Xavier Edwards's Blog, page 15

Continuing to Work

Even though I have been fairly quiet with posting my blog entries, I have been keeping myself busy with writing and with preparing other material around the web. I have several guest blog spots coming up in various locations around the web, and will be featured in the upcoming ARe cookbook.
Even though they don’t generate immediate results, every little thing is important for continuing to raise my profile
One of the little things I’m considering doing is to rerelease my earlier books to consolidate the look and feel across my titles. The earlier books, which do not have the common branding on them, will just be released with new covers to bring them in line with what I’ve set up - the content will remain the same.
Another book is also just around the corner, which will make my fans happy. Look for it within the next few days.

Marketing, Reviews, Etc

I was looking at the recent trends on my books across a number of retail sites and noticed a distinct tail off over the last couple of weeks that I couldn’t immediately explain. I thought it may have been due to the quality of the releases I had put out at the time, but those books have been amongst my best received, so that couldn’t explain it all.
Worried that I had exhausted my immediate supply of readers, I looked around to see what else I could do. Something that had come to my attention recently was an article in the New York Times about reviews for hire, and how they’re diluting the quality of valid reviews from readers.
The first thing to say is that I have never and will never pay for a review. I am willing to supply review copies of my published books (no difference from the purchasable versions) which the reviewer can keep if they like, but that's it. I don't pressure readers to leave reviews and I don't try and get low starred reviews removed because it makes my work look bad.
As far as the number of reviews to the number of sample copies handed out, they aren’t a one-to-one match, by any stretch. Perhaps I should hold off distributing review copies to people who won’t review, but it’s the sort of thing that’s hard to determine ahead of time. You certainly don’t want to make readers jump through hoops to prove that they are going to do what has been asked. The cost in goodwill would far outweigh the comparative small cost of review copies.
As a self-pub, it's difficult to overcome the stigma that self-pubs lack in quality. Some of the comments on my works, either in forums discussing them or on reviews is that they often exceed what passes for acceptable quality for a major publishing house. The problem then, is to get those works out there in front of readers. To try and overcome that problem, I have been looking at a range of alternative means for marketing and product awareness.
A quick look at the various groups on Facebook made me realise that almost every other person with a book to their name, or who wants a book to their name, is busy doing exactly the same thing and things quickly become a contest of who can make the most noise and be seen the most. That has the effect of swamping those who are updating with lower frequency (Come on, I’m publishing once a fortnight, and still putting fewer messages into these groups than some who publish annually or less).
That then made me turn my attention to some of the other web forums around. Quite a few were also swamped in noise, resulting from lax moderation and a strong desire by authors to be seen and heard. Those that weren’t completely swamped had their fair share of authors who disregarded the rules and were busy bumping their threads or dropping inappropriate self-promo posts into threads.
I can completely understand that desire to be seen and heard, as I feel it strongly, too. Having been on and around the web for over 15 years, I understand that behaving according to the rules of those who moderate the sites is the only real way to guarantee long term survival on a site.
It’s going to be quite a long road to recognition and widespread appeal, but I have picked up a couple of viable other forums to identify my works on. Time will tell if they’re going to help me out or not. If they do, then I will quite happily recommend them to others.

New Artist

I am grateful to Estelle-fotography for granting permission to use their images on my site and for use in creating cover compositions for my books.
Please support Estelle-fotography the same as for my other contributing artists. My unique covers and site imagery certainly wouldn’t be possible without the support of their artwork.

Stacking the Deck Retail Update

[image error] Over the weekend, “Stacking the Deck” went live on pretty much all the major retailers. The book page has now been updated to reflect the current list of retailers carrying the book.
Other retail sites will also end up carrying the book as a result of aggregation, so don’t despair if your preferred site is not listed.

Stacking the Deck Released

[image error] As promised, “Stacking the Deck” is now out. It’s a delightful little erotic read about a couple who are playing some card games as a lead in to a night of more fun.
Things don’t initially turn out as expected, but is it possible for Yumi to recover the night and end up getting what she was initially after, or is it a lost cause?
Available now for download from a number of sites, with more retail sites being added daily.
Also, keep an eye out for another release in the next few weeks. Yes, there’s still more books coming down the pipeline.

Me, Around the Web

[image error] I’m getting ready for another book release in the next couple of days. Pending any major last minute modifications, “Stacking the Deck” should be available within the next 24 hours.
That’s not the only thing I’ve got going on at the moment. Over at ARe they are in the midst of finalising a book of recipes from some of the authors on their site. Yours truly has been included and readers will soon be able to try out some of the food I love to cook when I get the chance. Once the recipe book has been published, I will also list on here some of the complementary recipes that work perfectly with those that made the cookbook.
Food isn’t the only highlight of my time. I’ve had “A Hero’s Return” selected for highlighting on Spotlight Tuesday over at Full Moon Bites. Included with that is the offer for free copies of the book.
So, things are being kept very busy and there always seems to be something to have to do. Rest assured, there’s always more books coming out.

Still Here

Despite my rate of postings slowing down over the last week or so, I am still around and keeping myself very busy. I’m still on track for another release in the next week or so, which should make my readers happy.
Probably the worst sort of cold / flu to have is the one that lingers just beneath the surface, giving all the lethargy and tiredness but not the full-blown symptoms that can make it easy to say that it actually is a cold / flu. It also makes it difficult to step aside from work and recover when it just feels like you need more sleep.
Unfortunately, one of these lingering illnesses has been hanging around the family over the last couple of weeks and I think that it’s my turn to be affected by it. I’m finding it difficult to write, but at least I have enough books in the publishing pipeline to cover a delay in creating new titles.

Tragedy of the Virgin Bride Released

As promised, a new book is out. “Tragedy of the Virgin Bride” is available right now. The e-ink is still drying on the digital presses, but the book can be downloaded and read right now.
After centuries in the extended family, the old manor — once a castle — looks like it is to finally pass from the family line. For Josephine, this is just the latest tragedy she has had to face and, from her point of view, there is nothing but heartbreak in her future.
All it not as it seems — leaving Josephine struggling with the massive upheaval to her normal routine. Amongst this, she continues to hope for final redemption with her husband.
A slight change from my previous works, this marks my first foray into PNRe stories. This title has been very well received by my proof reading and editing pools, with many regarding it as a beautiful historical romance.

Psst, New Book Out Tomorrow

Many of my regular readers will already know of it coming, but another book will be released tomorrow, Australian time. This should mean that by the end of the working week everywhere, there’ll be another lovely tale for my fans to get their hands on.
I’m not going to give much away about the content at this stage other than to say it marks my first foray into PNRe. It has been very well received by the proof reading and editing teams, with many even describing it as a beautiful historical romance. I’m not sure I was aiming for that, but if that how it’s seen, I’m okay with that.
Expect it to be available on a couple of sites only, in the lead in to the weekend, but it will appear across the normal range of retail sites in due course.

Erotica or Mommy Porn

[image error] Despite how many people hate the term, “Mommy Porn” has come along and is unfortunately here to stay. To me, it will always be erotica, and erotic romance, but it isn’t always the authors and publishers who get to determine the name and type of a new genre.
Whereas there isn’t an equivalent term for pulp fiction in ebook format (maybe e-pulp erotica would work), the relabelling of erotica to mommy porn to make it seem more palatable or more of a descriptive term just seems to debase the genre. There is a lot of material that quite happily is described as erotica and that is where I’m quite happy to have my works live. If mommy porn is going to hang around as a descriptive term, it’s going to be interesting to see just what part of the erotic genres and quality of writing it ends up associated with.
My regular readers will be pleased to note that longer stories are on their way, and as I settle in and find my voice I am trending more towards Erotic Romance than straight erotica. Of course, there’s still a great place for the knee trembler from first to last word, but the longer stories are including more romantic elements.
I don’t want to end up writing bodice rippers. I’d be much happier continuing to write panty wetters, and I think my readers would be as well.
I also like the idea that it’s not a dirty mind, it’s a sexy imagination.
I have also updated the list of retail sites carrying “Returning to Nature”. The only site that’s yet to update is Google Play, but that seems to operate on its own timeframe. Also, keep an eye out for a release by the end of the month.