Thursday, April 30, 2015

Markaza and M - Writing Updates!

Happy Thursday, everyone! I know, I know, my post is late! But I was working on something for a client, and I really wanted to get it to them before I took time to write my post. Now, it's a sit and wait game as I chew my nails and watch my e-mail to see if they like my ideas. I thought you might like to have an update on what I've been doing on the writer end. I have a snippet or two for you to check out, and I'm giving you updates for books that have been in the works for a while (in case you've been waiting for them -- yes, the e-mails and PMs about release dates can stop, because I'm gonna give you those, too!). So, grab a cup of coffee and join me!

First up, the sixth and final (maybe) book of the Mystic series, Markaza. Her story comes in at just over 56k words.

Update: Book is slated for release either end of May or early June. It's in the hands of my very capable editor now! EEP! In case you missed the cover and blurb:

Markaza Turner isn't your average seventeen-year-old. She can see the future, the past, and has an eerie propensity for getting people to do things.

But what she sees is the obliteration of mankind. Worse, her visions tell her it's gonna happen on her eighteenth birthday, December 21, 2012.

All six of the ladies forming the elite group, known as WSTW, are finally together under one roof. Bronya, Lily, Shelia, Melody, Coralie, and Markaza must now figure out how to use their strange powers before an evil being rises from the ground in Central Park and destroys the world.

But Markaza's own past is dark and riddled with secrets she'll need to unearth and come to terms with before she can go to war.

In this exciting finale of the Mystic series, the women come face-to-face with a truth that will change their lives forever.

Our fate is in their hands. 

~

And, here's a snippet:



He cleared his throat. “I think we all need bulletproof vests, personally.”
Markaza quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Well, you said that thing has claws, right? What if it comes down to an ability to puncture that wins or loses the fight?”
She snorted. “You haven’t seen the size of those claws. I think they’d rip through a bulletproof vest like a snake gliding through water.”
He blanched.
“Yeah. This thing is taller than The Clementine.”
He turned green.
“And all we have are our powers. I don’t think it has any weakness apart from love and forgiveness. With all our work with the shrink, we’re getting there; but I wonder if it’ll be enough. There are only six of us.”
“Eight,” he said.
She tilted her head.
“You have me, and you have Richard. Don’t count us out because we aren’t superheroes.”


~

Second, we have M. This is a standalone novel (you all know how I love those). It should end up around 60-70k words, but is sitting at almost 35k now.

Update: This title should be finished by the end of next week. Cover reveal will be June 1st, and release is set for June 18th. Here's a peek at the blurb and snippets:

In 2042, it finally arrives, the drug promising to make life easier for the masses. One dose of M and anyone can gain an ability. There are no promises made as to what the power could manifest as, but people are crawling over one another to take a chance.

There's a problem: One pill costs a million dollars. Only those with extraordinary wealth are afforded the luxury of cleaning house with a click of their diamond-adorned fingers or solving a puzzle by talking to it.

A knockoff is circulating that does the same thing as M. Hundreds of thousands of people have mutated for a mere fifty dollars.

Seventeen-year-old Griffin is a normal kid, who has a regular job, and dreams of going to college someday. When his girlfriend of three years succumbs to peer pressure, they break up. He believes the body is a temple not to be messed with outside of nature, and she wants to fit in. Once he meets the supplier, things take a turn for the worse.

He's left with nothing but pain in his heart and the desire to make them suffer when his plans for payback blow up in his face.

Thirst for revenge consumes him, and he finds himself locked in a battle he never anticipated with a merciless kingpin as they struggle to gain the advantage.

How far is too far?

~

Snippets:



Joey stuck his hands in his pockets and bobbed his head up and down. “Yeah, I get it. That’s what you have to hold onto; that’s what’ll help you do the hard things, the things you’ve been told you’ll go to Hell for, the things your mother would smack your face for thinking. At the same time, those are the things that have to be done.”
***


Earring Guy was sitting on the couch, his feet propped on what looked like an antique coffee table. No one said anything because they were at his house, and he could do whatever he wanted to the furniture. Not that anyone would’ve said anything either way. He picked at his teeth as he spoke. “I saw two people shift into lizards then back into humans—one male, one female—and a man who was winking a light on and off every time he blinked.”
Harry wrote the information down. “Well, that makes forty-seven different recorded abilities.” His eyes bulged. “How many possible manifestations could there be?”
“There’s no limit, H,” Ruby answered.



So, what do you think? Sound intriguing?

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

Jo

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Using Groupon for Book Sales

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Wow, do I have an awesome idea for you all today. Strap yourselves in and grab a cup of coffee, because this is gonna be one wild ride!

As I often do, I was thinking of new and innovative ways to sell/market books. I have a friend named Eva Pohler (find her on Facebook here), and this idea comes from a little snafu she hit a little while back with Barnes & Noble booksellers. No, this doesn't trash B&N (I love that store!); it's just information about what happened with her books. Plus, if you've encountered this particular problem, it might be information about how to unload books.

I'm gonna start with Eva's story, and work my way up from there. Stay with me, folks!

So, Eva wanted to have her book in a brick and mortar store (don't we all?), and she decided that was her goal for 2015. Please understand, when Eva goes after something, she goes after it; nothing gets in her way. Gosh, I admire that. Anywhoooo... So, she speaks with someone from B&N and they tell her, in order to stock her books, those titles need to be returnable.

Quick aside: Books are the only (yes, only) retail merchandise that's returnable for a 100% refund. How crazy is that? Okay, back to the story!

In order to make a self-published book returnable, you must go through a company like Lightning Source. Eva did that, made the book returnable, and B&N ordered a great number of copies of her titles.

Needless to say, she came home one day to find boxes and boxes of her books sitting on her doorstep. This is where my idea begins. I only told you enough about Eva's tale to give you an idea of what we're dealing with: tons of books sitting in your living room that you have no way to sell.

For the rest of Eva's story, check out the interview she did with S. M. Boyce here. It's a long video, but it might save you some money someday, I suggest you check it out.

Moving on!

I started thinking: How the heck is she gonna sell all those books? Marketing is difficult enough without a crapload of inventory sitting in your house. If Amazon can't sell them, how can you?

Enter Groupon. Why this never occurred to me before, I have no idea. But it's been a growing platform for sales for years. If you find yourself in a position like Eva did, why not create a Groupon to help move that stock?

I did a little digging before I started this post, and creating a Groupon is free.

But how the hell does Groupon make money, Jo? I know they charge you something! And how can I guarantee they won't oversell my stuff and me end up scrabbling to get more?

Great questions! I asked them, too. From their site: Groupon charges a marketing fee that's a percentage of the revenue from sales. You can set the number of items available, and they'll only sell that many Groupons. For answers to other questions, check out the FAQ here.

Now, the big question here is (you totally knew I'd look this up, right?): How many people actually buy Groupons? Here's an article from 2011 that gives a pretty good rundown of the numbers then. The projected growth is off the charts (no pun intended). Yes, that's billions with a B.

Can you imagine your book in front of that many people?

It's a huge marketing opportunity, and we Indies have to always be looking for the new idea in marketing. I love my iPhone, and I have Groupon. My husband and I use it often (browsing there created this idea). But I never looked at it as a market for books until now.

*face/palm*

Has my head been up my arse all this time? Or have I just never thought of it because it hasn't been done by anyone else? Either way, it's time to try something new, don't you think?

You may start here. Good luck!

What do you think? Will you try it?

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

Jo

Monday, April 27, 2015

The Versatile Blogger Award

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, a little bit of a change. Since my guest last week, Mindy Ruiz, has one book published and we already discussed on the post here (big giveaway going, GO ENTER) and featured it on the sidebar, today I'm talking about an award that was bestowed upon me by a fellow blogger. She's also a member of the 2015 Time for Books Review Team. Who is she and what's this award about? Well, grab a cup of coffee and let's get going!

Thank you, K. J. Farnham, for nominating me for this awesome award! Here's a little about Ms. Farnham:

I was born and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin, home of the Wisconsin State Fair and the Pettit National Ice Center. In 1999, I graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I went on to earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while teaching full time. After teaching first grade and third grade for six years each, I am proud to say that I had the privilege of helping hundreds of children learn to read and write.

In 2011, my family of four relocated from Milwaukee to western Wisconsin. (We are now a family of five!) While I was sad to leave teaching, I was ready for a change and excited to explore my love for writing. I got caught up for two years writing and editing for various clients while the book that I’d started back in 2009 went untouched. I finally made it my New Year’s Resolution for 2014 to finish Click Date Repeat, and it was published on August 21, 2014 (my wedding anniversary).

Things I enjoy: travel (especially road trips), running, biking, nature walks, beach outings, coffee and tea.

Things I love: watching my children participate in various activities, reading, writing, Body Pump at the YMCA, The Walking Dead, peanut butter and coconut milk.

Check out K. J. Farnham's blog here.

Information about the award:

The Versatile Blogger Award is given in recognition for the great commitment, diverse talents and generosity shown by bloggers here in our community. There is so much creativity on display that it is difficult to reduce a list to only a few, but for those nominated, it is hoped that it will motivate them as well as celebrate their work to date.

Here are the rules:
  • Show the award on your blog
  • Thank the person who nominated you
  • Share seven facts about yourself
  • Nominate up to fifteen blogs
  • Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know
My seven facts:
  1. My life is chaotic most of the time, so I tend to lean toward super controlling habits in my writing, editing, and design work
  2. I have this strange compulsion to help people, and look for different, interesting ways to give back to the Indie author community (because I'm selfish, and I get to pat myself on the back)
  3. I'm very opinionated
  4. Because I have such a strong work ethic, I expect the same from others, and it's destroyed relationships when things aren't followed through on or when I feel I'm not getting back the level of commitment I put in
  5. I believe in magic
  6. I push myself harder than I should, and I'm harder on myself when I fail than anyone else could ever be
  7. When people don't like me, I'm okay with it; because everyone doesn't like everyone (just like all people don't like the same book), and I'm not going to be someone other than me to change that
I nominate:
You should check those blogs out. Those ladies are amazing!

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

Jo

Friday, April 24, 2015

UtopYA Con 2015 Pro Sched User

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! It's time for another utopYA 2015 update! I know you're all super excited. BUT! Even if you're not going to utopYA, you can still figure out how to use Sched if an event you're attending in the future chooses to be green and save a few trees by going digital. Don't be the girl left out of the party. You'll lose out on a chance to join a huge family of like-minded creative people. Ever wanted to walk into a room and know the people there get you? Yeah, that's utopYA. So get your tickets here. Right now. The price goes up at the end of May, so don't dally!


Let's get to the info for today, shall we?

If you've been following along with the official bloggers this month, you'll know most of the ways you can use Sched to your advantage. Let's do a quick recap (links will take you to the corresponding posts):


Here on my blog, you learned how to create and update your profile. We went through connecting your social media and adding a cute profile picture.

When A Book Vacation took over, Shana taught you all how to mark things you'd like to go to, and she showed you a few awesome tips in her video.

Then, we went to The Paisley Reader. Maria walked you through syncing Sched with your phone (or freaking KINDLE)!

Today, we have the Book Junkie: Not-So-Anonymous, Ashley, walking you through how to change your ticket information and finding your friends!

By the time you get through all the posts above, you should be ready for the conference and have your reminders set so you don't miss a single panel. Have fun!

There won't be printed programs this year! Sched is what you need to learn how to use to get the most out of your experience.

What did you learn from the bloggers this month? Are you all set to go with the app?

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

Thursday, April 23, 2015

What's Above the Fold?

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! I know you're all excited that tomorrow's Friday, but I'm still bringing you a little tip today that may or may not explain a few things and/or make your life a hair easier. I hope you brought your coffee, pen, and paper! Let's goooooo!

So, today is all about that little thing in bloggerland known as a fold. What the heck? Nothing on the web folds, Jo!

Yeah, I know things don't literally fold, but let's think of a blog like a newspaper for a moment, shall we?

Everything a reader sees before they have to scroll down is considered above the fold. Now that we have the terminology down, let's get to what should be there and why it matters.

Examine my blog. You're looking at it right now, and you may still be where you haven't scrolled yet, so take a moment and really look. If you've moved down, scroll all the way back up.

What's the first thing you see? My name, right? Then a description of what you'll find on this blog.

After you see that, you notice I'm involved with utopYA con and INDIE Books Gone Wild. Now it's time for pages on my blog I think everyone who visits should become familiar with.

Awesome. Now you know where you are, why you are, and what kinds of things you can expect to find, right? Stopping here for a moment to talk about why those things matter and do a short comparison.

Remember when I talked about your blog as a newspaper? If you have one handy, grab it. Leave it folded in the middle, please. If you don't have one, use your imagination (or the picture below) to recall what they look like.

Now, you see a description (All the News That's Fit to Print), a title, a date, a price, and a headline, yes? Move on down and see the author's names and the good stuff.

Basically, everything above the fold on a newspaper is to tell you who, why, and what. It's the same with a blog. People need to know what they're getting into at a glance. Period.

But bloggers have extra stuff that should be above the fold:
  • Date of most recent post
  • Headline of most recent post
  • Some way to share the post (or the blog)
  • A way to subscribe to updates
I'm a thorough believer in less is more. Load time matters as much as aesthetics. More than fifteen seconds and folks leave. But the four items above are essential. Why?

Date: So people can see at a glance you're active now
Headline: So folks can be attracted to your writing
Sharing: Do I have to explain this one? Mine's buffer, but you can use anything.
Subscription Method: So people don't lose your awesome blog

Folks might look around for a way to subscribe or share if it's not in their faces, but don't bet on it. Make it easy to keep up.

I'm not going into other things you need to have. Everyone chooses differently. I used to have my bio, all kinds of widgets and banners and things, but my blog took forever to load. I cleaned house. Confusion does not encourage repeat visits.

Do you love it here? Why? Why not?

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

Jo