Erin’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2017)

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

Aislinn wrote: "I did a Book Blitz which was a complete failure, but I don't think that's the same as a blog tour. I'd love to do a proper blog tour, where you write articles for individual blogs, and do interview..."

I can't say enough about Goddess Fish promotions for a blog tour - very professional and reasonably priced with lots of tour packages to choose from. I'll be using them again when book two comes out next month. I can't speak to sales but the exposure and SEO boost is almost immediate.

I can't exactly prove it but tweeting with KU hashtags and posting on KU fb sites seemed to give me a slight but consistent evening page read bump.

Kay wrote: "I think it depends on the site, as long as you respect their individual rules. If it isn't clear that they accept this kind of promotion then don't do anything that will get you in trouble!"

Okay. I'm going to poke around the Rules folders in some other groups I'm in :)

I think a lot of people would really love this but what are the rules of etiquette regarding posting about this on other sites?

Nicole wrote: "I have been using Pronoun for distributing my "wide" books, and I LOVE them. You can list your Amazon price (and other distributors) for free with no hassle. They distribute to Amazon, B&N, iBooks,..."

This is fascinating - but what are "wide" books?

Alex wrote: "Erin wrote: "Amazon doesn't allow you to put more than 10% of your book online if you are exclusive to them, not sure if you are.
Also, if you offer seriels can you be sure they will be interested ..."

You're correct. I understood your statement to mean that you wanted to publish unedited chapters to your site, get them edited and then publish to Amazon. Did I completely get that wrong lol?

Amazon doesn't allow you to put more than 10% of your book online if you are exclusive to them, not sure if you are.
Also, if you offer seriels can you be sure they will be interested once the completed version is available?
Lastly, I think all readers deserve for us to put our best foot forward as authors. I've only ever (knowingly) given unedited books to beta readers.

Just my two cents. I think seriels are a great way to reward readers and incentivize mailing list opt-ins but they really should be exclusive to your site or blog, imo.

Ou just have to ignore it. They don't actually have your book, just what they can copy and paste from Amazon, etc. it's a form of phishing - annoying but ultimately harmless, in my experience.

Alex wrote: "Well in all fairness, I had a couple of years without technology because of financial problems so all I had was writing paper and pens and not much else to do but write.
I should actually done bett..."

You're a rock star! Hugs!!!

I agree and disagree. Since I charge money for my work I am asking readers to except that I am a professional. The guy who fixes your bathroom plumbing and happens to be your neighbor cannot charge you what a professional would charge but you understand that there is a trade-off in service versus value. I'm asking a person to read my material when they could easily find a book from a traditionally published source. I see that as an honor and that gives me a responsibility. I don't think you have to prioritize because it is not either/or. As writers it is our job to get our thoughts and creativity down on paper. We should not be worried about grammar, with this I completely agree. But then it is our job to make sure that our drafts are properly edited.

Carole wrote: "I learned more in the last five years than when I was in school. So the question is, is then or than???"

"Than" sets up a comparison between two things.
"Then" refers to time or sequence.

Than
He is so much taller than his father.
I am hungrier than I thought.
* note: the word than is usually preceded by a word that ends in -er.

Then
Eat, then meet me after lunch.
I read the novel, then I wrote my review.

Carole wrote: "Erin wrote: "Another trick...imagine you are making a desperate emergency call to the police or rescue squad and you have to give them your sentence in mere seconds to get help in time. What words ..."

Lol, thank you - it used to be such a struggle for me! Same with onboard and on board lol.

Erica wrote: "I like your tricks to remember how to use that vs which Erin!"

I'm a big fan of memory devices.

Alexis wrote: "Erin wrote: "Another trick...imagine you are making a desperate emergency call to the police or rescue squad and you have to give them your sentence in mere seconds to get help in time. What words ..."

This post, which is supremely awesome, just made my day!!! ;)

I use conjunctions at the beginning of a sentence if it is dialogue but agree with the others that although it is not advised there is some leeway for creativity.

Another trick...imagine you are making a desperate emergency call to the police or rescue squad and you have to give them your sentence in mere seconds to get help in time. What words or phrases could you leave out and it not make a difference to your getting help? That phrase should be preced by which.

e.g. "Come quickly! I live in the cabin, (that/which) has a rose bush in front, on Becker Lane!"
If it's the only cabin with rose bushes use that. If you just want people to know you're a good gardener use which.

This is a classic struggle for writers everywhere.

If this helps try to remember that we use which gives us extra information that is not crucial: "Romances, which have happy endings, make me smile." I used which because I'm merely adding a descriptor. It helps but doesn't actually contain my main point. Almost every romance has a happy ending so that info is almost parenthetical.

If I say: "Romances that have happy endings make me smile." ... Well now we have something different. I'm restricting my love to a specific type of romance - only those with happy endings. So romances with cliffhangers or happy for now scenarios do not make me happy.

Trick: Remember this..."You're such a little WHICH for giving me so much extra information."
And...
"THAT extra information helped me figure out what you meant!"

Name: Erin Lee Daniels
EBook: Blaque Beauty and the Billionaire
Price: Regular price $2.99/KU

Carole wrote: ""sisters and brothers with me."

*they are yelling, Ma, please stop- there's a rest home bed with your name on it.*"

Hahaa! Luckily no one is here to witness the chair dance o'shame except puppy!

Justin wrote: "So I'm a sister? Hmm? lol it's totally fine."

We're all nasty women deep down inside?
Cheesecake = damage control :P