Mary Ellen’s Comments (group member since Mar 18, 2017)

Mary Ellen’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Tomorrow is the last day for the 20% off of PWA if anyone is on the fence.

So that would make annual membership like $32 as opposed to $40. You have to use the link and the promo code FRIENDS for the discount.

https://prowritingaid.com?mafid=572451

Thanks for the support everyone - 181 downloads for the weekend. Hoping that translates to reviews.

My novel was released last November and I sold 75 books but sales had gone to zero (granted I wasn't actively marketing).
I decided to run a freebie weekend since sales had halted anyway. I advertised on three free sites and Goodreads groups and did some tweeting.
Today is the last day of the free pricing on Amazon and so far I've had 172 downloads and 2 people pick it up on KU (which seems weird to me since it is free to download).
My goal was reviews and followers. I never thought about to-read or adding to shelf stats but mine or low so any improvement would be good. So far none of those hoped for results has happened, but I don't think it has been enough time. I'll report back in a week or so and let you know where I am.

If human editors aren't catching those words try ProWritingAid. It taught me my overused words...just is my downfall. I ran a 92,000 word manuscript through PWA and went down to 89,000 just (lol) by eliminating such words.

Update - I got a very weird e-mail from an Amazon manager whose command of English was clearly not the best. It said little but sorry you are having a problem.

In the meantime, the formatting errors have been corrected. I'm not sure if they corrected it or it just straightened itself out as another author told me theirs did. Thanks anyway for the help. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. It was maddening, especially during a promotion.

I emailed immediately and got a response back within hours. They said it was definitely their problem and it had been referred to tech support. Just hate this is going on while I'm running a promo, which is why I can't pull it. Thanks for the advice and support.

Thanks...I did come to that conclusion eventually.

Alex wrote: "Mary Ellen wrote: "OOps...had the Book Raid info wrong...2 cents per click and you don't get charged unless it is over $1 (or 50 clicks) up to a max of $10.

I'm up to 146 downloads, so, WOOT!"

Gr..."

Thanks. I've used them twice and they are my best results so far.

OOps...had the Book Raid info wrong...2 cents per click and you don't get charged unless it is over $1 (or 50 clicks) up to a max of $10.

I'm up to 146 downloads, so, WOOT!

When I checked my look inside feature on my e-book it was totally screwed up. Font was huge and different sizes all over. It was center justified and looks awful. I previewed it on Amazon and on my own Kindle app and it looked fine. The paperback look inside is perfect.
Has anyone else experienced this and if so how did you fix it? I'm desperate since this may put off potential readers, costing me downloads besides making me look like an idiot who doesn't know how to format a book.

I had first posted the sale was only amazon US but some fellow authors have confirmed for me it is also UK and Australia. So hopefully it is all 12 markets but I'm afraid to do anything on KDP since last time I touched it it messed up my look inside feature.

Carole wrote: "That's a great story. I hope by get those downloads. U picked a perfect weekend for it."

Thanks!

Prior to yesterday, I had sold 75 novels since the book was released last November. I have like 50 followers on facebook and NO email list. I found that disappointing not to mention financially damaging.

So I decided to run a free promotion on Amazon this weekend in hopes of gaining followers and build my email list. I advertised on Twitter with the help of some amazing fellow authors in another group. I did post my freebie on all 4 author groups I belong to.

I deliberately limited my advertising because I wanted to gain data on which sites worked. I signed up for six sites to promote. It is day two and three of the sites ( choosy bookworm, ebooklister, and freebooks) are not running my promo which doesn't surprise me because I went for the freebie since I didn't want to throw more money away.

Two sites have my book listed; on freekindledeal I am the first book at the top of the list, but on awesome gang, my book only shows if you search for it by title, which is useless.

Yesterday my freebie went out in the Book Raid newsletter and I saw an immediate spike in downloads. This site is free if you get less than 20 downloads but charges 5 cents per click above that up to a max of $10, which I love because you know up front it isn't costing you too much and I had good results with them previously on a 99 cent promo.

I hoped for more than 50 downloads as my target minimum. Here is the good part... yesterday I had 97 downloads (darn it all... three more and I'd have had a triple digit day) and so far this morning I am up to 18. So I'm more than double over my minimum and have nearly 3 more days to go though I doubt I'll get as many today since the ad only runs one day on Book Raid.

My book got up to #96 on the free military romance list. It was like 15,000 or so before the promo. It was up to 2,500 in contemporary from 30,000 before and overall ranking is at 2500 for free books where I was over a million on the paid rankings before the promo. I know the rankings don't translate but still feels good that appeals enough for some people to take the time to download it. I'd hate to think I couldn't give it away...lol.

Now as my warm fuzzies wear off I will wait and see if it translates to subscribers or reviews.

In honor of US Memorial Day, my military second chance romance We Shall Ne'er Be Younger will be free from Friday May 26th through Monday May 29th. here http://amzn.com/B01M2XIAHZ

Mike Hansen, a handsome Marine Colonel with a reputation as a ladies' man, targets sexy widow Emily Archer as his mission to be accomplished. 
Emily is determined to capture his affections not just his desires and fights to turn down the scorching heat between them to a slow burn. 
But Emily doesn’t know she is on the clock, in more ways than one. Will time run out or will unbridled passion ruin Mike and Emily’s second chance at true love? 


This is a stand-alone HEA romance, featuring a hero and heroine over 50. It is intended for mature adults only. It contains mature themes, sexual situations, and adult language.


Included as part of your download is access to Emily's special recipes mentioned in the novel.

I ignore those suggestions that would change the meaning. My glue words % is far higher. I don't worry about it. I feel like some of the percentages are set high for genre fiction. I think the standard they use is more literary.

It keeps saying I am overusing pronouns but since my novel is first person POV it is impossible not to overuse I, me, my...

You have it exactly. We are writing fiction and so following the rules of formal grammar would make for stilted dialogue because people just do not speak like a textbook. All advice human or computer generated should be taken with a grain of salt.

I used Grammarly on my first draft but like you say PWA picks up so much more. I don't think it means you are a terrible writer, otherwise I would be the world's worst since it picked up a ton of things I had missed. I think it helps to point out specific weaknesses, and we all have them, and that actually helps you become a better writer which is so much more helpful than just correcting your grammar.
Every program I've used has difficulty with its and it's. But hopefully what will happen is that as more people use this kind of software it will learn. Wait...maybe I shouldn't wish for that, it might replace us!

And Grammarly doesn't do half of what ProWriting Aid does. But I sure understand not wanting to learn something new. But the learning curve is minimal with PWA unlike Scrivener, which I've been using for over 2 years and I still don't know everything it will do.

Yep, that is the main reason I got it was the compatibility with Scrivener. I am obsessed with it and I think it has helped me already to become a better writer and I've only been using it a month.

If anyone is interested in ProWritingAid Premium, they sent me a link for 20% off for friends and family. So that would make annual membership like $32 as opposed to $40. You have to use the link and the promo code FRIENDS for the discount.

https://prowritingaid.com?mafid=572451