Thursday, July 13, 2017

Utterances - Special Sneak Peek

Happy Thursday, everyone! I actually can't believe I'm here, but I made a blogging schedule, and I'm sticking to it. Expect new life from this blog and a ton of new topics. While I've been out of the blogging world for a hot minute, things are finally settling down around here, and I have a new daily schedule I'm trying to implement. Sure, there will be some hiccups along the way, but I appreciate you all sticking with me through, what I can only describe as, the most difficult year of my life.

Enough of all that for today, though. I have a super awesome surprise for you all. Even though I've been slacking on the blog, I've been doing a ton of writing (as you know, if you've seen the War and Pieces series--1/4 of 312k words is nothing to scoff at). Recently, I've been working on a novel that hits pretty close to home. If you're ready to read a bit, strap in and let's get going. I'm giving you the cover, blurb, and about 600 words of the story. Kindly remember this is the unedited version. Ha! ;)

Title: Utterances
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: New Adult Paranormal
Length: TBD
Release Date: 2017

Blurb:
Simone spent the last two years by her cancer-ridden mother’s bedside. Taking care of her was the number one priority. When Mom suddenly goes into full remission, Simone is left bobbing in an unfamiliar ocean with a young man named Tristan. What happens next is the stuff of fairy tales—and nightmares.

Shocking, heart-wrenching, and insightful, Utterances will make you question everything you thought you knew about self-sacrifice. Award-winning author Jo Michaels pulls reality and the paranormal together in a way never before seen, intensely examining what we call the human condition by diving into the innermost workings of one young lady’s mind.

Sneak Peek:


Prologue

“…and they lived happily ever after.” Simone closed the book and lifted her eyes to her mother’s still form.
Frail.
Deathly white and blue.
Breathing shallow and erratic.
Tubes sprouted from her arms and neck, and the machines in the room kept up a steady beeping as though trying to create a beautiful melody amid the morbidity of the place.
Yvette was going to die. After fighting so long, the cancer eating her once vibrant body would complete its deadly feast and release her from the pain.
Simone’s eyes watered, and she stood to leave for the evening, eager to wash off the antiseptic scent clinging to her clothes and hair. Carefully, she placed the book of fairy tales in her bag, whispered a promise of something better to read next time as she kissed her mother on the forehead, and shut the door softly.

Chapter 1

Banging ensued as bags were carried through the door and dropped in the foyer on the threadbare mat. Yvette spun around with her arms extended, nearly knocking photos off the walls. “It’s so good to be home.”
Simone laughed. “It’s good to have you home.”
They embraced, and the woman kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “I never thought I’d see this musty old apartment again, that’s for sure.”
“Me either.”
Sniffling, Yvette let go, took a step back, and put her hands on her hips. “I forgot how dismal it is. At least you managed to keep it clean.”
“Of course I did. I’m not a slob. You raised me better than that.” Simone winked and pulled two slim, red, plastic containers out of her purse. “How about you get the movies ready while I order the pizza.”
While her mother danced and whistled her way across the living room, Simone carried the bags down the hall, put them in the master bedroom, and slipped into her own room, shutting the door behind her. Carefully, she pulled the old book out of her bag and ran her fingers over the infinity symbol’s embossed edges. She then slipped the thick tome under her pillow before picking up the phone and dialing the pizza parlor’s number.
When she made it back to the couch, twenty minutes later, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, she was much more relaxed.
Yvette patted the cushion. “Sit by me. Did you get the pizza ordered?”
Simone nodded as she plopped down and stuck her bare feet on the coffee table.
Her mother frowned.
“What?”
“Have you been putting your nasty toes on my table the whole time I’ve been gone?”
“Mom. Come on. Don’t start on me the first day you’re home.”
One side of her mouth wrinkled back into her cheek a moment before she softened and patted her daughter’s knee. “Okay. You’re right. I shou—”
A knock at the door interrupted the moment.
“I’ll get it. You pour the drinks!” Yvette was off the couch in a fluid movement, ponytail swinging as she bounced toward the entryway.
Simone sighed before pushing off the cushions and heading for the kitchen. As she filled two glasses with ice, tendrils of panic weaved their way up her spine. She checked to make sure her mother was occupied before running down the hall and shoving a hand beneath the pillow, feeling for the book’s leather-bound edges. Satisfied it was there, Simone snuck back up the hall to continue her task—her mind still attached to the feeling of the book on her fingers.


~~~~~~~~~~ End excerpt ~~~~~~~~~

What do you think?

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

Jo

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

The Metamorphosis of Indie and Trad Pubbed Books in 2017

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today, my curious side has hold of me, and it's led me to ask of you something I've noticed myself. If you're ready for some thought-provoking, grab some coffee (or tea or whatever), and let's get going.

As you may know, I've been doing a lot of tangible book reading lately. Simply put, they were easy for me to read and not be distracted by texts or any manner of other things work related coming through. Silence is, in fact, golden. Plus, my MS crazy eyes seem to like print more than digital. Go figure.

Anyway, in preparation for that trip I went on, I moseyed into a bookstore and bought a couple of trad pubbed reads. Okay, it was a bunch, but that's neither here nor there. Now, I also snagged an Indie book while I was on my buying tear. Here's a shot of the trad pubbed books I snagged (my Indie title hadn't come in yet):

Also in my big pile was The Circle, but I bought it on the previous trip, so it wasn't pictured in my haul for that day. I read Keeper of Crows by Casey L. Bond when it first released, and I ordered Keeper of Souls from her because I was invested in the story and wanted more. First book was amazing. Second one was scheduled to be read while I was traveling. It DID come in before I left, so that was awesome.

Before I started thinking about what books I'd bring, I'd blazed through Red Queen and the little novella from that series, Cruel Crown, so I got (what I thought were) the last two in that series as well.

I took my pile of books and hit the road (yay)!

First up was Vitro. I was super interested in the premise of the story, but put it down several times because the editing was so very bad.

While waiting on the courage to pick it back up and try again, I read some of Glass Sword. I bumped into a couple of inconsistencies in that book that had me rolling my eyes, so I went back to Vitro and finished it.

Then, I moved on to Keeper of Souls (which I read in about 8 hours and ADORED).

Because I was annoyed with the Red Queen series, I went on to try The Circle. That title was abandoned for.e.ver after just fifty pages or so. Back to Glass Sword I went, and I finished it and King's Cage (laborious reading right there), and that ending had me throwing the book on the damned floor. I found out only later there's another one in the works (I mean, REALLY?).

I'm nervous to even crack the cover on The Diabolic because of the quality of the other trad pubbed books I've gotten hold of. I love the cover so much...

Anyway, all this reading caused me to stop and ponder. Why did the Indie book breeze by while I plodded and struggled through the trad pubbed options?

While on the phone with my bestie and writing/business partner, Tia, today, she mentioned that she thought trad pubbed books have declined in quality because they're rushing to press. Why? In order to keep up with the Indie market.

Indie authors are publishing books at an astronomical rate, and their quality has jumped ahead by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Meanwhile, trad pubbed books seem to be getting worse (if you MUST have an example of the kinds of things I found, I'll dig them up, but this isn't me being nitpicky, I swear).

Are Indies getting better because we've become more educated about what we should and shouldn't publish? Or, perhaps it's the rise of Indie run and Indie focused editing houses (like IBGW) that are making the difference?

This leads me to open the floor to you all.

Have you noticed the change? What book(s) did it for you? What do you think is causing the shift?

If you think I'm just crazy, feel free to tell me that, too.

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

Jo

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

War and Pieces Boxed Set Release

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have a super amazing deal to share with you all. I've talked before about the amazingness that's the new War and Pieces ~ Frayed Fairy Tales books, but now they're available in one awesome boxed set! All ten seasons. Let's get to the details!

Title: War and Pieces ~ Frayed Fairy Tales
Authors: Ferocious 5 (Tia Silverthorne Bach, N. L. Greene, Kelly Risser, and Jo Michaels)
Genre: Upper YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 312k words
Buy Link: Amazon $9.99

Blurb:
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there were zombies

That’s how it all started. Authors have created a major problem with stories like Cinder, The Dark Queen, and Asleep, and it’s wreaking havoc here in Ever After. Our queens are fighting for their lives.

Rather like Mother Nature, keeper of the fine balance that’s life in your world, tales that begin with “Once upon a time” were never meant to be messed with.

Now, Ariel is underwater with all the defenses she’s been launching, Aurora hasn’t slept in weeks, and Rapunzel is tangled in… Well, I can’t even begin to tell you.

Rather than try, I’ll let you see for yourself. You and I will talk again afterward—if I survive long enough. So, as our fateful story begins:

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…

~~~~~~~

What are you waiting for? Are you excited?

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

Jo

Thursday, June 22, 2017

New Release - The Prototype's Descendant

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have an exciting new release for you all. If you know or love Maria Pease (now Maria Rosera), you'll want to get into this book! Enough of my jawing. Get your clicking fingers ready and let's get going!

Title: The Prototype's Descendant
Author: Maria Rosera
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Length (print):
Buy Links: All the links!

Blurb:
Kyla Carver never imagined her road trip would turn out like this:

Breaking up with her boyfriend.
Getting abducted by aliens.
And being the possible key for the Asterrals’ return to Earth.

Jeremiah Taylor never wanted the job of Terralien Intake Physician.

But it’s getting him one step closer to going to Earth.
He finds humans fascinating.
And he’s falling for the girl.

When her abduction takes an unexpected turn, Kyla and Jeremiah form an unlikely friendship that leads to the start of a summer they will never forget.

~~~~~

How good does this sound???? How about a teaser?



What are you waiting for? Get going!

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

Jo

Monday, May 22, 2017

Book Landing Pages Spare You Headaches and Irritated Bloggers

Happy Monday, everyone! So, today's post is because I've seen a number of bloggers over the weekend talking about last minute postings showing up in their email inboxes and how it annoys the crap out of them. When given less than a day to put up a post and make it pretty, giving it to them 24-48 hours ahead of time just isn't kosher. It chains them to their blogs and email inboxes. Worse, they may simply not see it in time.

Guess what?

You just missed out. Plus, you managed to annoy bloggers that are working for free and only trying to help.

As I've always said, make it EASY for people to share your stuff. This isn't hard.

So, to help you help them, today is all about book landing pages. Get those pencils ready, and let's get going!

A book landing page is any page that showcases your book and provides buy links. It can be a page on your website or blog, but it needs to focus on just that one book. Make it pretty, and make sure there's not a lot of visual confusion.

Here are some examples of landing pages:

This is from the Frayed Fairy Tales website.

This one is from Alessandra Torre's site.

And this one is from Geneva Lee's site.

As you can see, the things all these pages have in common are buy links, book covers, and info. There's not a whole lot there because there doesn't need to be. Keep it simple. If you do a web search for "book landing page," you'll get a ton of generic ideas on layout and such.

When you're making your HTML to send to your bloggers, send them the link to that page on your blog or website (shortened with bit.ly so you can track the clicks) instead of waiting for a purchase link.

On release day, go update your site BEFORE time for those posts to go live. It's so much easier to update one website than a ton of blog posts.

Save yourself time and emails, and save your bloggers the stress of rushing. They'll thank you and be much more likely to share your stuff in the future.

I'm just going to add my own little note to go along with the above. I feel like it's important.

When a blogger shares your release stuff, go to the blog and type out a quick thank you. This goes for shares on social media, too. It takes time, YES, but it's worth it. They work hard, and they don't get paid for what they do. Show that you appreciate them. It matters.

Okay, off my soapbox for today.

Anything to add?

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

Jo

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

New Release - Ghost Code by Sarah Negovetich


The wait is over! From the bestselling author of the Acceptance series, comes an all new YA-standalone that's sure to be the first summer smash-hit! Sarah Negovetich delivers and you won't want to miss out. Grab your copy today!

Title: Ghost Code
Author: Sarah Negovetich
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Release Date: May 15, 2017

"Ghost Code is a fast paced thrill ride that will take you to the very edge--of life and of love--and leave you begging for just one more page." 
-Bestselling Author Sherry D. Ficklin (The Hacker Series)



"Without dreams, what's the point of being awake?"

After a lifetime of fighting cancer, eighteen-year-old Viv Quiroga is dying. But she’s determined to go out on her own terms. Instead of wasting away in a hospital watching her mom worry over their mounting debt, she volunteers for a private research program.

For thirty days she’ll live in a coma as a human lab rat. When her time is up, they turn off the machines and pay off all her medical bills.

It’s supposed to be a one way trip.

Until Viv wakes up and learns what it really means to live.

     


Sarah Negovetich

Sarah Negovetich knows you don't know how to pronounce her name and she's okay with that.

Her first love is Young Adult novels, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty; it's accurate if not exactly motivational. We should come up with a better cliché.

Sarah divides her time between writing YA books that her husband won’t read and performing on stage at BE Theatre. Her goal in life is to never grow up.

FIND SARAH NEGOVETICH


Happy Release Day Sarah and Ghost Code! Join us in wishing Sarah all the best with her new release by reaching out to her via Facebook or Twitter at the links above you will not regret it!

Grab your copy today!

***** Title: Ghost Code Author: Sarah Negovetich Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi Release Date: May 15, 2017 "Ghost Code is a fast paced thrill ride that will take you to the very edge--of life and of love--and leave you begging for just one more page." -Bestselling Author Sherry D. Ficklin (The Hacker Series) "Without dreams, what's the point of being awake?" After a lifetime of fighting cancer, eighteen-year-old Viv Quiroga is dying. But she’s determined to go out on her own terms. Instead of wasting away in a hospital watching her mom worry over their mounting debt, she volunteers for a private research program. For thirty days she’ll live in a coma as a human lab rat. When her time is up, they turn off the machines and pay off all her medical bills. It’s supposed to be a one way trip. Until Viv wakes up and learns what it really means to live. https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Code-Sarah-Negovetich-ebook/dp/B06Y6GTPDW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494799420&sr=8-1&keywords=ghost+code+sarah+negovetich https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34914770-ghost-code

Friday, May 12, 2017

PA vs PR vs MA - What's the Difference and Why it Matters

Happy Friday, everyone! Well, today's post is going to be a long one, so strap in and get ready to go! Today, I'm talking about Personal Assistant vs Public Relations vs Marketing Assistant. Yes, there's a difference, and not a lot of folks know what it is.

Personal Assistant: A secretary or administrative assistant working exclusively for one particular person.
Basically, this person is there to keep you on track, schedule things for you, and remind you when you have something coming. They handle what you can't. Think of a CEO and his secretary. Those are the things this person does for you.
Average cost (for authors): $150 per month 
 
Public Relations: Is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. Public relations is the idea of creating coverage for clients for free, rather than marketing or advertising. 
These people are the ones who keep your public image out there. They spread the word that you're a thing and that you have books for sale.
Average cost (for authors): $150 per month

Marketing Assistant: A person who helps to promote and sell products or services, including market research and advertising.
These are the folks who pimp books, do market research to see where/how your book will sell best, and suggest advertising strategies based on their findings.
Average cost (for authors): $500 per month average (could be plus marketing fees for promotions and such as well but may be included--every MA is different)

To sum up:
  • If you need someone to keep you on track, organize your life, and help you remember when things are due, you need a PA.
  • If you're looking for someone to help you with getting your face/name out there, let you know about opportunities to attend events, etc... then you need a PR firm.
  • If you're looking for creative marketing solutions that get you results sales-wise, you want an MA. Most of them focus on your target market, and that's what's important.

No matter which option you go with, what you need to ask yourself (honestly) is: "How much money can I make back in return for my investment?" Pay close attention to your ROI. It's all that matters.

A bonus bit of information:

When you do your own promos, keep track of what works and what doesn't. Use one series as a Guinea pig. Do a promotion on book one and send it to one or two places with links you can track clickthroughs and sales on. Write down how many books you sold throughout that promo. Do the same with book two, and so on and so forth.

Then, when you're ready to release that next book/series, you'll know exactly where to put your hard-earned money.

I hope this post helps you make some decisions. As always, hit me up in the comments with questions or thoughts. Remember to play nice!!

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

Jo