Sally Ember's Blog, page 73

“Trust the Process,” Guest Post by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I am excited to host today’s post from another previous CHANGES conversations between authors’ guest (Episode 15; see below for links), blogger and author, Krysten Lindsay Hager

“Trust the Process”

Years ago, whenever I’d go to writing conferences, workshops, or critique groups, there was always one particular type of writer that showed up and made me feel anxious. I would wonder what I was doing with my life and/or career. It wasn’t that this person’s success made me question my work; they’d say something that seemed to imply that if we were not getting our work published, then we didn’t count as “real writers.”

I joined a critique group a few years ago that got me back into enjoying the very act of writing again. I found that having regular meetings was keeping me accountable and I enjoyed getting constructive criticism and feedback. I also appreciated talking about the story with people who were on the journey with me and my characters.

Then, another person came along with the constant talk about all the agents and editors they had met and often dismissing anything that wasn’t “hot” in the industry at the moment. I’ll never forget the day I brought a chapter of my young adult novel to read and I was excited to share it, but right before I went to read, this person declared that no agent or editor would ever be interested in my novel because it was written in first person. Her tone very dismissive, as if I shouldn’t even bother. I sat there feeling so small. I went on to read, but even I could hear the insecurity in my voice. I sounded like a little kid who had been reprimanded.

I went home that night and started to think about my story, how writing it and editing it had brought me so much joy. I had begun to rewrite that novel during a difficult time for me. I had gotten sick and was dealing with a whole new way of life. That story had brought me back, so to speak.

It hit me that the point of the writing process for me hadn’t been whether or not this piece got published, but the enjoyment I got from writing and working on it and sharing it with other people who enjoyed it as well. As I folded laundry that night (doing laundry is my stress reliever), I realized that there was more to writing than just getting to what some called the final destination—-publication. It was about the journey for me.

So, a few weeks later, I returned to the group, determined not to let this person into my head. They again put out little comments about how I shouldn’t bother with a first-person narrative, but this time I took it as an opinion and not the final word.

That night, I started reading a book called The Creative Call, which talks a lot about how it’s not about what the work can do for you or getting it published, but what the work can do for others. Reading that took the pressure off.

However, when I mentioned this very thing to my writing group a few weeks later, some of them weren’t receptive to it. A few of them had publication as their only goal. That’s fine, but for me, this was what I choose to believe: that I would do the work and leave the outcome (and my ego) out of what would make this story successful in my eyes. Even if the book were never published, I felt that writing, finishing, sharing and enjoying it would be enough for me.

A week after I finished reading The Creative Call, I realized that maybe I should send out my young adult novel, True Colors, to see if it would be something that might help teens dealing with the similar self-esteem/self-image and other young teen issues that my character faces. I knew that trying to navigate through upper elementary and middle school while attempting to fit in as well as dealing with frenemies and mean girls would resonate with many readers. I submitted the story.

In less than two months, I got a contract for the book. I remember sitting at my computer staring at that acceptance email and I felt a calmness come over me. It felt as if a weight had been lifted. I guess I had always assumed I’d be dancing around the room, but it was more like a confirmation that writing was the right path for me. I knew that I was supposed to share my novel. Receiving the contract and knowing that the book (my first book in the Landry’s True Colors Series) was going to be published ended up not being about me at all, but more about what I could share with others.

The books I have written as part of this series are the ones I would have wanted to read at that age. The first one was now going out there into the world, which said to me that maybe there kids out there who need to read about these issues.

A lot of people go into writing wanting fame, money, etc., but I think that takes away from the purpose of writing a book. It’s not what you can get out of it, it’s what you can give back. For me, it has been about those messages and comments I’ve gotten from people who say that, when they see my character, Landry, and her insecurities and worries, they feel less alone in what they are going through. When I heard about a teen who had been upset about dealing with being left out by people she had called “best friends,” then she had read my book and gotten perspective on the situation, well, that made me happier than I was the day I signed that first contract. It made me feel that I had a purpose.

Sure, it took me a while to get to a place where I saw the benefits of enjoying the journey and not focusing on the end goal or numbers. However, it has been so gratifying to appreciate the writing process more fully and to feel connected to my greater purpose.

About Krysten:

(author photo courtesy of Shannon DiGiacomo)

Krysten Lindsay Hager is a book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. She is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series. Originally from Michigan, Krysten has lived in Portugal and South Dakota; she currently resides in Southern Ohio, where you can find her reading and writing, when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Connect with Krysten Lindsay Hager:

Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/krystenlindsay

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor

Twitter: @KrystenLindsay

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8298036.Krysten_Lindsay_Hager

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Book trailer provided by Videos by O.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFp2fPFbvTQ&feature=youtu.be

If you enjoyed this post, please comment/like it here AND go visit Krysten’s sites.

Here is the cover of Best Friends Forever, Book Two in her Landry’s True Colors Series:

Krysten Lindsay Hager was my guest on Episode 15 of CHANGES conversations between authors. Watch conversations with my previous CHANGES guests any time:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq

Learn more about and get yourself or recommend someone to be scheduled as a guest:    http://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/

Want to be a guest blogger on my site? Visit my “Guest Bloggers Hall of Fame” to review other guest posts, read my guidelines and then contact me if you’re interested: http://www.sallyember.com/guest-bloggers-hall-of-fame/

Filed under: Blogging and others' content, Life lessons, Writing Tagged: #amwriting, #enjoythejourney, #purpose, #writingjourney, *CHANGES*, Author, competition, critiques, destination, editing, Goals, journey, Krysten Lindsay Hager, narrative, publication, self-esteem, writer’s life, writing, Writing Process, young adult

Celebrating an Extraordinary Teacher and Person: Bill Heyde, on April 12, 2015, in St. Louis, MO, USA

Celebrating an Extraordinary Teacher and Person:

Bill Heyde, on April 12, 2015, 3 – 5 PM, in St. Louis, MO, USA

<“Honoring Mr. Heyde” Facebook and IRL Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1571724873114077/

What a great EVENT! As a grateful former student of Mr. Heyde’s, I’m so glad I’m in St. Louis for this wonderful event, to honor an amazing teacher and person!

Mr. Bill Heyde and students, Ladue High School, circa 1970?

We had a BLAST!



Bill Heyde and Bill Weiss

Doug Cassel and Tom Newmark (sorry it’s blurry)

Jim McKelvy and ??

Mark Zooie (sp?) in mock debate

Randy Rubin in mock debate

Scott Anderson and Glenn Caplin (former Debate captain)

Tripp Frolichstein in mock debate

At the actual event, many people contributed to a large scrapbook and to the event’s festivities, including an amazing speech by former Missouri state debate champ, Neal Osherow, and an incredible original poem/rap, written and performed by former debater, Steve Levin (I hope he uploads the video of that I took!), and a mock debate (pictures, above) with many former debaters. So much fun! So much respect, admiration, love, re-connecting.

Mr. Heyde gave a prepared speech (but mostly from his memory!!) of the history of the debate team at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis and that was fascinating. There were many former debaters and Speech competitors there (as I was, having won 4th place at the Missouri state level with my acting partner, Karen Raskin, in Duet Acting!), and students of Mr. Heyde’s. Excellent turnout: many had to be turned away due to fire code restrictions!

Thanks, Ladue Education Foundation organizers, for imagining, creating and hosting this excellent festival!

Here is most of my original post.

“Was Bill Heyde one of your favorite teachers? Were you on the debate team? Did you take one of his English classes? Join us at this reunion to honor Mr. Heyde and his impact on his students at Ladue Horton Watkins High School. We’ll have former forensics team members staging some lighthearted debates, food and drink, and most importantly, the opportunity for you to tell Mr. Heyde just how much he meant to you during your time at LHWHS.

“Whether you are able to attend or not, please send any notes, photos, or recollections to Jeff Kopolow: jkopolow@ladueschools.net or 825 Newcastle, Olivette, MO 63132, by April 1. If you know of additional people who might be interested in attending the event, please email lef@ladueschools.net. Thank you!”

We are hereby asking all of YOU for stories, anecdotes, writings, photos, and other contacts!

Here is what I sent Jeff, above:

I emailed this to Mr. Heyde about 3 years ago, to thank him, even before he was so honored by your upcoming event and the many people who mentioned him in 2012’s Ladue Educational Foundation’s event honoring about 30 amazing graduates (many of whom credited Mr. Heyde, who was there [as was I]!). He hadn’t yet read this email, below, when I saw him, since he said he rarely checked it, so I told him this was in his Inbox. I don’t know if he ever remembered to go read it, though.

I’ve updated this email a bit. I’ve become a published author and online talk show host and moved back to St. Louis (so I’ll be at his event on Sunday, April 12!) since this was written, but the gist is the same.

Thanks for curating/collecting all this for him. Can’t wait to see the collection, everyone who comes and him.

I also have a copy of the LHS annual literary journal from 1971 in which the essay I wrote (mentioned, below) for his Advanced Composition class (which lucky Juniors got to take) was published. Shall I bring that?

See you then!

Sally (Fleischmann) Ember, Ed.D.

Hi, Mr. Heyde,

I just found out how to contact you and wanted to thank you. You may not remember me, since you have had thousands of students, so let me jog your memory: I was then Sally Fleischmann (Jonathan’s next-younger sister) at Ladue High School (we have 2 younger sibs you may also have taught, Wendy [now, Ellen] and Lauri). I took your Advanced Composition class in 1970-71. I was one of the only students to get a “B+” on a first draft, while most received “D”s and “F”s. So, I suppose I can’t give you credit for ALL of my writing skills and abilities, but please, read on.

Another memory jog: One of the essays written for your class (about game-playing imagery in a short story by William James) was published in that year’s LHS creative writing journal. I then went on to torment Ms. Cannon in the Advanced Placement English class my senior year by never getting less than a “B” on any written paper, while acting up in her class a lot (I did win the vote [along with our class President, Andy Eder] for “Class Clown” in our yearbook’s “Senior Superlatives,” after all…).

Although I had been published, starting as a 4th-grader, in school and camp newsletters, for short stories, articles, poetry and songs, and again as a freshman, in Missouri Youth Writes, for a poem, prior to having your class, I felt that this essay’s being published was my first “adult” placement. As an actual adult, I have had short stories, poetry, articles, nonfiction books, songs and plays published and produced by others, and served as an editor/rewriter/proofreader for many publications.

In 2013, I became a blogger (Sally Ember, Ed.D., http://www.sallyember.com), and a self-published science-fiction author with Volume I, This Changes Everything, of The Spanners Series</strong>; in 2014, I added Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, and I hope to add Volume III, This Is/is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, in 2015 and seven more after that! In 2014, I began hosting my own talk show, conversations between authors, CHANGES, and I often think of you while talking to others about their writing. I also write reviews for Goodreads and Amazon, and while critiquing others’ books, your phrases about what constitutes “good” or “bad” writing often come to mind.

I credit you and want to thank you for modeling for me (and many others, I’m sure) how to teach and inspiring me to teach composition and writing to adolescents and young adults. I went on, after teaching elementary school and middle school language arts, to teach writing: for five summers at Upward Bound; for several years at three community colleges; for five years at two different universities; and, for six years in community education locales, including Corrections Education, in several states. While acquiring my Master’s and doctorate at UMASS/Amherst, I taught writing in Peter Elbow’s peer review process’ domain. I also have had occasional contract work as a researcher/ writer/ editor/ proofreader. I know that your recognition of my writing as “good” (a characterization you did not give out to many pieces) set me on this path.

I think of you often, as a great teacher and someone who inspired me to write more and to teach writing. Even 43 years later, I can picture you perfectly, gesticulating strongly, your necktie blowing about as you passionately enjoined us to become literary critics, not just essay-writers. “Literary criticism” was a foreign concept to me as a junior in high school, until your class. I had learned about symbolism, metaphor and allusion, even how to cite quotations. But, putting it all together analytically, originally, and interestingly? Never even crossed my mind, until you gave us your assignments.

You opened me to a whole new intellectual world. I remember with intense clarity the exact moment when I first “got” what you were trying to convey, and understood (in a very basic way, but still, understood) how to construct a critique. I was astonished. It was as if you had been decrypting a code, helping us to begin using a secret language within English. I really was thrilled to be part of this new “club.”

Yes, I am a geek. I usually read over 250 books a year. Yes; I do. I have, since elementary school, been an avid reader. I was also an athlete: a runner, a cheerleader in 9th grade, a gymnast and field hockey player; also, I am a musician and singer/actor; and, in high school, I was “popular,” including having been elected/selected to that pinnacle for girls in that era, a cheerleader. This is to say to your students that these “identities” are not mutually exclusive: being inducted into the National Honor Society and having lots of friends happily co-exist in many, and I heartily encourage your students to cultivate both their brains and their hearts.You will help them, I’m sure.

I mainly wanted you to know what a great influence and help you were in my professional life, and what warm memories I have of your class. Never think your import was forgotten or unsung, even if we don’t find you to tell you: THANK YOU!

Best to you and your students, past, current and future. Write on!

Take care,

Sally (Fleischmann) Ember, Ed.D.

Do you have a teacher, coach or other mentor you’d like to thank? Start by commenting here and keep on sharing! #thankateacher

Mr. Bill Heyde and student, Ladue High School, circa 1970?

Filed under: G+ HOAs, Gratitude, Life lessons, Personal stories, Support for Good Causes, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Is/Is Not the Way I Thought Things Would Change, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners, Volume III, Writing Tagged: #thankateacher, Bill Heyde, composition class, debate, Gratitude, inspiration, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, mentor, publishing, Sally Ember, St. Louis, thank a teacher

IndieReCon2 = April 15-17, 2015, ONLINE and FREE! #IndieReCon #IRC15

The online IndieReCon2 conference is “a 3-day global event to promote quality and craft in #indie #publishing…scheduled for April 15-17, 2015, with online seminars, workshops, discussions and master classes culminating in a reader-centered, Indie #Author Fringe Fest live!”

Our posts, talks and online seminars cover all stages of the publishing process:

—Author Education: How to Write and Publish Well

—Author Empowerment: Finding Your Best Pathways to Publication

—Reaching Readers: Understanding and Serving Your Readers

“10 Reasons to Attend IndieReCon2″ HERE:

ONE: “IndieReCon2 is FREE to attend.”

TWO: “IndieReCon2 is a conference for authors by authors.”

Click link below for the other 8 reasons:

http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/10ReasonsToAttendIndieReCon2.pdf

REGISTER HERE:

http://indierecon.org/register/

SPEAKERS LIST HERE:

Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, and Orna Ross, founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors (sponsor of this event), and many others!

http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/All-you-need-for-IndieReCon-2015.pdf

…and more info, plus photos and bios of speakers HERE:

http://indierecon.org/speakers/

EVENTS LIST HERE:

http://indierecon.org/events/

PRIZES/COMPETITIONS LIST HERE:

http://indierecon.org/competitions/

Learn more about the ALLi and its Ethical Code HERE:

http://allianceindependentauthors.org

Filed under: Writing Tagged: #IndieReCon, #IRC15, ALLI, Alliance of Independent Authors, authors, conference, Ethical Author Code, free, Indie Publishing, Mark Coker, online, Orna Ross, self-publishing, Smashwords, speakers, workshops, Writers

Drop Everything and Read

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

Last day! Get Free and Discounted Sci-fi/Fantasy ebooks throughout Sunday, 4/12, including two from The Spanners Series! GO!

Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:

Oh D.E.A.R.!

D.E.A.R. stands for “Drop Everything and Read“. This is a month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. With declining literacy among children and adults, it is now more important than ever for reading to be encouraged and cherished as a worthy past time.

D.E.A.R. programs have been held nationwide on April 12th in honor of Beverly Cleary’s birthday, since she first wrote about D.E.A.R. in Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Inspired by letters from readers sharing their enthusiasm for the D.E.A.R. activities implemented in their schools, Mrs. Cleary decided to give the same experience to Ramona and her classmates. As D.E.A.R. has grown in popularity and scope, the program has expanded to span the entire month of April . . . offering classrooms and communities additional time to celebrate!

Can D.E.A.R. be celebrated anytime?

Every…

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Filed under: Writing

Book Marketing Timeline ‘6 to 12 months before Release’ Infograph

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

Great info from our favorite online Ape, Chris Graham, on #bookmarketing.

Sharing! Thanks for posting!

Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog:

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Filed under: Writing

Her Name Was Taylor

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

If you live in California or anywhere else that has underutilized laws/policies to protect youth from bullying, READ and SHARE this. If you areas have no such laws or policies, GET SOME!

Thanks for posting. Sharing!

Originally posted on :

Photo Cred: Yahoo! Parenting via xxtayloralesanaxx/Instagram

My heart is sad today for 16-year-old Taylor Alesana of Fallbrook, California. Taylor, a transgender high school student, committed suicide after being bullied and harassed at school.

“When you’re a kid, parents always tell you sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you,” Taylor said. “To me that’s not true. Words hurt, and words turn up to threats and threats turn up to physical violence.”

Popular for her YouTube make-up tutorials, Taylor encouraged other transgender teens to protect themselves by reporting bullying to school administrators and law enforcement.  She had followed her own advice and was also seeking support at the North County LGBTQ Resource Center.

The sadness in my heart shares space with anger. Taylor lived just one hour from my home; so, as a fellow Californian, I can tell you that the California Department of Education…

Filed under: Writing

Ursula Le Guin at 85

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

One of my idols and main inspirations. Just brought home a re-issued version from TOR of Ursula K. LeGuin’s three novellas (Rocannon’s World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions) and eager to re-read them all together. They’re all set on Hain, as is Left Hand of Darkness.

What a treasure she is. Thanks for posting this!

Best to you! Sharing!

Originally posted on J. Giambrone:

BBC Interviews




My Posts   |  Reblogs  |   Films

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Filed under: Writing

Part III: Letter to my Earlier Self about #Preorders

Part III: Letter to my Earlier Self about #Preorders

This is Letter Three of Four of my “open letter to my earlier self” series that first appears on The Book Cove Reviews, http://www.thebookcove.com/2014/12/author-sally-ember-edd-letter-to-my.html, late November – December, 2014.

Letter One will appear on my site, http://www.sallyember.com/blog, on 3/26/15, Letter Two on 4/4/15; Letter Four re-posts on April 18, 2015.

I published my first ebook in December, 2013, and my second in June, 2014. My third will release late in the Spring of 2015.

This is a letter to describe all that I wish I had known about Pre-Orders before my first ebook went into Pre-orders in November, 2013, and what I used somewhat for Volume II’s Pre-order period in the Spring of 2014 before its release in June of 2014. I will certainly build upon these experiences for subsequent releases of Volumes of The Spanners Series in preparation for their Pre-Order weeks, especially since Amazon has recently joined the Pre-Order bandwagon.

Dear Sally,

Thanks to Mark Coker, Founder/CEO of #Smashwords, #indie #authors have lots of information in FREE slide shows and several webinars to help indie ebook authors succeed in self-publishing.

Mark provided excellent instructions, tips and support for my first ebook’s publication last fall, the sci-fi/romance which has been getting great reviews, This Changes Everything, Volume I, The Spanners Series. His exhortations and statistics persuaded me to engage in a Pre-order period prior to full sales release on Smashwords and its affiliates and before uploading to Amazon (which did not allow pre-orders at that time).

In his post (link to full post, below), Mark defined Pre-orders:

Mark also gave great info on how to schedule a Pre-Order, here:

Furthermore, Mark detailed the benefits of Pre-Orders for Authors and Readers:

A great realist, Mark also provided great info as to what to expect, a “Reality Check”:

So, you will do it all correctly. You will follow his instructions to the letter. That’s the kind of meticulous, organized person you are. Brava.

Now, let me tell you how your first experience with pre-orders will go, Sally.

Not so well.

Let’s review the Tips Mark provided and clue you in as to what you will actually experience:

Tip One: Plan and implement AGGRESSIVE, multi-week marketing campaign

Okay, Sally. Since this is your first time as any kind of book marketer, it’s a good thing you are going to be laid off in August, 2013. Really. You will need every extra minute and a full-time job would just get in the way. Oh, sure, you could have used the extra cash, but believe me, you will be extremely busy job-hunting and lucky to be able to fit book marketing in the interstices of each day.

By the way, being laid off will avail you of a little more family support (thanks, Ellen Fleischmann, Merlyn Ember, Sarah Miranda, Lauri Stern and Carole Harris) to move your heretofore unpublished book forward into self-publication. I applaud that you are going to take this unemployment time to learn, via Mark Coker’s videos and others’ videos via Google Hangouts, as well as free webinars, blog posts, groups’ posts and articles, all about the publication and marketing processes for indie authors.

You were always a good student: this is your current “class.” You want an “A,” don’t you?

Get it all done, except pay for PR (no extra funds). You will:

start a new website and blog;
become active on Goodreads and Twitter;
start and add to several Pinterest Boards; y
become more active on Facebook, both on your personal and newly started Series pages;
become more active on LinkedIn;
join Google+ and begin to use it more, including starting a Series page there;
join many Groups/Communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads and Google+ as well as local, in-person writers’ groups;
research and find, then engage a professional cover artist (thanks, Aidana Willowraven!);
start tracking your KLOUT, SNAP and ALEXA scores.

What will happen with all this effort?

OUTSTANDING results (you will think) in the first few months. For example, you will see your KLOUT score go from 31 to 61 by Volume I’s release day (12/19/13).

Your website (sallyember.com) will go from being so invisible as to have no ranking at all to being in the top 3.5 million via ALEXA. (You will postpone using Snapscore.) By a few months after releasing Volume II, your ALEXA score will be in the 500,000 range!

Your Twitter #FF will increase from 7 to over 1600. Your blog will gain almost 40 #FF (NOT your family, either!).

You will acquire almost 300 LIKES on The Spanners Series Facebook page and over 300 new contacts personally there and on LinkedIn and Goodreads. 60 become #FF on Pinterest.

Seems good, to you.

Don’t forget how hard you will work at networking by posting excerpts of Volume I, then Volume II on Wattpad and Authonomy and allowing previews of the same number of chapters on all vendors’ sites.

You will then garner several very positive pre-release-day reviews which will be posted on/into Volume I’s front matter, your website, Goodreads and all other social media.

You will join many authors’ sites, such as Shelfari and BookLikes, Authors’ Database and others with author and then book pages. You will create and update your Author’s Central page on Amazon (which doesn’t do Pre-orders, yet, but since you already had a nonfiction book authorship, you could do this prior to uploading your ebook).

You will provide copy for and link to postings of several author interviews on several websites and Blog Talk Radio‘s IndieBooks show. You will leverage the local writers’ group to do public readings and then video yourself doing them and post these on Youtube, to start your Spanners Series‘ Channel.

Using the cover for Volume I, you will print up 50 flyers (second time you spend money on this endeavor, first being the cover) and give them out everywhere you go, even the Farmers’ Market.

cover and logo art by Willowraven

You will talk up your book and series everywhere you go, also. You will send out Facebook and Goodreads reminders of the release date and plan an Author Q & A on Google Hangout On Air/ YouTube and Goodreads for release day as an “EVENT,” which you will extensively promote, along with the Pre-orders themselves, for weeks prior to the release date.

You will believe you have done everything you could to create a strong “Author Platform” and prepare for Pre-orders to succeed. But, being a new author to sci-fi/romance and to ebooks, and an indie, self-published author in a very crowded field, the “splash” you will be making, despite KLOUT‘s encouraging stats, will not be feeling large.

from http://www.bakerviewconsulting.com

Furthermore, due to your inexperience and Smashwords‘ lack of statistics given to authors in real time, you will have no way to gauge the success of your Pre-order marketing via the numbers of Pre-orders, from Smashwords, iBooks, KOBO and nook. You will be very frustrated that these vendors do not provide ANY kind of info as to the numbers of Pre-orders accumulating to authors at this time.

I can tell you: you are not the only one who is frustrated with the lack of real-time sales feedback. Because of all the complaints, perhaps, some aspects of this process do change by the time you do Pre-orders for Volume III.

It remains to be seen if stats for Pre-orders become available. But, at least authors can get almost-real-time sales stats via Smashwords from Smashwords and iBooks/iTunes by release date of Volume II. Yeah!

Kobo only provides book ranks and nook only provides ranks when sales are high enough to “warrant” them. None of them will provide any stats until actual sales begin accruing on “release” day, though.

iBooks has a sales threshold before it agrees to put out a ranking, though, so although you will soon be able to see sales stats (about 3 days after the sale occurs), your ebooks won’t yet have met the threshold for sales and reviews that will let your ebooks get ranked on iTunes. Bummer.

As a Kindle Direct (KDP), not Kindle Select (KSP), author, you won’t have the option to do Pre-orders on Amazon until Volume III, but at least you can check in on any day, any hour and get not only several different sales and author relative ranks, but go look at your actual sales figures online, including total sales, gross cash intake and net royalties. Yeah, Amazon!

Pre-orders’ Results, Volume I:

Going solely by Amazon‘s and Smashwords‘ sales figures (the only ones you will have for quite a while), your Pre-Order and regular sales periods will not be huge successes, to say the least.

Your first royalty check from Amazon would not even pay for one tank of gas. Smashwords only pays quarterly; first check from them, not a lot better.

You CAN say that you are now a professional, paid ebook author, nonetheless! Woohoo!

Tip Two: Mobilize fans

You will first try to gather fans (see above) and then mobilize them. However, as a first-time ebook author with no other fiction sales before this, your “fan base” is minimal and will stay that way for over a year, through Volume II.

Sorry, Sally. Your “fan base” is nonexistent prior to Pre-orders.

Please do use your growing fan base extensively for This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Volume II, which will go into Pre-Orders in April and on sale June 9, 2014.

[PRIVATE, PERSONAL NOTE: something very bad is going to happen to you (which I’d rather not talk about now) right after you upload Volume II which will greatly curtail your utilization of this Tip.]

cover and logo art by Willowraven

So, great Tip, but you won’t be able use it for TCE and it won’t help much for Volume II, either. Set your sights on using this Tip for Volumes III and beyond, all right?

Tip Three: Special pricing

You will be smart and take Mark’s advice about pricing all the way. He suggested lower prices or free for Pre-orders, but strongly suggested NOT offering it free if the ebook has no others before it in the Series.

Mark also suggested, based on his extensive research, the “sweet spot” balancing sales with profits for ebooks, currently set @$3.99.

So, you will set TCE’s Pre-Order price @$1.99. The sale price for TCE will be $3.99 and will stay that way until Volume II goes into Pre-orders, 4/1/14, at which point Volume I will be PERMAFREE and Volume II will be set @$1.99 for Pre-orders and then @$3.99 when it goes on sale 6/9/14.

When/if The Spanners Series ebooks start selling well and your fan base has grown sufficiently, you may raise Volume II’s price to $5.99 during Volume III’s Pre-order period, now pushed into spring, 2015, and set the Pre-order price @$2.99 for Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change.

Volume III’s sale price, releasing in late Spring, 2015, will then probably be $5.99.

If sales aren’t great (YET), you should follow your previous pricing plan for a while longer for upcoming Volumes (the series has 10, total): Pre-orders @$1.99 and sale price @$3.99.

The exact pricing may not make that much difference, but you really can’t tell. You also won’t be able to glean much about how the switch from Pre-order’s lower price to the higher sales price affects sales. Oh, well. Deal with it.

Tip Four: Use your other books to help

I know; you wish you could for Volume I, but you suffer from lack of said “other” books, except for the professional book of nonfiction; hardly relevant. Will do for Volumes II onward.

This involves putting a call for reviews into the back matter of each Volume, thanking readers, letting them know about upcoming Volumes’ release and pre-order dates, and generally sending them to your Author Platform via many links you will provide in each Volume after Volume II.

Plus, you can now put the first Chapter of Volume I IN Volume II, at the very end, for a “Sneak Preview,” getting readers hooked even before Volume II is in their hands.

Keep doing all that linking and revising for each Volume in the Series: upload the revised versions with added review snippets in the front matter as well adding Chapter One of the upcoming Volume, adding any new links, giving release and pre-order dates, etc.).

Good Tip!

Tip Five: (MY TIP): Do it better each time

Yes, plan to do it all better, as I am explaining so patiently to you, earlier Sally.

One thing you WILL do better: Networking!

One way you do that is to start your own talk show! Use your network on Google+ to get some training, practice and support. Watch a lot of Hangout On Air (HOA) shows to see how you want to do yours.

You will enjoy being a Google+ HOA talk show host, inviting authors to converse with you LIVE almost weekly on Wednesdays, 10 – 11 AM EST USA. This show, CHANGES, will greatly increase your visibility and credibility and raise the FUN factor of being an indie author.

You will LOVE doing CHANGES and meet some great authors, readers and fans in the process. I promise. Start your new show in August, 2014.

Add a page about CHANGES to your website and keep up with adding guests, URLs for shows and other information. Link to your shows on your site and on Pinterest as well.

OTHER RECOMMENDED IMPROVEMENTS:

Get more and different Beta readers for Volumes II and III.
Try to get some reviewers for Volume I to be reviewers for Volume II. When you have actual fans, ask some of them. Also, remember that you are involved in several networks of authors and others that help with promoting each others’ social media sites. ASK!
It’s great that you have 3 Book Trailers ( which you created myself, free, via Animoto) so that your Youtube Spanners Series Channel is growing. Each time you release a Book Trailer, your sales go UP on Amazon and Smashwords (and perhaps the other sites; don’t know, yet). Do more trailers for Volumes II and beyond.
Use the existing flyers and make new ones when Volume II comes out. Make free business cards via KLOUT/MOO and Vistaprint which you design. They will have some links, Vol I book cover and Series logo on them. Give them out EVERYWHERE.
Join and attend workshops with several local writers’ groups.
Comment on and re-blog/re-post others’ blog posts instead of just writing your own (see? like HERE!).
Use StumbleUpon, Reddit, Quora, AllExperts.com, Suvudu and other sites to raise the visibility of your “brand” and drive traffic to your website (via WordPress.com). Your website now has over 290 #FF with 45 more on Tumblr, which are still small numbers, but show a massive increase since the websites launched in August, 2013. Make sure you post a link to every Guest Post, Author Interview, Review and Youtube video on your own website.
Set up cross-posting so that each receives all posts from your WordPress blog: re-post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google +, Goodreads, Shelfari, BookLikes and Amazon as well as Suvudu, etc. (see above).
Use JustUnfollow to keep your Twitter #FF useful, active and not ‘bots. Now up over 4000!
Continue to use author networks to share and collaborate for increasing each other’s visibility, rankings and comments. All of your numbers are fairly high and staying there on the book and author sites mostly due to these efforts.

So, with all of the above, you will be as READY as you can for your ebooks’ Pre-order periods.

Good luck, earlier Sally!

I’ll keep in touch.

current Sally

Link to Mark Coker’s full Smashwords Pre-order Slide Show post here, which is well worth viewing: take notes! Please share, tweet, USE!

http://www.slideshare.net/Smashwords/hit-the-ebook-bestseller-lists-with-preorders-a-guide-to-preorder-strategy

Links to Reviews of Volume and Volume II of The Spanners Series, Author Interviews, other Guest Blog Posts, Book Trailers, CHANGES Episodes and more on: http://www.sallyember.com

Filed under: Writing

Listen to slang

Sally Ember, Ed.D.:

I LOVE looking at language to understand the underlying cultural assumptions and values, Jnana. Thanks for posting!

AND if readers here would like to read/hear more about Jnana Hodson, check out our conversation between authors on *CHANGES*, Episode 24: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbfKicwk4dFdeVSAY1tfhtjaEY_clmfq

#Authors, learn more about and get yourself on or #Readers, recommend an #author to be scheduled as a guest: http://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/

Originally posted on Chicken Farmer I still love you:

Take a moment to list some familiar phrases, quotations, and slang terms for money and wealth. This is important, because these fragments unconsciously shape our own money actions.

Over the coming week, continue to jot down more as they come to mind. Include advice you’ve received over the years.

As these accumulate, what images are presented? Is there a consistent message? Or are they all conflicted?

How do we use them to justify our actions?

Do you ever use them as excuses?

A tally of common expressions promptly demonstrates how feelings clash: “stinking rich,” “lousy with money,” “jingle-jangle,” “almighty dollar,” “smackers,” “folding dough,” “flat busted,” “fat city,” “easy come, easy go,” “it’s only money,” “a penny saved is a penny got” (as William Penn insisted, but altered by the spendthrift Benjamin Franklin to “ . . . twopence gained”), and on and on.

By the way, how do you feel…

View original 344 more words

Filed under: Writing

D.E.A.R. = “Drop Everything And Read” #Amazon Sale of #Fantasy and #Science-Fiction Books/Ebooks April 10-12, 2015

The Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network (#FSFnet), of which I am a proud member, is having an excellent book/ebook sale April 10 – 12, 2015 only: #DEAR for “Drop Everything And Read” or D.E.A.R., on Amazon.

For a list of participating authors, free and discounted books and links to the sale on Amazon, go to FSFnet’s D.E.A.R. Facebook Event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/943589552319241

HOWEVER, since not everyone uses a Kindle ereader, if YOU want to download my ebooks in other formats, please go to Smashwords (see below) for the format of your choice, and a discount coupon good ONLY on Smashwordsfor Volume II (also, see below).

Both published Volumes of the sci-fi/romance/multiverse/utopian/paranormal (psi) ebooks in The Spanners Series for adults/NA/YA are participating in this great sale!

Volume I, This Changes Everything, The Spanners Series, by Sally Ember, Ed.D.

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of  beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are. Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions. In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth? This Changes Everything begins the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series. Are YOU ready for the changes?

Vol I is FREE!  

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, The Spanners Series, by Sally Ember, Ed.D.

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, The Spanners Series. Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II. How would YOU do with the changes?

Usually $3.99; “D.E.A.R.” Promotional price: $2.99

Your coupon code is DP34M (not case-sensitive). Good only April 10, 11, & 12. Expires: April 13, 2015

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424969  

Enter the code prior to completing checkout.

Cover art and logo by Aidana Willowraven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

‪#‎DEAR‬ ‪#‎FSFNet‬

Filed under: Indie or Self-Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Spanners, This Changes Everything, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Volume I of The Spanners, Volume II of The Spanners Tagged: Amazon, Book sale, D.E.A.R., DEAR, Drop Everything And Read Sale, ebook sale, ebooks, Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network, FSFnet, Sally Ember, Smashwords, The Spanners Series