Meg Collett's Blog, page 6

Sh!t I Learned Today: How to Run a Blog Tour/Release Day Blitz

When I first realized I wanted to be an author, I found that I was easily overwhelmed by the extreme learning curve I had before me. And it wasn’t just stuff you had to learn, but also execute every day after that. To keep from getting ulcers (jury is still out on that) I told myself that if I could just learn one new thing a day, I would be okay and I wouldn’t get so stressed out that I wanted to quit.

Well, that kind of worked. Ha! But I thought I would share some of the things I learned along the way on this blog.

So…

Sh!t I Learned Today: How to Run a Blog Tour/Release Day Blitz

 

For any new author just starting out, the predominant question running through their mind is likely, “How in the hell do I market this thing?” Maybe it’s your first book and you want a successful release, or maybe you hoping to increase your sales this time around. Either way, effectively utilizing and pulling off a blog tour and/or release day blitz could go a long ways toward helping you achieve your release day/week/month goals.

Release Day Blitz: A group of bloggers just post a promotional post about the book. It’s just on one day (the release day) and is meant to “blitz” readers with the book, spreading the release as wide as possible.

Blog Tour: Is spread out over a week or longer. Some “stops” have reviews and some have just promotional posts.

For my first book, The Hunted One, I paid a company to run my blog tour. It was a pretty big company, and my blog stops were at decently sized blogs. But if you’ve read my previous posts on Mistakes I Made as a New Author Part One and Two, you know I don’t believe this is the route new authors should go. It’s probably a GREAT route for authors who are too busy and need the help, but for new authors, we have the time to run our own. Sadly.

Don’t spend the money paying for something you could’ve done yourself.

Except for formatting, editing, and covers. Those you should pay someone for.

Before we start talking about steps to take and all that, remember that this is MY experience running these things. My word is not the final truth. This is just what I’ve learned to do and what works for me. If you have something that has worked for you, feel free to share it in the comments!

Also, I don’t have much experience with the blog tour side of things. So I asked Shweta from Fallen for Books to help out with her experience. She’s offered to run my FAKERS blog tour as a favor to me and is just a wonderful person in general. Her blog is great. Here is the link. And head over and like her page on Facebook.

Okayyyyyyyyyy. Let’s get started.

 

First Step (and maybe the most important):

You need a list of blogs. Uh, say what?!

I keep my list in Excel. The first column is the name of the blog, followed by the link to their Facebook page, and then the other columns are for my notes. I started building a list just by messaging blogs (on Facebook) and asking them to share something for me, either a teaser, release day information, sale, or free promotion. In the list, I keep up with who actually shares and who doesn’t. I keep messaging new blogs and keeping up with who shares until I have a pretty decently sized list ordered by those who have shared the most for me, down to those who don’t.

I do all this on Facebook. Why? Because this is where your vast majority of readers are going to be most active. It’s worth it to focus on Facebook and run your messaging base from there.

Now for a disclaimer: Some blogs don’t like this kind of “messaging promotion” stuff. Make sure before you message a blog that you check their “about” section on Facebook. They might have policies that you need to adhere too.

Now for another disclaimer: Some of these blogs (most of them) get A TON of messages from other authors asking for the same exact thing. So be nice. Be polite. Always, always, always take the time for thanking every blog that posts for you. And be understanding if it takes them some time to post for you. It’s not something that needs to be done THAT minute, and any help they’re giving you is help you didn’t have a second before.

As you start interacting with more blogs, make sure you keep up with everyone’s names. Write them in your note section in excel and make sure you keep messages personalized. I will copy and paste some stuff, like the “promo” I want them to share, but I try to keep the start of the message personalized. Especially if I know a certain blog pretty well.

Every author needs a list like this. These bloggers are your biggest asset.

Make sure to keep accurate notes and always add to your list. Message new blogs as much as possible. You don’t want to harass the same blog over and over again.

 

Second Step: Set up a Google Drive Sign Up Form

Google Drive should be your new best friend as an author. You need to create a “sign up form” for bloggers to fill out. This form is really important, because you want to sound like you know what you’re doing. Here’s what to include:

                What to include in the DESCRIPTION of a sign up form for a release day blitz:

- title and author of book

- release date

- description

- that an easy HTML will be provided and that top post isn’t required

                Example from my latest blitz sign up form for FAKERS:

Thank you for your interest in the release day blitz of Fakers! This is a contemporary romance book. I will email an official release day packet including an easy HTML for you in advance that you can use on September 29, 2014. Please stick to US time zones and post the morning of Sept 29.

Top post is not required, but would gladly be appreciated!

Here is the working description of Fakers (I might change this some, so use the description in the packet on Sept 29):

Kyra Aberdeen is a Youtube sensation. Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture the hearts of millions each week through her videos. But she’s just faking it. Because beneath the surface is a simmering darkness that threatens to pull Kyra under some days. She masks her depression with a sunny smile and bright laugh.

When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother’s childhood home, she is hoping to confront the lurking darkness that haunts her every step. But life never goes according to plan, and when Kyra meets her grumpy contractor, Hale Cooper, it seems he’s not going to make things any easier for her. Yet Kyra is drawn to him, to a man whose every emotion plays across his face as he feels it. But she’s never let herself get too close to anyone before, and she finds herself in uncharted waters.

If she lowers her guard and allows herself to love Hale, will the darkness creep in too?

 

All of that general information should go in the description of the sign up form. Beneath that, you start adding questions. I mainly use multiple choice and text answers. Make sure to make the important questions a requirement. All of this is really simple to figure out in Google Drive, so don’t worry about it. You’ll figure all this stuff out when you start.

                – below the description, have them fill out:

- contact name

- contact email:

- blog name

- if they want to receive and ARC for review to be posted on release day

- what format they want (ePub, mobi, or PDF)

- an agreement to post on release date (yes or no question)

- an agreement to post review on release day. But if it’s below four stars, ask them to post it on another day besides your release. Most blogs will do this for you.

Now for a disclaimer: Some authors put watermarks on their ARC copies. Or even password protect a PDF. Others don’t send out ePubs because they are easier to pirate. This is every author’s individual choice on what measures they need to take to feel protected. Remember at this point, your work is copyrighted just by being completed and written by you. Once you have the final, edited version, you can officially copyright it at copyright.gov.

 

Now, if you are organizing a blog tour too, you need to include some different questions in the sign up form. I’ve never tried to do both at once, but I believe it would be pretty simple. Just make sure to distinguish between them and make sure the blogger can chose to opt in for both or only one. But if you want to keep the forms separate, that makes sense too.

                – things to include about a blog tour from Shweta:

- list out the days the tour will be running for. Let each blog pick what day they want to feature your blog tour.

- let them pick between a promotional post, a review of an ARC, OR a fun feature (like your playlist for the book or the cast you’d pick if your book was a movie or something different like that)

 

Third Step: Messaging!

Remember that list of bloggers you’ve got going? Message them with the link to your Google Sign up Form. Ask them very nicely if they would like to sign up. Send them the cover of your upcoming release and the blurb so they know if it’s something they would be interested in.

 

Fourth Step from Shweta: Time frame!

Set a time frame for how long you can send out the link. Maybe set a goal for how many bloggers you want. But make sure you give yourself enough time. Shweta says that bloggers should have a month to read and review an ARC, and the blogger should get their packet 10-15 days out from the actual tour. If you are doing a special post for them (like the cast of characters or playlist) make sure you send that too. Don’t wait for the blogger to ask you for it. They need all this stuff in advance so they can schedule posts.

 

Fifth Step: Organizing your packet aka your email to bloggers

This is where things get stressful. Shweta says it can take up to one entire day just to organize all the blog tour packets for each blog. You will have the blogs separated (in your Google Form) by what post they are doing. For the group who is posting promo posts, you could message them all together. Same for review posts. Just stay organized. Keep up with who gets what.

A SPECIAL, VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: When you email bloggers (or anyone for that matter) always, always, always use BCC, aka, blind carbon copy. It’s an option in your email recipient section. It’s just more professional. People don’t like their emails being passed around.

So now let’s get into what you need to include in a packet to bloggers. REMEMBER: when I talk about a “post” and the easy HTML for it, I mean that you are literally going to put together a blog post for these bloggers. This applies to the release day blitz post and a separate post for each blog tour post type. I make these posts on my WordPress blog as a draft post. This makes it easy for me to copy and paste the HTML. I’ll get into that more later, but just remember that you are not just emailing these bloggers your information. You are putting together a complete packet for them.

Sorry if this starts to get confusing. Hopefully by the end, it’ll make sense.

                Things you need to include in a “packet” for bloggers. These go in the email as separate attachments.

- easy HTML post

- a word document of the blog post (I do this just so bloggers can see the layout. In this document, you can include an empty spot for a review. This empty spot is for the blog tour stops that will be doing a review.) This also serves as a one-stop-shop of information for bloggers in regards to your author bio, synopsis, etc.

- all pictures you used in the post, like teasers, covers, etc. Separately attach these.

- buy links (any that you have already. If you use Amazon’s preorder option, then you will have some already. If you use Smashwords, and did a preorder, then you will have all of them. But if you don’t, you need to make it clear that you will email links the night before the release day or whenever your book goes live. This gets tricky and annoying, but do the best you can.)

- giveaway information. A lot of authors will do a Rafflecopter giveaway for release day events. Make sure you include the prize information (US only or international?) and the link to the rafflecopter.

- and the blog tour schedule so bloggers can have a reminder of what day they are on and all that.

 

So I’ve talked about what goes in the actual email to bloggers. Let’s talk about what goes in that “post” you’re making for them.

                Here’s what you need in your “post” for a release day blitz:     

- title and author

- cover pictures

- promo image/banner

- genre

- description

- teasers and excerpts

- about the author and important links (newsletter)

- other books by that author (amazon link)

Here’s an example of my release day blitz post for The Only One, third book in my End of Days series.

Make a separate post for the blog tour too. You have bloggers that signed up for a promo post, a review post, or those special posts. For everyone who signed up for the promo post, send them the release day blitz post you made. Just adjust it to say Blog Tour blah blah. Instead of Release Day Blitz Blah Blah. Then make a post for the reviews and leave an empty spot for the actual review. And then make posts for each “special” interview that people signed up for.

Basically, you will be making a lot of blog post drafts in your WordPress or whatever else kind of blog you use. If you don’t have a way to create a blog post, I suggest you open a free WordPress site. You don’t have to promote on it or even use it, but it will help you when doing stuff like this. You can trust the HTML it makes and you can play around to make your posts pretty.

 

Sixth Step: Following up on release day

Most bloggers will email you links to their post as they schedule them. You can keep up with things this way. Personally, I’m not that much of a control freak. I get that life can interfere with things, so I believe that if any blog didn’t post, they have good reason. And they don’t need me freaking out on them. Some blogs won’t post a review of the book even if they signed up for one, because they didn’t like the book. No big deal there either. Not everyone will like your book. How you keep up with who posts and who doesn’t is up to you. You have all their information in the Google Sign Up form, so use that if you need to.

 

 

So, as you can tell from this very long post, running a blitz/blog tour is just about staying organized and being professional. It’s not super hard, but it can quickly become overwhelming. Stay on top of things. Give yourself enough time. And don’t procrastinate.

 

Here are a few tips from me and Shweta:

1. Shweta: ALWAYS be courteous.

2. If it’s your first blog tour, keep it simple. Only ask a few blogs to be on it at first. Maybe ten? That way, you can keep up with things easier.

3. Run your blog tour a week or so after your actual release date. Your blitz will happen on the ACTUAL release day (obviously), but a blog tour could bring a nice little bump in sales after your initial release.

4. Shweta: Whether the blog is big or small, any exposure is worth it when you have a new book.

5. Use your WordPress blog to copy and paste the HTML for the easy HTML part. If you have a blog, this is simple for you. When you’re building the post, you can just go to the “text” part of the post and copy all that HTML. Here’s a screen shot.

6. Shweta: Some blogs run tours pretty cheaply. Shop around for prices. If you are exchanging swag for a tour, be fair to the blogger. This takes a lot of time.

 

Ok! So this was a lot of information. And this post is SUPER long. Ask any questions in the comments, and I’ll make sure to answer them! Remember, this is trial and error. Keep things small at first and build up. Stay organized. Keep your head. Always be polite.

 

Thanks y’all! Hope this helps.

 

The post Sh!t I Learned Today: How to Run a Blog Tour/Release Day Blitz appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

FAKERS Pre-Order Links

fakers
by Meg Collett

Kyra Aberdeen is a Youtube sensation. Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture the hearts of millions each week through her videos. But she’s just faking it. Because beneath the surface is a simmering darkness that threatens to pull Kyra under some days. She masks her depression with a sunny smile and bright laugh.

When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother’s childhood home, she is hoping to confront the lurking darkness that haunts her every step. But life never goes according to plan, and when Kyra meets her grumpy contractor, Hale Cooper, it seems he’s not going to make things any easier for her. Yet Kyra is drawn to him, to a man whose every emotion plays across his face as he feels it. But she’s never let herself get too close to anyone before, and she finds herself in uncharted waters.

If she lowers her guard and allows herself to love Hale, will the darkness creep in too?

PRE-ORDER LINKS

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

iTunes

Smashwords

***There isn’t an Amazon pre-order link at this time. Buy links for Amazon will be available on 9/29! Sorry for the inconvenience.***

The post FAKERS Pre-Order Links appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 2) – Financial Mistakes

When I first realized I wanted to be an author, I found that I was easily overwhelmed by the extreme learning curve I had before me. And it wasn’t just stuff you had to learn, but also execute every day after that. To keep from getting ulcers (jury is still out on that) I told myself that if I could just learn one new thing a day, I would be okay and I wouldn’t get so stressed out that I wanted to quit.

Well, that kind of worked. Ha! But I thought I would share some of the things I learned along the way on this blog.

So…

Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 2) – Financial Mistakes

So yesterday, in Part One, I talked about all the financial mistakes I made with publishing my first book. I explained why these were bad business decisions. If you haven’t read that part, start there. Or else this post might be confusing.

I’m going to list those mistakes again here. And I will talk about them all individually below.

1. Over spent with editing costs

2. Didn’t shop around for costs of covers, and spent too much again

3. Spent WAY TOO much on professionally designed swag

4. Spent WAT TOO much on a blog tour that was mediocre at best

5. Over bought swag (t-shirts, book plates, bookmarks, etc)

6. GAVE AWAY TOO MUCH SHIT!!!!

 

Now let’s start talking about what new writers SHOULD do. Or at least in my opinion.

 

1. Shop around for editors. Most charge by the page (based on 12pt, Times New Roman, double spaced, OR 250 words per page). Some charge by the word. Or some have a flat rate for the whole book. Remember: You get what you pay for. If you are looking to have your first book edited, then you might need developmental editing, which is where an editor reads the book for plot issues, character issues, pacing, etc. This type of editing is just to make the story stronger. And I needed A LOT of this with my first book. I was switching POV’s like no bodies business. WHICH IS BAD. Anyways, developmental editing can be more expensive than copy editing or proofreading.

Minimize developmental costs by:

a) finding another author to be your critique partner. Don’t ask your best friend. Ask an author who is on the same level as you, writing-wise and career-wise. Make sure they will be honest with you. In exchange for them reading your book, you will read theirs. Help each other with this developmental stuff and whatever grammar things you can. This is an invaluable tool. I LOVE my critique partner. She’s the best decision I ever made. Besides marrying my husband.

b.) Get beta readers. This is a little easier than finding a good critique partner. You can ask friends and family, but I would suggest asking people on your Facebook page or on Twitter. You want other writers and people who read a lot. You want good folks who will be honest with you. I LOVE my beta readers. They are good friends now, who happen to enjoy what I write. Which still surprises me.

I think it is entirely possible to get a good editor who will do a copy edit and some developmental stuff for around $650. This really isn’t much for editing. But I think for new writers, this is ALL YOU SHOULD SPEND.

Why?

Because that’s a lot of books you need to sell to earn that money back. And here’s where I insert my very flagrant opinion: I think it’s better in the long run to have a book that might have a few editing issues or typos than a book that is perfect and will never make a TRUE profit. I also think it’s more important to start building a following and fans, who love your work though it may have a couple flaws. Don’t sink your ship before you even get out of the harbor.

 

2. Shop around for book covers. You want a NICE ONE. Duh. It’s the one thing that readers see first, so make it a good one. Here’s where I insert another opinion: DON’T SPEND MORE THAN $150 BUCKS ON A COVER. This seems to be a pretty standard number. And you can get a really nice cover package that includes a full print cover (front and back) and an ebook cover. I would also suggest finding cover designers and looking at their pre-made covers. There are a lot of really nice ones that you can get for cheap. Like $60 bucks cheap.

 

3. Dear all things holy, you DO NOT NEED professionally designed swag. Now if you’re lucky and you find a cover designer who will make your covers AND bookmark designs or whatever for less than $150, you’re golden. The only swag you really need right now is bookmarks. Don’t get all that other crazy stuff. That will come later. Bookmarks are easy to get (Got Print) a lot of them for cheap. And they are easy to make. Buy some stock photos to use or take a slice of your cover to make a book mark. I have Photoshop, so this is easier for me, because I can layer pictures and text easier. There are programs and picture editors out there that can do what Photoshop does (on a less complicated level). I totally get if you think you can’t design something or can’t find a good program to use. Trust me. I get it. But remember it doesn’t have to be the prettiest thing you ever saw. If you’re worried, skip swag. Right now, it’s not a necessity and you can save the money.

 

4. You don’t need to pay someone to do a blog tour for you. Especially don’t spend hundreds of dollars on one like I did. It was stupid. You can do this yourself. I will do a separate post on doing one of these things, because it’s involved. So check back. J

 

5. This kind of goes with #3. You only need bookmarks right now (if that). Bookmarks are great because you can mail them in a normal envelope with a normal stamp, which REDUCES YOUR POST OFFICE EXPENSES. Some of my highest costs come from the post office, which is crazy. And you can get HUNDREDS of bookmarks for super cheap (Got Print). So you can easily mail them out to fans for giveaway prizes. But if you’re scared to design them yourself, skip swag. Pinch your pennies.

 

6. I kind of explained this earlier, but don’t do giveaways just to get more likes or whatever. I have a hard time with this one, because I want to do a million giveaways all the time. It’s been really hard for me to do, but I’ve cut down A LOT on this. It’s a hard mindset to stay in when you see all these other authors giving away so much stuff. But right now, with your first book, you want to minimize costs. Maybe your Facebook page won’t have thousands of likes right off the bat, but you will still find good fans and friends. Those are the people who should win giveaways anyways. So save your money for them.

 

Okay. So there’s all that. Whew.

After writing all this, I realize that some people don’t want to invest anything in the books they publish. They want to have friends and family edit their books, or they might not even think they need to edit their books. And they’re going to design their own covers. In the end, they will have spent nothing just so they can have a book on Amazon.

That’s fine. Maybe you just want to write just to write and share your work. I get that. I do. Or maybe you don’t have the money at all to invest in a book. And I get that too. I really do. So I’m not being all judgy here.

If that’s you then, I hope you didn’t waste too much time reading this post! This post is more for the writers who are just starting out and trying to figure out how much to spend.

This isn’t the Bible for cheap publishing either. I want to make quality books with good editing and good covers. It’s a hard balance to strike. And I’m still learning. So please take this post with a grain of salt. This is what I learned, and how I’m doing things differently now. That’s all.

 

But I hope this helps someone out there!

 

The post Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 2) – Financial Mistakes appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 1) – Financial Mistakes

When I first realized I wanted to be an author, I found that I was easily overwhelmed by the extreme learning curve I had before me. And it wasn’t just stuff you had to learn, but also execute every day after that. To keep from getting ulcers (jury is still out on that) I told myself that if I could just learn one new thing a day, I would be okay and I wouldn’t get so stressed out that I wanted to quit.

Well, that kind of worked. Ha! But I thought I would share some of the things I learned along the way on this blog.

So…

Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 1) – Financial Mistakes

Do this. Do that. Make sure your doing this every day. But not too much! And, for the love of all things holy, DON’T DO THAT!

As new authors, we hear all this crap every day. And if we’re not hearing it then we’re reading it. Everyone has an opinion about how new writers should start their publishing careers.

This is NOT one of those posts. In part one of this blog post, I want to just outline some of the mistakes I made early on and explain why they were mistakes. Then in Part 2, I will explain, in my opinion, what new writers should do differently. Since these two posts are about costs and expenses, I don’t want to come off as saying DO THIS, DO THAT. This is just my own experience, and how I wish I had done things different. In Part 2, I am just talking about costs that I think are reasonable and what I would spend. It’s also the method I use now to an extent.

But everyone is different. No path is the same.

That being said, Part 1 is about the mistakes I made as a new writer (and still make. YAY!). I tried to think about the missteps I regret the most over the past few months I’ve started publishing. And I wanted to share them with y’all in the hopes that someone can avoid the things I did.

Maybe I will make this a series, because I wanted to start with the FINANCIAL MISTAKES I made, because I think they are the biggest ones.

 

The #1 One Biggest Mistake I Made was being a STUPID IDIOT WITH MY MONEY.

 

There I said it. I kind of feel better actually.

Let’s start from the beginning.

In December, I quit my full-time job because I was about to publish my first book. For me, this actually wasn’t a mistake. My husband and I are in a unique position where I was able to do this. We live pretty simply and without a lot of debt. My mindset is that you only live once, and you should give your dreams the best damn shot you can. Now, I’m not saying to succeed as a writer you have to quit your job, because, um, I’m not that successful. And I’m sure as hell not one of those writers who says you have to fully commit to make it. That’s stupid. People have obligations and responsibilities that require them to be superheroes and work all day and write all night. I seriously applaud you, because you’re awesome for doing that.

I said all that to say this: When I quit my job, I told my husband that I was considering my credit card (which at the time was fully paid off) as a “business loan.” It made sense to me in that we wouldn’t have to go out and actually acquire a real loan.

So I set off into the publishing world with a finished book and a shiny credit card. I’d read David Gaughran’s Let’s Get Digital. I’d devoured other writer’s “how to” blogs. I knew I needed a very well edited book and a blazing cover of glory. I needed professional formatting and a deep understanding of the monkeys that live inside the Amazon machine.

So my first stop: Editing.

This is actually probably an entirely separate post. I could get into some editing stories. I tend to dive headfirst into things, so I’ve gotten myself into some interesting situations.

But, like I said, another post, another time.

So my mistake here was that I didn’t have a true understanding of the market standard for editing costs. Um, I still might not, but I definitely didn’t then. I jumped onto the band wagon of the first editor who would take me. And here is where it’s get tricky: I couldn’t separate the emotion from the business. I really liked this editor. She understood me and my writing. I liked her as a person just as much as an editor. And she really helped me make my book AMAZING. Let me reemphasize that point: She is a GOOD editor.

But too good.

I paid OUT THE ASS for an editor that was beyond the level I was currently at. I sunk A LOT (let me repeat: A LOT) of money into editing my first book. Money that I will NEVER make back, but at that time, I justified it. I thought I needed this level of editing.

And here’s the moral of the story: First time writers do NOT need this level of editing. You won’t make the money back, which means it’s a bad BUSINESS decision.

I don’t know if this editor took advantage of me. Probably. But I still will always appreciate the way she helped me through the first book. She made me a better writer, so maybe that’s invaluable?

Anyways, I went on to make the same mistake with my second book. Too much editing costs. Costs that I would never recover. Only then did I come to realize this:

You have to scale your costs to the projected profits you expect.

 

I was an economics major, but this was a really hard lesson to learn. To me, I thought if I invested enough money, magically my book would do well. This kind of goes along with another Sh!t I Learned Today post about being wise with your money. See the trend here?

So I’ve made a few pretty bad decisions with money on my first book. Here they are:

1. Over spent with editing costs

I pretty much explained this earlier, because this was the number one biggest expense I had. I spent THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS editing my first and second book. It’s money I’ll never see again. Would I sacrifice a lesser quality book for that money back? Yes. Because I believe in my story. And I think people are better than getting hung up on a few typos. I mean, some of the best selling books out there have flaws. I would have preferred to save the money and deal with some assholes getting hung up over a typo.

2. Didn’t shop around for costs of covers, and spent too much again

When I started, I had no clue the price of covers. I sunk a lot of money into mine, but I have original covers from a very talented artist. I love my covers. But do I wish I had that money back? Yes. Because I should have shopped around and understood the real cost of covers. Maybe then I could have negotiated price. Be informed.

3. Spent WAY TOO much on professionally designed swag

I have a design background, and I’m semi-proficient with Photoshop. For me (and everyone is different), I knew I could design my own swag, but I felt pressured to have amazing stuff. But the stuff wasn’t even that amazing. I could have done it. So now I do. Never pay for something you could do yourself.

4. Spent WAT TOO much on a blog tour that was mediocre at best

I’ll repeat. Never pay for something you could do yourself. Blog tours and blitzes are case and point. Or is it ‘case in point’? I have no clue. Anyways, I had a big blog tour from a professional company. My stops were with big blogs. But those blogs were so big and so busy that they really couldn’t give any personal attention to an author, even in the form of a typed out tweet or Facebook post about the book. It was all those standard automated posts that is basically an alert that a new blog post is up. Nothing against that. I realize everyone is busy. But it wasn’t for me, because that’s not what I paid a shit ton of money for. Some blogs didn’t even post and gave no reason why not.

5. Over bought swag (t-shirts, book plates, bookmarks, etc)

Don’t by book plates, people. No one cares about book plates unless you’re a big time author with a nice, fancy hardcover book. They are old school, traditional publishing things. And you won’t need them. They are also expensive. And you have to order a THOUSAND at a time.

T-shirts are too expensive too. Fans love them, and they are great for authors who have the money to invest in cool swag, but for writers just starting off, they are an unnecessary expense. I wasted way too much money on them.

6. GAVE AWAY TOO MUCH SHIT!!!!

This one is tricky. And I want to take a moment to explain. Before I had even published, I was giving away $5 gift cards left and right. To me, I thought I was getting people to like my Facebook page and building interest in my book. And I was. I had a lot of interest in my first book. People were excited about it, and I believe that helped to have a good release, which I did. BUT all those gift cards (and then when my book released, ebooks) added up. LIKE REALLY ADDED UP. I had, once again, spent way too much money on something that didn’t really equal the payouts.

So giving away stuff is good, especially to reward your fans. But I’m talking about before I even had a book released.

 

I’m sure I could list many more things I over spent on, but that would become a little too embarrassing. When everyone was said and done, I’d spent THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS just on publishing one book. That is crazy for an author just starting out. This is a career for me; I’m a small business owner. My books are my products. It was insane to drop this kind of cash on just one book.

I burned through that credit card, and now I’m in a position where I’m struggling to even release one book because I can’t afford the costs. I completely screwed myself because I thought I needed all these things to have a successful book. That’s not the case at all. You don’t.

You can’t buy true fans and a good following. That takes time, time and good books. So save your money. Cut costs where you can. Set that money aside to publish the next book. Don’t be like me and run through all the cash you have, leaving you with nothing left for the next books.

In Part Two, which I will post tomorrow, I will talk about the mistakes I listed above and how I could have saved money there. This is all going to be my opinion, and the prices I list will be what I WISH I would have spent. So stay tuned, and I hope this will help someone.

 

 

The post Sh!t I Learned Today: Mistakes of a New Author (Part 1) – Financial Mistakes appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Sh!t I Learned Today: Great new advertising option!

Hey y’all! So, as a writer, I’m always struggling to find great places to advertise that not only get me the downloads but are also cost efficient. A while back, I posted some of my favorite sites to advertise and some of my not-so-favorite sites. You can find that post here.

But I wanted to take a quick second and mention a new site I found. It’s called The Midlist. They send out a newsletter with bargain book deals to subscribers and also post on Facebook. I submitted my free book, The Hunted One, to be listed, and it was chosen!

Did I mention this site is FREE?!?!?! Cause it is.

So, my “ad” ran in their newsletter yesterday. They also posted it on Facebook. They have around 33k Likes.

By the end of the day yesterday (midnight), I had over 1500 downloads!!! This bumped me into the #1 spot in my categories, and put me around the 100 ranking spot (give or take a few spots. That fluctuates so much that it’s hard to track).

The Midlist also has a paid advertising option that I’m sure I will try out soon. But if you’re looking for a great place to advertise, this is it!

The post Sh!t I Learned Today: Great new advertising option! appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Chapter One from FAKERS!

Hey everyone! Here is a little sneak peek from my upcoming release, Fakers. It’s a contemporary romance novel about a young girl who struggles with depression. Hope you enjoy the first chapter! If you do, add Fakers on Goodreads! Click Here.

 

Chapter One

 

The Jeep ran over the curb and came to an indelicate stop, rattling the assortment of surfboards strapped to the top and leaving the large U-Haul trailer poking slightly into the road. Neighbors walking on the quaint road slowed to catch a glimpse of the new owner of 22 Gardenia Street; others simply peered out of their kitchen windows and waited with pursed lips. Finally, the car’s door opened and a leggy blonde sprung out.

Kyra Aberdeen whipped off her aviator sunglasses and peered up at her new house.

“I own a freakin’ house,” she said, her voice full of wonder. She’d never bought a home before, let alone a house that needed a bulldozer more than a fresh coat of paint.

It was a tall Victorian with turrets and crooked shutters that had paint peeling off in clumps. Some windows were boarded up and some were just broken shards. Thin, scrappy trees grew along the base of the house, uprooting the foundation and making the poor house look like it had hairy legs. The grass was overgrown and patchy behind the collapsing picket fence line, where powerfully fragrant confederate jasmine vines had taken over.

It was a total disaster, which was fitting, because Kyra was a wreck too.

Her shoulders slumped, and the wonder of being a homeowner crumbled away almost faster than it had come. Staring at the house now left her with a powerful knot of buyer’s remorse tightening in her stomach. Sure, it had seemed like a good idea to buy her mother’s childhood home on Canaan Island when it had come up for sale, but now…now it felt like one of those colossal mistakes that made people cringe to think about even years later.

It’s not like Kyra had boatloads of money to sink into restoring an old home. She uploaded videos to Youtube for a living. Granted, they were pretty popular. Her tutorials on makeup and health tips had millions of views each. Since she’d started college, her channel had grown to over half a million subscribers. She could be funny, sexy, or easygoing at the drop of a hat. People proposed to her over the Internet, which wasn’t weird at all. But she sure as hell didn’t know how to use a jackhammer. And this house needed a jackhammer.

Thank God she’d had the foresight to hire a contractor.

And the contractor in question was just pulling up. His white work truck parked in front of her Jeep, carefully aligned to the curb. Kyra turned and watched as a tall man with light brown hair emerged, carrying an armload of rolled up papers. His impressive grin widened when he caught sight of Kyra.

“Hey!” She called, shoving her queasiness away. She flashed her perfect white teeth. “You must be Mr. Cooper. I’m Kyra.”

The man was all legs and arms, making him seem more like a gangly teenager than a business owner, but he stuck out his hand with confidence. “Nice to meet you, Kyra. Please call me Cade. And welcome to Canaan. We may be the most boring little island of the southern states, but we are the prettiest!”

Kyra laughed, shaking his hand and noting the way he carefully enunciated every word he spoke, as if he had to think about how his tongue moved to form the words. “Thank you! Is that the town’s motto?”

“It should be,” Cade said with an eye roll.

Kyra felt the smoothness of his palm before she released his hand. “You’re the contractor?” she asked. No man who worked in construction had such soft hands.

Cade flushed a little, showing a chink in his confidence. “Actually, my brother is the contractor. I meet with clients and go over plans.”

“Ah, I see,” Kyra nodded, keeping her words playful. She looked back up at the house and sighed. “I bought a piece of poop, didn’t I?”

Cade’s green eyes widened as a laugh escaped his lips. “Well,” he said, smiling genuinely at her. “It is going to need some work. How about I show you around and go over some ideas?”

“Sounds good!” Kyra took a deep breath and headed toward the gate, which hung from its rusted hinges, the wood rotten and warped. Kyra had to kick it open.

“So, you will see the front garden is quite overgrown,” Cade said, indicating the tangled forest of shrubs and vines.

Kyra stopped and looked around. The garden was a mess, but she saw the potential after what would likely be hours of pruning and hacking. The jasmine was lovely, if not a little overpowering. Wisteria weaved around the broken porch rails. Some of the flowers had taken over, but most were drowned by weeds.

“I think that’s an understatement,” Kyra said. She reached down and snapped off a pretty blue iris. Carefully tucking it behind her ear, she glanced back at Cade. “I can tame it, though.”

The sound of his laugh was rich and warm, and the more she heard him speak, the more she liked the odd cadence of his voice. Kyra smiled, wiping her hands on her frayed jean shorts. “Hold on to that optimism,” he said. “The structure of the house is actually pretty good. We will need to examine the foundation thoroughly and replace some of the beams. Beams in houses this old were just set in the ground. So most of the time, the beam’s wood will be eroded by moisture and be unstable.”

“But it’s safe to live in, right? I want to live here during the renovation.” Kyra said she wanted to, but the truth was, she needed to. She made a good living with her videos and her blog, but most of her savings had gone into the purchase of this house. After setting aside some for renovations, she didn’t have much left.

“It is safe, but it will just be noisy and dusty.” Cade looked at her like he pitied her. “Living in a house being renovated is torture, but if you want to, you won’t be in danger.”

Kyra nodded thoughtfully. “Where will you be starting?”

“Let me show you.” Cade took her elbow before she stepped onto the rickety step. “Watch these porch stairs. They may be a little rotten.”

They carefully made their way up the house and onto the porch. Even though some floorboards were missing and vines ran like snakes across the porch, Kyra pictured herself here, swinging and sipping tea. She smiled even as her loose teal tank top snagged on a thorn.

“Here,” Cade said, plucking the thorn from her shirt.

“Thanks.” Kyra shot him a grin before she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Cade had to shoulder it open before they stepped inside.

The entry was dark and musty. A set of stairs swept up in front of Kyra. To the left was the parlor with murky windows and giant, swooping cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. To the right was a dining room, and through an archway, Kyra just made out a tiny kitchen. All the walls were coated in peeling, faded wallpaper. Dusty, dated light fixtures hung lopsided from the ceiling, where large water stains added their own décor.

“That’s bad, right?” Kyra asked, pointing to a particularly large stain.

“It is not good. But most of the things you see can be fixed. They are typical in an older home like this.” Cade walked farther into the space, showing her through the dining room and into the kitchen. They walked through the entire first floor, weaving through tiny rooms filled with more dust and cobwebs.

“What we will do first is make sure the foundation and beams are solid. Once the structure is sound, we can start opening up these walls so there is more of an open concept from the kitchen into the dining room. All these back rooms will be converted into a large living room and office space for you,” Cade said. They stopped at the kitchen counter, where he laid out his floor plans. He pointed to one drawing and walked Kyra through the technical aspects of load-bearing walls and where they’d need to add support beams in the ceiling.

Kyra tried to listen, but she was already looking around the space, taking in the wide windows. The room would be flooded with natural light if it were open. Already she could picture her eclectic, beachy style in this place.

“And this is where we will put in a small powder room…”

Cade trailed off as Kyra walked away from him midsentence. She spied a back door leading out of the kitchen. Prying it open, she stepped onto the back porch and took in her new backyard.

“Oh, shoot yeah!”

The ocean was just beyond the reach of her entangled, wild backyard that was dominated by two large magnolia trees. The crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean and salty air instantly soothed Kyra’s frayed nerves. She took her phone out and snapped a few pictures for her social media sites. Cade was right; with its Spanish moss-laden trees and bright houses along her street, Canaan Island was the prettiest island off the coast of Georgia that she’d ever seen. She imagined the town of Canaan would be just as picturesque.

“It does have great views,” Cade offered from behind her.

Kyra laughed. “Man, I want to be out in the water so bad.”

“I saw your boards. You will fit right in here.” Cade leaned against the doorframe, watching her.

A familiar darkness descended in the pit of her stomach at Cade’s words of fitting in, but she brushed it off with another laugh. She came here to get rid of all that. “Do you surf?”

“No, but my brother does. I do not like…” Cade’s voice stumbled slightly, and he stuttered the tiniest bit, “…the water much.” A shadow passed over his eyes, but he brightened up as fast as Kyra had. “So what made you want to move out here?”

“You mean what in the world possessed me to buy a rundown, piece-of-crap house?” Kyra said with a crazy grin to put Cade back at ease. She realized now that he likely had a speech impediment, which would account for the practiced, pre-thought out lilt to his speech.

“You could put it that way.”

Kyra thought about telling him some lame story about loving old homes and wanting to be near the ocean, but her therapist had encouraged her to be sincere with her friends. She didn’t know him well yet, but she already liked Cade Cooper. And she wanted to start being more honest with people instead of keeping them at arm’s length like she normally did.

“Actually, it was my mom’s house,” Kyra said carefully. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cade’s surprised expression. “My grandparents are Florence and Garlan Aberdeen. They’ve lived on Canaan their entire life.”

“Oh! Yeah, I know the Aberdeens. Florence is…well, she is interesting.” Cade coughed, clearly uncertain about how to be polite in the situation.

“She’s pretty awful, I know.”

Cade relaxed, raking his hand over the slight scruff along his jaw. “She is not the nicest lady I have ever dealt with.” He laughed. “So your mom lived here? Funny, I never knew the Aberdeens had a daughter. I’ve only seen Thomas around town.”

Kyra shifted uncomfortably, sweat slicking across her palms. “Thomas is my uncle. He and his wife raised me. My, uh, well, my mom died when I was really little.”

“Dang.” Cade put his hand on her shoulder. “Kyra, I am sorry. I did not mean to pry.”

“No, it’s okay.” She offered him a shaky smile.

“Well, how about I finish going through the house with you? I am sure you want time to settle in and start unpacking.”

They spent the next hour talking renovations and room layouts. After the walls came down and everything had been demoed that needed it, they would redo most of the plumbing and electrical so everything would be up to code. While they did that, all the windows, doors, and slate roof would be replaced. Only then could they patch the walls and ceilings. Painting and reviving the ragged wood floors would come last.

Kyra’s head was full, a headache settling in just from realizing the full extent of the cost. “And you’re sure you can do all this under my budget?”

They stood in what would be her bedroom and temporary office during the renovations. A huge window seat filled the back wall. It was one of the few windows not shattered. The sun streamed in, flooding across the original wood floors.

Cade nodded. “Pending any unforeseen issues the home inspection missed, we will stay on target with your budget.”

“So this can all be done in a month? With no delays, right?” Kyra pointed her finger at Cade, a crooked grin on her lips.

Cade held up his hands in surrender. “That is Hale’s job. So you will have to talk to him about that.”

A small tingle filled Kyra’s stomach at the mention of the brother’s name. She liked the name Hale. It sounded…sexy.

“And he’s coming here today?” Kyra asked.

“He will be by first thing in the morning to start work,” Cade said. He was adjusting his papers, readying to leave.

“Okay, great!” Kyra needed to start unpacking and settling in, but she mostly just wanted to sink her toes in some sand. “You’ve done amazing work with these plans. I know I’m going to love it. It’s like you took everything I wanted and made it so much more. I can’t wait!”

Cade flushed slightly at her enthusiasm. “Hale draws up the plans. I just relay them to clients.”

“Oh, well you do a great job!” Kyra said cheerfully, if not a little awkwardly. She followed Cade out of the room and down the stairs, wondering what exactly it was that he did if he didn’t do construction or draw up the design plans. It sounded like he was a middleman between clients and Hale.

Like he heard her thoughts, Cade paused at the door and said, “Hale is the best contractor on the island. He is going to make this house into your home. Just prepare yourself. He is a little different, and he likes to keep to himself. So if you have any questions, feel free to call my cell.”

Cade handed her a business card, which Kyra stuffed in her pocket and promptly forgot. “I’ll do that. Thanks for meeting me and showing me around.”

Kyra stood in the open door, watching as Cade navigated his way down the steps. He stopped at the bottom. “No problem. Let me know if you need anything. Most of your neighbors are…” Cade blushed, the redness making him incredibly adorable. “Well, they are a little old. Stevie Andrews lives next door.” He pointed to her neighbor. “She is younger and…um…fun.” If it was possible, Cade flushed even more, and Kyra could tell just by his manner that he had a crush on her neighbor. Cade cleared his throat. “Anyway, if you want a tour of the island, I could take you around, if you want?”

Kyra beamed. “Sure! I’d love that.”

Cade seemed slightly surprised at her enthusiasm, and it took him the tiniest bit longer to speak than normal. “Uh, great. I mean, that is great. Just give me call whenever, and I can show you around.”

She watched him pull away from the curb with a smile on her face and a warm feeling in her heart. If she could meet a couple more people as nice as Cade, she would be well on her way to making a life here on Canaan. And his brother sounded…interesting.

Standing outside again, she took the opportunity to check out her neighbors’ houses. Gardenia Street was in the more historical area of Canaan, which meant all the houses around hers were restored to their former glory. Kyra sighed; her house was the eyesore of the community, which meant she really needed to start unpacking so she could get ready for the construction crew arriving tomorrow. Her eyes settled on her Jeep and trailer.

“You really need to learn how to park,” she told herself. She’d been too excited to worry about pulling her Jeep off the curb. And a large dumpster was parked in her narrow driveway, waiting to be filled with demoed material from the house.

Just then, her phone rang. “Hey, Aunt Carol,” she answered.

“Kyra! How are you? Did you make it down there okay? Your car didn’t give you any trouble, did it?”

Her aunt spewed out the questions like any concerned parent, and technically, she was Kyra’s mom. Her Aunt Carol and Uncle Tom had taken her in when she was a baby, just like she’d told Cade. But the rest of the truth was that her mom had been in prison when she had Kyra, and she’d never made it out to be a part of Kyra’s life.

But no one talked about her mother. She was the sore spot in the Aberdeen family.

“I made it fine,” Kyra said patiently. “The drive was easy. I just talked with the contractor about the house. It looks…” Kyra looked up at the house. “…It looks fun.”

“You watch those contractors, now. They will take advantage of a young girl like you.”

Her aunt and uncle hadn’t approved of Kyra buying the house. Uncle Tom had grown up here with her mother, but he had no love for his old home. “He was actually really nice. I doubt he would do that,” Kyra said, defending Cade instantly.

Aunt Carol sniffed. “Well, just be careful down there by yourself.” Her tone softened. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can come down there and help you settle in.”

Kyra nibbled on her fingernail. “I’m fine, I promise. I feel good about this.”

“Have you talked to Dr. Standifer yet?”

“No,” Kyra sighed. Aunt Carol was already worried about her, which Kyra really did appreciate. She’d just had a long drive and her nerves were shot. In truth, Aunt Carol was the closest she’d ever had to a real parent. Uncle Tom had hated her mother too much to really show his love for Kyra.

“You’ll need to get in touch with a new therapist down there soon,” Aunt Carol reminded her for the millionth time.

“I will.”

“As soon as possible. You don’t want to have to go on medication again.”

Kyra cringed. She’d been on medicine once before for her depression, but that had been a dark time in her life. Since then, she didn’t need medication if her therapist believed she was coping with her darkness in a healthy way. Unconsciously, she rubbed at the stack of bracelets on her left wrist. “Yes, Aunt Carol.”

Her aunt breathed out in relief, the sound rustling in the phone. “Okay. I won’t take up any more of your time. Get settled in and rest.”

“Thanks. Tell Uncle Tom I said, ‘hello.’”

“I will. He misses you,” Aunt Carol said, but Kyra knew it was a lie.

“I miss him too,” she lied back. “Well, I better go…”

“Right. Right. Call the therapist Dr. Standifer recommended tomorrow. I love you, Kyra.”

“Love you too.” She hung up and looked down her new street. She wondered if her mother had played on the street, riding her bike or chasing Tom around.

Lila Aberdeen had killed herself in prison when Kyra was only one year old, but Kyra would always feel the darkness of losing her mother for the rest of her life. The sadness tugged at her, but Kyra steeled herself. She fought it off and forced a smile even though there was no one around to convince she was a happy, carefree girl.

She tried to tell herself to walk down the porch stairs and start unloading boxes, but instead her feet carried her away, toward the back of the house and into the backyard. She picked her way through the overgrowth and out the back gate. Tugging off her flip-flops, she walked down the path to the beach.

Her toes hit the sand, and Kyra knew she was home.

The post Chapter One from FAKERS! appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Cover Reveal for Fakers

Hey everyone! Thank you for stopping by to check out my cover for FAKERS, a contemporary romance novel coming out September 29th. I hope you like it!

 

Fakers
Coming September 29, 2014
Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction, Erotic Romance

Kyra Aberdeen is a Youtube sensation. Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture the hearts of millions each week through her videos. But she’s just faking it. Because beneath the surface is a simmering darkness that threatens to pull Kyra under some days. She masks her depression with a sunny smile and bright laugh.

When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother’s childhood home, she is hoping to confront the lurking darkness that haunts her every step. But life never goes according to plan, and when Kyra meets her grumpy contractor, Hale Cooper, it seems he’s not going to make things any easier for her. Yet Kyra is drawn to him, to a man whose every emotion plays across his face as he feels it. But she’s never let herself get too close to anyone before, and she finds herself in uncharted waters.

If she lowers her guard and allows herself to love Hale, will the darkness creep in too?

 

ADD TO GOODREADS NOW!!!

Would you like to sign up for the FAKERS Release Day Blitz? Help me spread the word on release day by sharing an easy post about the book! I would greatly appreciate it! Click –> HERE!

 

SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER!

The post Cover Reveal for Fakers appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Sh!t I Learned Today: Learning to not Give a Shit

I was pretty naïve when I started this whole writing thing. I was deluded. No, I didn’t think I was going to be some big overnight, sensation. That wasn’t my delusion. For some reason, I thought this writing thing was going to be amazing and fulfilling and make me so happy and be like a dream every day. And truly it’s like that some days.

But some days this sucks. That’s the shit I’m learning, slowly but surely.

And the reason it sucks is because people feel the insatiable urge to insert their opinions into my everyday life. No, this life isn’t their own. But for some reason, they feel the urge to pass judgment on it or mock me or belittle me. It’s kind of given me a complex.

To set the record straight: I write books. Sure that means I’m sitting on my butt most of the day. That might even mean I don’t go outside all day except to open the door for my dogs. And I’ll give you one more juicy morsel: sometimes I even watch daytime television. So when you picture me sitting at home, watching TV, getting fat, and not doing crap with my life, some days that might be true.

But the real picture is that I work my butt off. Yeah, I’m sitting on my butt when I’m doing it, but I’m writing books. I’m outlining books. I’m editing books. I’m promoting books. I’m trying to figure out how to make a living. I’m trying to be happy. To be satisfied. To be content with my life.

So no, I’m not sitting at home all day not doing anything. I’m working my freaking ass off.

Here’s some shit I still have to learn: TO NOT GIVE A SHIT.

That’s it. I shouldn’t care what these people think. Their opinions shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t feel compelled to defend myself to these morons. I should laugh at them. I should just smile and walk away. Because they don’t matter.

And you should do the same to if this bothers you like it bothers me.

You should only care about your opinion. You should care about what makes you happy, and that’s probably writing your books. So write your books. Let your characters drop F-bombs if you want them to. You say the f-bomb if you want to. Who deemed that a curse word anyway? I want to meet the idiot that said, “Hey this word is a bad word.” And who even made that word anyway?

AND WHO CARES?!?

You shouldn’t. They shouldn’t. But they do. Which means you’re probably doing something right. Or something that makes them jealous or insecure. And that’s their demons and their battles. You can only do you. And the good ones will stick around to support you doing you.

So embrace those people who are here to help you and love you. And wish the other haters good luck on their journey to figuring their shit out. And you wish them well on that journey. You hope they figure it out.

Because until then, you don’t give a shit.

 

The post Sh!t I Learned Today: Learning to not Give a Shit appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

End of Days Box Set Release Day!

End of Days
Box Set Release

By: Meg Collett

Paranormal Romance

Available Exclusively on Amazon

All Images by Adrienne McNellis Photography

Editors: Courtney Koschel and Elizabeth Phelps

Released on August 11th, 2014

Description:

The Hunted One: Archangel Michaela, Heaven’s General, learns that one simple mistake can have a thousand consequences. Framed for crimes she didn’t commit against Heaven, Michaela must prove her innocence. But the line between right and wrong is ever shifting, and Michaela, disgraced and wingless, discovers the holy angels have their own plan for Heaven, and it is one that may prove to be the End of the Days.

The Lost One: A group of rogue angels controlling Heaven have turned their attention to the End of Days, and they won’t rest until they obtain the tools of Earth’s final destruction: the Seven Seals. But Archangel Michaela knows the secret about the seals, and she’ll fight to the death to protect them. Even amidst the devastation on Earth, Michaela struggles with her love for Gabriel, a recently fallen angel.

The Only One: In the final installment of the End of Days series, a heavenly civil war breaks out amongst the angels, and the stakes are higher than ever before. It’s the war Michaela wanted, but she’s realizing it might not be the one she’s meant to fight. What is mercy and sacrifice in the face of tyranny and madness? It’s a lesson Michaela might not live long enough to fully understand.

 

                     

 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT ON AMAZON!

About the Author

Meg Collett lives deep in the hills of Tennessee where the the cell phone service is a blessing and the Internet is a myth of epic proportions. She is the mother of one giant horse named Elle and two dogs named Wylla and Mandy. Her husband is a saint for putting up with her ragtag life. End of Days is her first series.

The post End of Days Box Set Release Day! appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.

Kickstarter Campaign for New Book!

Hey everyone! So I decided to use Kickstarter to help me publish my next book. Because I self publish, I have to pay for all the expenses myself, which can get really costly. To justify asking you to help me pay for this book, I am making it free for three days on Amazon. Normally, I would charge $0.99-$2.99 for a new release. But I felt that if I am going to ask for help, the book should be free to everyone who helps and even those who don’t.

The funds that I need help raising will go toward the editing of the book ($300). This is only for a final proof read. I will be doing the other editing myself. And it will also pay for my amazing formatter to get the book ready for publication ($95). The extra $5 bucks on the funding goal is to cover the transaction fees.

Here is a description of FAKERS:

Kyra Aberdeen is a Youtube sensation. Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture the hearts of millions each week through her videos. But she’s just faking it. Because beneath the surface is a simmering darkness that threatens to pull Kyra under some days. She masks her depression with a sunny smile and bright laugh.

When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother’s childhood home, she is hoping to confront the lurking darkness that haunts her every step. But Kyra’s rich and powerful grandmother learns of Kyra’s return, she demands that Kyra sell the house and leave.

It’s a rocky start, and when Kyra meets her grumpy contractor, Hale Cooper, it seems he’s not going to make it any easier for her. Yet Kyra is drawn to him, to a man whose every emotion plays across his face as he feels it. He fascinates her, and Kyra longs to be around his brutal honesty. But she’s never let herself get too close to anyone before, and she finds herself in uncharted waters. If she lowers her guard and allows herself to love Hale, will the darkness creep in too?

The reason I want to publish this book so badly is because I’ve personally dealt with the issues of depression’s darkness. I know how hard it can be some days, and I just want to share a story about that. If this book can uplift even one person who struggles then it was worth it.

So I’ve published three other books myself. I really understand what it takes to produce good books. Right now, draft one is done. I will work with my critique partner and beta readers to polish it over the next month. After that it will go to my editor and then to the formatter. I promise it will be ready by September 29th. I’ve never missed a release date!

My previous books were just stories that I wanted to tell. I wrote them for me. But FAKERS is different. It’s a story that I feel needs to be told. And I’m writing it in the hopes that it can lift someone’s spirits or maybe even encourage someone to ask for help.

“Because sometimes the deepest scars are hidden by the brightest smiles.”

Every pledge amount has a reward! Head over to Kickstarter to check out all the different rewards I have available. And to watch my awkward video! WOO HOO!

CLICKY THIS LINKY!

The post Kickstarter Campaign for New Book! appeared first on Books by Meg Collett.