Category: The Blog

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E-Book Promo

A friend asked me about what promo I’ve done online, so I thought, yay, a blog topic!

These are only my observations.  Other people are going to be better at different things and have entirely different experiences.   Plus there are so many factors involved, like the size of your backlist, your comfort zone with things like Twitter and Facebook, whether you have print books involved, etc.

My number one rule:  never spam anybody.  That means:

  • I never keep the e-mails from my giveaways.  I’ve had a few people e-mail me and ask if I had a newsletter, and since I don’t, I promised to let them know when I had new releases.  Otherwise, I don’t keep contacting people, never without their permission!
  • I never bomb people on Facebook with “become my fan!” or “Join my group!”  Honestly, I really don’t use Facebook much (other than connecting my blog to Twitter and Facebook).  My oldest monster likes to play FarmTown sometimes, and both she and my husband “manage” the account for me.  I’ve given them instructions to ignore causes, pages, fan groups, etc.  Sometimes I do pop over to say hello to high school friends, and I do try to respond to people who comment on my status.

My second rule:  only do things I enjoy.  Big chats intimidate me, so I usually only participate when I know several or most of the participants.  I participate on very few reader yahoo groups, mostly because I don’t know which ones to visit.  I don’t like to come onto a new list and say “Hello, buy my books!”  Argh, I hate that!

I love to write.  I hate to sell myself.  So if anything, I’m not as aggressive as I maybe should be, but I’d rather my work speak for itself.

At the heart of my promotion efforts (for both e-book and print) is this blog.  I’ve been blogging in some form since 2004, although the early years were lost when I moved my domain off yahell.  I’ve made some great internet friends through blogging, and I love keeping in touch with them.  I do sometimes begin to run out of interesting things to blog about, but I try to be myself all the time, to be honest, and not make it all about “buy my books” because yeah, I already said I hate that, right? 

I’m an amiable personality, so I avoid conflict, especially on my blog, so I don’t blog about politics or the latest blogwar.  I have small children, so I try to protect them as much as possible online by never using their names or giving away key information.  I’m probably the most easy-going person around, so I don’t rant.  Gee, why are you people still reading?  I’m starting to sound really boring.

But I do appreciate all of you who read my feed or take the time to comment.  I do try to respond to commenters as often as possible, but I do get behind.  *hangs head in shame*  I always respond to e-mail.  I always respond to mentions on Twitter unless TweetDeck just flips out and doesn’t notify me.

Using this blog as a foundation, the other things I have found success with:

  • Giveaways.  I love books and I choose to support my favorite authors like Larissa Ione and Lynn Viehl by giving their books away.  Sure, I give away my own sometimes too.  I’ve given away e-books and print, mine and others, and sometimes just gift certificates.  I made a personal choice to always keep mailings open to the planet, and since I’ve made some great Twitter buddies in Germany and the Netherlands, I’m glad to always include overseas contestants!  When the promo funds are running low and I can’t swing the postage costs, then a simple gift certificate to any online retailer is always a nice prize.
  • Free reads.  Lynn Viehl inspired me to give away short stories, and I’ve been doing it since 2007 or so.  I use Scribd and also have pdf downloads on the Free Reads page (note to self: still need to get epub formatted).  I have no idea how many have been downloaded over the years–I’ve had to reload some of the older ones on Scribd and my blog analytics aren’t the greatest –but from what I can tell, thousands of downloads have been made, which is stunning.  I’ve also given freebies to Samhellion and All Romance E-Books.  Talk about free promo–those stories are still there, didn’t cost me a dime, and I’m sure they’re continuing to help readers find me. 

Those are the two biggest things.  I happily do guest blogs and interviews when asked, but I don’t aggressively go out searching for them (I did say I hate selling myself, right??)  I’ve met some incredible book people on Twitter, which I use more than Facebook.

I’ve purchased small ad spots on a few review sites and did get a few clicks, but there’s no way to tell how much those affect sales.  It does help with name recognition, but personally, I’d rather give away a book or two than spend $20 for a tiny corner on a site already crammed with ads.

If money is tight, you can always give away an old story.  Have one sitting on your harddrive that didn’t work out for an anthology?  Run it through a quick edit pass, reformat it (I like to use larger font,  1 1/2 spacing), and let Word save it as pdf for you.  Make sure you include a backlist page detailing all your current releases, your website link, and a brief bio.  If you have the Photoshop skilz, create a cover for it — I think they do attract more notice on Scribd when the stories have attractive cover art.  Alas, my Photoshop ability is laughable.

On Monday, I’ll blog about some of the things I’m doing for print promo, but I’m a newbie in this arena.

Do you have any online promo recommendations that have worked for you, or that you’d love to see authors do more of?  Please let us know!

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St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway

Here’s my green!  The monsters were running around frantically tonight looking for cool and interesting things to wear to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow at school, and that reminded me that I’d planned to do a giveaway here on the blog.

Up for grabs:  signed print copy of Dear Sir, I’m Yours, which won’t release until April 1st. 

To enter, simply comment on this post (thru midnight Thursday, 3/18 CST) about what you’re reading right now or just throw your name in the hat.  Anyone on the planet can enter, even if you’ve won something from me before.  I’ll announce the winner Friday when I post the long-awaited Vicki snippet in Victor’s office that I was tormenting you about last week.

Me, I’m reading Shutter Island on my iPhone.

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Read an E-Book Week

In honor of Read an E-Book Week, everything is 20% off at Drollerie Press. 

Don’t forget I have lots of Free Reads on this site as well as downloadable excerpts which you may enjoy.  But to fully celebrate ebooks, I want to give away a copy of any book in my backlist.  Just comment on this post to enter.  Friday, I’ll announce a winner when I post a new Vicki snippet.

I’m celebrating read an e-book week by downloading a copy of Monica Jackson’s latest, Charm Me Baby, available at Red Rose Publishing.

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Launch Vicki’s Line Contest

I need your help!

If you’ve been reading Vicki’s snippets the past few weeks, you know that she’s trying to launch her own fashion line in Dallas, TX.  I have the event planned for the unveiling, and I know exactly how she’ll promote the line on VCONN, Victor’s (her brother) risque cable channel that is featured in his book, Hurt Me So Good (unofficial title), but I have one big problem.

I don’t know the NAME of her line.

Is it just her name?  A special V?  I don’t think so.  The V is special to Victor, very crucial to his story, so I don’t want to over do it.  I want something special to VICKI, that’s allll hers.  It should help me tell her story and reveal another facet of her character.

Obviously, this name is very important, and so far, I’m drawing a blank. 

That’s where you guys come in.  After reading the snippets, what would you name Vicki’s fashion line? 

Comment on this post as many times as you like.  I’ll take each name and pool them together, and on April 1st, I’ll pick one for a prize: a signed copy of Dear Sir, I’m Yours, the beginning of the Connagher stories. 

If one of you really nails the line’s name and I end up using it in Vicki’s story, I’ll thank you in the dedication, assuming of course, that Vicki is someday contracted.  I’ll also give you a free e-copy of Victor’s book when it’s released, a signed copy of Victor’s print book when it’s released, and the same for Vicki’s book (again, assuming it’s contracted).  Whew!  Edited to add:  and of course, I’ll send you a signed copy of Dear Sir, I’m Yours, too, and hook you up with an electronic version if you don’t have it.

This contest is open to anyone on the planet, even if you’ve won something from me before.

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Revision Xibalba

While I’ve been blogging mostly about Vicki and “dream writing” this week, the real “work” I’ve been doing is Revision Xibalba.  I got the revision letter from my new editor at Carina Press last week and a deadline of 2/28, so I’m rocking and rolling through her notes.  Vicki is actually my cookie at the end of the day for a job well done.  Er, hopefully well done.

So I guess it’s only fair that I talk about revision process too, right?  Holly Lisle has made the “one-pass revision” her bread and butter.  I can’t think off-hand of any other author who has blogged about their revision process (if you know of any useful resources, shout them out).  So here’s a bit about what I’ve been doing this week.

Of course, the HOW depends on WHAT the changes actually are.  I’m not working on the line-edit phase yet, correcting typos, answering the copy-editor’s notes about eye-color change or questioning the word choice with a suggestion.  No, this is high-level revision, and quite honestly, pretty tough.  I can’t just point to one little spot, make the change, and be done.  Several scenes have to be touched, and tiny changes here affect changes deeper in the story.  I have to keep things consistent and tight, while still addressing the issues.

First:  read the revision letter, all the way through.  Then put it away for a day or two and just think about it.  Let all the comments soak in.  Rumminate.  See what makes sense, organize any questions or comments on paper.  I did so, and by Sunday, I had a plan of attack in my mind.

It’s deceptive to see a little bullet or short paragraph like “make sure you continue the heroine’s wry sense of humor all the way through–it sort of disappears near the end.”  (Not a direct quote – just a paraphrase.)  My first thought was oh.  Didn’t I do that?  I thought I did.  Hmmm.  I should read a few passages in the last third or so and see. 

Second.  Read the manuscript (at least sections).  Look for trends and patterns the editor has pointed out.

Oh.  Yeah.  I started to see patterns where I had the wry humor coming from the wrong character.  Or I could expand Jaid’s dialogue or introspection just a bit and make it bigger. 

Third:  Fix.  Maybe not as easy as it sounds.

Fix Phase 1.  Doubt.  I wasn’t really trying to make Jaid funny at all.  I had this sudden surge of distress and doubt.  OMG, how can I make this funny?  Wry humor, what is that?  I did it on accident!  I swear!

Fix Phase 2:  I read the beginning of the book and jotted a few examples of where I thought Jaid had been slightly funny or self-depreciating.  I had several examples.  Again, I started to see patterns, lines of subtle humor that had been laid down at the beginning and never mentioned again.  Dropped threads, missed opportunities. 

Hello, she’s the Un-Indiana Jones.  I made a big deal about this a couple of times in the first half of the manuscript.  Yet when she’s actually racing through the jungle, chased by demons, and nearly drowning in a dark cave, I never once had her go hmmm, maybe grading and lecturing isn’t so bad.

Fix Phase 3. Go through manuscript and watch for slight moments of humor.  Make sure it’s centralized with Jaid.  Amplify if it makes sense.  Watch for moments of high action followed by a quiet moment.  See if it makes sense to drop in a comment.  Mention “Un-Indiana Jones” at least one or more times in the high action events of the climax to bring it all together.

Yay, one bullet done!  How many more do I have to make? *groans*

Actually, I’m almost done.  The humor one was one of the hardest to fix (other than the name change), because I had that moment of panic.  Last night, I had to fix the reunion with Jaid’s father.  I’d totally gone off the deep end in the last revision (to make it romance) and the sap was just oozing all over everywhere.  Ugh.  I think I made it more realistic, and even opened myself up for all sorts of good stuff in the next book.

Final:  Once I make all the changes, I’ll create a new copy of the manuscript just for me.  I’ll accept all the changes, delete any comments, and read it one more time.  I actually prefer to use Google Mail’s “read as html” option for this phase (which is why I remove the comments).  Seeing it outside a Word doc just gives me more clean space to see how it’s really going to read.

This gives me the chance to look for formatting problems (sometimes it’s hard to see paragraph breaks when Track Changes are on), as well as check the flow and make sure I didn’t break anything. 

So by the time this revision pass is all over, I bet I’ll have read the manuscript AGAIN at least five more times.  I’ll read it at least one more time for the copy-edit phase, and we may have more than one revision pass before we get there.

So yeah, “one-pass revision” just doesn’t work for me.

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Transitions and Sequence

Another downside to “dream writing” is the transition from scene to scene (or night to night).  e.g. I’m dreaming the big scenes, not the passage of insignificant moments that explain how the characters got from one event to another.  I don’t have a good sense of time.  I have to connect those dots eventually and move seamlessly from one scene to another, which isn’t always a quick fix.

Last night, my mind kept jumping ahead to a scene with Victor.  (Gee, I have no idea why.  haha)  I know this scene takes place in the first half of the book, but where, exactly?  Is it Act I, or the midpoint of Act II?  I don’t know.  I have a feeling it might be sooner than later, especially since I don’t know what happens in between.

And here’s where writing without an outline gets frustrating.  I have no idea how long the story will be, because I don’t know the details of Act III so I have no way of gauging how far down the road I am.  I’ve been writing careful chapter and scene breaks, but that may have to change because I don’t know what to fill the gaps with yet. 

It’s sort of like excavation, and there are major parts of the skeleton still buried.  I can only see the tips of bone protruding, and I’m going to have to spend some time digging them out.  The trick is balancing my compelling urge to write down the bone sticking out part–it’s so clear in my mind right now, but I’m afraid I’ll lose the clarity.  Like waking up from a vivid dream and feeling it fade away no matter how hard you grasp at the wisps.

But now that I’ve talked about it and aired some of the issues, I think I have an answer to my question about that scene with Victor.  I’m pretty sure it’s the “crossing the threshold” scene for Vicki to end Act I.  Either she’ll accept the journey or she won’t.  (Who am I kidding, you know she’ll accept the journey–but I need to cover her doubt.)  So now I have the goal to write toward for the end of Act I.

Hope some more bones start sticking up soon.

Of course, the other problem I’m battling is time constraints and other commitments.  My first priority this week is The Bloodgate Codex.  First round of revisions are due back by 2/28 and they are not tiny little fixes, but changes that affect multiple scenes (trickle-down effect).  I didn’t work on it yesterday because I needed to let my mind adjust to Xbalanque = Balam = Ruin in my mind.  The dust has settled, and I’ll be tackling a second bullet today.

Vicki will be my reward tonight.  But maybe I should jot a few notes about Victor before I forget…

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Approaching Vicki

Lying in bed yesterday, awake but still near to that hazy dream state, I worked through everything I knew about Vicki, Conn and Victor’s sister.  I’m pleased to announce that her heroes showed up.  I even have them cast in my mind now.

The big hole remains Vicki.  So here’s a few things I know about her and this book.

The first challenge I set for myself was to come up with a believable, modern-day story where the characters ended up happy in a long-term menage relationship.  All three of them.  I didn’t want this to be a one-night fantasy, a casual fling, or any other standard menage set up.  This part took forever to fall into place.  In my mind, I played through several different set ups, until I finally settled on this one.  The right one.  I think.  *winks*

Next, one of the heroes is inspired by someone else.  Someone I think got the short end of the stick.  He never got the care he deserved, allowed to evolve and become the kind of person he could have been.  I’m not going to say publically who or where this person came from, but if you guess and contact me privately, I may admit it.  Maybe.  Jesse (looks a bit like Casey James) is NOT this other person–he’s inspired by him.

Vicki has an existing friendship with Elias Reyes (played by Esai Morales), a police lieutenant working on a narcotics federal task force in Dallas.  They used to be on opposite sides of the court room, since Vicki was a defense attorney.  The money was nice, obviously, but she got burned out by the violence.  She found herself getting people off she knew were guilty, instead of truly helping people who were innocent and needed good representation.  Elias’s strong attraction and his dedication to justice, combined with burnout and a few really bad cases, led her to make a significant life change.

She quit practicing law to pursue a dream.  She opened up her own fashion line in Dallas.  [For the beta readers, that’s why Shiloh wears one of Vicki’s dresses to the final event.]  She’s doing this with her own money, but part of her feels like a failure.  She spent all these years going to college, working her way up to partner, gaining a prestigious career…only to quit.  She wonders what Daddy would say about it if he were still alive, and she hasn’t dared go home to see Mama.

She’s never had a comfortable relationship with Mama.  As the baby of the family, she was a daddy’s girl.  Her older brothers always took care of her.  She’s more like oil and water with Mama, who never sugar coats anything.  Don’t get me wrong–Vicki is not timid or afraid of Mama.  In fact, they’ve had so many rows, she decided it’s just easier to stay away. Despite their heated discussions, Vicki has a strong sense of family and would be miserable without them, so she stays in Dallas instead of heading for NY or LA, even if that means she won’t be as successful.

In looks, Vicki probably has dark hair and eyes to match Victor (Adrian Paul) or blue eyes like Conn (Clive Owen), but she could have taken more after Daddy (Sam Elliott) than Mama (Vivien Leigh).  After watching Constantine last night with my Beloved Sis, I’m thinking Vicki might be played by Rachel Weisz, but I’m open to other ideas.

P.S. Her real name isn’t Vicki.  It’s Beulah (Miss Belle) Virginia (Mama).  It’s sort of a family joke that she was cursed from the beginning with these names.  She chose to use Vicki (after her paternal grandmother, Victoria, where Victor got his name) instead.