Angella Graff's Blog, page 2

Cover Reveal and Sample Chapter for Tutankhamun’s Gift

Greetings everyone!  Alexandra Fry, Private Eye book two: Tutankhamun’s gift is currently in the hands of my amazing beta readers.  Meaning one thing: It’s almost ready for print!  I just got my final cover back from my awesome cover artist, and I’m pleased to announce he’s also working on a new cover for book one.  I feel like the series theme is finally on to something good, almost perfection, and I’m excited to share with you the official cover and a new sample chapter from the new book.  So without further ado, here she is, back with a vengeance.  Alexandra Fry, Private Eye.

Chapter Four

 

The next morning I woke to the smell of coffee. My dad was not a cook, at all, so I knew the most I could hope for that morning would be cold cereal, but that was fine. It was nice waking up in the house where I knew I wouldn’t be immediately harassed by a grumpy Amanda or my mom arguing with Jeff.

As I climbed out of the bed, I realized I was sore from all the running the night before. My calves ached and my back was stiff. I winced as my feet hit the floor and I limped into the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. My dad was in the kitchen, at the little breakfast table when I walked in the room, and he gave me a sympathetic smile as I slumped into my chair.

“Your running marathon catch up with you?”

I rolled my eyes a little, but couldn’t help the smile. “Yeah, a little.” I’d felt worse though, a lot worse, so I didn’t want to complain too much.

“You want some coffee?”

I blinked in surprise. Coffee? My parents did not let me drink coffee. I’d heard my whole life how all the caffeine would stunt my growth, and would be bad for me and stuff. My dad looked at my skeptical face and then laughed a little.

“Just a half cup,” he said and got up to pour it. “You’re a teenager now, and honestly, you look like you could use the morning boost.” He fixed it his way, with a lot of cream and sugar, and then passed it across the table to me.

I took a cautious sip. The cream had cut the heat way down, and the sugar eclipsed the taste of it. Now, it wasn’t the first time I’d tasted coffee, but it made me feel suddenly really grown up and mature holding it in my hands. “Thanks,” I finally said as he stared at me, waiting for a reaction.

“I thought we could go and get some breakfast once your sister gets here,” my dad finally said after I had a few more sips. “I haven’t been shopping since I got back, and…”

But I lost the conversation after he said the words, ‘my sister’. With a groan, I sat back and crossed my arms. “Does Amanda really have to come here?”

My dad frowned. “Look, I know you two are on each other’s nerves, but I haven’t seen her all summer, and this is the first year she was away for school. I miss her.”

Of course, I didn’t understand how anyone could miss Amanda the Annoying, but I did get what he was talking about. She was a brat, but she was his kid, too, and honestly I’d gotten a little spoiled by the attention with her away all last year. I sighed and shrugged. “Fine. As long as I don’t have to be around her all day.”

“Well your mom asked that I keep you and your sister here for the rest of the week. She’s off to… well… wherever it is she goes on her trips, and since I’m not due back at the museum until next week, I told her that was fine.”

Honestly I felt like sulking, but that was not the mature thing to do. Not the action of a coffee-drinking-teenager. Besides, being downtown meant I was closer to Jack, and I could escape to his house if she got too horrible. I was also going to be with Penelope all weekend for my birthday, so I had to be a grown-up about it.

“Okay,” I finally said. “I’m going to go shower and change.”

Amanda was there by the time I had finished in the shower. I could hear her music thumping from the study, which was right next to my room, and I rolled my eyes. Amanda and my dad had never gotten along, and by the time she was in high school, she stopped spending weekends with my dad. He had turned her room into his office after she’d moved all her stuff out, but I figured he set it up for her stay while my mom and Jeff were gone.

It was another rainy day, so I picked jeans and a long-sleeve shirt to wear, and then started braiding my hair in the mirror. My phone had been silent all morning, so I knew Jack was probably either in trouble or being carefully watched by his uncle. Still, I wondered if they’d heard anything about Daniel. I was tempted to send a text, but I figured Jack would let me know the moment he heard anything.

By the time I was totally finished getting ready, Amanda and my dad were already to go, waiting for me in the living room. My sister gave me an impatient scowl, but I ignored her and walked ahead out them out the door. They paused at the elevators, but thanks to the coffee my dad had let me drink, I was wide awake and took the stairs instead. It didn’t feel great on my sore legs, but it was better than being trapped in the small box with my grouchy sister.

I’d just reached the bottom floor when I felt the freezing cold wash over me. I was instantly scared, now not anticipating a lost ghost, but the Shadow Man from the fair. I glanced behind me, and just for the blink of an eye, I saw it. The hood, the pale face under it, and the looming shadow. My heart jumped and I ripped the door open, heading into the bright, open lobby of the apartment building.

My dad and Amanda had beat me down of course, and I could see them walking through the glass walk-way to the parking garage. I followed, running so fast my steps pounded and echoed against the walls. I was out of breath by the time I reached them, and my dad looked concerned.

“You okay, sweetie? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

I swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” I said, “fine. No problems.” The truth was, I had. Or I thought I had, because I couldn’t be sure that the hooded thing was a ghost. At least, not the kind I was used to dealing with. It certainly wasn’t human, and whatever it was, it was scary. And, it seemed, it was stalking me.

When we got to the restaurant, the fear from the Shadow Man had settled down somewhat, and my appetite had returned. My dad picked one of my favorite places to eat, The Rowan Tree. It was an organic restaurant that grew all of its vegetables in this huge garden out back. They had mostly outside seats, the area draped in mesh, and local artists displayed their artwork and sculptures all over. We picked a table in a more shaded area under the misters and sat, my sister glaring at me with crossed arms.

“You hungry, girls?” my dad asked from behind his menu.

“Starved,” I said, while Amanda muttered, “Not for anything here,” at the same time.

My dad and I both ignored her bad attitude and by the time the server came, we were all ready to order. As we waited, I could tell my dad was struggling with something. He was a lot like me, unable to hide when something was bothering him, and I had a feeling it was about Kate.

“Oh my god, dad, just say it,” Amanda finally burst out after taking a huge slurping swallow of her iced tea. “You look like you’re going to explode.”

My dad’s cheeks went read and he sighed, sitting back. “Well Alex already knows part of what I’m going to say,” he said, his voice a little shaky. “I’ve started seeing someone.”

My gaze snapped on Amanda’s face who had gone wide-eyed, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her jaw worked a little for a minute and then she said, “Okay well, it’s about time. Who is she?”

“Her name is Kate,” my dad said, letting out a small, relieved breath.

“She’s Penelope’s mom,” I added helpfully.

“Like your freaky little friend, Penelope?” Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Are you serious?”

“Penelope’s not a freak,” I defended. “And her mom’s super nice. She’s a history teacher at my school, she’s the coolest teacher there.”

Amanda snorted and shook her head. “Only a loser like you would think a history teacher is cool.”

“Excuse me,” my dad said, his voice going very firm, “but I’ll ask you to show the situation some respect. You may be an adult now, but I’m still your father. Kate is a perfectly nice woman, and I’d like for you to meet her this weekend.”

It was my turn for my eyes to go wide. “Whoa. Are you guys going to tell Penelope about it?”

My dad shrugged, his face miserable. “I don’t know. Kate’s very concerned about her reaction and I’m letting her take it at her own pace.”

My face fell. “I don’t want to keep this a secret from her for very long, dad. She’s my best friend.”

“I know,” he said with a sigh. “And I don’t want you to have to do that, either.”

Breakfast took on a more morose tone, and when we were finished, I’d gotten a text from Jack asking me to hang out in the courtyard by the museum. My dad seemed a little uncomfortable about the idea, but I pointed out he hadn’t seen Amanda in almost a year and they could use some alone time, so he reluctantly let me go. I swore to check in every half hour and not leave the courtyard for any reason at all unless it was to come straight home.

Jack was there when I walked up, sitting on a covered bench. He was leaning back, his head against the table, shades on, wearing his usual all-black. His expertly styled hair was a little messy from the breeze and rain, but he somehow managed to pull it off, like always. He grinned when I jumped up next to him, but his smile was slightly off. When I went to nudge him with my leg, he shifted just out of my reach.

“So,” he said, ignoring my concerned frown.

I lifted an eyebrow. “So what?”

“Did Kate stay last night?”

My cheeks went read at what he was asking, and I shook my head. “Nah, she went home after a bit.”

“Did you tell Pen?”

I shook my head, but that terrible feeling came over me again. I hated keeping something like this from her. Penelope had saved my life last year with her quick thinking when Jack and I hadn’t checked in with her. And now I was lying to her because her mom was afraid of hurt feelings? “No, but if they don’t tell her soon, I will. She’s going to be so mad at me for keeping it a secret.”

I heard Jack sigh, but as he started to speak, I was distracted. There was something standing across the street, staring at me. He was tall, his skin darker, and he was dressed really bizarrely with gold on his chest, and a sort of wrapped skirt around his waist, and a white tunic draped over the top. His head was shaved, and even from my spot on the bench I could see the black lines surrounding his eyes. He wasn’t very tall, and his head was almost long in the back, flat on the top. His deep eyes were staring at me, and I could tell almost instantly that he was a ghost. But who was he?

I looked over at Jack who was still chatting away, and I gulped. I couldn’t do this now. Even though Jack knew about my little ability, the idea of him seeing me talk to thin air was just too weird.

An idea hit me, and I jumped up. “Hey, I’m going to go run in the museum and use the bathroom. Wait for me?”

He looked slightly annoyed, but gave a nod and I quickly dashed across the street. As I got closer to the ghost, the air around me got colder and more still. He was definitely taller than me, and young. “Follow me,” I muttered as I brushed past him and headed up the steps to the front door.

There was a new security guard at the desk they’d hired after the curator went to jail, but he seemed to recognize me as I walked in. “Hello there, miss Fry. Good to see you again,” he said.

I smiled. “Hi um…” I couldn’t remember his name and felt awful.

He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s Roger.”

“Roger, sorry,” I breathed. “It’s been a long day. I’m just using the bathroom.”

He smiled and nodded again as I slipped around the corner and into the ladies. I let out a breath of relief when I saw it was empty. I turned around and nearly yelled when I saw the tall man standing directly behind me. I gulped, taking a step back.

“Um… hi,” I said. Usually the ghosts addressed me first, and being that I had no idea who he was, or what he wanted, I wasn’t sure how to begin.

“You can see me?” he asked. His voice was oddly nasal, and had almost a lisp to it, which surprised me. His wide, brown eyes stared hard, and I felt uncomfortable.

“Um yes,” I said slowly, taking a step back. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“My name is Tutankhamun,” he said, giving his head a sharp nod.

I looked at him, my eyes going wide with realization at who was standing in front of me. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Tutankhamun? King Tut?”

His lips pursed at the sound of the nickname, and I realized it was probably disrespectful, even if he’d been dead for thousands of years. Clearing my throat I said, “Sorry I… er… your… highness?”

“I am no longer king of my people,” he replied, waving his hand. “As I ruled, I was known as Tutankhamun, but this no longer matters.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Well, I’m Alexandra.”

“I was told to find you, Alexandra,” he said, pronouncing my name with an accent I really liked. “Something dear to me, as dear to me in death as it was in life, has been taken.”

“What is it?” I asked. I was ready for this, had been ready for weeks since it had been way too quiet. “Cursed book? Some sort of evil necklace or pendant?”

He shook his head, frowning at me as I rattled on. “It is nothing evil, nor is it cursed. It is merely precious and I need it returned to me.”

Well that was new. Usually the ghosts had some big story about why I had to go out of my way and sacrifice my neck to get them their stuff back. The last big thing nearly destroyed the world and even Augustus Caesar’s stupid mirror was reported to bring bad luck upon all those who were to look into it, or whatever. So this was what? Just some sort of trinket? It wasn’t like ghosts to be attached to plain old personal stuff.

“Well?” I asked, feeling annoyed at this little visit now I knew it wasn’t life-threatening. “What is it?”

“I am not sure.”

I took a surprised step back, my arms crossing over my chest. “You’re not sure? You’ve lost something, but you don’t know what it is.”

“I am searching still, I only know that it is missing, that it’s whereabouts have disturbed my afterlife, and I would like it found.” His voice was calm, still and undemanding. But that didn’t stop me from being annoyed. Why should I risk my reputation and freedom to bring back some trinket that didn’t even matter? He didn’t even know what it was, for goodness sake. I mean, how was I supposed to find it?

“Look, uh, King Tutken-whatever, I’m usually happy to help, but what do you expect me to do, here? If you can’t even tell me what’s missing, I have nowhere to start.”

He regarded me for a long time. So long, in fact, I started to get kind of fidgety and uncomfortable. After a moment, he took a step back and spread his arms. “I will do the searching, Alexandra Fry, and when I find what my missing item is, I will return.”

And then in the blink of my eye, he was gone. Just poof, and that was that. I was standing there alone, in the middle of the bathroom, staring at the wall. I let out an aggravated sigh and rolled my eyes all the way to the ceiling. These cases were getting worse and worse. The ghosts were knowing less and less, and it was starting to feel like I was some sort of go-fer for the recently, or not so recently, deceased.

When I walked back outside, Jack was standing up, leaning against the museum building. It had started to rain a little harder and he seemed pretty annoyed with how long I was gone. “You fall in or something?” he asked as I walked up.

“No,” I said defensively. With a sigh, I realized it was pointless to lie to him. “A ghost found me.”

His eyes lit up like I told him Christmas was tomorrow, and he bounced on the balls of his feet. “Really? A case then? Who for? What are we looking for?”

“Cool your heels there, buddy,” I said, holding up my hand. “The guy didn’t even know what was missing, let alone where to start looking. He said he’d be in touch.” I dropped my arm and then slid down to the ground, stretching my feet out in front of me. The truth was, the very last thing I wanted right then was a case. Right now I was worried about lying to my best friend, and frankly, I was tired of getting into trouble. Jack may have enjoyed it, and yeah, thief training with him was pretty fun, but school was about to start. I didn’t want to get grounded again. I didn’t want to get talking to myself in the halls, or in the bathrooms. I didn’t want ghosts popping in whenever they felt like it.

I just wanted to be left alone.

Vending Machine

By Joshua Graff

 

My relationship with the snack vending machine at work is the fourth most dysfunctional relationship of my entire life.

I show up to work certain that today is a different day. I’m going to ignore that machine with its vast assortment of healthy and unhealthy snacks. I’m going to be strong and walk to my meetings without a second glance.

Then, as the day gets longer, I find myself drawn to it. Like a moth to flame. I’ll tell myself that I’m just looking. That it’s harmless.

Soon, I start to crave something…beef jerky or maybe something sweet. I dig hastily into my wallet for cash because the thing doesn’t take cards.

At some point, someone put a handwritten sign on it letting you know that it also doesn’t take fives.

I dig for the required sacrificial offering and select my desired snack. The thing gobbles up my money like some sort of starved beast, and I begin to anticipate my treat.

Slowly the gears turn. Today my snack is a healthy choice as labeled by these handy plastic covers someone placed over the coil. They seek to inform you, the uninformed, that beef jerky is healthier than a Hershey bar. I weep that something like this is necessary.

As the item inches its way closer to the edge, anticipation grows. It builds quickly, and I have to remind myself how many times I’ve been burned.

It marches on, turns, and begins to fall. The corner, just the corner, catches on the healthy choice plastic and it hangs over the edge. I stare at it, disbelieving. How could you do this? How could you tempt me and pull away? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to put those plastic labels on the rails? Here, have this healthy choice snack….just kidding, eat a dick.

I stand there for a moment, hoping that gravity will draw the snack down. Of course it doesn’t.

I look around the hallway, coming to a swift conclusion. I begin to rock the machine, trying to gauge the level of intensity. Is this how a person professionally rocks a snack machine, or do I look like a man chasing a diabetic coma? Is the sweat forming on my brow from exertion or from a desperate need to win?

Sadly the item is lodged tighter into the ring and I start to pace, frustrated. Do I walk away and admit defeat or raise the level of effort from polite discourse to full on vending assault?

Inevitably, my attempts to beat this infernal machine into submission draws the attention of a co-worker. They approach, confused and concerned. Who would assault this machine thus? It only takes them a moment to assess and sympathize. Sometimes they pat my back and walk away. Other times, they offer assistance.

They have observed the level of dry humping I was performing, and have found that level unsatisfying. They will then proceed to demonstrate how to truly hall-fuck a vending machine.

Sometimes this pays off in extreme ways, like an entire payout of a single item. If the machine does reward your efforts, it usually spits out an item next to the one lodged permanently into the coil, like some deranged half gift. “You wanted the jerky, but I have deemed your efforts deserving of this bag of ten year old sunchips.”

Your colleague will interpret this as a win and walk away, smug with his overwhelming machismo. You weep quietly as your teeth grind on stale corn meal.

More often than not, you are both met with disappointment and regret as the item shifts back and forth, but never breaks free.

You wander away defeated, locked in the knowledge that the next person who walks by with ones in their pocket will get two jerky’s for the price of one. In a small way, you will have turned this failure into someone else’s triumph.

You have left the world a bit better through your suffering.

From the Editor’s Corner: Indie Release Dates

Being in the indie market, self-published authors have one luxury most authors in the Traditional Publishing or even Small Press market don’t have.  We choose when our book is going to be released.  It’s part of the Power is in My Hands draw of that publishing market.  As an indie author myself, I love it.  I’m not bound by contract or dates, and when my book is ready to head to print, within twenty-four hours, it’s available to the public.

But it also comes with drawbacks, some of which I’ve seen in droves coming from the indie market.  I’ve seen it first hand as an editor, and as a networker to a lot of my indie friends.  Publishing too soon.  I can’t tell you how many manuscripts I’ve had to reject in my editing inbox simply because the author requests an editing job done for a release date two or three weeks away.

When you’re an indie writer, the ball is in your court, one hundred percent.  That also means you’re obtaining all of your services freelance.  Book covers, editing, formatting, marketing, etc.  And all of those things are necessary to bring a professional, worth reading, book into the market. 

Traditionally published books often have release dates years out and those going straight to ebook, if they’re lucky, maybe six to eight months.  There’s a reason for that, and the reason is– those necessary elements to making your book professional take time.  Freelance editors, at least the good ones, are often booked up months in advance.  My own personal queue is fully booked through June, and I’m not even accepting new authors right now.

So the very idea an indie would choose a release date just weeks away from when they begin to send out editing inquiries is beyond me.  I don’t understand what the rush is.  I know, you’ve poured your heart and soul into this book, and everyone who’s read it so far loves it, and you can’t wait to release it out into the wild.

Believe me, I know the feeling.

But good work isn’t fast, and fast work isn’t good.  Neither is cheap work, or rushed work.  If an editor tells you it’s going to take four weeks to finish your manuscript, take pride in the fact the editor is using their precious time to give your book full and absolute attention.  You need a buffer, you need time to not only apply the edits when they return, but to finish re-writes, to perfect those tiny nuances of the book before you hit that publish button.

I find a lot of indies think the editing process is finished the moment the book is back in their inbox.  They just hit accept all changes and that’s that.  If you’re doing that, you’re doing your book a massive disservice.  A lot of times when I do copy editing, I will offer content notes.  I can’t help it.  Yes, I’m being paid to look at grammar and spelling, but I’m still reading the book, and if something stands out, I will mention it.  I can tell you with certainty, I’ve never edited a book, even just a copy edit, that couldn’t use a few plot or character changes.

I realize, for some indies, this is hard to hear.  Indie authors are some of the most sensitive I’ve ever come across.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, or a harsh criticism, it’s just a fact.  I’ve had scathing emails in my inbox when, after being paid to do a full critique, the author was unhappy I didn’t find their book to be anything other than absolute perfection.

Trust me, as an author myself, I know the sting of critique.  I pass on a book which I believe to be the very best I can do, and when I get back comments telling me where I’ve failed, it hurts.  But I take it in stride, and I give myself time to make the necessary changes to my work, because despite my desire to have my first draft be absolute perfection, I know it won’t be.  I know changes are necessary.

I don’t want to rush my work out.  I want to spend days pouring over my text and making sure I am one hundred percent satisfied with what I put out into the market.

To tell you the truth, most good editors– and by good I mean editors worth hiring– won’t comply with release dates.  At least, not unrealistic ones.  I will always ask when they plan to publish, and if the answer is anything less than eight weeks (barring a previous agreement and my queue being completely empty), the answer will always be no.  Always.  Even with a manuscript assessment, I can’t fully predict how long it will take me to finish an entire book.  Without psychic powers, I also won’t be able to predict the little curve balls life throws at me, and it’s important to remember your editor is human.  Sometimes things happen, and it will delay your book.

My advice, use the fact that you have total control over your book and don’t choose a release date until your edited manuscript is in your grubby little hands.  Then give yourself several weeks of cushion to apply your edits, to go over it line-by-line.  Use those weeks to line up release promos and book tours, and build up anticipation and excitement.  Don’t rush. 

In the end, you’ll thank me for this advice.

Trust me.

Writer’s Support Groups

Whether you are self-pub, indie/small press, or traditionally published, as an author, one of the most beneficial tools to your success can be writer’s support groups.  The expansion of social media has made access to online forums, facebook groups, goodreads communities and the like, far more accessible than they have been in the past.

As a writer, the first thing you usually learn about yourself once you become published is, no matter how hard you’ve worked on that first novel, there is still an ocean of things you don’t know.  There is an ocean of experience you’ve yet to gain.  And finally, there’s ocean of critique just sitting out there waiting for you.

You can really only gain so much through beta-readers, even if you don’t go the route of people you know, and writer’s groups can really help out.  And not just for critiquing your manuscript either, but offering networking support, advertising, blogging, and even editorial reviews.

I mean, what better way to boost up yourself by immersing yourself in the company of other writers?

But I’ve come to notice a few disturbing trends when it comes to these groups, and it’s a trend created, I believe, by the lack of courtesy, etiquette, and competitive market when it comes to publishing.

Let me detail this out with an experience I’ve had recently when it comes to facebook writing groups.  When I first got started, I joined a ton of groups.  Most of them geared toward indie writers, offering advice, support, reviews, and blog opportunities for the self-published community.  It seemed great at first, and I had some rather influential friends who were able to garner me hoards of reviews for my first book.  And by hoards, I should say, I got around thirty.  Which is great comparatively.  You can see the results in my subsequent books that followed when I didn’t use these contacts to get my work out there.

But as I continued on writing, as months passed, the groups slowly began to shift in different directions.  One of the most review-lucrative groups turned into, forgive the term, “a boys club.”  And what I mean by that is, unless you were chummy with the mods, creator and the ones who reviewed the most amount of books, you could count yourself out.  You might get a review or two here or there, but it was nothing compared to the triple digits some of the writers were getting.

I put the pattern together once they started doing monthly review features on their blog, highlighting authors in order to get them to a certain review count.  I noticed that the ones who weren’t included in the “inner circle” were mysteriously left out of those monthly features.

I thought about beefing up my contact, reviewing more books, but the truth is, that was just not on the table.  As a mother of three, with lessons and scout meetings, with my editing job, the book I was currently writing, and the fact that I did want to spend some free time enjoying the company of my husband (who was already seeing very little of anything besides the back of my head at the computer) I knew that just wasn’t going to happen.  I didn’t have the time to tear through piles of indie books. 

So I dropped contact and slowly my presence in the group disappeared until I became a non-member.

But it was one of many, so no real loss there, right?

Except the other groups had taken another turn, this one possibly even worse.  There were other groups dedicated solely to the review of books.  You posted a link, offered a free copy in exchange for an honest review, and you just sat around and waited until someone was interested your book.  It seemed far better than the review exchange market, because you don’t have the risk of retaliation if you don’t like the book from the person you’ve exchanged from.

However, I noticed that I would get a lot of review exchange requests, and upon denying them, interest in any of my books slowly whittled down to nothing. 

That was around the time I took a good, hard look at what I was doing, and decided to step away.  I needed to figure some things out and decide where I fit in, in all that mess.  When I came back, I slowly went through my groups list from facebook.

Having a friend count of over 2600 people, I was often added into very random groups, and weeded those out.  Next I went to those geared toward authors, and began to weed them down to what I felt was best for me. 

What did I notice?  Every site, even the ones which had been moderately helpful, had become a dumping-ground for book links.  Even the reviewer sites.  Though they have official “rules and regulations” and “moderators”, each and every group was dead.  I remember scrolling through about seventeen posts on one before I found a book link where someone had bothered to comment on it. 

Authors stopped bothering to help each other and simply started link dropping, like a social media grave-yard.  No interaction, no discussion, no help, no nothing.  It was the same on goodreads.  There were forums which at one point had been wildly successful in my editing business which had now become a name-dropping thread where no one discussed or replied to anything.

In my search of hundreds of groups on facebook, I found zero that were helpful.  Zero. 

So it’s no wonder new authors are floundering.  They don’t have support anymore.  Such decay in the year I’ve been doing this, and it’s disturbing.  I’ve considered starting up my own group with different areas, but I don’t think I could take watching my group turn into one of these pointless link-dumping sites.

Now, I know there are separate groups online, websites and things like that with author support, and that’s great.  But social media is free, which is a huge benefit to the indie author who might be living on a budget, and is spending what little they can on their book.  Advertising costs are high, and book sales are low, and it’s a tough business to crack, assuming you ever do.

I realize this article was less helpful because there isn’t a solution.  I didn’t find a light at the end of the tunnel here, and in fact I’m still looking at my list and reeling a little.  Reviews are what help authors get noticed, and most readers don’t realize that.  Critique groups are what help authors grow, helps them discover their strengths and weaknesses, but they’ve become nearly extinct.  It’s every man for himself, and I didn’t think that’s what this was.

If you know an active group or participate in one, I’d love to hear about it.  I’d love a link, and more info, because these are necessary.  And maybe, if there aren’t any, we can band together and start it back up, because what are we if we lose sight of community?

Are You Ready for Publicity?

One of the reasons I’ve been so intense on getting my book covers, bookmarks, and series posters done in a hurry lately is the fact that I have some publicity and marketing opportunities coming up.

Back in December, I was invited to be the host author at my daughters’ elementary school during their Literacy night which went on in January.  They held an event with several different booths, from libraries to myself talking about publishing.  They came in short waves, had the opportunity to check out my little power point presentation (hello college flashback!) on the steps to publish.  From editing to choosing a book cover, to uploading your book.  It was fun and informative, and I had some of my YA books there for them to check out.

It was small exposure, but it was exposure nonetheless.

But there’s a catch to these things, a catch people don’t really think about when they start signing up like mad for local events.  If you don’t have a book worth promoting, why waste your money?

That’s not to say your content isn’t good, but remember when you go to these events, there’s going to be a whole host of authors out there trying to get their work seen.  It’s a competitive market, whether you like it or not, and each author is trying to one-up the other.

I did a book festival last year, and I sold a handful of books.  I was hoping for a better turn-out, and I didn’t come close to breaking even when it came to cost of printing out my books, printing out a poster, paying for the table, book marks, business cards, etc.  And that’s the hazards of being a fresh indie author in the business– you rarely break even.

You operate at a loss, hoping to recoup your costs with ebook sales, and sometimes you do, and sometimes you don’t.

Does it mean you should skip out on these events?  Well, yes and no.  Some people say all exposure is good exposure, but that’s not necessarily true.  If your book isn’t professionally edited, designed, and covered, your book might find its way into the hand of a person who will then tear it apart.  If you don’t have something worth looking at, you’re going to get those passing glances, and people giving your table a wide berth.  If you have a poor looking cover, but your table partner has a good book, you have to suffer to consequences of standing there all day watching your neighbor getting attention while yours is given the polite pity smile and the customer moves on.

I watched that happen last year.

My books had terrible covers, but the person next to me were even worse.  Her book was a third the size of mine, and three times more expensive.  She became so enraged after my sixth sale of the day when she’d sold none, she started screaming at customers who passed by, and started to rip down her posters and art work.  The scene drove people away, and gave me a good lesson in Authors Behaving Badly.

Now I think about those handful of people who have my first two books they purchased the year before and I feel uncomfortable.  I feel sad that although they got a decent, meaty story, the design and covers were lacking, unprofessional.

I’ll be at the book festival again this year and all of my books are redesigned, edited, formatted, and I’ve paid my cover artist to provide me bookmarks and a series poster.  It was a lot of money, and I probably won’t recoup my costs, but this year will be far more worth it.  This year I’ll be passing out something I can be proud of.

These events aren’t cheap, and that’s another thing to remember.  The tables are expensive, printing is expensive, promo items are expensive.  Then you have travel costs, food, drink, lodgings.  In the end it could cost you a good couple hundred dollars to get this all done.

And if your book isn’t edited, isn’t professionally covered and designed, you might want to think about putting that money you’re saving into making your book look like it belongs on the shelf of a bookstore.  I’m talking about a real cover, not a createspace template.  I’m talking about a real editing job, not yourself or your (insert friend or family here). 

These events happen annually, sometimes bi-annually and in fact, if you do a google search, you might find events happening monthly or even weekly.  There are street fairs, book clubs, library readings, bookstores wanting to feature local authors.  There are school events, various conventions, and markets happening all year long.  So why rush into something when your money can be better spent in making something worth marketing.

The truth is, most people don’t come to these events with a load of cash to drop on books.  I’ve been planning to go to the Phoenix Comic Con this year, spending quite a lot of money to share a table with a good author friend of mine for the weekend.  I’m not anticipating selling a lot of books, because people are going to be there for Mark Sheppard and Bruce Campbell (mmm yes please! lol).  I might get lucky with the few browsers who happen to glance at my stuff and are intrigued by the artwork they see on my covers.  They might be intrigued by my premise and want to drop a few bucks on an unknown author.

Last year at the festival dedicated solely to books, I sold six.  Six books.

At cons, often your sales will be less.

And if you don’t have a book worth looking at, you’re probably looking at less.  You’re not going to make an impression, or become an overnight sensation with sub-par work.  And while the writing might be good, there is more to being a successful author than having a story to tell.

So it’s time for an exercise in patience.  Maybe your money is being better spent elsewhere, because while yes, it’s good to take these chances, use logic.  Why waste money this year when you can make a far better impression next year?

I’m writing this out of experience, out of having made the mistakes.  It’s not a day at Disneyland, shelling out hundreds of dollars on my books’ covers and editing, but it’s worth it, and I can show up now at these events with my head held high knowing I did it the right way.

So just some food for thought.  There are events and cons coming up and as I’m watching people gear up for them, I’m both excited and nervous.  I want people to succeed.  I want to succeed, too.  So take a breather, look at your work, look at what you’ve got and truly decide, am I ready?

6 Tips to Picking Your Beta-reader Team

So I wanted to write a blog post dedicated solely to the topic of beta readers.  I’ve noticed the general consensus in the writing world is they’re useful.  I have to agree with that, but with a few caveats, because while I’ve noticed beta-readers are widely used, I’ve also noticed they’re not always being used correctly.

Once upon a time, when I was just a young whipper-snapper trying to find my voice and style in the writing world, I belonged to a few communities online where we could post things we’d written.  That was the first time I heard the phrase beta, and back then, on livejournal, it referred to a people– or occasionally group of people– who would read your stories and correct spelling and grammar.

When someone posted to the community, “Sorry this story hasn’t been beta’d” we’d immediately know there would be grammar and spelling errors.

When I came into the literary publishing world, I kept seeing the phrase and it took me a while to catch on to the real meaning of the word.  A person who gives the the novel a read-through before publishing to provide a detailed opinion about plot, characters, and over-all story arc.

Typically an author, if they’re going the rout of beta readers, wants to have a group of them.  They’re the people who are going to catch gaps, plot holes, character inconsistencies etc.  In the Indie community especially, where authors tend to lean toward a copy edit only, or *gasphorror* self-editing, a team of beta readers can be invaluable.

But herein lies the problem, especially in the Indie community when it comes to beta readers– your sources are limited.  Typically, I’ve found, to family and friends.  Why is that a problem, you ask?  Because when you limit yourself to people who are personally invested in you liking them, their opinion is already skewed.  The book is read with bias, because even your most out-spoken best friend is going to want to tell you you’re the best writer in the whole wide world.

Even if you’re not.

The truth is, we live in a participation trophy society and people who care about you are going to want to boost your self esteem.  And while that’s all well and good when you’re playing soccer at age 5, it’s not very helpful when you’re trying to pen the Next Great Novel that takes the world by storm.

But like I said before, with Indies, our sources are limited.  Yes, there are critique groups out there, and there are beta reading teams.  There are people, like myself, who offer paid beta-reading services.  Those work in your favor because those people are invested in telling you the truth, not stroking your ego.  They’re invested in making your work better, stronger, publish-ready.  A lot of those people have years of experience to back them up, and are well read enough to help your book fit better in its genre, and how to appeal to that genre’s audience.

I’m getting ready to finish my fifth and final book in a series, and by book five, my beta-reading team has dwindled down significantly.  From letting any and everyone who wanted to beta-read down to those who have consistently offered me the advice, critique, and feedback I need in order to make my book the best it can be.  It’s not because I don’t care what the other people think, but for me, the beta-reading stage is critical.  Five books into a series, and there is a huge meta-plot stretching between all the novels.  There are backgrounds, histories, memories, etc, and I need to make sure I’m not missing anything.  The last thing I need in my books are glaring plot holes that conflict with the other books in the series.

If a beta-reader can’t pick up on those, I don’t want them on my team.

So I’ve compiled a list based on my own experience to help select the best beta team for your book.

1. Find beta-readers who are well-versed in your genre.

Even if your genre is weird, or straddles the line between two, look for an overall arc.  Is it fantasy?  Check for readers who prefer that genre.  Same for sci-fi, or contemporary fiction, chick-lit, romance.  Even if it doesn’t fit in the exact box, get as close as you can.

Each of those genres follow a typical formula, which is very important to follow because formulas are tried and true.  They keep readers engaged and coming back for more.

2. Don’t be afraid to spend a little money.

If a beta-reader charges you more than twenty bucks, they’re too expensive.  Beta reader’s notes are often not more than a couple of paragraphs long.  Anything longer and what the person is doing is a content edit.

Money is a good motivator for honest opinion, because that person is being paid to do a job, to provide a service.  You’re more apt to receive good, thorough feedback if the person is being paid for the job.

Side note on this though- don’t be afraid to ask for references.  The last thing you need is to pay good money for crap service which could have been avoided by just checking a few references.

3. Don’t use family and friends.

Now, there’s an exception to every rule, and if you know for a fact that your family and/or friends will give you honest, and I mean 100% honest without regard to your feelings, feedback, then fine.  Use them.  But for the most part, as I stated above, people who love you aren’t going to want to hurt your feelings.

I’m extremely sensitive when it comes to my writing.  My books are like my children.  They’re full of human beings I birthed, I brought to life.  My readers might not know every thing about them, but I do.  So when someone criticizes them, it’s like someone criticizing my actual children, and I have a hard time with that.

But I’ve found it hurts less when a stranger is doing the critiquing.  When I know the person isn’t invested in anything other than the job I’ve asked them to perform.

Being a writer means getting tougher skin and learning to take critique, but asking your family and friends to fill that role isn’t the wisest choice.  Trust me, my husband and I figured that out the hard way.

4. Use caution when asking other writers to be on your beta team.

One thing I’ve noticed in the Indie community is a sense of retaliation when it comes to critique in the writing world.  Not every writer, but because the indie community is a free-for-all when it comes to who can publish, you have very large corners filled with immature, unprofessional people who think their writing is god’s gift, without any way to back that up.

So when their books are critiqued and they don’t like what you’re saying, they tend to retaliate.  I’ve seen it happen before, all over.  I’ve seen writers go on a cussing spree, insulting their readers, and from time to time I’ve seen retaliation on other author’s books in the form of reviews simply because they didn’t agree with what the author said about their own work.

Bearing that in mind, a lot of authors are wary about giving out beta-critique or reviews.  I, myself, often wish I’d used a pen name simply because if I have to give out a bad review, I don’t want to to come back on my own books.

Authors are a great wealth of knowledge about writing, so you’d think they’d be the best and most obvious choice for a beta-reading team.  And if they could do so without fear, they would be.  There’s nothing better than getting a critique from a seasoned professional.  But because of the behavior of some authors, a lot are now cautious about how much they give you.  And since these authors aren’t really invested in whether or not your book does well, they may not give it a second thought.

There are, again, exceptions to this rule.  Like myself, as beta reading for me is a job, and while I won’t be rude, I won’t sugar coat it.  However I’ve noticed in this line of work, in this category, the exceptions are a relatively small one.

5. Always compare notes, and don’t be afraid to drop someone who doesn’t provide what you need.

I always suggest a team of readers, because not every reader is going to pick up on every thing.  You want to compare notes.  Generally majority rules, though if you get the odd comment that none of the others looked in to, don’t be afraid to ask your other readers’ opinions on that particular critique.

I’ve done that multiple times.

For my first couple of books I had one beta reader who kept coming up with things I didn’t agree with.  When I’d bring the question to my other readers and my editor, they’d all disagree with the comment.  And I felt much better about disregarding it after a consensus.

After the third book, I decided to drop that particular reader, and I felt better about it, because that person was not providing the services I had asked them to.

Remember this is about YOU and YOUR books.  Don’t be afraid to tell someone it’s not working out.  There’s no sense in having them provide opinions over and over you’re going to just disregard.  Especially if you’re writing a series.  You want people who are paying attention to the things in your book that need the most attention, and if they can’t comply with that, you need to move on.

6. If you’re not paying a beta reader, remember this is mostly a favor.

I’ve seen authors offer their books up in exchange for services, and I have to say this is not acceptable.  It’s not an acceptable form of payment for any services.  Sometimes, not all the time but sometimes, I’ll offer copies of my book up as a courtesy to the people who have provided services to me.  But it is by no means payment.

My books are about 50/50 in regards to paid for and free services.  My team of beta readers are not paid.  They are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.  Some of them are fans, some are people I met and after five books became friends with.

I do typically have a deadline because I do my beta-reading before my book goes to my editor, but if my beta readers don’t meet that deadline, I don’t complain.  After-all, they’re doing this in their own time without compensation.

I do everything I can to give my beta-team a reasonable amount of time to get the books read and notes emailed, and if the deadline passes, the deadline passes.  They still have my undying thanks and (hopefully!) know that if they want to quit out at any time, they’re more than welcome to do so.

Indies rely heavily on the favor of others simply because often we can’t afford the freelance services out there.  We need to remember that and treat our team with respect.

So yes, betas can be helpful and sometimes very necessary to the writing process.  Nothing is perfect in the publishing world, nothing works for every single person, but as long as we share our experiences, we can make it a better job for all of us.

Freebies– Are They Worth It?

So today I logged into my wordpress account to find a little trophy icon and I thought, Wow, a trophy?  For me?  Whatever did I do to deserve a trophy?  Turns out it was an anniversary trophy icon.  Three years ago today I signed up for wordpress.  I briefly used this account, under a very different url, to vent and blog about real life things.  It didn’t work out very well, and honestly I have a pretty active personal blog as it is, so when the opportunity arose to turn it into an author blog, I jumped at it.  I might not have tens of thousands of hits and followers, but I like my awesome group of writer friends, and I feel somewhat accomplished if I can help even one author with some sort of resource or advice on their journey as a published writer.

I generally warn people to take my advice with a grain of salt.  Not because it’s bad advice, or because I’m a moron (I’m not, I’m awesome, okay? lol) but because I’m new at this, too.  And frankly I live by the code of what works for me, might not work for you, and vice versa.  Some things I’ve had the most trouble with, other people have had grand success, and I say try all avenues before you decide for yourself.

But I try and keep my advice fairly general, and there are some industry standards authors really should follow.  Like not responding to bad reviews (it only makes you look bad), having your book edited (because you can’t give your book the level of attention an editor can), making sure you advertise (because your readers won’t come to you), and being patient (because rushing a book out takes away from its quality).

See, general advice we can all follow.

Today, though, I think I want to talk about something I’ve seen mixed reviews on, because I have my own opinion, but I do see both sides of the argument, and I think it’s a good topic to bring up.

Should authors give out their books for free?

It’s a tetchy subject, it really is, because when you give away your hard work for free, there’s no guarantee it’ll reap any rewards.  There are necessary instances when authors do need to give their books away for free, though, and it generally pans out.  Book blog reviewers, for example.  Especially if you an get an in at one of the more high-quality review blog sites with a large reputation, giving your book to them for free is a huge plus.  If you’re asking for a review, you have to give something in return.  Tit for tat, and I don’t really know any authors who are against it.

But more what I’m talking about here is giving your work out for free through your sales avenues.  Nook, Smashwords, Amazon, etc.  Most of those websites offer limited (or even unlimited) freebies.  I know Smashwords lets you upload and offer a full length novel for free indefinitely.  Some authors find great success when they offer the first book in their series for free, and the subsequent sales for the rest of the series more than make up for the one free novel.

I tried it for a little while and didn’t find the results in my favor.  I had thousands of downloads of The Awakening and only four or five of book two.  Zero of book three.

Needless to say, I ended that experiment and went back to what I’ve found works best for me.  Amazon KDP. 

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the KDP program and the five free days option, so I won’t go into detail, but I will say every time I’ve used a freebie option, I’ve seen fairly decent results in sales for the rest of my books.  One month in particular I used a few paid advertisements for my freebie days and ended up with three thousand downloads and over a hundred sales for my other books in the span of five days.  In fact, when the freebie days had ended, I saw trickling sales of The Awakening continue for the next two weeks.  I haven’t had success in repeating that, but it was well worth the twenty-five bucks I spent in advertising money.

When I looked into other author’s opinions of freebie days, I saw a lot of mixed results.  Some authors really love the option, and others are firmly against it.  I’ve seen arguments similar to mine, and I’ve seen arguments against it saying no author should ever give their work out for free.

I am curious about your thoughts on this, writer friends.  Do you use it?  Does it work for you?

I understand that giving out your hard work for free feels a little empty.  People are greedy as a whole, they like free things, and most of them don’t even care what it is.  I’ve seen the kindle hoarders out there who had thousands upon thousands of book downloads for no other reason than the book was free.  You’re not getting any benefit from those people who have no intention of reading your work. 

But the truth is, especially for indie authors, you have to work twice as hard to build a reputation.  With the amazon policies, anyone can publish.  Without credentials, education, experience, etc.  You run the risk of being reported if you upload a book chock full of editing and grammar errors and poor formatting, but it doesn’t change the fact that anyone can publish a book.  Anyone.

And while traditional publishers do publish crappy books, they still have a reputation backing their choices.  And people as a whole will trust the reputation of a publisher over an indie.  It’s a harsh truth, and in my experience, the only people who trust indie books over traditionally published books, are indie writers themselves.

I’ve come to view offering my book for free as a way to bring readers in.  As a way to get my work in the hands of readers so I can show them my work is good.  It’s a way for me to build a reputation without asking people to take too much (or any) financial risk on an unknown author living in the middle of the desert. 

It doesn’t feel great to give something away for free, but I don’t mind it so much when I know it’s got the potential to make a permanent reader out of them.

Now, I used to be a lot more open with giving things away than I am now.  At one point I was giving away hard copies of my books to readers, but I realized with the invention of ebooks, that’s just too much wasted money to spend.  Would I consider it for a review blog with a huge reputation to make an author’s career?  Absolutely.  But that’s where I draw the line.  Generally indie authors have to pay out of pocket for hard copies of their books, so the very idea of then giving them out for no other reason than to give them out, doesn’t make sense.

Asking for an author, especially an indie author, to print out and ship you free books is… I hate to say rude, but it is, and while an indie author should address the situation politely, it’s one of the few instances I’d understand if a few swearwords were used.

It’s important to understand what you’re asking for when you do that.  You’re asking for the author’s time, hard work, and for them to spend what little money they earn on YOU.  And for what?  An ebook is one thing, but hard copy, my answer is no.

I think in conclusion, it’s really up to how the author feels about giving things away.  It’s up to them to determine whether or not it’s worth the risk.  But I feel like it’s an important topic to bring up because there are a lot of n00b authors out there getting mixed opinions and asking them to go with what feels right, or what works, doesn’t really apply.  My opinions on so much of the writing world has changed drastically in the year and a half I’ve been writing, and sometimes I wish I’d done a little more research before making certain choices.  However, there’s no better way to learn than the hard way, imo.

So there you have it, an anniversary post, folks.  I want to say thanks to all my readers, those who’ve read my series, and those who just like my blog.  You all have made this journey more worth it, so you are the ones who deserve the trophy.

Yay, trophy!

Now I’m going to go crawl back into my writing hole and get this final book in my series finished.  It’s about damn time

A Very Hades Christmas

A Very Hades Christmas

Short Story

Copyrighted © 2013 by Angella Graff

This is a work of fiction.  Names, places, and characters portrayed are used fictitiously, or are the product of the author’s imagination.  Any similarities to actual persons living or deceased, business establishments, locales or events are purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be printed, scanned or distributed in print or electronic form without permission of the author or amazon.com.

It almost never rained on Christmas in San Francisco.  In fact, it was usually sunny, high around the sixties, and aside from the fog, pretty decent weather.  It was a California winter, they called it.  But for the last two years, it had rained.  Not just that typical San Fran foggy mist, either, but the heavens opening up and pouring down on the land.

Ben wasn’t surprised by it, either.  Not last year and not this year.  Maybe the universe was morning with him.  He didn’t bother grabbing his umbrella off the seat as he grabbed the potted daisies which had been a bitch to find this time of year.  He pulled the collar of his thigh-length trench up around his shoulders, ignoring the torrential downpour, and his rain boots made sloshing sounds as he waded through the mucky grass toward the marble headstone.

Every time he saw her name there, he winced.  Every time his eyes grazed over the date that should have been a damn lot longer than it was, his throat tightened and he wondered just what he’d done to piss off whoever was out there setting all this up.  He was already soaked, so sinking into the wet grass, his jeans turning nearly black with the water, didn’t bother him much.  The ground was saturated enough to make digging with his fingers easy enough.

The damn flowers just never lived long enough.  Like the ground was cursed, along with their lives.  But like clockwork, he’d replace them.  Every three months, a fresh pot of daisies to commemorate the loss of a life that had been taken too damn young.

He glanced over at the other name, the baby sister who’d been ripped away from them, and he shook his head.  Maybe they were together, though with what he knew now, he couldn’t be sure.  He smiled a little and shook his head.

“Hey Abbs, Merry Christmas… I guess.  It’s Christmas Even anyway, and you know what that means.  Drinking myself to sleep, hopefully before mom drunk dials me and tries to guilt me into coming over so she can borrow more money.  I um…” his throat tense and he cleared his throat.  “As you probably know it’s been two years, three months and fourteen days since you uh… bit the dust, so to speak.  I uh… I’ve stopped waking up every morning thinking you’re still here.  Some morning still but uh… but not all of them.”

He ran his hand back through his soaked hair and sighed.  “Nothing new to report on the god front, though you probably know more than I do considering.  So… that’s about it.  You should be here but you’re not, and frankly I have no reason to celebrate.  Night kiddo, and um… Happy Holidays.”  His voice cracked right at the end, but with no one else around it was easy to pretend it hadn’t.

He picked himself up off the ground, brushed the clumps of mud from his sleeves and jeans, and headed back to the car.  He paused for a moment, fishing his keys out of his pocket when he thought he felt something.  It wasn’t electrical, not like the gods, but a shiver.  Something… watching.  But no, they damn well knew better than to bother him, especially now.  Especially after everything.

He climbed into the driver’s seat, turned the heat on full blast and tore down the street.  His favorite bar was waiting, and he had a tall whiskey on the rocks with his name on it.

~*~

Of course Ron was on duty, and he wasn’t entirely surprised to see Ben stroll through the door covered in mud, sopping wet from head to toe.  Ron, who had no family, generally worked the holidays, kept the place running for guys like Ben who needed to forget what day it was.  Thanksgiving had been pretty much the same.

Ben didn’t even have to order the drink either, tipping Ron a silent thanks with his glass before draining half in one go.  The slow burn did a little to ease the chill and make him forget about the uncomfortable feeling of dirt under his nails.  A shower sounded heavenly, but Ben could not face the quiet, empty apartment after.  Not sober, anyway.

Three glasses in, and Ben started to forget a little.  The pressing sadness was always there, worse during the holidays, nearly suffocating around her birthday, and the day she died, but the whiskey made it more… dull, he guessed, though that wasn’t really the right word for it.

He was five glasses in when a hand fell on his shoulder, and he was just drunk enough to smile and laugh instead of draw his gun and shoot.  Despite the pouring rain, Hades was completely dry, flawless as usual, grinning like the Devil, and ordered a whiskey sour, extra cherries.

Just then the jukebox fired up some Elton John and the dark haired god smiled.  “B-b-b-benny and the Jetsss,” he sung.

“That’s original,” Ben drawled in response.

Hades gave a happy hum and leaned back on the stool.  “Merry Christmas, Buh buh buh Benny.”

“Mmm,” Ben said through a mouth of his liquor.  “Same to you.  Though you celebrating the birth of Christ is a little weird.”

Hades through his head back and laughed.  “Ah it would be a little awkward, wouldn’t it?  But doesn’t legend tell Lucifer was the beloved son of God before our dear Yeshua was ever even a blip in the universe?  So if we’re going by legend, why wouldn’t I want to celebrate the birth of my brother?”

“Are we really going to go there right now?”

“Ah no, no that’s not why I came.”

“To what do I owe this happy little visit?” Ben asked, and nodded at Ron’s signal for another.  “World ending?  Another psycho god taking over someone?  The president, maybe?  The Royal Family?”

“I just thought you could do with some holiday cheer, Benny-boy,” Hades said, and clapped Ben on the shoulder.  “You seem to have lost that Christmas spark.”

Ben’s eyebrow quirked.  “So what, you’re going all Ghost of Christmas Past on me?  Is that what this is?”  He swayed a little, that last whiskey hitting him harder than he expected, and he grabbed the bar to steady himself.

“Woah there, cowboy.  And to that question, no.  I’m not here to go Dickens on you.  I just…” he hesitated a minute, letting out a little sigh, his flawless face going completely still.  “I have a gift for you.”

“Noooo thank you,” Ben drawled.  “I don’t do gifts.  Besides, I didn’t even get you anything.”

“Oh but you have,” Hades said, and put his arm on Ben’s.  The detective found himself surprised that he was rising, almost against his will.  Hades was throwing money on the counter as Ben tried to steady himself and clear his blurry, double vision, but it was no use.  He was really damn drunk.

“Come on, I’ll drive.”

Maybe it was the winning smile, or that impossible to resist southern drawl.  Maybe it was curiosity, or even just a little bit of hope that Hades might just have come to finally end this torment for Ben.  Whatever it was, the detective followed, and didn’t look back.

~*~

Ben didn’t realize he’d blacked out until Hades was shaking him awake.  Sitting up with a gasp, Ben grabbed the side of his head and pushed down the familiar wave of nausea that came from over indulging.  He squinted at the car dash and saw it read three-oh-seven, and by the dark skies, he had to imagine it was in the morning.

“What the… where am I?”  His voice sounded too loud, and he winced, pressing two fingers to his temple.

“We’re at my place.  You remember leaving the bar?”  Hades’s voice was full of mirth as he climbed out of the car, Ben following suit.

“Vaguely.”  Ben bent over at the waist, grabbing knees, but after a moment of not being sick all over the side walk, he righted himself and took a few hesitant steps forward.

They were at Hades’s old, dilapidated home down south.  The large Victorian which stood the test of time—sort of—and it looked like the lawn at least had received some grooming.  The ivy and shrubs had been cut back a little, and one of the front windows that had been smashed before was fixed.

Hades fished his key out of his jacket pocket and beckoned Ben along the flagstones to the front door.  He turned the key in the lock and the first thing Ben noticed was the smell of cinnamon.  It was almost overwhelming, akin to those horrible “cinnamon brooms” they sold in the grocery stores in the fall.

Hades laughed, having read Ben’s mind, and pointed to a cluster of hanging pinecones.  “I couldn’t resist.  I wanted to be festive.”

Ben grimaced and looked around as Hades shrugged off his jacket.  The place was still in the same state of disrepair, floors rotting, stairs unstable, but it was cleaner.  Dust was gone, furniture arranged.  Not a place Ben would consider livable, but it was progress.

“You fixing up the place for any reason?”

“Well not being tied to that psychotic bitch gave me some free time,” Hades said with a shrug.  He beckoned Ben up the stairs, and holding on to the creaky banister, they made their way to the landing.

Though he’d only been there once, Ben remembered the place like it was yesterday, the information pouring into his head as Hades shattered his bubble.  The revelation that Stella was a traitor, she was a liar, a goddess with an agenda, had almost destroyed Ben’s will to move forward with the plan.  But he wasn’t weak, and he’d done it.  He’d let her sacrifice herself because it was the least she could do, especially when Ben had to walk away from it all with Abby dead.

They went into Hades’s bedroom which, to Ben’s surprise, had been turned into a sitting room with a large sofa, a makeshift bar, and an impossibly large television mounted to the wall.  There was also a Christmas tree lit up with green and blue lights, silver garland, and a white, LED star perched on the top.

“I thought about putting an angel up there,” Hades mused as Ben took it in, “but it seemed wrong.”

Ben hummed his agreement and sat on the couch with a sigh.  “So seriously, why am I here?  If you’re worried about me like offing myself, that’s not going to happen.  Christmas sucks for me but … I get drunk, I pass out, I regret it the next day, and then I move on.  I’m pretty familiar with my cycle.”

“We’re all pretty familiar with your cycle,” Hades said, rolling his eyes a little.  He went behind his little bar and got out a bottle of water, tossing it to the detective.  “This isn’t really about that.  Besides, I don’t think you could kill yourself if you tried.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed, almost taking that as a challenge, but he let it go.  “So what?  You wanted to have a chat, then?  Bro’s night?”

Hades laughed and shook his head.  “Like I said before, Ben, I wanted to give you a gift.  You saved me from Persephone, something I didn’t think any creature in this universe had the power to do, and I feel like I owe you.  That,” he said and sat down, crossing one ankle over his other knee, “is a problem.  I don’t like feeling I’m in debt to others.”

Ben put up his hands in surrender.  “Look, I didn’t do it for you.  I mean yeah, we made a deal or whatever, but a Deal with the Devil doesn’t exactly put me in your debt.  Besides, the bitch had it coming for everything she did.  I would have done everything the same with or without you.”

Hades licked his lips and nodded.  Eventually he smiled and said, “You know, I’ve always liked you, Benny.  Even before we met, I liked you.  I like having you around and maybe it’s not just because I feel like I owe you this that I want to give you my gift.”

Ben, who’d had enough of Hades’s cryptic words, sighed and leaned forward.  “Okay fine.  You have a gift.  Let’s have it.”

Hades nodded and rose, walking toward the lit tree.  “No one should ever have to feel the pain of losing someone they care about.  Because of my nature, because of who I am, what I am, I feel that pain.  I can feel that loss with every dying human being on the planet.  It never stops.  They’re everywhere the souls flickering out and moving on to whatever’s next.  Abby’s was the worst.  She was like a nuclear explosion in the afterlife, and your grief actually put me under for a while.  It was suffocating, and I had a hard time staying away from you in the end.”

Ben’s face went hot, then cold, and prickly with panic.  What was Hades saying right then?  Why was he bringing up Abby?

“I don’t often have the power to do this, but I’ve been stronger lately and it took some searching.  Normally after this long it’s almost impossible but I think… I think she was waiting for you.”

“Hades, what the hell are you—” but Ben’s words failed when the space directly in front of the tree shimmered and Abby appeared.  In all her glory, standing tall, slightly pale, hair down her back and smiling, she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, ‘Here I am.’

Ben’s throat tightened and he looked over at Hades.  “What?” was all he could manage.

“I realize this might come as a cruel shock, but no one should ever have to lose someone without saying good bye.”

Ben rose involuntarily, crossing the short distance between the couch and the tree.  His hand rose as if to touch her, but he was afraid.  He wasn’t sure how he’d take it if she was just an image, not really there.

Abby laughed, however, and grabbed his hand, yanking him in for a firm embrace.  “You idiot,” she whispered.

He was crying.  Not ugly sobbing, unable to control himself.  Tears were just rolling and for a moment he thought he was going crazy.  Maybe it was a hallucination, or maybe he’d finally cracked.  When Abby pulled away, he swiped at his face and shook his head.

“Why are you still here?”

“To tell you that they’re right,” Abby said, and when Ben made a face, she put her cold hand on his arm.  “I know.  I know you hate it and I don’t even have all the answers, but for the love of God Ben, just listen to them.  Okay?  You’re special.  I was special.  And being special doesn’t always mean walking away unscathed.  Hades was searching for me and I took the opportunity to come back to tell you that… that I’m sorry.  I’m sorry how it ended, and that I couldn’t stop her, but it’s okay.  I’m okay.  And you’re going to win, if you’re careful.  And it’s all going to be okay.”

Before Ben could reply, Abby made a face and for a second, she blinked out of existence.  Ben gasped and Hades shook his head.  “I’m sorry, I can only hold her for another minute.”

Ben licked his lips.  “Okay.  Okay.  I get it.”

“I sincerely hope you do, Ben.  Because a lot is riding on this.  I love you, and I just wanted to say… to say Merry Christmas.  And thanks for the daisies.”

She was gone.

Before Ben could respond, to tell her he loved her, or to thank her, or to just say Merry Christmas, she was gone.  He stumbled back, but before he hit the ground, Hades caught him and eased him onto the sofa.  Ben’s head was spinning and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.  It had been Abby.  Right?  I mean, it hadn’t been some sort of god magic trying to mess with his head.  It had been her.  He touched her, smelled her, it was her.

But he felt sleepy all of a sudden, and unable to keep his eyes open.  He could feel Hades nearby, and for the first time in a long time, he felt safe and content.

~*~

“We can’t let him keep that.”

Hades’s gaze dropped to the ground and he nodded.  “I know.  I just… he needed it.  He really did.”

Alex’s hand squeezed his shoulders and he sighed.  “You bring him back to his apartment and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Can’t you leave something for him?  Anything at all?”

Alex shrugged and looked over at Ben who was under his influence, unconscious until he removed the magic.  “I’ll try.”

“He deserves something.  A little closure.  Without it, we might actually lose him and you know what comes after that.”

“Yes,” Alex said darkly, “I do.”

~*~

Ben woke with the sun on his face and he groaned, rolling over on his bed.  He didn’t remember leaving the blinds in his bedroom up.  Come to think of it, he didn’t remember getting to his bedroom at all.

Pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes, Ben struggled to remember what happened that night.  He remembered the rain, and the graveyard, planting Abby’s daisies and heading to the bar but… there was something else.  Something he was missing.

He didn’t feel hung over either, but the night was blacked out.

Rolling onto his side, Ben headed to the bathroom, showered, and then padded to the kitchen for coffee.  He started some bacon frying, tapping his foot to a song.  “B-b-b-benny and the Jetssss,” he sung as he cracked eggs.  He couldn’t even begin to know why that song was in his head.

He was halfway through cooking when he realized he was smiling, and there was a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.  It was Christmas, and sunny, and for the first time in two years, Ben felt… okay.  He felt like whatever was coming, whatever was on the horizon, he was going to be okay.

For the first time in two years, it felt like an actual Merry Christmas.

My Cover Art Experience

So I’m copy pasting this from my Indie Reviews website instead of reblogging because I want to recount the entire experience for people who might not be following both blogs.  I’ve had one of the best experiences as a published author with this cover designer than I have with almost anyone in the writing field.  I hope you enjoy the post and I really hope it benefits my author friends as much as it’s benefited me.

~*~

Now, one of the most important pieces to a book is the book cover.  And for indie authors, that can be one of the toughest pieces of the puzzle to find.  Your cover can make or break your book.  Your cover is the first thing people see.  It doesn’t matter if your book is a work of genius, if your cover is terrible, you’ve already shot yourself in the foot.

If you’re an indie author just getting started, one of the biggest obstacles is actually knowing where to go.  How do you find a decent cover artist?  What are the qualifications you should be looking for?  What constitutes a good cover?

These are all questions I had when I first got started, and I had no way of knowing how to answer them.  Yes, there was google.  There were forums, and people offering book cover services, but the truth is, I had very little idea how to tell a good cover from a bad one.

When I first started out I had this idea in my head.  I thought, I’m going to make my covers unique.  I’m going to find someone who does hand-drawn art and my books will stand out.  Which… they did.  But not the way I wanted them to.

There’s nothing like the sting of seeing your book, which had previously been receiving rave reviews, featured on a site like lousybookcovers.com with all the others.  And believe me, I’ve looked at those covers.  I scrolled through trying to see why my book cover belonged there with those terrible photo-shop, microsoft paint, copy and paste messes.  It took me a while to figure it out, too.

I complained to my friends, thought, but the art on my cover is good!  It’s cute, it’s whimsical, it fits.  And yes, that’s true.  The Alexandra Fry, Private Eye original art was good.  It was geared toward children and it represented the characters beautifully.  

What it wasn’t was a professional cover.  That was the moment for me, the eye-opener that I was going about this book cover thing all wrong.  You see, the book cover isn’t just about the art, and if you read that post closely you’ll see, that’s not the complaint.  The art is good, everything else about the cover is bad.

It was low res, uncentered, unreadable text, and no way to change that because it was, in fact, hand-drawn art.  There was no way to adjust the background, to sharpen or darken the text.  There was no way to make the image sharper or more centered because that’s the way it was drawn.

I realized in that moment that book covers are an entire package.  They’re not just the images, but the way they’re laid out.  I realized I was in no position to make those decisions either, because I am not an artist.  I am a writer.  Yes, I visualize, but I had no training, no idea how to put together a cover which looked like it belonged on a book store shelf.

So I went on a hunt.  I had three other books besides my children’s book that needed new covers, and one on its way to being published.  I was in a bind, and I was ready to spend the money, to make my books stand out in a good way.  My work was professionally written, professionally edited, professionally formatted, and marketed, so shouldn’t my covers be the same?

I was at a loss though.  I went through so many cover art websites and the ones I found that I could afford were terrible.  The ones I found that were beautiful were hundreds of dollars more than I could afford for one book, let alone 5.

And then I saw a fellow author’s brand new cover and I instantly knew that I had to use that artist.  The book cover was perfect.  Had I not already known what the book was about, I would have wanted to pick it up and devour it because I was captured by the image alone.

I sent him a message and had him pass my info along.  Within a day I’d heard from the person I immediately hired to be my new cover artist: Michael Messina.  From the word go, he was professional, upfront, and reasonable.

At this point I knew one thing to be true and absolute and that is this: Good covers aren’t cheap, and cheap covers aren’t good.

Well there had to be some sort of happy medium, otherwise Indie authors would always be at the bottom of the barrel.  Most of us don’t have five to six hundred bucks to drop on a single cover, no matter how good it is, so I held my breath and waited.

And the prices were perfect.  Not cheap, but they shouldn’t be cheap.  But they are affordable and that was the final piece to my puzzle.  And so the process began.

Now, with the person who did my art before, I merely explained what I wanted, and however long later, the image would arrive in my inbox and it would be up to me to figure out how exactly to form it into a cover which would fit the createspace guidelines. 

This time there was a professional process.

It began with the questionnaire.  A list of queries about the book, a long synopsis, the characters, the tone and theme of the book.  Questions spanning over the plot, images highlighted in the text that I might want represented on the cover, and a tagline.

Then, after a few days, I got an email with a whole host of images and cover options to choose from. 

The process began with Alexandra Fry, Private Eye book one.  I was desperate for a re-cover because in a few short weeks, I’m scheduled to be the featured author at my daughters’ school Author Night.  I’ll be reading a chapter of my book and then selling and autographing copies, and the one thing I didn’t want to do is show up with a cover worthy of lousybookcovers.com. 

Michael immediately accommodated me, and the process began.

It began with these images.

In their own way, they were all great.  The first two were so vintage looking, like a 1920′s sleuth novel, and the third one wanted to make me write a Private Eye Murder Mystery starring a sassy female lead who smoked cigarettes out of long cigarette holders and said the word Moxie.

But it was the fourth cover that got me.  The fourth cover which made me think yes, that is Alexandra Fry.  The locket, the center point to the entire novel, was displayed on the front, and the text font was so eye-catching.

I immediately pulled a couple of my beta-readers and my editor aside and sent them the image, and they all agreed with me.  But something wasn’t quite right.

It was the red.  It was just too dark to represent a book about a twelve-year-old girl solving a missing locket mystery, and Michael seemed to agree.  He lightened it, sent me several color schemes and the moment I laid my eyes on the purple, that was it.

The shading, the color, the placement, the text… it was all perfect.  It was a cover I could see sitting on a shelf in a bookstore.  After giving the go-ahead, I was then sent a folder with the book cover, the kindle cover, and a 3D preview so I could share it around on my blog, facebook, or wherever.  For the first time, uploading to createspace was a breeze compared to what I went through before.  Within 3 weeks, I had the paperback in my hand.

I was instantly ready to begin the process on my Judas Curse series.

Now, this series is near and dear to my heart.  I’ve been playing with this world for a decade now, since I was in college and really contemplating becoming an author.  I poured my heart and soul, everything about me into these books, and knowing their covers were flawed ate at me every day.

I was bouncing in anticipation to see what Michael could come up with, and what I received in my inbox threw me into a spin.  The decision was almost too difficult to make.

They all represented my book perfectly.  They were all amazing.  What I really needed to decide was– what theme did I want to carry along the entire series. 

In the end, option three won.  It was perfect.  I could look at the images, the cover, and see the plot play out in my head.  But I wanted a little more.  I wanted my favorite character highlighted… in a subtle way, a way only my readers would really understand.  So I emailed Michael and told him what I wanted.  Just a little change.

I wanted a shadow of wings from the silhouette.

He understood exactly what I meant, and the final cover was perfect.

I looked at it and realized, I wouldn’t change a thing.  In my head I could see the rest of the series sitting side-by-side with this one, and I knew I’d made the right choice.

Now we’re working on book one, which should be out and ready for a cover-reveal soon.  Book two and three to follow and by May, the fifth and final book in this series.  For the first time since I started publishing, I feel like I can breathe.  I feel like I’ve done my books justice 100%.

It’s difficult to find those services as an indie author.  It’s difficult to part with money, to take risks on people you’re not sure if you can trust, which is why I do these posts.  It’s why I’m always on the look out for things like this, because they matter.  They’re important. 

So now that you’ve heard from me, you’ve seen my experience first hand, let’s hear from the cover artist himself.  Michael Messina was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions.  I wanted to give a little insight into the mind of the artist himself, because it’s not just the author’s experience we should understand, but also the process of the cover designer.

So without further ado– The Interview with Cover Artist Michael Messina

How did you get started in book cover design?

First, I love to read. Pretty much any subject interests me, whether it’s science fiction or an autobiography. But I also love books as physical objects. It’s amazing that an imaginative story or how someone’s philosophy could change your life and  be packaged in such a small little object. Last, I love graphic design and art so I’ve always been interested in how books looked. Brilliant illustrations and clever graphics always catch my eye.

When did you discover you had a passion for art/graphic art?

I was pretty much obsessed with drawing when I was younger. I lost it though when I started to focus on other things, like sports. It wasn’t until I received my first edition of Photoshop that I started to get back into it again.

How long have you been designing book covers and graphics?

I’ve been designing graphics for about six years now but book covers just recently. I work in the exhibits department of a museum and design many things throughout the building, including the visual identities of exhibits. When I realized how similar that process is to book covers, it’s something I thought about doing.

Tell us about your process? How do you get started? Are you inspired by the synopsis, or do you rely more on what the author wants?

There’s actually a quite a few steps to my process. First I consult with author about the audience  for whom their title is for. The design differs based off that, depending on if it’s for a specific niche market or a general audience. After that we look at different types of covers that are usually done for that audience and agree on a style. I trust the author to have a good idea about their audience so I’m usually still a listener at this point. Then I send a creative brief to the author which asks technical questions like the copy that goes on the cover and a synopsis of the book. This helps me a lot. I get a much better sense of the book’s mood when I read it entirely, but since there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do that with all of the covers I design, I rely on a synopsis. The longer it is, the better. Sometimes the author requests a certain type of image or element and I really try to incorporate that into the next steps.

After the synopsis, I begin writing down words associated with the story which is the beginning of the research portion for me. Then I start to look for images that go with those words. As I browse through images, ideas start to form on what could possibly work. So I start creating “comps” or “comparables”, which are rough designs for the author to choose from. I try to give the author three comps, but sometimes I include up to five. Once the author chooses a comp, I then purchase the image and begin working on it in more detail.

After the cover is finished, I’ll have as many revisions as it takes and given final approval by the author, I’ll move on to the ancillary graphics that need to be done, like the 3D cover and Facebook banner.

I don’t think other self-publish cover designers go through this detailed of a process and they might think it’s excessive. But one of the advantages to self-publishing is that the authors don’t have to give up their title’s rights to a publisher; they are be the driver behind all of the decisions of their work. For me, this process ensures that the author is 100% satisfied with the work.

Are there any genres you prefer? What about genres you prefer not to work with?

I don’t really prefer any. I like working with all genres because each has it’s own style and challenges.

How long does it usually take you to get a cover complete?

It depends. I would say, on average, 8-10 hours total. That includes image research, designing comps, and the cleaning up the final drafts.

Do you have any tips for authors who decide to design their own ebook covers?

I think a nice, big, legible title is important because your potential readers will most likely initially see it at thumbnail scale. Choose one image to keep it simple and don’t make it too literal. Those are pretty basic rules that many of the Big Six publishers use. Print design is a little different, and more flexible in terms of how the title is presented.

Many authors think they can skimp on their covers and have it done at Fivver or do it themselves. and that’s probably not the best idea. I’m not against authors designing their own covers as I think it’s part of the DIY aesthetic and should be embraced. I’ve come across authors who love to design their own and enjoy it as much as writing. But if an author does their own, and they don’t have graphic design experience, they really need to get genuine feedback about it. I’ve seen examples get reviewed on /r/selfpublish with positive results.

Hiring a cover from Fivver will look exactly how a $5 cover will look. One thing that scares me about Fivver is the images that those vendors use…who knows where they come from. It would really suck if a vendor used an image that was copyrighted or not paid for and the author ends up getting the blame for it.

I use stock images, mostly from Shutterstock because they have great prices, which is how I can keep my fee down.

But designing covers takes a lot of work and time—and those are things authors like to use to focus on their writing!

Tell us a little about yourself? Your background, hobbies, anything we’d like to know.

I enjoy homebrewing beer and running. I listen to music for all of those hobbies and when I design, so I’m into that too.

Is there an all-time favorite book you have?

There are tons…but I would have to say, recently, A Storm of Swords from A Song of Ice and Fire series. Absolutely incredible; it’s the reason why I read.

If people want to contact you, what is the best way to get in touch?

The best way for people to contact me is just to send me an email at michaelmessina86 [at] gmail.com. I do have a portfolio, www.mwmessina.com, which has a contact form as well. With my services, you get a everything you need for Createspace, a small cover version, a 3D cover and a Facebook banner for marketing purposes. I mainly work with stock images because that’s what keeps prices down. If the author would like a custom illustration, we can certainly go that route, but the costs would be higher because there are simply more hours that would need to be put in it.

And finally, how does it feel to know your art and designs are sitting in book stores today?

It definitely feels satisfying. I also I really enjoy making authors proud of their work—so what really makes me happy is when they get comments on their cover.

~*~

So there you have it.  I will just say from a personal standpoint, if I haven’t made it clear enough, this is an experience I wanted to share because it was one that reminded me why being an indie can be something great.  You don’t have to skimp on quality just because you don’t have the same resources offered to you by Traditional Publishers. 

There are resources out there, affordable services and freelancers that are fueling the independent author industry, and as long as we maintain patience and standards, there’s nothing standing in our way of success.

 

 

5 Tips for Indie Social Media Etiquette

So I’ve been out of the social media loop for a little while as I tried to figure out where I wanted to go in regards to my writing career.  But when I came back to the fold, to my nearly 2,000 facebook friends and Twitter Followers, I noticed that a few things had not changed.  Mainly, people not following basic etiquette regarding social media.  I realize there’s no real defined rules when it comes to the internet.  Our little computer monitors give us a sense of anonymity and with that feeling of being faceless and nameless, we tend to throw certain social things out the window.  Empathy, sympathy, regard or even recognition that the things on the other end of our Facebook “posts” are actual people.

I mean, it’s almost become a joke, the way that a lot of Authors behave on facebook, and I’ve noticed this behavior has been labeled “Indie” behavior, which is something that really needs to change.  The change, however, needs to start with the Indies, because I see it in the community all too often.

Now, when I got started as a writer, I chose self-publication as my beginning.  I didn’t query agents or publishing houses based on the short research I did, and weighing pros vs cons.  What I did take into consideration was marketing, and how much Indie Authors rely on social media to market their work.  Taking to Twitter, I rapidly gained followers like the plague of Locusts in Ancient Egypt, which at first I thought was a good thing… until…

And I’m sure you all know what that “until” means.  Anyone trying to market on Twitter understands.

It’s worse on facebook, too.  I can’t log in without an immediate instant message saying either, “Hi cutie!  I think you’re hot, wanna chat?” (never mind my profile picture is a loving, snuggly picture of me and my hubby) or it’s, “Thanks for accepting my friend request.  Let me give you these fifty links to all my book pages, blogs, and facebook pages to check out.”

So here are the 5 things I’ve learned about social media etiquette which I think all authors need to follow.

1. Someone else’s facebook wall is not your personal billboard. 

I don’t use my facebook author account much.  I post more on my facebook fanpage, and my personal page which is friend-locked is the only one that goes to my phone.  But having an author profile does have its benefits.  And despite me not being on there often, nothing gets under my skin worse than when an author posts some link on my personal profile.

I understand that posting a link in a status update often gets lost in the sea of friends most authors have.  Facebook is notorious for “losing” posts unless you pay to boost them, so often times, posting a status link is futile.  But it’s disrespectful to spam the personal pages of your friends.  If I see your link on my timeline, and it looks appealing or interesting to me, I’ll click on it.  It’s nothing personal if I don’t either, but I want the choice to keep the link or discard it, and posting it on my wall is rude.

There are other ways to get the attention of other authors.  Which brings me to…

2. Ease up on the messages full of your links .

I’m going to admit it right now.  I have over 700 facebook messages that are unread.  The moment I open my message box and see that a link is in the message, I immediately disregard it.  Maybe I’m just a little more picky than others, and I’m sure there are plenty of authors who are all up for checking out your links, but for the most part, most of us don’t have the time.  And most of us don’t really want to check it out.  I get that Indies rely on each other to get the message about their books out there, but the problem is, most of what people write is a dime a dozen.

It’s going to take more than a facebook message, which I view as something wasting what precious little time I have in my day, to get me interested in your books.

3. Re-Tweeting en masse is pointless and a little bit annoying.

I know most of you are like me, and your author twitter has so many followers, and you’re following them all back, and anything tweeted becomes lost in the sea of 140 character updates within seconds.  And the truth is, the moment I see some book link or blog page retweeted, I scroll right past.

I described twitter as the dark alley of social media… you venture there when you get tired of the same old facebook and goodreads, and you feel really dirty and ashamed afterward.

I stand by that description.  I don’t read tweets that aren’t personal.  The truth is, I like to get to know people.  I’m a writer, so knowing people is kind of my job.  People inspire me, even people I can’t stand, so if all I see is link link link link RT RT RT RT… I don’t bother.  Let people get to know you, otherwise what’s the point.  If you think those RT’s are doing anything to boost your notice, you’re sadly mistaken.

4. Facebook ads do work.

Now this one is more directed to people who complain when facebook ads appear on their timeline.  Facebook is a social media site which allows the option of advertising.  I don’t always use it, because 89% of the time it’s a total money-sink which yields no revenue, however sometimes it’s necessary and helpful.

I also can’t count how many times I’ve gotten angry messages in my facebook page inbox telling people to take them off “my list.”  I’m assuming by “my list” they’re referring to it in a cold calling sense.  Well the truth is, I don’t control the timelines my ads are placed on, and if you don’t want to click my link, that’s okay!  I won’t be offended.  There’s even an option to block my page or ignore all of my posts.  I’ve done that with pages before, and I’m totally fine with you doing it to mine.

But Indies have limited marketing capabilities, so utilizing what facebook offers isn’t a bad thing, and people need to respect that.  No one’s asking you to click on the link, they’re just offering it in case it looks a little interesting.

5.  Quid Pro Quo.  It’s a thing.

So many times in social media I’ve dealt with authors who want you to help them advertise, but aren’t willing to give back.  Here are my book links.  Here’s my website.  Here’s my blog.  Here’s my facebook pages, one for each of the seventy-five books I’ve written!  And then they disappear, poof, in a puff of social media smoke.  If you want people to help you out by spreading your links around, checking out your pages, etc, be willing to give back.

And I don’t mean you allowing people to post on your timeline gives you the right to post on others, either.  That is not my point.

I also don’t mean let someone ride your coattails into success either.  But if you’re going to ask someone to share your links or like your pages, be willing to do the same.  And be reasonable.  Don’t ask someone to like the 14 facebook pages you have.  Limit yourself.  Respect others.  I’ve seen the Indie community slowly start to cannibalize itself.  Indie authors, who will ban together to take down those who criticize the community (which in my opinion is very wrong– the indie community is flawed and instead of attacking others, we need to come up with ways to better ourselves), will also turn on each other.  Make one wrong move and they’ll take you out.  Instead of being willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, to give what you take, you want to take and run.

It’s not how the community should be functioning, and that one needs to change most of all.

~*~

So there, my five tips on social media etiquette for indies.  I don’t always follow my own rules, it’s a learning process and sometimes I forget.  I’m also more quiet than most, though I’ve found that even without hysterically promoting myself and harassing my friends on my page, my book sales are steady and comfortable.  It’s okay to advertise, it’s okay to ask for help, to promote yourself, but do it with respect.  Don’t take advantage of others.  Don’t expect others to do things for you and give nothing in return.  We’re called a community for a reason, so let’s make sure we’re acting like it.