 17th June is scheduled for the next Writer's for Writer's Meme. This month we are featuring Marta Szemi.
I hope you will join Christine Rains, M. Pax, Stephen Tremp and myself to help Marta to rise into the top selling charts!
You can do this by visiting Marta, who will post a number of Tweets, she would like sent, then tweet and re-tweet the tweets! Simple! or/andVisit the W4W's Facebook page and leave a comment and a LIKE on Marta's post!
If you have not signed up to join the ever growing list to be part of W4W's, and you would like to participate, you can do so HERE!
Next month, we will be back with three authors to support and promote!Cheers! Carolyn

EXPRESS YOURSELF

HOSTED BY  Dani@Entertaining Interests & Jackie@Bouquet of Books

 What were the last two movies you saw?

Ruby Sparks

A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence. Staring: &

The Expendables 2
 
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. Stars:

INDELIBLES - INDIE LIFE

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (starting 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!


This month I thought I would give some advice on how Indie writers can improve their sales, simply by facing some cold hard truths.

(I have to be honest and admit that I am also looking at these things at present, to improve my published works and to help me to grow as a writer).

One of the hardest things to accomplish as an Indie writer is the process of publicizing your published work!
The most important fact to remember is it is vary rare for a book to sell itself. Unfortunately, as with most things today, this is one of the hardest things to acheive! Just publishing your work at one or more of the various platforms, (amazon, smashwords, barnes and  noble, itunes, etc), is not enough. You may be lucky, but most likely your work will not sell itself. 

Smashwords, recently sent an email to its authors, explaining that most published works will sit without a sale after the initial release date and that if you happen to be in this group you should take a good hard look at your published work. Only a small percentage of ebooks become best sellers, there is second group which sell quite well and a third group which sell consistently, but unfortunately the cold hard truth is that there is a large group of published works which sit at the end of these, not making a sale for years!

(Lucky for me, my work sits among the third group, which happens to be a good starting point for improvement.)

After publishing, reflect upon your reviews, listen to what your readers tell you, make changes!

Is the cover of your novel working? Does it stand out and grab your readers attention? Do you need to re-edit your work? Is there something in your storyline that your readers are finding difficult to understand? Is your title an attention grabber?

If you received 3.5 stars in your reviews, you are most likely in the third group I listed above, if so think about how you could change your work to bring the reviews to rate higher.

The beauty of publishing as an Indie writer, is that you are in control and by publishing in an e-book format, changes can be made at anytime and your work can be re-published, over and over again. 

From experience, I would suggest to new writers considering publishing as an Indie to first publish their work as an e-book, hold off with the printing into paperback or hardcover until you have tried and tested the market and make any necessary changes.
 (Something I have learned from experience).

You will surely benefit from testing your product first!  

After publishing and you are satisfied, your work is still not done. It is important to be involved in your writing community, make contacts and colleagues, to help you with the process of publicity. Share and support one another, look out for opportunities which present themselves and become involved. 
 

TEASER TUESDAY

 
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along!Just do the followingGrab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS!
Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!


You don't want to ruin the book for others!

1301: The Marquis (The 13th Floor series #1) byChristine Rains   Blurb:
Life after Hell isn't more exciting than watching football and fixing a busted pipe. Once a powerful demon, Marc enjoys his quiet existence and a good cup of coffee. With big ambitions to gain his master's favor, a trickster demon named Vetis shatters Marc's peace and vows to deliver Marc's head to the fires of Hell. Not before he destroys everything Marc cares about, of course.

Marc's power has diminished over the years. Heaven will never grant him absolution, and he refuses to return to Hell. Running isn't an option. The city of Carmine is his territory. It's also home to his favorite cafe owner, Mae Hopkins. The dame has a lovely smile, but it's her heart and soul that shine bright.

While his city burns and his love is captured, Marc must decide to surrender or let hate and anger fuel him to become the fearsome beast he so loathes: The Marquis. If the Marquis rises, Vetis can be defeated and Mae saved, but Marc would be lost to his demon forever.
My Teaser:
Marc kept his distance from the crowd and watched as the EMTs carried out the bodies. They moved like ants in a line, focused and with purpose. Though sheets covered the corpses, the stench still crept out above the throng of living people. Some bodies bulged oddly in places and others weren’t bumpy enough.
Christine Rains. The Marquis (Kindle Locations 258-260)

HEROES & VILLAINS BLOGFEST & EXPRESS YOURSELF

BOTH HOSTED BY JACKIE@ Bouquet of Books&DANI@ Entertaining Interests
I thought I would join both together, so firstly thanks ladies for hosting!
A short list of my heroes:
Dr. Who (I am so sad that Matt Smith is leaving, he is such a great doctor!)
  Superman Batman
                                            Iron Man


 My list of villains:   
     Lord Voldemort
                                                                                                                    Darth Vader
    SPIKE                             
AND LEX LUTHOR


And, for foods that I love to eat everyday:eggstomatoesolivesavocados yoghurtchocolatechicken (Barb-e-que)ricepasta

INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

   IT IS TIME FOR 
INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUPTo find out more about this group,visit:Alex J. Cavanaugh (The Ninja Captain)
at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au

I really do not know where the month of May went, it just seemed like yesterday that we were busy with A-Z!

My biggest complaint this month is that I just do not seem to have the time to visit as many blogs as I would like to. With writing, exercising and life expectations, I just don't seem to ever get to the bottom of any blog list in the blog hops and fests I have been participating in, so I would like to use this space to apologize to anyone who was expecting a visit from me and never received one.

I would love to be able to visit everyone, but I am just finding it an impossible task. 

Also, a big thank you to  Elise Fallson and D.L. Hammond, 
for hosting the WIP It Blogfest, it worked really well and was a great way to receive feedback on my WIP's and add to my list of beta readers and future CP's, which of course is invaluable.

Did you participate in the WIP It Blogfest?
Did you get to the bottom of the list?

TEASER TUESDAY

 
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along!Just do the followingGrab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS!
Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!


You don't want to ruin the book for others!


Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) byCassandra Clare BLURB: Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.
My Teaser:

 “Yes, but if Benedict was going to turn into an enormous serpent, you’d think you could at least have mentioned it,” said Charlotte. “As a matter of general interest.”

Clare, Cassandra. The Infernal Devices 3: Clockwork Princess (Kindle Locations 340-341). Walker. Kindle Edition.

THE WHIP IT GOOD BLOGFEST

 Elise Fallson and D.L. Hammond are putting together The Wip It Good Blogfest!
On Friday, May 31st, they are providing the forum for bloggers to present their [W]ork [I]n [P]rogress through the World Wide Web. They have provided a few prompts to answer in your post, and even give you the opportunity to solicit CP’s (partners who exchange material for detail critique – usually chapter by chapter) or Beta Readers (test readers who read entire manuscripts and offer broad opinions) if you’re looking for this type of opportunity. 
Well at the moment I am working on three WIP's, the first is a new Sci-fi I am playing with, the second another Vampire tale and the third is the third installment of The Protector Series!


So, I thought I would introduce you to all three works, I hope I am not asking too much.


Below are the prompts Elise and Tbone want participants to follow:

WIP Title:  Forces of Mist

Word Count (projected/actual so far): 80,000 /10,000

Genre: Science Fiction / Romance

How long have you been working on it?: 9 months

Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book):

  A science fiction romance between a young human survivor and an elite alien warrior, set in Sydney, Australia, after an alien attack has crippled the planet. Survival of the human race depends on the trust built up between the two unlikely lovers as they undermine the invading force. War, love, espionage and suffering are the key elements included in the Forces of Mist.


Brief Synopsis (250 words or less):

Human life is almost annihilated, the alien force with their army of Mist Warriors have been attacking the planet for five years, leaving it to waste.

Orphaned at the age of 13yrs, Sandy is one of the few survivors left living in the area of Sydney, Australia and is part of the military force battling to keep the human race alive. With their advanced technology, magical powers and formidable strength, they seem to be fighting a loosing battle against the invaders. 

One Mist Warrior may hold the key to changing the future for Sandy and planet Earth, but whether Sandy trusts him enough to follow his path and stop the suffering, is something she can only decide. 


Are you looking for a Critique Partner?: Yes

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?:Yes


*****
WIP Title:  Tint

Word Count (projected/actual so far): 100,000 /10,000

Genre: Paranormal Romance

How long have you been working on it?: 14 months

Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book):



This paranormal romance will leave readers guessing the outcome of the main characters life, as it delves deep into the darker side of vampires. Tint is a twisted mix of romance, vampire survival and violence as the main character follows a path leading to her own possible destruction.

Brief Synopsis (250 words or less):

Courtney leaves her home town in the country, to live in the city, and follow her dreams, saying goodbye to all those she loves, to start a new life. Being a young college graduate, she begins her new career as a junior fashion editor, for a glossy magazine known as Tint and before long discovers a deathly secret lying beneath the polished facade of the magazine, which changes her life forever.

Are you looking for a Critique Partner?: Yes

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?:Yes


*****

WIP Title:  He Came for Them, Book Three in The Protector Series

Word Count (projected/actual so far): 65,000 /5,000

Genre: Paranormal Romance

How long have you been working on it?: 6 months

Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book):




The paranormal vampire series, The Protectors, is continued in this third book with a new race of vampire from another realm. Aidensdein needs the support of this race, the Delpheen, to help them fight back against the Horde, who is continuing to wreak havoc upon their people. Tension, mistrust and insecurities are overcome when two young people find an attachment to one another and the two races unite in battle.

Brief Synopsis (250 words or less):



This is the third installment of The Protector Series, continuing  Jazz and Sebastian's story as they battle to save Aidensdein from the attacking Horde. Their numbers dwindling, the people of Aidensdein seem to be fighting a loosing battle, leading them to beg for help from a second neighbouring race of vampires... The Delpheen.

Unlike other vampires, these beings communicate telepathically and use their minds to draw sustenance from the emotions of those around them. Taking what they can, without any thought of the consequences of others.



Jazz and Sebastian need to tread cautiously as they try to create a bond between the albino like Delpheen and the people of Aidensdein, placing their hopes on a united front to battle and defeat the attacking Horde.


Are you looking for a Critique Partner?: Yes

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?:Yes

MODERN GOOD READS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE & OFFICIAL GIVEAWAY

MODERN GOOD READS PRESENTS:MEMBERSHIP DRIVE & OFFICIAL GIVEAWAY MAY 29TH-JUNE 2ND★ 10 BOOKS ★5 DAYS ★ AMAZON FREEBIESSIGNED COPIESBOOKS GIVEN AWAY DAILY!
Everyone Burns by John Dolan, FREE ON AMAZON US  & AMAZON UKMay 29th--June 2nd  The Escape of Princess Madeline by Kirstin Pulioff, FREE ON AMAZON USMay 29th--May 31st American Midnight by B.R. Snow, FREE ON AMAZON USMay 30th -- June 1st The Ruby Brooch by Katherine Lowry Logan, FREE ON AMAZON USJune 1st & 2nd-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE FOLLOWING NOVELS ARE OFFERED VIA RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAYALL ENTRANTS MUST JOIN 'MODERN GOOD READS' GROUPhttp://www.goodreads.com/group/show/99986-modern-good-reads   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Be sure to leave a blog post to indicate you are a MEMBER of MODERN GOOD READS (mandatory for entry to the giveaway)http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/99986-modern-good-reads -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------