Indie Ideas

Only a few days left in the Author Blog Challenge. So sad :( On to today's prompt:

What is the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received about the publishing process and/or what advice would you offer to a first-time author?

The single best piece of advice I got was from The Best Boyfriend in the World. He said, "Don't give up. Finish everything you start even if it feels like you're pulling teeth. Your book is your business. Treat it like one."

On that note, I must say he was right. I spent three months writing Yassa, three months editing, and a week getting it ready for publication (formatting). During the book's cool-off period of six weeks, I designed the cover (which people are loving - and that love gives me a happy) and wrote The Abigale Chronicles - Book One. This is the funny part: I released The Abigale Chronicles - Book One in April and Yassa in June. How's that for screwed up?

Along those same lines of thought, I am releasing The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two in just two weeks and have planned a release schedule for one book every three months. At $1.99, it's a steal and won't break the bank. Each one is a stand-alone story so you don't have to read book one to understand two or three, etc... I think it's important to keep delivering new/interesting material on a consistent basis as well as not leaving your reader hanging between books. That's another piece from treating my books like a business. If people run out of things to buy/read, they go elsewhere. If your "Going out of Business Sale" sign never comes down, people quit believing it. 

Here's my advice to a first time author: Keep your content new and fresh. Don't ever stop writing. And, for the love of all that's holy, price your books fairly. If you're a good writer, people WILL buy them! Most of all, follow The Best Boyfriend in the World's advice above. It's good advice.

Something that bugs me: People seem to be jumping on the fake mini-series bandwagon. A mini-series should have a point and each book should be self contained. A whole book broken into three parts is not a mini-series. I have heard complaints from readers that encounter this. Not a good idea. Just sell them the whole book, you know?

If you have ever enjoyed a V.C. Andrews series, you'll know what I mean about mini-series (and, NO, not the ones AFTER she died). Flowers in the Attic and Ruby were two of the best series I have ever read. I love her unexpected twists and turns (what do you mean, she married her BROTHER? UNCLE? OMG!).

My series Mystic will fall into that mini-series category (four small books with five characters coming together in one final novel) and broach some pretty sensitive topics. After all, even controversial press is still PRESS, right? It's gonna raise a ruckus, methinks. I couldn't be happier with the prospect.





Anywho... That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Social Media Mayhem

Social media prompt from the 28 Day Author Blog Challenge: 

How are you using social media to promote your book? What aspect of social media would you like to learn more about? What are your next steps?

I use buffer to post auto-tweets in promotion of my books. During the day, I tweet about my blog here and there with automatic updates going out to my FaceBook wall.

You can follow me on Twitter here or find me on FaceBook here. Follow my blog to get automatic updates when I post, too! I put out a lot of useful information for writers, designers, and writers who design. You'll usually get five posts a week unless something major happens.

I would like to know a lot more about LinkedIN - find me here. I use it but not often. I was planning to get into it a bit more after July of this year. We'll see how that goes.

What I'm really counting on is word-of-mouth advertising. I know that once a few people read my books, they'll tell others. I have deep faith in my ability to turn a tale that is interesting, fun, and educational.

Release day is July 3rd for The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two. If you haven't read book one, go get it. It's just $1.99 for the Kindle version and $5.99 for the printed version!

As promised, the cover for The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two:

Leave a little love and tell me what you think! I'm trying to use a different color scheme on each one and a little bit of a different design but I'm keeping the title elements the same for recognition purposes.

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Platform Smatform

The 28 Day Author Blog Challenge prompt for today is: 

What are the three most important things you are doing to grow your platform?

First off, if you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. Just do it. Now, on to the goodies... 

Number ONE:
I enter challenges, like the 28 Day Author Blog Challenge and I participate heavily. I take time to go through and read as many other posts as I can and leave comments. My network has grown vastly through this exercise. Never ever enter unless you plan to participate because you'll end up with guilt. I hate guilt. 

Number TWO:
I friend every follower I have on Goodreads. I want to know what you're reading, I really do. Plus, that keeps my peeps in the loop on my releases and giveaways (watch for The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two giveaway in July!). Giving two copies to Goodreads for people who desire an excellent book is my way of reaching out to people who may become fans. I sign both copies and add a little note for personalization. 

Number THREE:
Social media: I friend readers and follow writers like crazy on Facebook and Twitter. Their fans could be my fans, too! My blog is a way of growing my platform as well. I try to give useful/helpful information for indie authors and writers in general. If you look here: CLICK ME! or here: CLICK ME, TOO! I even have ways you can make your writing stronger through word usage and suggestions for building a writing bible, how to write descriptions that don't paint exact people for your reader (we have to let their imaginations do something, right?), and general, interesting stuff.

Most of all, don't spend more than an hour a day on networking. Right now, I'm doing more than that but once the challenge is over, I cut off after 9am every day. I write from 9-3. Period. We are writers, we must write. A good day shows me with 3k-4k words and my Abigale books fly from my fingers when I'm in the zone. You know what that is. Flow baby.

Now, if you haven't read The Abigale Chronicles - Book One you better get on the ball! Book Two releases in just two weeks! Eek! Come on now, it's a short, fun read. My daughter is getting a kick out of book two; it's about cats. Not telling any more! No cover reveal today, maybe tomorrow...

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Blabbering Betties

And on to yet another post for the 28 day Author Blog Challenge...

Who did/could you ask to write a blurb for your book? Why that person/people? How did/will you go about reaching them?

I asked the best boyfriend in the world's twenty-one-year-old daughter to write a blurb for my book. She read it and wrote me some lovely ad copy. Without further ado:

"In this riveting portrayal of the emperor of the Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan, Yassa depicts the untold story of the undying love between Genghis and his wife, Borte. The novel creates speculation that who Genghis Khan had become is a result of the turmoil amongst his wife, family, and brotherhood, and the betrayal of the ones he remained devoted to until the end. The author Jo Michaels demonstrates her curiosity of the history behind Genghis Khan in this brave replica of the leader of the largest contiguous empire in history. You will find yourself laughing, crying, smiling, and sympathizing with the characters throughout the entire book. Yassa is a must read that will keep you wanting more of the bygone times that have never before been depicted like this."
  ~ Katlynn G

I asked her because she's a reader. She consumes around two books a week. If she liked it, I figured the general public would, too.

I found her via my association with her father. Her personal feelings were not put on display but she told me that when she got to the last page, she cried. SCORE! Tears mean my characters resonated with her.

When I write, resonance is my goal. I want people to take a little piece of my novel and store it in their heart forever. When you read Yassa, you'll have a perfect understanding of how I feel about my boyfriend. He's my once in a lifetime.

News: The Abigale Chronicles - Book Two is ready for release on  July 3, 2012. If you haven't read Book One yet, now's the time. Follow one of the links at the top of my blog to get yours! I'll be doing a cover reveal sometime this week. If I told you when, that wouldn't be fun! So getcher butts back here for that!

Even more news: Yassa received another FOUR STAR review yesterday! See the writeup here.

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Target Market

On to another prompt for the 28 Day Author Blog Challenge:

Describe the market for your book - to the tiniest detail (e.g., childless divorced women past age 50 who want to remarry). Why that demographic? How do you connect with them to market to them?

My market for Yassa consists of anyone who has loved fully, intensely, and faithfully. People who understand and appreciate the power of that faithfulness. Most of all, people who want to connect with a character and take something away from a story for once. While my intended audience was women from age 25-45, I have found that teens like my book a lot and that older women seem to gravitate toward it.

My market for The Abigale Chronicles is young readers from age 6-13, male and female. Those kids with imagination who can grasp that something weird is going on with Abigale. Kids who need to identify with a character and understand that when they have a problem, they should face it head-on with their eyes wide open.

Why that demographic? For Yassa, it's because women need to understand the inner workings of a man. Men desire to protect and be loved unconditionally. When any of that fails, they struggle. It changes them in ways we don't understand. For The Abigale Chronicles, it's because I want to teach them that reading can take you places you never dreamed you'd go.

In Yassa, Temujin fails to protect Borte and the act of losing her drives him a little crazy. It's Genghis Khan's coming-of-age tale. It tells why he was shaped into the brutal man he became. Life shapes us all in interesting ways and his life was hard. But he loved like no other. He was loyal to his friends and family and took slights against them personally, making anyone who dared to dishonor him the next target on his list of payback.

With The Abigale Chronicles, I feel like I have a last-ditch chance to get kids to pick up books and read. All books, not just mine. Abigale is intended to inspire a love of reading and realize the places books can take you with their words.

I connect with my target markets through advertising and networking. When I'm out and about, I talk about my work with anyone who'll listen. I do giveaways on Goodreads so those that are interested, have a chance at a copy for themselves. Word-of-mouth should take it from there. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at Goodreads for a chance to win one of two signed copies of Yassa!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Persnickety Publishing People

On to yet another day in the Author Blog Challenge. If you haven't signed up yet, feel free. The link is on the right. And the prompt today goes to...

Did you publish your book as a traditionally printed book, an eBook, or both? How did you come to your decision? Which company(ies) did you use for printing and distribution? How did you select them?

If anyone has been following my blog, you know I'm a self published author. I chose to use Smashwords for my first distribution of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One and by doing so, learned a lot of what to do and what not to do. I went through my experience in an earlier post. Feel free to pop over and take a gander.

Now for the juicy stuff. I did both an e-book and a traditionally printed version for my books. I used Createspace to publish the tangible versions. I learned a lot from putting The Abigale Chronicles up there as well. I'll make a blog friendly list of what to do and what not to do.

Please DO:

1. Take the time to make sure your manuscript is ready to go. Createspace takes longer to look over your stuff with a second submission. Why should they rush when you didn't bother to make sure it was perfect?
2. Use a cover designer that understands CMYK is different than RGB. Let me tell you, some greens and oranges look TERRIBLE when converted. Trust me.
3. Design your cover WITH a bleed. They trim 1/8" off every side. I went into this in an earlier post as well (link below).
4. Make sure your font is easy to read and prints well.

Please DO NOT:

1. Make changes.
2. Design your cover in RGB colorspace. Ugh.
3. Assume you know what you're doing. You don't know what a widow or an orphan is, don't try to. Seek a designer to help you format the inside of your book, please.
4. Use a tiny font (under 8pt).

I am linking to some earlier blog posts of mine that explain a lot of the above. Please go take a look. If you're using a designer, ask them if they know what kerning is and what the difference is between CMYK and RGB (CMYK is the four color process of ink printing on a press. RGB is the colorspace that is created with light - like on your computer). If they know the answers to those questions, they have been to design school.

Kerning Lesson
Printing Lesson
Color Spaces Lesson
Fonts Lesson

I chose Createspace and Smashwords by reading reviews online. I research EVERY company I do business with (so does my boyfriend) and we seek an outside opinion always. I find this to be a good way to expect the unexpected. Be prepared for the worst.

I decided to self-publish for a number of reasons:

1. I queried agents but they couldn't figure out my market so they declined.
2. I wanted control. Yes, I am a control freak (this surprises you? Really?).
3. The artist in me cringed at letting someone else decide on my design.
4. I had the time.
5. It was the best option for me.

Don't forget to enter my Goodreads giveaway for a chance at a free copy of Yassa.

Well, that's all for today, folks. Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Reader Interview

On to the next prompt in the Author Blog Challenge... 

Find someone you know, either online or in the real world, who is a true bibliophile and interview them about their reading habits. Ask questions such as: 

How many books do you buy per month?

Five 

How many do you actually read?

Five 

What do you read?

Mysteries, Romance, Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, Thrillers, Medical Myseries, Crime Novels, Young Adult 

Where do you buy your books?

Amazon now, I used to be a book club member. 

Who is your favorite author?

Mary Higgins-Clark 

What do you like about the author?

Her storytelling style is less descriptive. She doesn’t go into what color the floors are, grass is, décor style (unless setting an era). 

How often do you attend signings/readings? What do you enjoy about them?

Never. I’m  a reclusive. 

If you could ask their favorite author any question, what would it be?

Do you do any charity work for neglected or abused children? 

Which book has most recently surprised or delighted you?

Yassa. Because it’s historical fiction and I don’t usually read them. It was thrilling and unexpected. Out of the last ten to fifteen books I’ve read, it’s my favorite. I just couldn’t put it down. 

Of everything you’ve read so far this year, what would you most recommend?

I tend to recommend things that are freshest in my mind. So, I would recommend: Yassa by Jo Michaels, Intensity and 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz, and Exclusive by Fern Michaels.

What I learned from this interview is that people who buy tangible books, read them.

While you're on my blog, go check out the review I wrote for Ashley Howland's Ghostnapped!


That's all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed reading this one!! Until next time, WRITE ON!


Jo