Lee Strauss's Blog, page 15
May 19, 2016
Feels So Good to Be Back…
… in the world of A Nursery Rhyme Suspense. Since Hickory Dickory Dock I’ve been working on three other projects, all of which I can put aside now for the most part. I miss Marlow and Sage and can’t wait to see what happens next to them in their mysterious world of fictional Detroit University. I’m really happy to dive into Twinkle Little Star, and I plan to stay in this universe for the foreseeable future. This is where I feel the most at home as an author.
Even though I’ve only been away from my leads for three months, I need to remind myself who these two characters are, where they’ve been and where they’re going. At the end of Hickory Dickory Dock, the crime was solved, and Sage had gotten rid of the no-good men in her life. She finally admitted to herself that she was attracted to Marlow, even though he wasn’t the type of guy she normally went for. Unfortunately, Marlow hasn’t waited around for her heart and mind to open up to him, and now has a cute little girlfriend on his arm.
I know Fate won’t let them stay parted. In Twinkle Little Star they’ll have to work together again, this time to prove Sage’s innocence. But will her time in jail effect her GPA?
May 17, 2016
Author Tips Tuesday – Day 1 of Crafting Your Best Story
I’ve put together a workshop (and will soon release a workbook) called CRAFTING YOUR BEST STORY 26 Tips to Get You to The End. It’s based on a e-book I giveaway for signups to my young adult readers, but this one focuses on the adult writer/reader. I plan to post all the tips here over the next 26 weeks. It’s intended for the novice fiction writer, but more seasoned writers will find encouragement and inspiration from the tips as well.
Though I’ll refer to current bestsellers, most examples will come from my own work in order to avoid copyright issues.
Please leave any questions or comments in the comment section below.
Tip #1
Finding the Great Idea
Every great story begins with an idea.
Not just an idea, but a hooky idea. A hooky idea is something you can sum up in one line.
For example:
An alcoholic rides a city train and becomes involved in a murder mystery. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Pauline Hawkins
Separated from his crew, an astronaut embarks on a quest to stay alive on Mars. MARTIAN by Andy Weir
The lives of a blind French girl and a gadget-obsessed German boy before and during World War II intersect. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr
A woman who has barely been beyond her English village finds herself caring for a wealthy, embittered quadriplegic. ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes
The cute girl that a college geek meets online is murdered, but shows up for the next internet meeting anyway. GINGERBREAD MAN by Lee Strauss
These one sentence synopsis are also called loglines.
So, you have a hooky idea, now what?
You need to develop the idea. Take some time to “think write.” Sit in the sun, put your feet up and mull it over. Who is this story about? You don’t need to know everything about this person, but gender, age and situation are important. What plot ideas that support your hook come to you? Jot them down. A few new ideas, variables, crazy possibilities will come to you–write them all down. How about a title? Pick a title. It may change but you need something to work with.
Once you have a story starting to form, open a file on your computer and call it Hooky Book (whatever your working title is) notes.
You’ll find that as you go about your day and your week, more ideas will come to you. Enter them in your note file. These don’t all have to make sense. They’re just ideas you may or may not use, but you don’t want to forget them.
Don’t rush this process. Give yourself time to let the creative juices flow. Consider it similar to baking a loaf of bread. Take time to knead your ideas together. Give it more time to sit and rise. And well, the baking… that takes much, much longer.
At some point you will have an idea of what the beginning, the middle and the end will look like (though these, of course, are subject to change). Now you’re ready for the next very important step…
May 14, 2016
The Perception Trilogy is on sale this week – Only .99!
For fans of Divergent and Hunger Games.
Genetically altered Zoe and natural Noah aren’t friends, but when an unimaginable truth comes to light, they have to trust each other to stay alive. A spellbinding series with over 300,000 downloads.
Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
The Perception Trilogy is on sale this weekend – Only .99!
For fans of Divergent and Hunger Games.
Genetically altered Zoe and natural Noah aren’t friends, but when an unimaginable truth comes to light, they have to trust each other to stay alive. A spellbinding series with over 300,000 downloads.
Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
May 13, 2016
Free Book Friday – The One You Love by Paul Pilkington
I read this a while ago. Really liked it.
Emma Holden’s nightmare has just begun. Her fiancé vanishes, leaving the battered and bloodied body of his brother in their London apartment. Someone is stalking her, watching her every move. And her family is hiding a horrifying secret; a secret that threatens all those she loves. In a desperate race against time, Emma must uncover the truth if she ever wants to see her fiancé alive again.
Experience the gripping opening instalment of the best-selling Emma Holden suspense mystery trilogy. Packed with twists, turns and cliff-hangers, The One You Love is a can’t-put-down, suspenseful page-turner. With over three million downloads, more than 2000 five star reviews worldwide, and already a UK paperback top 10 best-seller, The One You Love is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Robert Galbraith, Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.
“It’s rare to find a thriller writer who can simultaneous propel us readers forward at a breakneck pace and yet engage our minds as we unravel puzzles brilliantly seeded through the story. Pilkington does just this. The One You Love will captivate and keep you up nights.” Jeffery Deaver, internationally bestselling author of the Lincoln Rhyme novels.
May 10, 2016
Author Tips Tuesday – I’ve never self-published before. Where do I start?
Here’s what you do with Amazon:
1. Create an account with KDP: https://amazon.com
2. Once your account is set up, go to “bookshelf” and follow the prompts to upload your book. You’ll need a cover ready to go ( I suggest 1800×2700 pixels) and a mobi file. (I did this for him using Vellum). It’s a good idea to use a subtitle with keywords that describe your book. (ie: PERCEPTION: (A Sci-fi Mystery Dystopian Romance)
Pay attention to your categories and keywords. These are important for gaining visibility. For keywords I suggest browsing the kindle store on amazon for books like yours. On the left you’ll see a list of categories and subcategories. Find all the ones you’d like your book to show up on and use those as key words.
Choose your price, I suggest 2.99 (USD) or 3.99. Lower prices get more sales. You make 2 dollars in royalties per 2.99 sale, better than you make on one print book sale at 10.99.
3. Push publish!
4. Sign up for Authorcentral: https://authorcentral.amazon.com. (There are also ones in other countries like Germany, https://authorcentral.amazon.de.) Here is where you build your Amazon author page. Bio, profile pic, etc. You can also connect it to your blog. (see my page here: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PIGON4)
Once your book has been published you have to go to author central and claim your book. Click “Add more books,” then add your name or book title to the search and claim your book.
5. Sign up to be an amazon affiliate: https://partnernet.amazon.de/?tag=ellestra-20 (see that tag? ellestra-20? that’s my affiliate link.) Every time someone goes to your book page, even if they don’t buy your book, but they go on to buy something else, you get a little kickback.
There are other steps to take to help get visibility.
1. Solicit reviews – reviews make a huge difference in swaying readers to buy, and it boosts the algorithms in your favour for visibility. It helps to offer an incentive, but be careful not to “buy” your reviews. I usually tell my review team that everyone who leaves a review will be entered into a draw to win a non-cash prize. Like a signed book or something.
2. Make sure your sales page and blurb are compelling.
3. Once you have around 30 reviews, sign up for Bookbub and try to get an ad. It might seem pricy, but you’ll make your money back and a lot more. There are other, cheaper venues to buy advertising. I like Robin Reads, Ereader News Today, Read Cheaply, Freebooksy
4. It helps to blog regularly and include a buy link with cover on your side bar. Once you are an amazon associate a new tool bar will show up on the top of your amazon page. On the far left is a button “Link to this page.” Click it and a window will open. Copy and paste the html code and insert it into your website and/or blog.(see attachment)
5. Build your email list and send out newsletters a few times a year. Put an option to sign up on your website/blog. It helps if you have something free you can give away. Right now I’m giving away the first book in my new series. Check out my blog and click on the free book image to see what I’ve done. http://leestraussbooks.dreamhosters.com/blog/. I’m also using my front page to gain subscribers: leestraussbooks.com. You don’t have to give away a free book. An essay or shorter piece can work as well.
***I’ll add that when you have more than one book to sell, you can use the front and back matter in your first book to direct readers to your second book.
Hope that helps! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.
May 6, 2016
For Mystery Reader Lovers – a free book from a different author every month!
Like Christmas every month!
Don’t miss out – subscribe here: http://mysteryandthriller.booksr.cool...
May 5, 2016
Things are often more than what they seem.
Things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes they’re more than what you see at first glance. Sometimes you have to look at things from a different perspective to see what’s really there when you shine a spotlight on it. This is true in life and art, and useful to keep in mind while penning fiction. 
May 3, 2016
Author Tip Tuesday – Vellum
I’m so in love with Vellum, I can’t even begin to tell you how. It has saved me soooo much time and stress and produces beautifully formatted mobi and epub files with ease.
Simply click file and “reimport” your .docx file and it automatically breaks it up into chapters. You might have to manually type in the chapter and number but it’s all there. Click book info to add the meta data, and Cover to add your cover.
The chapter elements can be dragged to different positions or if you’re doing a boxed set, you can create volumes and drag each book’s contents under it’s volume name. Vellum has a great tutor built in to help you with your learning curve.
Click contents to choose your heading styles. I’ve chosen all caps for the first line, but you have options of fancy drop letters too.
Inserting images, weblinks, and changing alignments is super easy.
One of my favorite features is how easy it is to change front and back matter. Once I have dates and links, I can add and change the info easily. When that pre order is now a sale? Just swap out the wording.
There are other elements like About the Author that you can add with built in forms for social media.
Simply click preview to see what it looks like on a variety of readers.
When you’re ready, click Generate and select the vendor/s you want to create a file for. In seconds you have a file that will upload beautifully. I’ve never had a problem with “meat grinders” using Vellum.
Yes, Vellum cost some money, but if you produce a lot of your own books and want control of the way it looks and the ability to change and update your file whenever you want, it’s absolutely worth it.
April 27, 2016
We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program
I love routine. I also love breaks from routine. Sometimes I control the switch from one to another, and sometimes I don’t. I usually fill my calendar with my daily tasks ahead of time, but it’s not uncommon for me to move things around. Often. I love Google Calendar for making this so easy. Thanks Google!
I’ve spent the last six weeks in Germany, holed up in a hotel room for most of that time. It’s been a great writing retreat and I got a lot of work done. I completed my sekret psych-thriller project, and worked on the rebranding of my romance line.
backyard artI worked on a new book, created a power point workshop called THE AUTHOR ENTREPRENEUR, made new connections, and updated my website and social media outlets. Take note of the new share and LIKE buttons. If there is a post that you found interesting and/or helpful, please go back and click the new buttons.
Tomorrow I head back to Canada with a new (and long) task list. I love Germany, but I’m always excited to get back. With the website issues, packing and saying goodbye to my friends here, I won’t be posting my normally scheduled posts, but I’ll get back to it next week.
Please leave a comment if you want to chat. I’ve installed a spam catcher, so you should’ve have to worry about a flood of spam if you want to follow the comment thread.
Thanks so much for hanging in and hanging out!
