This morning I was delighted to find another 5 star review for Master on Amazon UK from a reader named Mrs. B who entitled her review "wonderful read, best book I've read in a while". An hour later the review disappeared and I am back to 6 five star reviews. I have contacted Amazon but have not received a reply yet as to why this review was taken away.
I am a little confused. As I write this, Master is ranking #30 in kindle erotica on Amazon UK. To date, 1200 copies have been bought in the UK and still I only have 6 reviews! The maths doesn't add up. I've received a lot of emails for this book and have always replied thanking them for taking time to write to me and I often ask very nicely if I could encourage them to leave a review. I've had a couple of replies to say that Amazon won't post their review. Why is this?
These are genuine readers from the UK. I'm in New Zealand and I don't know these people. I am not violating any policy.
If I hadn't seen that review in the short time it was up, I would have never known it was there. Am I wrong to wonder if the same thing has happened to other reviews? I would really appreciate anyone leaving a comment here if you have bought my book, reviewed it and not seen your review posted.
I only ever ask for genuine reviews. Anyway, whoever you are Mrs. B, thank you for taking time to review Master. I loved your kind words and yes, I am working on a follow up.
For now, here is the link on Amazon UK: Master
Friday, 14 March 2014
Friday, 7 March 2014
Amazon, what are you trying to tell us?
Recently author Lynn Shepherd wrote an 'open letter' to J.K. Rowling which predictably proved very unpopular and as a result brought the wrath of J.K. fans and others down upon her. She has since apologized and the media attention has died down, but the attacks haven't.
Authors should be supporting one another, knowing the struggle we go through to get our books out there and to have them recognized, and we should be celebrating the authors that achieve success. But, we are still human and make mistakes.
Which one of us hasn't said something in our lifetimes and wished we could go back in time to erase it? It's when my dear Mum's voice still echoes in my head: "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything" but we've all done it and sometimes paid the price for our ill-timed remarks. But how big should that price be?
As an author, I don't believe it should be paid on a site that professes to have strict guidelines about reviews. One only need visit Ms Shepherd's Amazon books to see how much she is paying. People have been able to leave comments, not genuine reviews, on her books. How is this possible and with so many without the 'verified purchase' that tells us that these people have at least bought the book. Emails that have said that these comments violate Amazon's policies are being ignored. Why is this? Shouldn't the books at least be purchased before a comment is made?
Amazon is quick to remove a good review from a book because it violates policy. Shouldn't this also apply to these comments? Whether you agree with the comments or not, the issue should be that these comments are in violation of a policy that every author who sells books on their site is subject to. And believe me, if it can happen to one author, it could happen to anyone.
Anne Rice has made her feelings very clear on the matter and supports the petition to stop this. In my last post I wasn't certain about this petition, but clearly there needs to be something done. I was foolish enough to believe that Amazon would remove these comments but sadly that has not been the case.
There are enough forums to vent on. By leaving these comments on there, what is the message that Amazon is sending out? I don't know, but I would love to hear other authors opinions on this or anyone that would help me understand this.
Authors should be supporting one another, knowing the struggle we go through to get our books out there and to have them recognized, and we should be celebrating the authors that achieve success. But, we are still human and make mistakes.
Which one of us hasn't said something in our lifetimes and wished we could go back in time to erase it? It's when my dear Mum's voice still echoes in my head: "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything" but we've all done it and sometimes paid the price for our ill-timed remarks. But how big should that price be?
As an author, I don't believe it should be paid on a site that professes to have strict guidelines about reviews. One only need visit Ms Shepherd's Amazon books to see how much she is paying. People have been able to leave comments, not genuine reviews, on her books. How is this possible and with so many without the 'verified purchase' that tells us that these people have at least bought the book. Emails that have said that these comments violate Amazon's policies are being ignored. Why is this? Shouldn't the books at least be purchased before a comment is made?
Amazon is quick to remove a good review from a book because it violates policy. Shouldn't this also apply to these comments? Whether you agree with the comments or not, the issue should be that these comments are in violation of a policy that every author who sells books on their site is subject to. And believe me, if it can happen to one author, it could happen to anyone.
Anne Rice has made her feelings very clear on the matter and supports the petition to stop this. In my last post I wasn't certain about this petition, but clearly there needs to be something done. I was foolish enough to believe that Amazon would remove these comments but sadly that has not been the case.
There are enough forums to vent on. By leaving these comments on there, what is the message that Amazon is sending out? I don't know, but I would love to hear other authors opinions on this or anyone that would help me understand this.
Monday, 24 February 2014
The cruelty of strangers
Today I came across a post urging people to sign a petition to protect Amazon users and Indie publishers from harassment and bullying. Why only Indie was mentioned, is confusing to me. Traditionally published authors get harassed too. I sat there contemplating whether to sign it, not because I didn't agree with the sentiments being raised but because I just wasn't sure this was the way to stop it.
What it comes down to is how people treat other people. Just this week we lost a lovely woman named Charlotte Dawson, a victim to trolls and media. I only knew this woman in the capacity that she was a celebrity from New Zealand, but I found myself very distressed as I read of her plight. It sickened me that there are so many people willing to be nasty to another human being.
I can only relate to her torment on the smallest scale, having had a few attacks from trolls and having suffered a depressive condition for the last twenty years. Just trying to imagine what Charlotte went through had me in tears.
Having my own vulnerabilities, publishing a book was not easy for me. I knew that I would be putting myself in the public spotlight and opening myself to the severest of criticism. I did it anyway because I hate living a life in fear and I love to share my writing with others. The attacks were not long in coming, from completely unexpected origins. It was my own relatives that attacked me, denouncing me for writing what they called "filth" "demeaning to women" and even personally attacking me with comments "severely psychologically disturbed." They attacked me in reviews and on social media.
I kept this to myself for a while, broken-hearted and ready to withdraw my book and never write another word. One of my daughters saw the post and was on the phone immediately to my other adult children and my husband. My dear family often have a fun tease with me for writing my erotic novels but have always been fully supportive. I didn't know just how supportive, until I suddenly saw all my children go berserk at these relatives. How dare they say this about their Mum. My husband even came home from work, so angry and telling me quite firmly that I was not to listen to this garbage, that I was the best writer in the world and these people were just jealous that I had made such an achievement. I was overwhelmed by this love and knew then that they were the only people in the world I would ever look for approval.
It is a fact that reviews are still one of the best promotional tools for an author, but it's a tool which can so easily be abused. Someone sent me an email once saying they could get me hundreds of reviews for a price. Why the hell would I want something like this? I want honest reviews, but with that comes the chance that my book might be offensive to someone, they don't enjoy my writing style or some other complaint, and it will reflected in a big, shiny one star. Yes, it hurts but some of those one star reviews have genuine criticism. Apart from my relatives, none have been particularly nasty, but I've been fortunate. My heart goes out to authors who have had the most vicious comments made about their books.
To my own detriment, I don't actively seek out reviews. I don't send out ARC copies and with four books I've requested a review only six times. Manic readers allow you to send out your book to multiple reviewers. I did that, but got no replies. Now I mostly go with sites that do a good promo and that's enough for me.
Do I want to hear that you've enjoyed my book? Yes I do. It makes me happy that I've entertained someone for a few hours. Isn't that the point of sharing a story? Do I want to hear that you think my writing is garbage? No I don't, and it won't stop me writing. I'll be tremendously hurt by your comments for an hour or so, but then I'll be surrounded by my loving family and really remember what is important to me.
Rather than what this petition wants, I'd just like to see people stop and think of how their comments affect other people. Do they even realize how much pain they can cause? If the author was standing in front of them, would they still be able to impart their comments? Sadly, I think that some of them could, but I still believe in the goodness of human nature. Maybe next time that you go to leave a review, ask yourself, if the author was sitting across from me, could I still say hurtful remarks without the anonymity of a forum. Authors do want constructive criticism, the parts of our writing that we could improve. We learn from this. I can also bear to hear what you didn't like about my book, if written in an intelligent and honest manner that will also have me honestly thinking about what you're saying. It could be a very valid point.
I won't ever respond to reviews except to give my thanks to those from whom I have requested one, and I certainly won't feed the trolls.
If you've ever complained about how terrible this world can be, think about what part you have had to play in that. Be kind to one another and don't be so quick to judge others, especially those in the public spotlight or those who are kind enough to share a story with you. Then we won't need petitions and we won't lose people like Charlotte Dawson.
What it comes down to is how people treat other people. Just this week we lost a lovely woman named Charlotte Dawson, a victim to trolls and media. I only knew this woman in the capacity that she was a celebrity from New Zealand, but I found myself very distressed as I read of her plight. It sickened me that there are so many people willing to be nasty to another human being.
I can only relate to her torment on the smallest scale, having had a few attacks from trolls and having suffered a depressive condition for the last twenty years. Just trying to imagine what Charlotte went through had me in tears.
Having my own vulnerabilities, publishing a book was not easy for me. I knew that I would be putting myself in the public spotlight and opening myself to the severest of criticism. I did it anyway because I hate living a life in fear and I love to share my writing with others. The attacks were not long in coming, from completely unexpected origins. It was my own relatives that attacked me, denouncing me for writing what they called "filth" "demeaning to women" and even personally attacking me with comments "severely psychologically disturbed." They attacked me in reviews and on social media.
I kept this to myself for a while, broken-hearted and ready to withdraw my book and never write another word. One of my daughters saw the post and was on the phone immediately to my other adult children and my husband. My dear family often have a fun tease with me for writing my erotic novels but have always been fully supportive. I didn't know just how supportive, until I suddenly saw all my children go berserk at these relatives. How dare they say this about their Mum. My husband even came home from work, so angry and telling me quite firmly that I was not to listen to this garbage, that I was the best writer in the world and these people were just jealous that I had made such an achievement. I was overwhelmed by this love and knew then that they were the only people in the world I would ever look for approval.
It is a fact that reviews are still one of the best promotional tools for an author, but it's a tool which can so easily be abused. Someone sent me an email once saying they could get me hundreds of reviews for a price. Why the hell would I want something like this? I want honest reviews, but with that comes the chance that my book might be offensive to someone, they don't enjoy my writing style or some other complaint, and it will reflected in a big, shiny one star. Yes, it hurts but some of those one star reviews have genuine criticism. Apart from my relatives, none have been particularly nasty, but I've been fortunate. My heart goes out to authors who have had the most vicious comments made about their books.
To my own detriment, I don't actively seek out reviews. I don't send out ARC copies and with four books I've requested a review only six times. Manic readers allow you to send out your book to multiple reviewers. I did that, but got no replies. Now I mostly go with sites that do a good promo and that's enough for me.
Do I want to hear that you've enjoyed my book? Yes I do. It makes me happy that I've entertained someone for a few hours. Isn't that the point of sharing a story? Do I want to hear that you think my writing is garbage? No I don't, and it won't stop me writing. I'll be tremendously hurt by your comments for an hour or so, but then I'll be surrounded by my loving family and really remember what is important to me.
Rather than what this petition wants, I'd just like to see people stop and think of how their comments affect other people. Do they even realize how much pain they can cause? If the author was standing in front of them, would they still be able to impart their comments? Sadly, I think that some of them could, but I still believe in the goodness of human nature. Maybe next time that you go to leave a review, ask yourself, if the author was sitting across from me, could I still say hurtful remarks without the anonymity of a forum. Authors do want constructive criticism, the parts of our writing that we could improve. We learn from this. I can also bear to hear what you didn't like about my book, if written in an intelligent and honest manner that will also have me honestly thinking about what you're saying. It could be a very valid point.
I won't ever respond to reviews except to give my thanks to those from whom I have requested one, and I certainly won't feed the trolls.
If you've ever complained about how terrible this world can be, think about what part you have had to play in that. Be kind to one another and don't be so quick to judge others, especially those in the public spotlight or those who are kind enough to share a story with you. Then we won't need petitions and we won't lose people like Charlotte Dawson.
Monday, 3 February 2014
There's something about Mairead
One of the questions I am asked about my writing is the way I go about it. As every good student of writing has learnt there is three act structure to all good writing, and I suppose that is always in the back of my mind. Another lesson that was taught to me was that you should build that structure with plot points and have a reasonable storyline mapped out in your head before you begin. This is where I tend to deviate.
To me, characters are the most important part of the book. You need to know your character inside and out, right down to their favourite food or colour, their strengths and weaknesses and most essentially, their thought patterns. Before I even begin to write their story, I need to know everything about them so that they will respond to conflict as only their character would.
I took a big gamble on Mairead Kavanagh, heroine of The Finest Line. Through my life I've had the privilege of knowing some wonderfully, wild women whose antics have absolutely astounded me over the years. Though I didn't always agree with some of the things they did, their lives were incredibly interesting and I loved them for it. I wanted the very first character I wrote to be a representation of that, and so Mairead was born. She is rude, bratty, self centred and completely irresponsible, but still has a good heart which is shown in her compassion for the underdog. Circumstances have dictated some of her behaviour in losing her mother at an early age and being thoroughly spoilt by a father who is trying to compensate for her loss. Mairead longs to be good, to be liked by her peers, but only if they accept her as she is. From an early age, Mairead knows that she has a desire to be disciplined, to feel the physical pain of being chastised, something she has never experienced in any parental situation. It is a desire that she struggles with as completely abnormal, which only furthers her ventures into self destruction. To make matters worse, in her mid teen years she is attracted to a man who is every bit her opposite. James is ex military, disciplined, polite and educated. He also has a persona of strictness that is like an aphrodisiac to Mairead. When he first threatens her with a spanking, he becomes the very epitome of everything she has wanted in a man, but she can't harbour these ideas. In a politically correct world, women do not allow men to dominate them in any way. She sees it as a weakness in herself to even want this type of relationship, so she shuns it but can never put out the fire it has sparked in her. She can't believe that James could even want a woman like her.
Mairead is not your normal heroine. One only has to read the reviews to see how frustrating and angry she can make the readers. Fantastic! One reader said she nearly threw her kindle across the room because Mairead had angered her so much. Brilliant!
I never set out to write a sweet girl that everyone could adore, because where's the challenge in that? I set out to write a character that would evoke a whole range of emotions in my readers. My victory has come from those who have gone on with the next two books to watch her growth and have finally fallen in love with her. One reader told me that he dated women like Mairead, too high maintenance for him to handle but as he said, "They are the ones that you never forget."
To me, character is everything in a book. If you have good strong characters to begin with, then it is those characters that will guide your journey. I've heard this referred to as writing organically. I don't know, but this is the way I write. When I start writing I have no idea where I'm going. I just keep banging the letters on the keyboard from one point to the next. It is my characters that decide which way we are going. I've never had such a fun journey than the one that Mairead has taken me on.
To me, characters are the most important part of the book. You need to know your character inside and out, right down to their favourite food or colour, their strengths and weaknesses and most essentially, their thought patterns. Before I even begin to write their story, I need to know everything about them so that they will respond to conflict as only their character would.
I took a big gamble on Mairead Kavanagh, heroine of The Finest Line. Through my life I've had the privilege of knowing some wonderfully, wild women whose antics have absolutely astounded me over the years. Though I didn't always agree with some of the things they did, their lives were incredibly interesting and I loved them for it. I wanted the very first character I wrote to be a representation of that, and so Mairead was born. She is rude, bratty, self centred and completely irresponsible, but still has a good heart which is shown in her compassion for the underdog. Circumstances have dictated some of her behaviour in losing her mother at an early age and being thoroughly spoilt by a father who is trying to compensate for her loss. Mairead longs to be good, to be liked by her peers, but only if they accept her as she is. From an early age, Mairead knows that she has a desire to be disciplined, to feel the physical pain of being chastised, something she has never experienced in any parental situation. It is a desire that she struggles with as completely abnormal, which only furthers her ventures into self destruction. To make matters worse, in her mid teen years she is attracted to a man who is every bit her opposite. James is ex military, disciplined, polite and educated. He also has a persona of strictness that is like an aphrodisiac to Mairead. When he first threatens her with a spanking, he becomes the very epitome of everything she has wanted in a man, but she can't harbour these ideas. In a politically correct world, women do not allow men to dominate them in any way. She sees it as a weakness in herself to even want this type of relationship, so she shuns it but can never put out the fire it has sparked in her. She can't believe that James could even want a woman like her.
Mairead is not your normal heroine. One only has to read the reviews to see how frustrating and angry she can make the readers. Fantastic! One reader said she nearly threw her kindle across the room because Mairead had angered her so much. Brilliant!
I never set out to write a sweet girl that everyone could adore, because where's the challenge in that? I set out to write a character that would evoke a whole range of emotions in my readers. My victory has come from those who have gone on with the next two books to watch her growth and have finally fallen in love with her. One reader told me that he dated women like Mairead, too high maintenance for him to handle but as he said, "They are the ones that you never forget."
To me, character is everything in a book. If you have good strong characters to begin with, then it is those characters that will guide your journey. I've heard this referred to as writing organically. I don't know, but this is the way I write. When I start writing I have no idea where I'm going. I just keep banging the letters on the keyboard from one point to the next. It is my characters that decide which way we are going. I've never had such a fun journey than the one that Mairead has taken me on.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Behind The Finest Line pt 2
I have read extensive debate about the offering of your books for free. Some have mentioned that people will download your free book and probably never read it. Others have said that you are making your hard work look cheap by offering it for free. Very valid arguments but for me it came back to my reasons for writing The Finest Line in the first place.
I have been writing for over forty years. Hardly a day in my life has gone by when I haven't written something, whether it be a silly poem, a stage play, a screenplay, notes for a plot I might use one day, my thoughts, my ideas. I have a burning passion to write. What I have published is the very tip of the iceberg of my writings. It is a passion that has been passed onto two of my children.
Getting a book out there for the world to read was a celebration of my writing life. I didn't expect it to make any money. All I wanted was to give people a chance to celebrate with me, so The Finest Line was released for US$2.99, which was the cheapest option that KDP would allow me at that time. I released it to Smashwords for the same price but discovered that Smashwords would allow me to give it away for free, so I did.
Completely green to the world of book marketing, I was astonished when I saw that my book had gone free on Amazon. They hadn't contacted me to tell me they were doing this and it took me a while to learn about the concept of price-matching. I was a little annoyed because I thought that there should be a regular communication between myself and Amazon whenever there were changes to my book. How wrong was I?
What happened next completely astounded me. The Finest Line shot to #1 in Free Kindle Erotica in the US, two months after publication. Not long after that it went to #1 in the UK, France and Italy. People around the world were reading my book, well at least downloading it. That was all the reward I would ever want, but when I released my second book in December 2012, I discovered how much people had enjoyed their free read. A Line Crossed had 200 downloads in the first week of release as PAID. It went to the top 100 Bestsellers in Erotica. Suddenly I was an established erotic romance author. The third book had the same reaction when released in May 2013.
Now in 2014 my fourth book is doing fantastic, already in the bestselling lists in Amazon UK and Germany two weeks after release. I now work full time as an author and yes, I am writing another book.
The Finest Line remains free but a strange phenomenon occurs over which I have no control. Whenever it looks to go #1 again on Amazon, it suddenly appears with a price. It drops out of the ranking to obscurity but within hours has sold so many that it begins to hit the paid erotica bestsellers. Then just as suddenly it goes back to free. I don't know what that is all about but it keeps it interesting.
To this day, The Finest Line has had about 80,000 downloads, most of them free. Not everyone likes the book, but that's okay, because I really like to think they didn't have to pay for it at least. By being free, the reader can make the decision without cost whether they like my writing or not.
To release a book free, even if it's only temporary, can only be a great marketing strategy that I stumbled upon in my ignorance. There are numerous sites that will also advertise a free book for nothing, and this might just be the strategy you've been needing to share your own passion with the world.
I have been writing for over forty years. Hardly a day in my life has gone by when I haven't written something, whether it be a silly poem, a stage play, a screenplay, notes for a plot I might use one day, my thoughts, my ideas. I have a burning passion to write. What I have published is the very tip of the iceberg of my writings. It is a passion that has been passed onto two of my children.
Getting a book out there for the world to read was a celebration of my writing life. I didn't expect it to make any money. All I wanted was to give people a chance to celebrate with me, so The Finest Line was released for US$2.99, which was the cheapest option that KDP would allow me at that time. I released it to Smashwords for the same price but discovered that Smashwords would allow me to give it away for free, so I did.
Completely green to the world of book marketing, I was astonished when I saw that my book had gone free on Amazon. They hadn't contacted me to tell me they were doing this and it took me a while to learn about the concept of price-matching. I was a little annoyed because I thought that there should be a regular communication between myself and Amazon whenever there were changes to my book. How wrong was I?
What happened next completely astounded me. The Finest Line shot to #1 in Free Kindle Erotica in the US, two months after publication. Not long after that it went to #1 in the UK, France and Italy. People around the world were reading my book, well at least downloading it. That was all the reward I would ever want, but when I released my second book in December 2012, I discovered how much people had enjoyed their free read. A Line Crossed had 200 downloads in the first week of release as PAID. It went to the top 100 Bestsellers in Erotica. Suddenly I was an established erotic romance author. The third book had the same reaction when released in May 2013.
Now in 2014 my fourth book is doing fantastic, already in the bestselling lists in Amazon UK and Germany two weeks after release. I now work full time as an author and yes, I am writing another book.
The Finest Line remains free but a strange phenomenon occurs over which I have no control. Whenever it looks to go #1 again on Amazon, it suddenly appears with a price. It drops out of the ranking to obscurity but within hours has sold so many that it begins to hit the paid erotica bestsellers. Then just as suddenly it goes back to free. I don't know what that is all about but it keeps it interesting.
To this day, The Finest Line has had about 80,000 downloads, most of them free. Not everyone likes the book, but that's okay, because I really like to think they didn't have to pay for it at least. By being free, the reader can make the decision without cost whether they like my writing or not.
To release a book free, even if it's only temporary, can only be a great marketing strategy that I stumbled upon in my ignorance. There are numerous sites that will also advertise a free book for nothing, and this might just be the strategy you've been needing to share your own passion with the world.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Behind The Finest Line Pt 1
In August 2012 I had just completed the manuscript of a full length novel (93,000 words) which I called The Finest Line, a highly erotic suspense novel with some BDSM and domestic discipline themes and a very twisted plot. Hell, I was excited. I read it through again and knew I loved my story and I wanted to share it with the world, but I knew absolutely nothing about getting published.
Immediately I went to publisher's websites and started reading the exhaustive process of how to submit my manuscript with a synopsis and the first chapters etc. I felt my balloon of excitement beginning to deflate. If I was incredibly lucky, I might have my book out in six months to a year, if I could get anyone to accept it. That's not what I wanted. I had this book all ready to go. I want it out now!! It was then that I came across this strange phrase "self publish" and discovered that you can do that yourself for nothing, but first I needed a cover.
Again, the price of getting a cover was going to be costly and at that time I literally had no money. My husband and I had our own business for four years, but had suffered a major setback which left us with little money to live, let alone buy a book cover. Never one to give up, I wondered how hard it could be to make one myself. I knew what I wanted. My book explored themes of dominance and submission, pole dancing, spanking and romance. That's what I want to capture.
Through my life I have been blessed by truly incredible friends. Being a part of the film and drama circles in our community I had two dearest friends that were actors and models, one a gorgeous six foot three man and an incredibly beautiful girl, Maggie, that would be perfect for the cover. I approached Maggie first and said, "How would you feel about being naked on the front cover of my book?"
Always the complete professional, Maggie grinned and said, "Sure, I'm keen." My male friend was just as eager and so my cast was set. Another dear friend Leah was a brilliant photographer and was incredibly excited to be involved. I told them all that I couldn't pay them unless I got some sales, to which they all brushed me off and said they wouldn't take anything anyway. They were in it for the fun.
We approached a strip club where I knew they had poles and again I discovered the kindness of strangers in the manager. When I told her what I wanted to do, she immediately got excited and started suggesting ways to set the lights. She also wanted no money, but asked if she would be able to have a blow-up of the final photo for her club. Of course!
The photo shoot took about two hours in which we spent more time laughing than we did working. We captured about 200 shots but it was one photo that stood out to all of us. That photo would go on to be the cover of The Finest Line.
Love it or hate it, that cover has been a huge draw card to my book. I've had emails from random people in Germany, France and the UK just to tell me how much they love my cover. One guy begged me permission to blow it up as a poster for his wall. I was quite happy to do that and sent him the 300 DPI file so he would get great resolution.
So what did it cost me to publish my book? A carton of beer to share with my friends as we celebrated that incredible release. How long did it take from finishing my manuscript to appearing on Amazon? Three weeks. Is it a perfect book? No, it has errors that I missed in all the excitement. I could update it to be error free but I don't because the book is free and it taught me the valuable lesson of getting someone to proofread your work. It doesn't stop it being popular. With over 120 five star reviews, I know that people have enjoyed my story and I keep it free for them to do just that. How do I do that? Well, that's another story that I'll share with you soon.
Immediately I went to publisher's websites and started reading the exhaustive process of how to submit my manuscript with a synopsis and the first chapters etc. I felt my balloon of excitement beginning to deflate. If I was incredibly lucky, I might have my book out in six months to a year, if I could get anyone to accept it. That's not what I wanted. I had this book all ready to go. I want it out now!! It was then that I came across this strange phrase "self publish" and discovered that you can do that yourself for nothing, but first I needed a cover.
Again, the price of getting a cover was going to be costly and at that time I literally had no money. My husband and I had our own business for four years, but had suffered a major setback which left us with little money to live, let alone buy a book cover. Never one to give up, I wondered how hard it could be to make one myself. I knew what I wanted. My book explored themes of dominance and submission, pole dancing, spanking and romance. That's what I want to capture.
Through my life I have been blessed by truly incredible friends. Being a part of the film and drama circles in our community I had two dearest friends that were actors and models, one a gorgeous six foot three man and an incredibly beautiful girl, Maggie, that would be perfect for the cover. I approached Maggie first and said, "How would you feel about being naked on the front cover of my book?"
Always the complete professional, Maggie grinned and said, "Sure, I'm keen." My male friend was just as eager and so my cast was set. Another dear friend Leah was a brilliant photographer and was incredibly excited to be involved. I told them all that I couldn't pay them unless I got some sales, to which they all brushed me off and said they wouldn't take anything anyway. They were in it for the fun.
We approached a strip club where I knew they had poles and again I discovered the kindness of strangers in the manager. When I told her what I wanted to do, she immediately got excited and started suggesting ways to set the lights. She also wanted no money, but asked if she would be able to have a blow-up of the final photo for her club. Of course!
The photo shoot took about two hours in which we spent more time laughing than we did working. We captured about 200 shots but it was one photo that stood out to all of us. That photo would go on to be the cover of The Finest Line.
Love it or hate it, that cover has been a huge draw card to my book. I've had emails from random people in Germany, France and the UK just to tell me how much they love my cover. One guy begged me permission to blow it up as a poster for his wall. I was quite happy to do that and sent him the 300 DPI file so he would get great resolution.
So what did it cost me to publish my book? A carton of beer to share with my friends as we celebrated that incredible release. How long did it take from finishing my manuscript to appearing on Amazon? Three weeks. Is it a perfect book? No, it has errors that I missed in all the excitement. I could update it to be error free but I don't because the book is free and it taught me the valuable lesson of getting someone to proofread your work. It doesn't stop it being popular. With over 120 five star reviews, I know that people have enjoyed my story and I keep it free for them to do just that. How do I do that? Well, that's another story that I'll share with you soon.
Monday, 6 January 2014
Sometimes you have to be a little cocky to be an Indie author
Promotion for self published books doesn't come easy. You don't have the luxury of the advertising team of the big publishers. If you want people to know that your book is out there, then you have to do it yourself. Sometimes this might come across as a little conceited, but if you don't blow your own horn, no one else will.
Through my own experience, and from what other Indie authors have told me, you are forever conscious of that fine line between being confident and being a show-off. How much is too much? Do I sound like a pretentious git? Maybe I should just lie low and see how my book does.
Social media is the one I stress over the most. I've posted about my books on Facebook and Twitter, but I always worry that I am going to annoy someone, so I do try to keep my posts there to a minimum.
What I have discovered is the support that exists for Indie authors. There are people like Gary Walker at Look 4 Books who want to advertise to the world what we are writing, and all for free. I am astounded at the kindness of strangers. Gary puts his heart into this. I am constantly seeing his tweets for my books and for many others. He even goes that step further and creates an amazing picture for our book covers, as he has for mine here:
Through my own experience, and from what other Indie authors have told me, you are forever conscious of that fine line between being confident and being a show-off. How much is too much? Do I sound like a pretentious git? Maybe I should just lie low and see how my book does.
Social media is the one I stress over the most. I've posted about my books on Facebook and Twitter, but I always worry that I am going to annoy someone, so I do try to keep my posts there to a minimum.
What I have discovered is the support that exists for Indie authors. There are people like Gary Walker at Look 4 Books who want to advertise to the world what we are writing, and all for free. I am astounded at the kindness of strangers. Gary puts his heart into this. I am constantly seeing his tweets for my books and for many others. He even goes that step further and creates an amazing picture for our book covers, as he has for mine here:
For a small fee, you can join up with Self Publisher's Showcase and get an awesome author's page like mine, with links to your books, your bio, video book trailer and they also constantly tweet your books.
There are people out there that want to help you and I will constantly update this post to let you know what is available. Yes, you do need to advertise your book if you hope to get some sales. My advice is be humble, always be polite and friendly and always be ready to reciprocate the service. Put a link to them on your website. Post about them in your blog.
It's alright to be a little cocky about your books. You've worked hard on them and you want to show them off. Do so, but always remember to thank the people that give you a shout out, share a link or make a comment on their social network. Be appreciative of all the reviews that your readers leave, good or bad. They took the time to read your book. They didn't always have to like it.
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