Chrys Fey's Blog, page 20
June 1, 2021
New Release Marketing Conclusions / IWSG
The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a safe place for insecure writers of all kinds.Sign up here: Insecure Writer’s Support GroupNew Release Marketing Conclusions:
Last month, I had a new release: A FIGHTING CHANCE. I did a lot for this release. And I mean A LOT. Rather than hash out my marketing plan here, you can visit my guest post at Victoria Marie Lee's blog.
What I want to share here are the results of my marketing. This post is long. If you want, you can skip to the conclusion.
BLOG TOUR: Now, many would think I'm crazy and that it's counter-productive to pay for a blog tour service while also orchestrating your own blog tour. They may be right, but I had reasons why I combined the efforts of a blog tour service with my own efforts. More visibility, for one. Two, I'm trying to figure out what formula works best for me...how to run future releases.
MY EFFORTS: I approached 10 specific bloggers for guest posts, and then I opened a Google form for my other fellow bloggers to sign up to participate in my blog tour. For those sign-ups, I had pre-made questions they could choose from or they could ask their own question.
I loved the question format. It made it so much easier to write guest posts by answering questions. Even the 10 guest posts I did have ideas for, I struggled to actually write them, so I treated those as questions, too. And voila!
GRATITUDE: I would like to take the moment to thank EVERYONE who signed up to my blog tour for A Fighting Chance. You all are amazingly supportive. I couldn't ask for a better blogging community or blogging friends. By the way, the winner of my blog tour participation giveaway (for a $5.00 eGift card) was Mason. Congrats!
XPRESSO BOOK TOURS:
For Frozen Crimes last year, I signed up for a one-week BOOK BLITZ with Xpresso Book Tours and did my own blog tour on top of it. I talk about my experience in this IWSG post: Paid Book Blitz Results. Overall, it was a success. The giveaway (which I created and hosted myself) did phenomenal. I also saw a lot of activity on Twitter and Instagram and had 63 bloggers post on their blogs.
EXPENSE SIDE NOTE: Someone had commented on my post that it sounded expensive for little return. I didn't mention the price in my post, although I linked to the Xpresso Book Tours service page. I will say now that I paid $90 USD for a one-week blitz. That price is FAR MORE affordable than other blog tour services for the same length of time. It was my first time paying for such a service, but looking back now...it was worth it.
SILVER DAGGER BOOK TOURS:
For A Fighting Chance, I tried out Silver Dagger Book Tours. With this service you can pay the owner anything at the end of the tour, whatever you feel is reasonable for the services rendered. I signed up for a three-week tour.
You have to have a giveaway for this service, and I let the owner create and host it. I wish I had done it instead, because this giveaway did not produce the sort of results I'd been hoping for, unlike the giveaway I did during Frozen Crimes' release. It even performed under giveaways I'd done that did not have a blog tour service improving their reach. This giveaway required entrants to post a comment to unlock the rest of the entry points, which I think stopped a lot of people from entering or doing more after that (like subscribing/following). And then there were entries that I normally don't include that I think were used more than the ones I cared about (for example: the giveaway was tweeted about A LOT.)
THE STATS: Instead of repeating the stats for my blitz with Xpresso, you can check out my previously mentioned post here and compare the numbers.
Silver Dagger Stats:
Sign-Ups: 41
Bloggers Who Posted: 37
NOTE: With my own efforts, I had 31 tour stops.
Giveaway Results:
Bookbub Followers: 10
Newsletter Subscribers: 10
YouTube Subscribers: 0
Facebook Group Requests: 6
Goodreads Follows: 10
NOTE: I didn't include the numbers for Twitter or Instagram because I don't worry about those socials.
BLOG TOUR CONCLUSIONS:
1. Create and host my giveaways myself.
2. Guest posts formatted as questions are super easy to write.
3. Continue to approach 10 specific bloggers (different bloggers for different books/genres) to host me for a guest post. (Or for my mom if it's a release for her.)
4. If I have the means, I will use Xpresso Book Tour's one-week blitz option. And instead of opening up sign-ups for my tour on my blog, I'll point my beloved fellow bloggers to Xpresso Book Tours sign-up form.
5. HOWEVER, for my mom's releases I will try Silver Dagger Book Tours because they accept all age ranges (including middle grade and children's picture books), unlike Xpresso Book Tours. I will be testing this out soon and will share the results afterward.
Since this post is already long, I'll share my experience with having a free eBook during my blog tour in my March IWSG post.
*~*
Our December/January/February reads are…
Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor, a book written in second person. This is a great chance to explore something new.Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner. This will be our writing craft book, with a focus on settings.
Discussion Day for both books will be February 24, 2021!
JOIN US!
QUESTION: What have you been up to?
May 31, 2021
Bad Fairy Strikes Again by Elaine Kaye / Release Day / 99 Cents
***NEW RELEASE***
***99 CENTS***
Series: A Bad Fairy Adventure (Book 2)
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 60
Ages: 7-12
BLURB:
Will Thistle ever escape the nickname Bad Fairy?
Thistle Greenbud thought the nickname Bad Fairy was behind her, but she can't escape it. Someone is spreading a rumor about her that just isn't true and can ruin all of her hard work in getting into Advanced School. What fairy would do such a thing?
As if that's not bad enough, Thistle's dad goes missing. Not a single fairy in Tinselville has seen him. He's vanished like pixie dust. Her mom is distraught, and Thistle is worried. Where could he be?
Thistle and the Flutters, along with Dusty and Moss, are on both cases. Can they find out what happened to her dad and solve the Bad Fairy rumor? Thistle hopes so!
BOOK LINKS:
Amazon / Nook / iBooks / Goodreads
MEET VINER:
Name – Viner
School – Level F (Fairy Failure)
Hair Color – Blue
Eye Color – Dark gray
Wing Colors – Black and Gray
Favorite Snack – Black licorice smoothies
Personality – Getting even with Thistle, troublemaker
Likes – Carpentry and construction
Dislikes – Getting caught while creating mischief, losing friends to Thistle and the Flutter Club
MEET NEEDLES:
Name – Needles
School – Level F (Fairy Failure)
Hair Color – Green
Eye Color – Hazel
Wing Color – Dark Green
Favorite Snack – Pistachio ice-cream
Personality – Follower, doesn’t really want to be a bad fairy but doesn’t want to leave his best friend Viner
Likes – Skipping rocks, racing fairy pets
Dislikes – Being a bad example for his younger brothers and sisters
EXCERPT:
We are nearing the edge of our village limits when we see the abandoned house hidden in tall weeds. The night grows darker as we huddle in a fern thicket. “It sure is spooky out here,” Lacey whispers and shifts closer to Moss.
“Let's move in closer,” Dusty says. “Moss and Lacey, you go to the other side of the house. Find a crack in the wall to see inside. Thistle and Rose follow me.” He looks back at Moss. “If you see anything strange, flick your flashlight on and off three times.”
“Then what?” Rose asks, munching on another berry.
“We’ll meet…um…” Dusty looks around and then points. “Over by that fern thicket. Is everyone clear?”
We nod and fly as low to the ground as we can. Once we reach our positions, we hunker down and wait. Time goes by as slow as a worm while we wait. It gets darker. After a while, boredom creeps in.
“What's that?” Rose points behind us.
Dusty and I turn to see a shadow coming out of the woods, heading straight for us. Boogles! No, wait. There are two shadows!
Get Book 1 for 99 CENTS!
[image error]BAD FAIRY: Amazon / Nook / iBooks / Kobo
***GIVEAWAY***
[image error]PRIZES: 3 signed paperback picture books (Pea Soup Disaster, The Missing Alphabet, Slow Poke), three handmade bookmarks, plus a goodie bag and worksheets.
Eligibility: International
GIVEAWAY LINK: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/76132e0224/?
[image error]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Elaine Kaye is the author of A Bad Fairy Adventure series AND A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster.
Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.
Amazon / Goodreads / BookBub / Instagram / Facebook / TwitterMay 17, 2021
A Quick Spell RELEASE DAY! / The Challenge of Writing Short Fiction / Guest post / Patricia Josephine
Blurb:Magic.
Myths.
Fantasy.
We are bewitched by what we can't see.
Conjure delight with a fantastical collection of tales. Each story is told in exactly 200 words and designed...
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May 10, 2021
#WritersontheMoon / Bad Fairy Strikes Again / IWSG
First, I want to announce my mom's next middle grade book, BAD FAIRY STRIKES AGAIN, is coming out May 5th! Would you like to sign up for her blog tour (May 10-May 31)? I am doing it through Silver Dagger Tours, so you will get emails from Maia, the organizer, instead of me.
SIGN UP HERE
Thank you in advance! And always remember me for your blog tours. 💗
99 CENTS SALE:
Book Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks***
Logo created by Susan Kaye QuinnI am a part of a project with 124 other authors (including my mom, Elaine Kaye, and a few other IWSG members: Jemi Fraser, Gwen Gardner, Deniz Bevan, and Damyanti Biswas...I think that's all of us...) called Writers on the Moon. Late 2021 we will be launching a digital data card in a lunar time capsule to the Moon. There will be stories on it, art, and so much more. This lunar time capsule project is organized by Susan Kaye Quinn, Speculative Fiction Author.
Check out my website for my answers to frequently asked questions, my full payload, the stories behind my payload, and a section devoted to my stowaways.
My mom also has a page on her website about this project, revealing her payload and shouting out her stowaways.
Writers on the Moon Website: https://www.writersonthemoon.com/
Writers on the Moon Blog: https://www.writersonthemoon.com/blog
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/401157097809015
From the Official Website (written by Susan Kaye Quinn):
THE IDEA: Writers on the Moon is a lunar time capsule project. We'll send a rag-tag fleet of stories to the Moon aboard a digital data card. We hope this snapshot of indie fiction from around the world in 2021 will reveal the humanity of today to the readers of tomorrow.
HOW WE'LL GET THERE: Astrobotic and DHL have partnered to deliver "MoonBoxes" aboard Astrobotic's lunar landers. Our payload will ride on the first Astrobotic lander to reach the Moon, the Peregrine Lander. It will remain there permanently, a time capsule for the future.
SPOTLIGHT:
The real purpose of this blog post is to lavish love on a few of our stowaways. When my mom and I realized how much space we could fill and that, after adding everything we could possibly think of, we still had a bunch of megabytes left, we decided to get as many authors as we could on our payloads so we could send up even more books and characters to the moon. And most of them are IWSG members! (We wish we could've included SO many more books and authors as we hate leaving people out, but alas the space did get filled.)
Chrys's Stowaways:
Loni Townsend – Avrianna Heavenborn Digital Illustration
Tyrean Martinson – Lift Off
Patricia Josephine – Abducted Life
We Know the Truth, Do You? Anthology (25 authors)
Pieces of the Heart Anthology (15 authors)
*This is NOT a complete list.
**Visit my website to read about their books and their personal messages.
Elaine Kaye's Stowaways:
Toi Thomas – Joe and Chip in Quarantine
Sherry Ellis – Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China
Tonja Drecker – Music Boxes
C. Lee McKenzie – Some Very Messy Medieval Magic
*This is NOT a complete list.
**Visit Elaine's website to read about their books and their personal messages.
Stories Behind Chrys' Stowaways:
A digital illustration of Avrianna designed by the talented artist and author Loni Townsend.
Lift Off by Tyrean Martinson – Liftoff is a great YA story about a girl who learns she’s more than what she ever thought she was and would be. She goes on an amazing adventure that takes her to other planets, and she meets many different kinds of aliens. I had the honor of editing Lift Off and working with Tyrean Martinson, and it is my honor to be able to offer this story to future readers, human and alien alike.
Abducted Life by Patricia Josephine – Abducted Life is a NA story about two friends who were abducted by aliens, and their lives were forever changed by it. It’s a love story that proves nothing can stop two people who love each other from being together. It was my pleasure to be able to edit Abducted Life and work with Patricia Josephine on it. For a capsule going to the Moon, I couldn’t pass up the chance to include this story, and I hope that if alien life forms find this and read it, that they get a kick out of Patricia’s imagination and laugh at the idea of abducting humans.
Stories Behind Elaine's Stowaways:
Joe and Chip in Quarantine by Toi Thomas – The Writers on the Moon project was created by Susan Kaye Quinn in response to the 2020 pandemic, when there was a need for positivity and hope and creativity. Joe and Chip in Quarantine is also about the 2020 pandemic. It’s a picture book written and illustrated by Toi Thomas that teaches kids in a gentle way about what is happening and why they have to wear masks, etc.
Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China by Sherry Ellis – Bubba and Squirt dig a hole that opens up a portal to China. When thinking about sending books to the Moon, I immediately thought of sending Bubba and Squirt on a new adventure to outer space, and it’s my belief that the portal in their backyard could probably get them to the Moon.
Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker – I love ballet, and Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker is a great story about a young ballerina named Lindsey, but…it takes a turn with wickedness and a mystery when students in her ballet class begin to disappear. I can’t help but wonder what ballet would look like on the Moon and couldn’t resist sending up this fun story for future ballerinas to read and enjoy.
Some Very Messy Medieval Magic by C. Lee McKenzie – Going to the Moon sounds like magic, doesn’t it? In Some Very Messy Medieval Magic by C. Lee McKenzie, her characters don’t go to the Moon. They go to 1173 England and have an adventure. Maybe next time they’ll go to 3020 and wind up on the Moon. Hey, anything is possible when you’re dealing with some very messy magic.
I will share updates on this project as I get them. To receive these updates, it's best to subscribe to my newsletter or join my Facebook group.
HAPPY IWSG DAY!
Bad Fairy Strikes Again by Elaine Kaye / Release Day / 99 Cents
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May 5, 2021
I'm an Official Judge! / IWSG
2021 IWSG Anthology Contest Details Guidelines and rules:Word count: 5000-6000 Genre: Sweet Romance Theme: First Love Submissions Accepted: May 7 - September 1, 2020 How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no footers or headers), previously unpublished story to admin...
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April 7, 2021
#WritersontheMoon / Bad Fairy Strikes Again
SIGN UP HERE
Thank you in advance! And always remember me for your blog tours. 💗
99 CENTS SALE:Book Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks
***
Logo created by Susan Kaye Quinn
I am a...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
#WritersontheMoon / Bad Fairy Strikes Again / IWSG
First, I want to announce my mom's next middle grade book, BAD FAIRY STRIKES AGAIN, is coming out May 5th! Would you like to sign up for her blog tour (May 10-May 31)? I am doing it through Silver Dagger Tours, so you will get emails from Maia, the organizer, instead of me.
SIGN UP HERE
Thank you in advance! And always remember me for your blog...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
March 3, 2021
What Happened When I Had a Free (Companion) eBook During My Blog Tour? / IWSG
This is a follow-up post to my February IWSG post in which I talked about my new release marketing efforts, specifically blog tours. In this post, I am discussing what happened with my free (for a limited time) eBook.
FREE EBOOK DILEMMAS: Along with the release of A FIGHTING CHANCE, I also released THE DISASTER CURSE, a short story that...
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February 19, 2021
Scene Spotlight for Cupid's Beau by Alicia Dean / Guest Post
SCENE SPOTLIGHT: Her eyelids drifted down, her pink tongue moistening her lips. Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “Will you kiss me?” A groan left his throat, and he bent his head, touching his lips to hers. They were warm…sweet…he could drown in her softness. She purred and lifted her hands to wind around his...
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