Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 53

Cemetery Tours Sequel: Teaser Pinterest Board

Cemetery Tours Sequel: Teaser Pinterest Board

Okay, so for fun, I’ve started a little Teaser Board on Pinterest for the Cemetery Tours sequel! Won’t give away any major plot points. Just a few glimpses of what’s in store!  Enjoy!

Just a Quick Hello

Hi, friends!  

Just a quick update tonight.  The rest of this week is going to be busy!  

First, the news on Icemageddon.  There is still ice on the ground, but fortunately, most of it has melted off the houses and trees.  It was actually really cool.  The sun was out today, there was not a cloud in the sky, but with all the ice melting, it looked like it was raining even though the sky was totally clear.  It was beautiful.  

Even though the ice is melting, however, the after-effects of Icemageddon still linger.  The grocery stores are absolutely bare.  I had to go to three (count ‘em… One. Two. Three.) different grocery stores today before I managed to find milk.  I’m the kind of person who goes through a gallon of milk every other day.  I drink a lot of milk.  

Finally, I am still waiting for the books that I was going to donate to Christmas for Soldiers.  I ordered them from Barnes and Noble (just to give my ratings there a little boost) and they were supposed to be delivered on December 3.  Well, it turned out they didn’t even ship until then, so they said that they would be delivered that Friday.  Guess what happened on Friday?  ICE STORM.  

My guess is that thanks to Icemageddon, everyone’s shipments have been delayed and now all the orders are backed up.  I still really want to donate the books, but if they don’t get here in time, I can still find places for them.  I just hope I get them!  

Finally, Cemetery Tours got another great review!  Check it out! 

 

If I don’t update for a while, it’s because my dad and I are moving my sister back from college on Thursday and then we’re going to the midnight premiere of the Hobbit.  Very last minute.  We are going to be so tired.  

But it will be worth it.  

How Not To Let Marketing Ruin Your Life

I used to believe that formatting my manuscript for Kindle was the worst part of life as a independent author.  While it’s undoubtedly the most frustrating, it’s far from my absolute least favorite part about this path I’ve chosen.  No, my least favorite part is trying to get people to read and buy my book.

(Yes, this is all stemming from the fact that I have a promotional deal going on right now.  No, this is not a scheme to get you to buy it).

I hate telling people what to do.  I hate asking for favors.  I much prefer to keep to myself, do everything for myself, and let other people do whatever the heck they want as long as no one gets hurt.  Unfortunately, marketing is all about self-promotion and asking other people to do stuff.

“Buy my book!  Read my book!  Rate my book on Goodreads!  Review my book on Amazon!  Please, please, please, please, PLEASE?!”

At first, everyone is really excited and eager to help you out because hey, you’re really cool!  You wrote a book!  But then you reach the three month mark and the newness and excitement starts to die down.  That’s fine.  I don’t need bells and whistles.  However, I do still need sales.  All the people I know and love have already bought a copy, so I reach out via social media.  But it’s really hard to convince people to buy your book, especially when you’re an indie author!  Why?

A) You have about a million other Indie authors promoting their books too.

B) Come on, of course the author thinks it’s going to be good!  I myself rarely buy books just because the author asks me to.  I’ve  bought a few, like one about Scotland, but that’s because I really love Scotland.  I’ll also download any book that’s free.  But my interest still needs to be sparked.  Just telling people to buy your book isn’t enough.

December has been a really slow sales month for me, and I won’t lie, it’s been a little discouraging.  Does that mean I’m going to throw in the towel?  Of course not.  But I have noticed that my obsession over marketing and trying to get the book out there more has started to interfere with my life, and that is not okay, especially so close to Christmas!  The happiest time of the year!  Well, when there’s not any ice, that is.

Instead of making fudge and going Christmas light watching and singing carols, all I think about is, “Okay… how do I sell X amount of books by this date?”  And that is not what I want!  I want to enjoy life!  I want to enjoy the holidays!  Yes, it’s important to stay focused, keep working, keep writing, and keep trying to get the word out there as much as I can, but it’s also vital to bear in mind what’s really important in life; family, friends, running barefoot through a pile of leaves, playing in sprinklers, love, laughter… All that is infinitely more important than worrying about how much money my book is going to make me this month.  I’m still going to keep writing and put out the sequel and my next trilogy regardless.

This whole indie author thing isn’t easy, but I do believe, wholeheartedly that it’s worth it.  I consider myself lucky to have found something I’m passionate about.  I love writing, and I’d love it even if I wasn’t trying to make a career out of it.  I write for fun in my spare time. It’s funny, because I’ve always heard that getting paid for something has the potential to take the joy out of it.  It’s weird, but it’s kind of true.  I love writing for fun and I loved writing Cemetery Tours.  Yeah, getting paid for it is great, but I much prefer the process of writing than the process of selling.  As does any author, probably.

On  totally unrelated topic, it’s still cold and icy here.  I actually drove to Target today (without hitting any poles!  Yay!), and I learned that when you drive with two inches of ice on top of your car, the ice tends to break and then slip ‘n slide right off your car and crash right into the street, startling not only you, but also the poor innocent drivers around you.  I live in Texas.  I don’t think these kind of things through.  I’m not sure I even own an ice scraper.  I ended up chipping away the giant slab of ice frozen around my antenna like a giant record away with a tin of gingerbread that I’ve had in my car since Thanksgiving.  Classy, I know.

Anyway, this article might actually be one of the most accurate things I’ve ever read in my life:

http://yestotexas.com/10-reasons-texans-hate-cold-weather/

Stay warm, everybody!

CEMETERY TOURS IS ONLY $0.99 ON KINDLE!

CEMETERY TOURS IS ONLY $0.99 ON KINDLE!

Just a quick note here before I go to work.  In honor of the holidays, Cemetery Tours is only $0.99 on Kindle today!  Tomorrow, it will be on sale also, but it will $1.99 beginning around 3 PM Pacific Time.  

Update on Being Iced In in Texas

Nothing much has changed since yesterday.  It was my sister’s birthday (in case you missed the blog post… http://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2...) and also the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, but we tend to celebrate the former with a little more enthusiasm.  

I actually had a nightmare about the ice last night.  I dreamt that it got so cold that the base of my home froze over and the entire house slid down the hill and my laptop broke.  My cats were okay, though, so that’s good.  

Speaking of laptops, I finished Chapter 16 of the Cemetery Tours sequel.  I really want to release the name and make a Pinterest board for it (because that’s just how serious and professional I am), but I have to wait until it’s finished and I have the name registered.  Well technically, I don’t have to, but I want to.  It just seems more official that way.  

Also, North Texas is under a freezing fog advisory.  What the heck is a freezing fog advisory?  It sounds like something that Moses would have brought with him to Egypt along with the locusts and the darkness and such.  Or maybe something that the Gamemakers would put in the Arena during the Hunger Games.  Whatever it is, it’s here and I don’t like it.  

I can’t deny it though, it has been kind of nice having an excuse to do absolutely nothing.  I really enjoy getting the chance to curl up in a blanket, light a winter candle, and read or write or watch a movie I haven’t seen in a while.  It’s been good for my parents too, especially my mom, who has two jobs and works six days a week.  I’d love it, more than anything, if she could quit at least one of them.  The other, she says, she’d still do for fun, even if she didn’t need to.  

One thing I can say about being snowed in is that you save a lot of money.  No eating out, no grocery store, no gasoline spent, and sadly, no Christmas shopping, which I guess can wait, but I so love getting out and enjoying lights and music and hot chocolate!  I also really want to go Christmas light watching.  Good thing I still have 18 days to enjoy the season!  

Well, I’m gonna go work a little bit more on CT2 (That’s Cemetery Tours 2).  Talk to y’all later!  Stay warm!  I know I am!!!

A Personal Message to My Sister on Her Birthday

I am so grateful that you made it to 19 without being selected for the Hunger Games. As you can guess, this comes as a huge weight off of my shoulders, as, due to our seven year age difference, I would not have been able to volunteer for you had your name been drawn at the Reaping. I’m not sure either one of us would have actually survived in the arena, but maybe we could have at least made it past the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about the Games much longer now that the Revolution is in full swing. Regardless, I am happy to have you alive and safe. See you in District 13!

Happy Birthday And May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor.

 

Back before even I was old enough for the Reaping.

You were always such a happy kid.

Even as you got older, you never let the Capitol or the Peacemakers stop you from doing the things you love… be it reading…

Singing…

Or eating. Had to enjoy those meals when we could, considering how lousy the districts are treated.

You’ve always been so beautiful, inside and out…

Which I’m sure is why you were voted “Most Likely to Get Sponsors for the Hunger Games” at school.

That time we went shopping for homes in District 12.

That time we went to District 4 and you had a thing with that cute sailor… What was his name? Billy? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Anything Goes! ;)

Then there was the time you snuck into the Capitol and stole Effie Trinket’s wig…

And you discovered that the Capitol has been breeding a new kind of Mutt Plant! I think I’d take a swarm of Tracker Jackers over whatever the heck that is.

We’ve had a lot of fun these past nineteen years, but I think the best is still yet to come! Happy Birthday, KJ! I love you!

Icemageddon

Well, it’s here.  That big winter storm that North Texans have been dreading for days hit with full force last night around midnight.

Before I get into that, though, here are a few scenes from the hours leading up to the Ice Storm of the New Century.

For the first time in my life, I went to the grocery store… and there were NO shopping carts available. THAT is how many people flocked to the store to prepare for the Winter Apocalypse.

Bread is essential for the iced in Texan.

North Texans preparing for the end of the world.

Later that evening, we still hadn’t seen any ice, or freezing rain, or even rain for that matter, and I was beginning to wonder if maybe it was going to miss us.  Around ten o’clock, however, the rain started.  It was just rain at first, but it was a downpour.  The streets outside were flooded, but not frozen.  Not yet, anyway.

About two hours later, that rain turned into ice pellets.  It started collecting in the streets and grass almost immediately.  Our power surged a few times, but fortunately, it never completely failed *knock on wood*.  Our neighbors across the street, however, were no so luck.

Around one in the morning, I was writing and watching a movie, when all of a sudden, I heard a tremendous BOOM!  At first I thought it was thunder, so I ran to the window to see if there was any lightening outside.  There was no lightening, but the entire neighborhood on the other side of the street was completely dark.  No power whatsoever.  After watching for a few moments to see if the power would come back, a spark appeared on top of one of the transformers.  I thought that it was the power trying to come back on.  But then, the entire thing exploded in a blinding flash of light and another ground-shaking BOOM!  I’m not gonna lie.  It just about scared me to death.  It was like watching fireworks go off right across the street.  Sparks were raining down into our neighbor’s yard and onto the street.  Fortunately, it was so damp that nothing ignited or anything, but for a moment, I really thought I was going to have to call the fire department.

A friend of mine who lives in that neighborhood informs me that they still don’t have power.  Been there.  No fun.

This was the radar last night at 2:15. That’s a lot of purple.

This morning, the world outside is white.  Not the good kind though.  It’s not the playing outside, building snowmen, crunching snow beneath your feet kind of white.  It’s the slippery, fall flat on your face, so cold that you don’t even leave footprints when you walk kind of white.  It’s pure ICE.  Seriously, it’s like walking on a giant ice skating rink.  I didn’t even have to kick the ice off my shoes when I came back inside from walking around.

My poor car… :(

This is Ice Warrior Jacqueline Smith, signing out.  Stay warm, troops.

For All the Non-Texans Out There

This is what happens when winter comes to Texas. It’s not snowing, it’s not sleeting, I don’t think it’s even below freezing, and already, the government is activating the emergency plans. THAT is how terrible people are at driving in the snow down here. Sort of sad. Sort of amusing. All true.

Just Blogging

So, I am currently in the midst of

A) Writing the Cemetery Tours sequel.

B) Trying to think of new and interesting marketing strategies.

C) Trying to figure out how to distribute my time a little more effectively.

So naturally, I’m here on the blog, doing none of the above.  I have had some new marketing ideas though.  I most got on here (the blog) to tell you that I have like, three really good ideas, but I can’t tell you about any of them because all of them require the assistance of someone else and lo and behold, I haven’t asked anyone for their help yet, so I can’t officially say that any of them are a go.  I’m really excited about the ideas though, and when you get excited about an idea, you just HAVE to tell someone!!!

I’m actually reading a book now about how to sell a million ebooks.  I’m halfway through and still haven’t gotten to the part where the author actually tells me how to do this… but hey, the first half spawned a few cool ideas, even if they didn’t come directly from him.

I’m also thinking of making a writing chart that I can upload here for the world to see.  Not to brag about how much writing I do, but so I can set deadlines for myself and I can feel shamed and humiliated if I don’t meet them… thus forcing me to put more time aside for my writing and less time aside for things like planning my not-even-remotely-close-to-happening wedding on PInterest.  It’s kind of like a sticker chart, only for my career.  I’ll think about that.

In other news, Texas is fixin’ to get sucker-punched by Jack Frost (and not the animated one from that Guardians movie).  I’m talking freezing wind chills, ice, snow, sleet, the works.  I’m not sure if I’m happy about it or not.  On the one hand, it’s almost Christmas and I really like it to be cold at Christmas.  Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I secretly love, love, love snow and I actually love being able to curl up with my blankets and my kitties and my warm pajamas and light a winter candle and just watch a movie or read or write.  On the other hand, I hate being cold and I hate ice on the roads and I hate not being able to go anywhere.  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but Texans CAN NOT DRIVE IN SNOW.  I tried it once and guess what  happened?  I drove my car straight into a light pole.  Totaled my poor car and sent the light on top of the pole flying across the street.  I might actually be sort of proud of that under different circumstances.

But at least no one else was involved.

Anyway, the next few days should be at least a little interesting.  Hopefully the good kind.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

NEW and VASTLY IMPROVED Website!

So, I’m not a very computer savvy person.  I can do things like write and blog and Facebook, but anything beyond that is pretty much lost on me.  Website design, in particular.  

However, last night, I sat down and worked for I don’t know how many hours to create a new and quite professional-looking website that I am now thrilled to share!  

Before, WindTrailPublishing.com looked like this…

Ew.

 

Yuck.

 

Gross.

But noooow… it looks like THIS: http://windtrailpublishing.com 

What do you think?!