I just wanted to share a link to my guest post over the Writing & Wellness blog run by Colleen M Story.
To view the article click here . While you’re there, have a look around. There are plenty of great articles to read.
Do you want to run a blog tour? This is how I did it, as explained by Dan on his blog. Please let us know what you think.
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My friend Suzanne Rogerson was able to create weeks’ worth of blog tours (aka publicity for her new book) by doing….something. What, though? I had to know. For you, or course, because I love you gu…
I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I self published my first novel, Visions of Zarua. Here’s my summary of the good and bad of self publishing.
Background:
The ebook went live 16th November 2015 and the paperback went live 14th December 2015.
I had pre-orders in place for the ebook so sales were very good on the first day, and a few days after as well.
First thoughts:
I was terrified, excited and nervous, but looking back I was also completely naïve thinking life would change for me overnight. I wasn’t expecting an instant hit, but I did think things would move faster than they have.
My favourite things about publishing:
1.Sharing my book with the world. 2. Calling myself a published author. 3. Seeing the reviews from people who have taken a chance and bought my book, and also from those reviewers I’ve contacted directly. 4. I still adore my book cover and love looking at the poster I have above my desk.
I’ve had some wonderful reviews on Amazon and Goodreads – I wish I could share each review here, but will have to satisfy myself with sharing a few of my favourite quotes instead.
‘It’s so lovely to read a book that is a stand alone completed tapestry… I definitely recommend you give this book a try as it’s a real all in-one fantastical adventure story.’
‘Wonderful fantasy meets mystery!’
‘Dark sorcery with slithering secrets… Visions of Zarua casts a shadow of excitement giving the fantasy genre a nice little jolt.’
‘Thrilling and dark fantasy novel… from the very first chapter I was hooked. Overall I just love this book… I can’t wait to read more of the author’s work’
‘Enjoyable read with a hint of classic “who dunnit”…’
‘A brilliant read… would recommend to anyone who likes murder, mystery and of course fantasy’
‘The perfect amount of epicness… one of those fantasy books that can please any reader’
‘If you want a great book that takes you away from the monotony of daily life, then this is the book for you’
‘Gripping, well written story…the intertwined stories kept me gripped until the end. I recommend, even if you’re not a fantasy fan!’
‘…putting this book down, because of the non-reader-friendly-world I live in, made me unhappy. Mrs Rogerson deserves standing ovation for her debut novel… I will applaud with pride and appreciation. Visions of Zarua was simply a story that I love.’
I’m very happy with these stats so far – 5 x 5 star and 4 x 4 star reviews on Amazon. 5 reviews and 7 ratings on Goodreads.
Least favourite part of self publishing:
Trying to get noticed when you have a non existent marketing budget and very little clue on what works best.
Methods of advertising I’ve tried:
Discounted ebook price – I tried this twice. Over Christmas the reduced price resulted in a handful of sales and the second one just before Easter resulted in a couple of sales.
Goodreads Giveaways – Good and bad. Visions of Zarua is on over 800 bookshelves because of the giveaways. The worldwide giveaway was much more successful than UK only, attracting 2062 people. However the postage costs involved are high and I haven’t sold any books because of the giveaway as far as I can tell.
Facebook Ad – I received a handful of new followers on FB, but no book sales.
Mslexia magazine Ad – No sales.
Goodreads Ad pay per click – Paid $10 which is used up as people click the ad. So far my ad has supposedly been seen by over 4K people but no clicks and no sales.
Anyone have any suggestions for other places to advertise?
Unexpected benefits of self publishing:
I started a blog to have an online presence, but I’ve found I really love blogging. I’ve met lots of interesting people through blogging and because of it I’ve also become a reviewer via Rosie’s Ambers book review team. I’ve been able to share my photos and rediscovered my love of photography. I’ve also shared recipes and places I love through the #AtoZ blog challenge and #WordlessWedneday photos.
Final thoughts:
It’s a lot of work for very little gain and the hard work doesn’t stop at publication. I haven’t had a pay cheque yet, though I still need to declare myself as self employed.
Knowing all this, I would still do it again. It’s a wonderful feeling to publish your own book and even better when a review tells you someone enjoyed it. There aren’t many better feelings to be had, although a million pound publishing deal wouldn’t go amiss.
News:
I’m running a one day book blitz via Brook Cottages on Saturday 4th June with a Rafflecopter giveaway. Please join in and share if you get the chance.
Call for help:
If you have read Visions of Zarua, would you consider leaving a review on Amazon, goodreads, smashwords or any books sites that you normally use. It really helps my credibility as an indie author and helps others decide to buy my book. I also love to read your feedback.
If you are inspired by these wonderful reviews to pick up a copy of Visions of Zarua, here are some purchase links:
Amazon UK Amazon US Kobo Smashwords
Now if I ever hope to publish my next book, I have to finish writing the damn thing. Please leave any comments and suggestions you might have and I’ll get back to you.
I have a terrible writer’s affliction called Title Trouble.
It’s getting serious. How can I get my cover art ordered if I don’t have a title?
We all know titles must catch the reader’s eye. Next to the cover image, I’d say it was the most important draw to make the reader want to check out your book. Then the blurb and opening lines have to finish the job.
Sometimes titles are easy. ‘Visions of Zarua’ wrote itself and encompasses what the book is about.
The title Spirit Song, yesterday’s flash fiction story, came from the story itself.
When titles are hard to think up, I use a working title. The trouble with this method is those titles becomes so engrained, it’s almost impossible to see beyond them.
Now I need your help;
I hope to publish my second fantasy novel this year. It will be the first book of a trilogy. The pesky working title has stuck and I can’t see beyond it. Maybe I don’t really want to change it and that is the reason for my Title Trouble.
What do you think?
Bloodlines Trilogy
Book 1 – Search for the Sentinel
Would you pick up this book purely on its title? Would you be intrigued?
Does the title matter to you as a reader? If you’re a writer, how do you come up with your titles?
I look forward to your comments and seeing what the vote will be.
***
Next time its back to some cooking with Ultimate Flapjacks.
Check out other A-Z posts here.
Proofreading is one of the hardest stages of writing for me. I love drafting and editing, but to read each word and sentence and analyse it’s components is difficult. It’s too scientific for my creative brain, but an important process that needs to be done before considering publication.
Back in August last year, I devised a checklist to tackle the final proofread of Visions of Zarua. My original post was here.
Looking back, I’m quite pleased with it as a ‘how to’ guide. It worked brilliantly for me, but I do have to warn you that a couple of tiny errors still slipped past this stage (slap wrist). Luckily with KDP & Createspace it’s a simple matter of updating the corrected file and within 24 hours the revised book is on sale. However, we should all aim to produce the best book we possibly can from the start and there really is no excuse for letting those errors slip past. My biggest advice is don’t skim at this stage. Focus and stay alert to stop those pesky mistakes from ruining a readers experience.
Proof reading Top 10 Checklist
Used with my Editing Search & Destroy Checklist posted during the E challenge, you should catch most of the errors.
Have you got any proofreading tips to share?
Good luck!
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Quality close ups I want to share.
Check out previous a-z posts here
This post was sparked by a recent year 6 school homework project. The subject was on resilience and my son asked to interview me about the resilience of an author. He also designed a poster of our kitten learning to write, intended to show other students that no matter how hard the task, you just have to keep going.
(I’m afraid to say that Poppy wasn’t as resilient as the rest of us authors, she’s given up a career as a writer and moved to full time bird watching.)
Here are the questions my son asked me and my answers. I may elaborate a little on this post as Kai really didn’t want to write down an answer more than one sentence long.
Kai’s Questions on Resilience
1. What have you overcome when writing your books?
Over the years I’ve had to make myself learn a lot of new skills; editing, formatting for self publishing, I’ve had to tackle social media platforms and learn how to market my book on my own. I’ve also had to get over my shyness and force myself to attend evening writing classes and book groups.
The biggest thing I’ve had to overcome is self doubt, otherwise Visions of Zarua would never have been published.
2. Have you ever felt like giving up?
When my work is rejected, or someone doesn’t like it I’ve thought of giving up. But I love writing, and even though it’s hard work and there are rejections to deal with, I could never stop.
3. What kept you going?
My love of writing has kept me going through all the set backs. And the support of my family and friends.
4. What inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve always loved reading and creating my own stories. I first discovered that I loved writing in junior school. My favourite class was English Language / Literacy. I loved the homework! I’d rush home and sit in front of the telly and writes pages. I especially loved it when we were given TITLE PROMPTS for homework. The hardest thing for me was choosing which title, I wanted to use them all.
5. What disappointments have you been through?
My books have been rejected by agents and publishers. I’ve entered competitions and failed to be placed. Each time I have revised and reworked my novels and stories and resubmitted. You can’t give up if you want to succeed.
Extra Note:-
Another reason I decided to self publish was to show my children that you can achieve anything if you try hard enough. I could have kept submitting to agents and publishers hoping for a break, but instead I put in the hard work myself and took control of my own destiny.
Now I have a finished book and I can say ‘I am an author!’ My children can say ‘My mum writes books,’ instead of saying she stays at home and looks after the cats – my son really did say that at school once.
I’ve actually just registered as a self employed author with the tax office. Now I really have to believe it and start writing it on forms instead of falling back on being a housewife.
It was fun being interviewed by my son, and really nice that he thought of me for this homework.
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Tomorrow – L for leaves and lovely lilies.
More a to z posts can be found here.
Two days ago I received the new Mslexia magazine and was very happy to see my ad for Visions of Zarua at the top of their noticeboard on page 12.
If you can’t read my blurry picture, the ad states ‘Visions of Zarua by Suzanne Rogerson. Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master dies investigating the visions, Paddren vows to find the killer. His childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch agree to help. They’re guided by a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions in time to save the Paltrian people from the dark menace of Zarua’s past?’
Then today, I received my Writing Magazine and right in the centre is my piece in the Subscriber Spotlight section.
(Hopefully this picture is a little easier to read.)
These magazine pieces have come at the perfect time to drum up a bit of interest in Visions of Zarua as I have just set up a kindle and ebook price promotion of 99p / $1.99. I’m hoping this will help persuade people to take a chance on my debut epic fantasy.
Available to buy here: amazon smashwords
I’m looking into ways to advertise this price promo, so any tips you can offer will be very welcome.
I also have news of another Goodreads Giveaway. This time I’ve limited it to the UK, but I will do another worldwide giveaway in the future. The giveaway runs from 10th to 24th March, so I will be shouting about it nearer the time.
Please share and help spread the word.
1st Jan 2016 is the perfect day to plan the year ahead. Start with optimism and who knows what can be achieved.
1. Read more and review more (As a new author I am desperate to get reviews, so it only seems right that I should put this into practice myself.)
How to achieve:
– I’ve signed up for the Good Reads 2016 reading challenge. 25 books. Not a big target, but it’s more than I managed last year.
– I have a brand new notebook to record the books I read and my thoughts on them. First book of the year is ‘The Iron Ship’ by K.M.McKinley.
– I’m a member of a local Waterstones Fantasy / Sci-Fi book group. We meet once a month and they encourage me to try new authors. Needing to finish a book to a time scale is good motivation.
2. Publish my next book – Working title Bloodlines ‘Search for the Sentinel’
How to achieve:
– The minute the kids go back to school, I’m turning off the computer, internet etc. I’m going to focus on the draft I’ve already printed ready and concentrate on pulling it into shape. I’ve worked on it previously, so hopefully it will only take a few months to prepare it for a beta reader – Cue long suffering husband?
3. Try to blog at least once a week
How to achieve:
– So far I have a couple of half started draft posts to fall back on. I need to build up a list of posts to do. It’s sometimes easier if you already have a title or a starting point.
– If I manage to start reviewing the books in my Goodreads library, that will cover a few blogs (hopefully 25!).
– I hope to blog about the process of editing and publishing my second book, focusing on things like the front cover selection.
– I hope to blog about the successes and failures of marketing my first published book – Visions of Zarua.
4. Finish the draft of another WIP – which will be another standalone fantasy currently called Child of Destiny.
How to achieve:
– NaNoWriMo in either April or November. For two years running I worked on Child of Destiny, completing 50k one year and 22k the next. It seems fitting that I finish the first draft during NaNo 2016.
5. Create new – short stories, flash fiction, new ideas for novels
How to achieve:
– A beautiful new notebook to write in and a lovely new Parker pen. It’s a start, then I just need to add a spark of imagination and I’m away…
6. Enter competitions
How to achieve:
– I have a handful of stories I need to finish polishing and make changes to after receiving some very helpful critiques during previous competition entries.
7. Consider publishing a novella
How to achieve:
– Develop my s/s Death Dream and see if the idea can be sustained through a longer word count.
8. Market Visions of Zarua and get reviews on Amazon and Goodreads
How to achieve:
– I hope to do a blog tour early in 2016 and get to know more bloggers and reviewers. Maybe run a giveaway or two.
– Goodreads Giveaway – already in motion and attracting a steady flow of entrants.
– Contact reviewers, I already have a couple lined up and some I’m hoping to approach this year.
9. I would like to tidy and redesign my website
How to achieve:
– Resist the urge to pull hair out, punch the laptop and swear head off.
– Muddle through as usual.
I’m already thinking 2016 is not going to be long enough for everything I’ve planned, and we’re only on day 1. The next job will be to print this plan and pin it on the wall by my desk where I can look at it and get inspired. It’s always good to have a plan…
Has anyone got any time management tips?
I have changed the price of Visions of Zarua to £10.00.
At the original cost of £9.99 there was a p&p charge at Amazon, but for 1p more there is no postage and packaging fee!
If I had realised this in the beginning, I would have set the cost to £10.00 from the start. I suppose that’s all part of the learning process indie authors go through.
I wish I could set the cost lower to be more competitive in the marketplace, but the price is calculated on pages and this book is quite long at 420. At least the extra hours editing to tighten the final word count also shaved a little off the cost!
I’m hoping my next book will come in shorter, but we’ll have to wait and see what 2016 brings.
I’m also investigating registering with the Kindle Matchbook scheme – where those who buy the paperback can buy the kindle version at a reduced cost. At the moment I don’t know if this works in the UK.
Can any of you confirm if it does or not?
The kindle version is still reduced for the Holiday period across all Amazon Kindle stores. Check out the links if you fancy picking up a bargain.
Happy New Year everyone!
As 2015 draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about my New Years Resolutions. Apart from the usual eat healthy, drink less and exercise more, my top resolutions have to be to write more and blog regularly.
With that in mind, I decided to look through my posts of 2015. I have only been blogging for about 6 months and amongst my 40 odd posts I wanted to share my favourites aimed at aspiring writers and indie authors. Click the links to read the posts in full.
I summarised my Top Tips for New Writers, ranging from attending evening classes, using beta readers and professional services in My Top Ten Tips for New Writers
Ready to proof read your novel? Use my Proof Read Top 10 checklist to give you a head start.
For those who plan to self publish in 2016, I’ve shared my tips on How to Survive Publication Day and The things I wish I’d done before Publication Day to help your publishing experience go smoothly.
For me 2015 has been a year of learning lots of new skills, of frustration when things haven’t gone to plan, but ultimately I’m left with a great deal of satisfaction knowing I’ve achieved one of my biggest dreams – publishing my first novel as an ebook and paperback.
I hope to publish my second novel next year and to continue building my author profile as well as reaching new readers and writers. I’m planning a blog tour in early 2016 and my Goodreads Giveaway (which closes 14th Feb 2016) is already attracting attention.
The world of indie publishing is full of opportunities and I look forward to the new challenges 2016 throws my way.
Bring on January 2016, I’m ready for you!
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