One Sale at a Time

I know I’m taking the hard route. Well I think I am. I subscribe to newsletters that supposedly teach me how to get this huge audience, push my books out to people with a newsletter.

I get that those things can be effective. I also know that in my personal inbox I don’t even read them. I might have signed up for some promotion, but then it’s just noise in the inbox after that.

I don’t want to be noise, well I mean I do. I think most authors do- we want to sell books after all.

So I’m going to do it the hard way. One sale at a time.

Yes. I know. It’s like beating my head against a wall, but for right now it’s working for me. I want people to choose to follow this blog, rather than just some randomly AI generated newsletter type post clogging up their inbox.

OR- even worse, the same “promotion” just with a different timeclock for the deal to expire. 

It’s Here!! It’s Ready!

It seemed like a lifetime ago that I started this latest attempt to become an author. I started it over the Christmas break in 2020/2021.

I didn’t let this one fall by the wayside though. I liked the characters that came to me initially and those that came after. They spoke to me like good characters should, and yes, they eluded me when they shouldn’t. But ’tis the way of the written word. Good days, bad days. Write like a madwoman, dry spell for months.

I even started on book two while book one was still in it’s infancy- a major dry spell in fact. Dani came to mind and all of a sudden I had a totally different direction for the series to take.

Now comes the marketing…. It’s going to take a little bit of money I think. I don’t have the audience to do it completely on my own. I do have the time and I need to pull the energy out from who knows where, but I need to do it.

Click here to purchase https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=2BQBPFTHRVIFJ&K=17LBWTVESO1GN&M=urn:rtn:msg:20231025073216cb95c467de8d4eec9993041a5030p0na&R=2L7SUCCWG7NAH&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB0C9XRJ6HP%3Fref_%3Dpe_3052080_397670860&H=OAK4AACHRPF3UGBHYLSODKEUKAIA&ref_=pe_3052080_397670860

Now on to book two for real!!!

Cheers

m

Formatting

Where do I start?

Ugh. Would be a good place I think. The software isn’t entirely intuitive, there’s not much to it, but dang I’m on my third proof for the paperback

I “think” I “might have gotten it right this time. I guess I’ll find out $10 bucks and a week or so from now.

I’m also starting to really dive into marketing techniques. It seems like a lot of them carry a small to medium price tag. Have you used any and what would be your recommendation?

Have you started using an email/newsletter service? How is that working out for you? I know I myself have subscribed to a few newsletters, but I find that I rarely, if ever, go to any links on their emails to direct purchase. So I’m not sure how beneficial it it, but it must be, because “everyone” says that’s the way to go.

Also the “in” thing is monetizing the blog. Personally I miss the old days when you went to a blog and just read the post. Everyone hates the recipe blogs because of all the inserted pics, and the adds on the pages…

Is there a happy medium out there?

Oh M’Gosh, It’s READY!

The final KDP edits are done, amazing what you miss repeatedly (my fav is the lost space between words).

It’s officially available for pre-order via Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9XRJ6HP?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

I have not yet uploaded to B&N or Apple books. It’s taken me this long (with all my procrastination) to get the KDP finalized. I guess I am supposed to exhale now, but in reality the fun is just now beginning.

I have to see about formatting for paperback still.

And marketing… cannot forget the marketing… shall not forget the marketing- intentionally or unintentionally.

Well I guess I can exhale. It’s done. My very first published novel.

It’s done!!!

Cheers!

m

OK. It’s Time

The edits are in, revised a couple of times, feedback received. I am ready to move forward with the manuscript.

It’s terrifying, in an exciting way, but still terrifying nonetheless. I think it’s a good story. I’m sure there’s many things in retrospect that I could have written differently, but right now, it’s still too fresh to look at it with a more objective lens. I think that comes with time.

I subscribed to a few newsletters regarding promoting, but I need to revisit them and look and see what really makes sense. I bought one course at a very reasonable price, but of course now I’m inundated with four or five emails a day.

Which brings me to my next topic, email services. I never considered, or knew really what these subscription things meant. I mean I knew it had to be something automated because my junk email inbox has a plethora of daily emails from some “subscribe now” button I clicked at some point in the either not so distant past or from a long time ago. I rarely open these emails, but for whatever reason it doesn’t annoy me to see them on a daily basis.

BUT the four or five emails a day for this course or that course, the hurry act now stuff irritates. I’ve yet to send them to the spam folder because these involve the writing process, but the volume does seem a bit out of control.

I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want my readers (one day I’ll hope to have some) to grimace when they see an email.

Finding balance. That’s the key isn’t it. Not just with writing- but with all things.

That’s all for today I think. Now I’m off to do the mundane things people must do, laundry and housework. Oh the life of a prospective best selling author! (haha)

Have a good day everyone!

cheers!

m

Jumping Over the Moon

I looked at the last date I posted… so much for keeping up regular posts. My sincerest apologies. Writing or should I say “not” writing can become as rote as everything else. If it’s not up front and center, then it’s easily forgotton.

Anyway…. I digress. Today. This very morning I received my book’s finished cover. And…

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I am elated, excited… and well simply over the moon with the way it all turned out. I used Get Covers and well that process couldn’t have been easier, OR more affordable.

When my husband saw the cover , he was impressed (and he’s not very easily impressed by such things). AND even more so when I told him how much I paid, or how little I paid.

Going through the manuscript again now that the first round of edits is done, and I’m writing a bit to the follow up and getting to dig into the main character of the series.

Mirror Image, could very well be considered a prequel to Dani’s endeavors, but I needed to lay down the ground work to continue.

Anyway, that’s it from the great SouthWest. (Yes I capitalized on purpose)

m

Sigh of Relief

I scanned through all the comments and thankfully no major gaps or flaws with the storyline.

I went through them all fixed, tweaked, revised. And now I am ready for the second reading.

There were a few things I chose to leave alone, a couple of them Jay’s a couple of them mine. Let’s see how the second read goes and I will adjust from there.

Now hubby gets to read it. Now there is a nail biter. I hope he likes, even though it’s not really his genre.

I will also add that interspersed in Jay’s comments were things he also liked. I REALLY liked that. I will start doing that on my editorial tasks for others. It was very nice if not fantastic to hear what I nailed.

Now I need to start looking into covers and publishing details. I want to have the book out right before Halloween. Seeing how that’s the timeline in the book.

Cheers!

m

Chills

The moment has come!!! @JayBederwehl has given me his first round of edits on the entire manuscript.

I haven’t opened it yet.

We’ve had some dialog back and forth during this process… mainly me asking for general thoughts so I wouldn’t get back something I wasn’t prepared to read.

BUT…

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The draft has now turned into the next draft…. I shall be busy over the weekend.

I will read comments, digest, then dig into the edit.

Now I just have to read the comments…

One.

Two.

Three.

No really, I’m going to. I do (should) wait for my real workday to be done though.

Only 1.5 hours (technically less, I didn’t take a lunch today)

Tomorrow I’ll report back with the results!!

(Promise)

Cheers!

m

Hiatus is Over= Time to Buckle Down

Yes, I finished the first draft by the end of NaNoWriMo. Well I haven’t really done squat with it since.

Time to buckle down. Jay’s given me his first set of feedback, I read the comments, but haven’t done anything with them.

I have today off from the paying job, so I’m determined to get through the feedback and make changes.

Question for y’all… what have you found to be successful in promoting your book?