Laura Teagan's Blog, page 24
November 22, 2016
Black Friday Sale
Black Friday and the weekend will feature some new sales!
On Black Friday, you’ll be able to download The Assassin for free and Double Played will be $2.99!
Saturday and Sunday, The Assassin will be $0.99 and Double Played will still be $2.99.
Monday, The Assassin will be $1.99 and Double Played will go back to regular price. If you haven’t already, this weekend is the weekend to buy the books!
You can buy The Assassin here and Double Played here!
November 8, 2016
A Book Birthday + Giveaway
A year ago yesterday, my life wasn’t quite the same as it is now. One year ago, on a Sunday night, a nervous 21-year-old uploaded her novel on to Kindle. In order to keep myself from obsessively refreshing the page on the back end of Kindle, I went out with friends to iHop.
And continued to refresh the page on my phone there until Amazon said it was live.
Now, I have a second book out, and I’m in the middle of working on the third one. I don’t remember the exact moment where I realized I wanted to be a published author, but I do remember the moment I realized I wanted to be an indie author.
Now, years later, I’m an indie author, and I’m still going strong. To celebrate my first book birthday, I’m giving away two sets of my books. You’ll get a copy of The Assassin and a copy of Double Played.
In terms of my life in the past year, I feel like everything has changed (and I’ll talk about that more next week), but one thing that hasn’t changed? My love of writing and telling these stories. The thrill I get when I approach a big scene. The 100+ index cards that I use to plot a book out. It’s the details in making the story that brings me back every time, so I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
A few notes on the giveaway: It’s only open to U.S. residents, and it’ll end on Sunday, November 20th.
October 25, 2016
Meet My Main Character
At the beginning of The Assassin, Cassie is a newer FBI agent, following a rogue FBI agent who is suspected of numerous things, like illegal gambling (and yes, that’s a thing the FBI investigates, according to their website).
The main focus of the book is the Assassin, a serial killer from the 1990s who escapes from prison. Cassie is reassigned to the case to help catch him, and because she meets the victim MO of the killer, she becomes his target (which is the whole point of her joining the case).
Regardless of what happens in the stories, Cassie is a strong woman. She obviously goes through some pretty big things in the first book, having to catch the Assassin while working with the rogue agent from the beginning of the book.
When I started writing back in eighth grade (nine years ago), I didn’t know any of the “rules” for creating a character. Writing as Cassie was a very cathartic experience, and she was very much like me.
Now, almost ten years later, both my character and I have grown up, so to say. Over the years as I’ve developed in my writing skills, Cassie has become much more than just a copy of myself. Personality-wise, I believe she’s very much like I am, except I feel like she’s a much bigger version of what I’d like to be.
Cassie is just the badass I wish I could be.
After The Assassin, we have Double Played. Double Played, the story jumps forward by six months, and Cassie is struggling still with the aftermath of the first book. The time jump was intentional, as I needed time for Cassie to start recovering. While Cassie, by nature, is an over thinker, I think this really shines through in Double Played. It’s also in Double Played that she starts dating.
I’m currently working on Justice & Lies, which is brings back a lot of events from the first book. It feels a little like a full circle moment, even though I plan to continue the series after.
October 4, 2016
My Favorite Book Series
I’ve been a writer for a long time now, but before I ever thought about writing, I was a reader. I think every writer starts out as a reader. Today, I’d love to talk about my favorite book series (I just typically love series, not stand alones), and why.
1. Stephanie Plum Novels by Janet Evanovich
From a young age (like ten or eleven), I remember my mom sitting on the couch at home reading these books. There were times she’d laugh, and when I’d ask what was so funny, she’d have to water down the scene so it was child-friendly. I think I was fourteen or fifteen when she finally let me read the first book, One for the Money, after years of nagging.
I believe there were fifteen books out at the same time (the number book in the series and I are the same age, i.e., book 22 actually came out on my 22nd birthday), and I read all fifteen in a week. I read about two a day, because that’s all I did that week (it was summer vacation).
The characters were funny and original. I loved it. I still love it.
2. The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors, and I wasn’t sure which book series was my favorite, but I picked this one. I love The Mediator series because of the main character: Suze. If Mia Thermopolis, Cabot’s most famous character, is a bit unsure of herself and awkward (which I relate to so much), Suze is just a badass.
She’s smart and witty, and she’s a woman of action. I never felt like Mia Thermopolis was. And I want to read characters that are a little different from myself.
3. Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
Now, I know vampires have a silly reputation, but the fact that this is a vampire series feels like a secondary factor. The characters are well developed, the plot is incredibly thought out. Mead obviously took the time to plan her world, and it pays off. It’s been a while since I read the books (perfect time for a re-read, huh?), but I remember so many details because Mead weaves them all so wonderfully.
4. Her Royal Spyness Series by Rhys Bowen
This series combines two of my favorite things: mysteries and British royalty. I found these books in a Garden Ridge store a long time ago, and now I believe there are nine books.
Bowen has a great balance of mystery, humor, and romance in her books. These books are great reads for relaxing.
5. The Tudor Series by Philippa Gregory
My love of British Royalty started with the Tudor dynasty, so it makes sense that this series in on my list. The first book Philippa Gregory wrote in the Tudor era was The Other Boleyn Girl, and while it’s not completely historically accurate, it shifts the focus on a story many people know so well – the story of Anne Boleyn.
Other books in the series feature other wives of Henry VIII. The books are all a little fiction, a little fact, but so good.
I have plenty of other favorite books, but those are my favorite series!
What are some of yours?
September 27, 2016
How I Fell in Love with Writing
I’ve told the story of my writing life several times now, to family and friends, but I realized I’ve never taken the time to actually write down how I fell in love with writing.
As long as I can remember, I’ve had a love for stories. I loved reading as a kid (still do), and after my trip to Walt Disney World when I was four, I’ve really cherished my imagination. I loved making up stories as a kid.
It wasn’t until the next year that I ventured into writing something on my own. It was one day in science class that I wrote a scene. The scene was of a murder. While this scene doesn’t make it into the final version of the book, it was this scene that started The Assassin.
In October 2010, I made the Top Pick list, and a month later, I was reading my very own HarperCollins review. At 17, I was head over heels at what was happening with my book.
In 2013, I began working for a small press as a publicist. While I was in college earning a degree in public relations and advertising, this seemed to be a great mesh of two things I loved – publishing and publicity. During my time with the company, I realized that I wasn’t totally thrilled with how publishing companies worked.
Two years later, a week before my 22nd birthday, my book was finally released. There’s this giddy feeling about releasing a book, but it’s also terrifying. Releasing my book also solidified my love of writing even more. If this feeling was something I got to keep, I was set for life.
I hope to always be writing, until the day I die.
August 7, 2016
Double Played Release Date
If you’re a member of my newsletter, you’ve known for a week now, but it’s time to make it public! This book is a first in many ways. I spent a long time working on The Assassin, and the turn around on Double Played has been much faster. But that isn’t a bad thing. I spent a long time laying the ground work, and now I’m full speed ahead.
So without further ado, the release date for Double Played.
July 23, 2016!
To be the first to find out when the book is public, you can sign up for #TEAMTAB!
The post Double Played Release Date appeared first on Laura Teagan.
April 15, 2016
Loving Your Indie Author Friends
Self-publishing a book is a crazy, wonderful experience. It really takes an army to prepare a book, and once the book is out, it takes another army. In the indie publishing world, there’s this idea that the best thing an author can do for his or her book is to write another one. For a while, there may not be a lot of marketing for the first book.
But as a family member or friend, you can definitely help your indie author friend. Today I want to discuss some of the ways you can help your author friends.
1. Read the book
This one is kind of an obvious one, but it’s so important. You can’t really help your author friends if you don’t read their book. Once you read their book, you can tell them whether you like it or not, but don’t be surprised if it catches them off guard – either way.
Especially for indie authors, who spend more days (at least in the beginning) not selling many books (if any), finding out someone read their book is a big thing. Finding out you like it? That’s a really big thing.
Helping your indie authors isn't as hard as you think. Here are 3 simple ways to support your…
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2. Review it
Reviews are an indie author’s best friend. The more reviews a book has on Amazon, the higher the algorithm will put the book. Reviews also encourage other people to buy the book and read it. Even though some indie authors won’t admit it, making money from our books is something we secretly love. It’s nice to be rewarded like that for our passions.
A book review doesn’t need to be super long. Even just a paragraph about the general plot and what you loved will work. Just make sure it’s honest and heartfelt. If you can, leave a review on Goodreads and where you bought the book (bought it on Kindle, leave a review on Amazon).
3. Share with your friends
If you truly love your friend’s book, share with your other friends. Share a link on Facebook, tell people about it. If you’re active on Goodreads, recommend it to other people. Spreading the news doesn’t take a lot, but you never know who will see your shares on books. It’s all about knowing people, and you may help your friend’s book end up in the hands of a reviewer. You never really know the impact of your reach, so use it to help a friend out.
Of course, these aren’t the end all be all ways to help support a friend who published a book. While I specifically mention indie authors (Because they do all of their own marketing), any author who published a book – whether traditional or indie, it can be simple to help them promote their book.
Most won’t ask you to help, but if you do, that’s just showing your love for your author friend.
The post Loving Your Indie Author Friends appeared first on Laura Teagan.
April 4, 2016
Project Management for Authors
I use Evernote for almost everything. Plot ideas, research, character sketches, outlines, the list goes on and on, but there’s one thing I don’t use it for: Project management. Project management for authors is a big thing you need to have set up if you want to be publishing. For my project management, I use a tool called Todoist.
Todoist is really a task manager, and while there are “project management” apps, I use Todoist. Most of the others I’ve tried really feel like they’re based for multiple people, but Todoist still thrives with one person using it – perfect for the writer in all of us.
First, you’ll want to sign up for Todoist (todoist.com). You can get away with most things on a free account, though I do pay for premium. It’s about $29 a year, which is a steal for how much I use it (you can read about how I use it in my non-author life here).
Once you sign up, get started setting up some projects. Here’s the hierarchy of my todoist account for Laura Teagan things.
As you can see, I’ve broken it up into several different projects. Not only do I include my books, I include back end projects that you don’t always see happen. For instance, I’m working on retooling my Laura Teagan website, so I have a project for that. Social media also has a few tasks, specifically updating my cover photos now that I’ve debuted the cover for Double Played.
The marketing project has miscellaneous stuff that I need to get done – like set up a newsletter specifically for book reviewers to keep them updated, or to check Goodreads once a week. I’d like to stop here and say the biggest key for really using Todoist, at least for me is the due dates.
My default mode is set up as “Today.” So when I open up the app, it’ll show me everything I have assigned to do today. If I don’t assign a due date, I may never get it done (in fact, I saw a few things I needed to do a while ago because there was no due date).
Then the most obvious set of projects would be the books themselves. I have The Assassin in there, though I could probably archive it, and Double Played. Now that I’m working on the third book, Justice & Lies, I need to set up a project for that.
Typically in a book project, you’ll find a task for my #writechain daily goal of 500 words, a reminder to update my #writechain document, update a physical calendar, and whatever chapter I happen to be working on. All of those have to-do dates. The cool thing about Todoist is that I can add the due date in the box I write the task in, and the app automatically assigns a calendar date.
If I put in Monday, it’ll figure out what the next Monday is and assign it that date.
The key to really making the most of Todoist is to use it for everything. The more you use it, the more it becomes a part of your day, and then you don’t have to think about using it. If you’re working on a production schedule, Todoist can be a great addition to your work flow.
There's one app that you should use to control project management for authors - @todoist
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Another trick that keeps me using Todoist is the Karma points. This is a premium only version, but honestly this is what got me hooked. You set goals for how many tasks you want to accomplish every day and every week, and you create streaks. I have some aggressive goals set up because I use it for everything, but if you’re using it just for books and writer things, you can set it to something smaller.
The karma feature keeps you accountable, which is something you need when you’re a writer, especially if you’re a writer who doesn’t like to tell anyone. So, sign up for Todoist, give it a try, and let me know what you think. If you use a task manager already, what do you use?
The post Project Management for Authors appeared first on Ginger & Books.
March 30, 2016
Creating Systems for Your Writer Life
I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. I took the month of March off to really reflect on what I want out of blogging, and what I want to do moving forward. The truth is, I don’t know if I came up with any answers, but I have too many ideas. One idea that I’ve really tried to focus on is this idea of creating systems for your writer life, and today, I’m laying out some plans for how to do that this month.
A month or so ago, I talked about how I use Evernote when it comes to plotting my series. That itself is a system, but there are so many more systems we can create. Systems are a set of actions that you use so extensively, you don’t even think about them. actually, some of the best systems are automated, and you don’t actually have to do anything.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll talk about some systems I use to run my author life, and how to set them up. Now, you’re probably thinking, Laura, why do I need systems?
Well, for a lot of reasons, but the number one reason: when you have systems that work for you, you have more time to write. Isn’t that what being a writer is really all about? Being able to write? When you’re working a full time job or you’re a student, time is precious (hell, it’s precious all the time, but still).
Get back to writing by setting up systems to do all the other stuff for you! Learn more >>
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While writing and telling incredible stories are at the core essence of being a writer, in order to build a platform as an author, you need systems and games plans.
Over the next few weeks, here’s a few topics I’ll be talking about when it comes to creating systems for your writer life:
Todoist & Project Management
Automating Social Media with Schedulers and IFTTT
Launching Your Author Website
The post Creating Systems for Your Writer Life appeared first on Ginger & Books.
March 15, 2016
Double Played Cover Reveal
Six months after Cassie Morgan faced The Assassin, it’s time for her to get back to work. After a break from the FBI, Cassie arrives to find her first assignment: the death of her former informant, Maria Floures.
In order to bring justice to Floures, Cassie is assigned to work with a group of DEA agents investigating a drug ring that has ties to Floures and the man suggested of murdering her. One of those DEA agents is Seth Edwards, a man who recently stood Cassie up on a blind date.
While she tries to ignore the tension between her and Seth, the two must work closely together when Seth goes undercover to infiltrate the drug group tied to Floures. Once he’s in, Cassie realizes that this group may be connected to more than just Floures. As they peel back the structure of the drug ring, Cassie realizes a figure from her past is at the head of it, and Cassie may have just been double played.
The post Double Played Cover Reveal appeared first on Laura Teagan.
