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8/31/2013

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Saturday Freebies

8/31/2013

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The indie world of novels, novelettes and short stories is booming. Last I heard there are over 80K books being uploaded on Amazon each month. That's crazy talk, right?

So how can you be part of that world? You think you got what it takes to write a book? Great. Then here's what you need:

Story (obviously) -the more original the better; nobody likes a cheap imitation. I have read hundreds of books in the last 12 months but there are only a handful that stayed with me. Why? Because of their originality. If you've read Seduced in the dark, Sanctuary of mine, Ruined, Twilight, just to name a few, you know you'll always remember them. There are hundreds upon hundreds of love stories where you have the bad boy (biker obviously - no dah) and the nice virgin girl and they fall in love the moment their eyes meet, they buy houses since all kids out of hs are rich and stuff and they live happily ever after- these, while entertaining, will not make you memorable.
Book cover - NO you cannot just copy and past a picture you find on the internet. If this is your first book and you have no budget to speak of, check out bigstock.com. Depending on how many books you're planning to write, I suggest you get a one month membership for $69 which allows you to download any 5 images per day. Just remember to cancel at the end of the month. The cover is the first thing the reader sees. As much as I hate to say this, your book will be judged by the cover so make sure you pick the right one. Everything from the color and size of the font you use matters.
Editor - Maybe this should be #1 because it's the most important. While having friends and family help out with the editing may seem like a good idea, trust me when I say it's not. Some editors charge $$$ but again, if you don't have the money, try to find editors that charge $1 per 1K words. A poorly edited book will be harshly reviewed and once a reader posts that review on amazon it stays there forever.
ARC - Say what? Yeah that was my reaction when I first saw this on FB. Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) is what's hopefully going to get you those much needed reviews. If you're fortunate enough to have a large family and group of friends willing to read your book and post a review, then consider yourself lucky. If not, then you will want to put together a group of Beta readers willing to help you out. I've heard of blogs that can help you with that so you might want to look into this.
Marketing - Oh how I dislike this word. No, seriously I really do. I am not very good at marking my book, asking people for help, or bugging the life out of my friends to share my page. If these are the words that come through your mind, ERASE them immediately. The only way you will get your name out there is by reaching out to others and pretty much beg them to help you promote your novel. Share the amazon link every day, twice a day if you have to.

Once all the work is done and you are 99.9% confident with your product, go ahead and send it out. As soon as your book goes live on amazon that's when the fun begins. Here are some things to remember:

NEVER reply to any of the reviews. If you're lucky, none of the readers will attack you personally. I've seen cases where authors attacked each other (you can never buy class). Grow some thick skin as fast as you can and look the other way. There's no point in arguing with stupidity and remember that you can't please everyone.
Don't worry if you're not in the top 100. We've seen so many authors reach that level (congrats to them) and while we all would just die to be the best, we need to be realistic and understand that it may not happen with the first book. Keep doing your best and stay positive. Hard work always pays off.

At the end of the day it all comes down to luck. I know there are a few out there that are rolling their eyes at me for saying this but seriously all you have to do is look at the number of poorly edited, silly little stories that have become bestsellers.

I tell you, you'll read posts from angry more established authors that will make fun of us little indie newbies. The them I say: "Don't hate me for being fabulous. You were once a nobody."

No matter where this journey takes you, just have fun with it. Life is too short to stress out the little things that are out of our control. Never forget where you've come from and always be good to your readers. And when you make it big, make sure to send me a signed copy of your book ;)

Be happy, always xox

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Pimping new authors

8/29/2013

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As some of you may know by now, I was super duper excited last night after I published this page. Dorky? Yes. But exciting nonetheless. Now this morning I was wondering where do I go from here? I mean what do people usually write about in blogs? And that's when I got the bright idea to use some of the posts to "pimp" other authors.

So today I give you: Tarah Hamilton.
Tarah has published her first book (today actually) and I had the pleasure to speak with her over the past few weeks about all the anxiety that comes with sending out your first "baby" into the world. She has to be one of the most humble people I've ever met and really a pleasure to talk to. So I hope you'll join me in making her feel welcome to the indie community and help spread the word about this talented upcoming star.

Her book is called Copperback and you can purchase a copy on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Copperback-ebook/dp/B00EUTCNH0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377817663&sr=8-2&keywords=tarah+hamilton

Copperback synopsis:
When do you learn to let go of your fears and misconceptions and trust what your heart is telling you? That real love can come in any form, even if he’s not human.
Two warring alien races are stranded on Earth due to the sudden destruction of their home planets. The Vesper, willing to help the human race to resolve most global crises, is accepted into society while the Sayner, refusing to cooperate at every turn, is enslaved.
Ten years later, Emily O’Neil yearns to find a way out of her small town life, continuing an existence of solitude since the passing of her mother years before. Her opportunity comes in an unusual way—a Sayner slave named Job who is on the brink of death and forced into her care. As their forbidden friendship develops, Emily finds that sometimes, fate has a way of making us see what we long for most—love.

Make sure to visit (and like) her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/copperbackbook

Thank you for stopping by. Be happy, always xox

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Learning new things

8/29/2013

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What made me start this blog, you ask? I mean, I must be crazy to think I need to add another project to my plate considering how much I'm trying to accomplish already. I am working on two books at the same time, I am on wife/mommy duty 24/7, and I'm supposedly trying to start working out (last one kind of hard to get motivated but I had to throw it out there).

One of the reasons I wanted to do this blog thing was to motivate youngsters out there that are considering a writing career. What can I say, I'm a mother who loves to nurture pretty much anyone that would let me do so. No but seriously, I know what it's like to want something really bad and not having support from others. I'm not talking about my family. The are my rock, but unfortunately they have no clue when it comes to publishing a book. While I'm not an expert, I do however know a thing or two about formatting your document, where to go to publish it, how to market it and get an author page going. Doesn't sound like much, but trust me when I say it's enough to get you started.

From time to time I receive emails from new authors that are ready to click that publish button on amazon but are afraid. My advice to them? Take a deep breath and click the damn button. Whatever happens next doesn't matter. As long as you did your best, that's what's important. Believe in yourself first and never compare your work to others. Personally, I did not start writing for the money. Which is a good thing because I did not become rich overnight haha. I did it as a challenge and mostly for the fun of it. Because trust me when I say this... IT IS LOTS OF FUN. Once the idea gets stuck in your head and you let those words run across the page, there's no turning back.

Life is too short to worry about what others may say. Do the right thing, be good to one another, and stay true to yourself. Oh and one last thing. Remember that you will never be able to please everyone.

With that my friend, I wish you good luck on your journey. Be happy always xox

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