I'm pretty excited today. I was really excited last night. Mainly because I sat down and did the actual math.
A year ago, I had a really strong feeling that I needed to quit teaching orchestra at an elementary school (contracted position) so I could focus solely on writing/Indie publishing.
It's only been 11 months since quitting that job, and already, I'm making more off of royalties than I made teaching orchestra.
Not only that, but my royalties exceed what I made teaching both orchestra and private lessons. And I'm not a cheap teacher. :-)
All I can say to this is WOW, and that I feel so very blessed! What an exciting, liberating, and thrilling time it is to be an author!
I post this as a way to encourage other Indie authors. I'm not huge or best selling, but I don't need to be, and neither do you to feel successful and to make a living - even if it is a meager one.
As Karen McQuestion said in a recent post on the new Kirkus Reviews Self-Pubishing Blog, "I was one of the first, but many other authors have gone the
self-published e-book route and had the same kind of results—some even
better! It’s a good time to be a writer, maybe the best time in the
history of the world. Three years ago my books were rejected. Now,
they’re being read and I get to write novels for a living. It doesn’t
get much better than that."
How is that for a nice warm fuzzy? :-)
And a really awesome quote from Mark Coker over on the Smashwords blog, talking about multiple best selling Indie authors hitting the NYT Bestselling list this week:
"Maybe tomorrow's bestseller is languishing on an undiscovered
writer's computer, still waiting for a publisher to give it a chance. Maybe that writer will now realize they don't need the blessing of a
publisher to become a published author, or to reach readers. Maybe
they'll realize that the tools to publish and distribute a book are
available at no cost, and the knowledge to professionally publish is
available for the taking.
"It just takes effort.
"Give your book a chance. Get it out now. If you're exceptionally
talented and work your butt off, then lightning might strike for you
too. Or, if you're like most authors, you'll find the journey of
self-publishing is reward enough, even if you don't make the New York
Times bestseller list."
All right. Let's talk about what Mr. Coker is saying.
"It just takes effort," and "work your butt off"
Self-publishing IS NOT easy. Nothing worth achieving in life is - we've all heard that before, so don't be surprised to find out that it applies to this line of work as well. There are so many things to learn and understand, and so many avenues authors must use. If you aren't willing to make sacrifices, you won't succeed or achieve your goals.
Take your work seriously. Don't upload or make books public that haven't been edited and don't have professional covers. Give people a good impression. Help them feel confident that their investment - even if only $2.99 - is worth it.
Speaking of professionalism, Joe Konrath said, "Just because it's easier than ever before to reach an audience doesn't mean you should. Luck still plays a part in success. But so does professionalism. Being
a professional means you won't inflict your crappy writing on the public."
He also said that being a professional includes being prolific and providing readers with multiple things to read, in every avenue possible (Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, etc.). And then he says that if, after doing all this, your sales aren't where you want them to be, you need to take a hard look at the writing itself. Did you have it read by multiple people/beta readers/editors before publishing? Is the writing actually good? Are you doing your best to progress? To give your readers something better each time you put up new work? If not, fix it.
Mark Coker said, "If you're exceptionally talented and you work your butt off, then lightning might strike for you too."
As with nearly any other field, inborn talent isn't always a requirement. Sometimes, working really hard, learning everything possible, practicing all the time, and listening to criticism from other people will actually get you farther than someone who was born with the talent to be a good writer.
And to those of you who complain about how much money self-publishing costs, you need to realize this isn't a get-rich quick scheme. You can't just expect to upload a badly-written book and start making money without actually sacrificing something. It's a business, and whoever heard of a business that didn't require an initial, upfront investment of the financial sort? Someone somewhere has to put money into the project. And you can bet you're going to be that person.
Here's another "blunt" quote from Joe Konrath (same link as above):
"A sacrifice involves choosing
one thing over another. If you can't devote the time, energy, and money it takes to pursue this career, go do something else."
Something my husband and I have found, especially when it comes to the financial aspect of things: where there's a will, there's a way. Things have always worked out. We make the goals, work as hard as we can, and things fall into place.
The extra money we've needed has come along when we needed it. Perhaps this is due to the sacrifices we've made. In the beginning, and before we started, we set money aside every month. We still sacrifice going out to eat, going to the movies, buying toys and books and ice cream and even traveling to some family things to save on gas.
But I can tell you now, it is worth it. This is important to us and we made it a priority.
And it's paying us back. Things are still tight, but I can actually say I'm getting paid to do what I love.
What a great time to be alive!
A bit about the book signing (book launch for August Fortress) tonight:
It's official! The Molg (creature from my book) figurine/miniature will be on display!! We'll also have illustrations for you to look at and keys to sell along with my books. I'm so very excited! See you there. :-) (Click on the link above for details about the book signing.)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
In the News and Indie Publishing
We live in exciting times! Not only are more and more self-published authors making quite a bit of money from eBook sales, but hundreds of traditionally published authors are successfully leaving their publishers to go on their own. Why are they leaving? Because they recognize two important things: self-publishing offers a lot of freedom, and traditional publishers are actually hurting their careers.
This morning, Smashwords put up a really eye-opening blog post, the title of which will generate a lot of buzz: How a Traditional Publisher Could Harm a Writer's Career.
In the article, Mark Coker, founder and owner of Smashwords, lays out current market trends, along with the statistics behind his bold statement in the title. After talking stats, he discusses Penguin's action to purchase Author Solutions, a well-known self-publishing company.
Go ahead and read the article, then come back. In fact, don't continue until you've read it, since I'll only touch upon it here and there throughout this post.
About Book Reviews
I've come across many reviews in the last year where the reader automatically assumed a book was self-published because it was "subpar." Unfortunately for many of those readers, they didn't do their homework, and the reviews I read were of traditionally published books (many under imprints of the "Big 6" publishers).
I don't blame those people - a lot of Indie authors are making bad names for themselves (and Indie publishing) by putting up unedited material that simply isn't ready for the public. (Unedited means NOT READY. Just to emphasise my point. :-))
However, having a traditional publisher's name behind a book doesn't guarantee a worth-while read, and there are many stories that shouldn't ever have been accepted by publishers. My husband's favorite example is a book titled Planet X, which is a crossover between Star Trek and X Men. As he says, "That should never have happened." Ha ha!
An avid reader will openly admit to having read quite a few TP books that were awful. Just because it's traditionally published, doesn't mean it'll be good. Experienced Indie authors are carefully preparing their ideas and making sure books are as professional as possible before uploading. And they're making a lot of money doing this.
Joe Konrath recently posted about success in self-publishing. After mentioning the fact that there are millions of YouTube videos available (comparing to how many eBooks there are), he says, "Sure, some YouTube videos won't be watched, just like some ebooks won't be read. But quality does seem to eventually find an audience. Maybe not to smashing success, but authors don't need smashing success. They need 100 sales a day at $2.99 to live very well."
He then goes on to help authors understand what they need to do to have those sales. It involves putting up quality material (including editing and professional covers/descriptions), finding a good price to put on said material, and then experimenting with promotions. Then he says what not to do, which includes marketing. If interested in learning more, go read his post (you'll find the above info toward the bottom of it), then come back.
Let's do the math here.
70% of 2.99 is roughly $2.09. An Indie author selling 100 eBooks a day is making $209. Times that by 365 and that author is earning $76,285 a year. (Before tax.)
Compare to traditionally published authors. If they're with one of the "Big 6," they're making about 17.5% per eBook (after agent fees). Traditional publishers frequently price a book at $9.99 or more.
17.5% of $10 is $1.75. A TP author selling 100 eBooks a day is making $175. Times that by 365 and that author is earning $63,875 a year. (Before taxes.)
And, as we already know, you have to work a heck of a lot harder to sell 100 eBooks a day when they're priced at $9.99. Sadly, several of my traditionally published friends are only given 10% per eBook.
Then there's the fact that publishers don't always pay for actual sales. A lot of them use stats to track royalties. They say, "For every print book, five eBooks are sold." And a year or so later, they pay the author according to how many print books are sold. They never give exact sales numbers, because that would require exact math. Underpaying authors happens a lot, but you can bet they'd never overpay.
Coming back to square one, it's easy to see why being with a traditional publisher will hurt an author's career. Not only are traditional authors getting paid $12,410 less a year (if daily selling 100 eBooks), but readers are offered many more options, and don't have to pay $9.99 if they don't want to. If it's Stephen King they're craving, and they can't cough up the money for his eBooks, there are several authors who are just as good who sell for $2.99.
Now then. Here are a few articles that have been in the news over the last couple of weeks that really caught my attention:
David Farland takes charge of publication process with thriller
- "Farland took a long look at the rapidly evolving world of publishing. As publishers rush to catch up to readers' burgeoning attachment to various electronic gadgets, ink-and-paper books are increasingly being pushed aside.
"I love my publishers," Farland said. "I just looked at it and thought, 'Ten or 15 years down the line, do I want to be stuck with a traditional contract?' "
Self-Published Slavery Novel Scores World-Wide Book Deals
- "Marlen Suyapa Bodden had faith that her first book, “The Wedding Gift,” a historical novel about American slavery that she self-published in 2009, would find an audience, but she never dreamed she would land four separate six-figure deals with major publishers who plan to launch the book next year in U.S. and international markets."
Atria Books acquires self-published romance hit
- "NEW YORK (AP) — A self-published romance novel that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies has been acquired by an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Atria Books announced Tuesday that it had signed up Jamie McGuire’s ‘‘Beautiful Disaster,’’ to be released immediately as an e-book. A paperback will follow in August."
Scholarly publishing is broken: Is it time to consider guerrilla self-publishing?
- Aimee Morrison has been congratulated and gained professional credit for ‘publishing’ her article in a high profile journal. Except, her work will not be printed for another two years. She writes that commercial publishers are exploiting academics’ desire for reputation against a true public good. 'Scholarly publishing is broken–and I don’t want to be complicit in this brokenness anymore, just because it serves some of my purposes, some of the time.'"
Back to Andrea. :-) You hear a lot about successful self-published authors who get huge advances when they sign with big publishers. What's even more cool are the thousands upon thousands of authors who are earning a very comfortable living by self-publishing. Most of them will never be best sellers, but do they care? Not one bit.
This morning, Smashwords put up a really eye-opening blog post, the title of which will generate a lot of buzz: How a Traditional Publisher Could Harm a Writer's Career.
In the article, Mark Coker, founder and owner of Smashwords, lays out current market trends, along with the statistics behind his bold statement in the title. After talking stats, he discusses Penguin's action to purchase Author Solutions, a well-known self-publishing company.
Go ahead and read the article, then come back. In fact, don't continue until you've read it, since I'll only touch upon it here and there throughout this post.
About Book Reviews
I've come across many reviews in the last year where the reader automatically assumed a book was self-published because it was "subpar." Unfortunately for many of those readers, they didn't do their homework, and the reviews I read were of traditionally published books (many under imprints of the "Big 6" publishers).
I don't blame those people - a lot of Indie authors are making bad names for themselves (and Indie publishing) by putting up unedited material that simply isn't ready for the public. (Unedited means NOT READY. Just to emphasise my point. :-))
However, having a traditional publisher's name behind a book doesn't guarantee a worth-while read, and there are many stories that shouldn't ever have been accepted by publishers. My husband's favorite example is a book titled Planet X, which is a crossover between Star Trek and X Men. As he says, "That should never have happened." Ha ha!
An avid reader will openly admit to having read quite a few TP books that were awful. Just because it's traditionally published, doesn't mean it'll be good. Experienced Indie authors are carefully preparing their ideas and making sure books are as professional as possible before uploading. And they're making a lot of money doing this.
Joe Konrath recently posted about success in self-publishing. After mentioning the fact that there are millions of YouTube videos available (comparing to how many eBooks there are), he says, "Sure, some YouTube videos won't be watched, just like some ebooks won't be read. But quality does seem to eventually find an audience. Maybe not to smashing success, but authors don't need smashing success. They need 100 sales a day at $2.99 to live very well."
He then goes on to help authors understand what they need to do to have those sales. It involves putting up quality material (including editing and professional covers/descriptions), finding a good price to put on said material, and then experimenting with promotions. Then he says what not to do, which includes marketing. If interested in learning more, go read his post (you'll find the above info toward the bottom of it), then come back.
Let's do the math here.
70% of 2.99 is roughly $2.09. An Indie author selling 100 eBooks a day is making $209. Times that by 365 and that author is earning $76,285 a year. (Before tax.)
Compare to traditionally published authors. If they're with one of the "Big 6," they're making about 17.5% per eBook (after agent fees). Traditional publishers frequently price a book at $9.99 or more.
17.5% of $10 is $1.75. A TP author selling 100 eBooks a day is making $175. Times that by 365 and that author is earning $63,875 a year. (Before taxes.)
And, as we already know, you have to work a heck of a lot harder to sell 100 eBooks a day when they're priced at $9.99. Sadly, several of my traditionally published friends are only given 10% per eBook.
Then there's the fact that publishers don't always pay for actual sales. A lot of them use stats to track royalties. They say, "For every print book, five eBooks are sold." And a year or so later, they pay the author according to how many print books are sold. They never give exact sales numbers, because that would require exact math. Underpaying authors happens a lot, but you can bet they'd never overpay.
Coming back to square one, it's easy to see why being with a traditional publisher will hurt an author's career. Not only are traditional authors getting paid $12,410 less a year (if daily selling 100 eBooks), but readers are offered many more options, and don't have to pay $9.99 if they don't want to. If it's Stephen King they're craving, and they can't cough up the money for his eBooks, there are several authors who are just as good who sell for $2.99.
Now then. Here are a few articles that have been in the news over the last couple of weeks that really caught my attention:
David Farland takes charge of publication process with thriller
- "Farland took a long look at the rapidly evolving world of publishing. As publishers rush to catch up to readers' burgeoning attachment to various electronic gadgets, ink-and-paper books are increasingly being pushed aside.
"I love my publishers," Farland said. "I just looked at it and thought, 'Ten or 15 years down the line, do I want to be stuck with a traditional contract?' "
Self-Published Slavery Novel Scores World-Wide Book Deals
- "Marlen Suyapa Bodden had faith that her first book, “The Wedding Gift,” a historical novel about American slavery that she self-published in 2009, would find an audience, but she never dreamed she would land four separate six-figure deals with major publishers who plan to launch the book next year in U.S. and international markets."
Atria Books acquires self-published romance hit
- "NEW YORK (AP) — A self-published romance novel that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies has been acquired by an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Atria Books announced Tuesday that it had signed up Jamie McGuire’s ‘‘Beautiful Disaster,’’ to be released immediately as an e-book. A paperback will follow in August."
Scholarly publishing is broken: Is it time to consider guerrilla self-publishing?
- Aimee Morrison has been congratulated and gained professional credit for ‘publishing’ her article in a high profile journal. Except, her work will not be printed for another two years. She writes that commercial publishers are exploiting academics’ desire for reputation against a true public good. 'Scholarly publishing is broken–and I don’t want to be complicit in this brokenness anymore, just because it serves some of my purposes, some of the time.'"
Back to Andrea. :-) You hear a lot about successful self-published authors who get huge advances when they sign with big publishers. What's even more cool are the thousands upon thousands of authors who are earning a very comfortable living by self-publishing. Most of them will never be best sellers, but do they care? Not one bit.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Book Launch for August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three!!!
Yay for book launches and signings!
What: August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three, in print, of course! Also, The Key of Kilenya, The Ember Gods, and the Key of Kilenya accessory! (To see the accessory, click on Kilenya Merchandising above)
Just so you know: All of my books will be available for $10 each. :-) If you buy all three books, it'll be $25. Why the discounts? Each author will be handling their own money, and $10 is a lot easier to work with than the usual price of $12.99. :-)
When: Wednesday, August 1, 2012
(It's fitting, isn't it, that August Fortress be launched in August? :-))
Where: Pleasant Grove Library, Pleasant Grove, UT
30 East Center Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 (Click here for a map and the Facebook event Tristi Pinkston put together)
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Who: A TON of authors!
Including:
Tristi Pinkston (also launching a new book! It's a super fun YA romance called Turning Pages)
Julie Coulter Bellon (suspense)
Nichole Giles (humor, memoir)
Angie Lofthouse (speculative (religious science fiction))
Monique Bucheger (middle grade)
Heather (H.B.) Moore (inspirational nonfiction and historical fiction)
Rachelle Christensen (suspense)
Heather Justesen (family drama, romance)
Loralee Evans (historical fiction)
Suzanne Reese (paranormal romance)
L. L. Muir (romance)
Julie N. Ford (romance)
And me, of course! :-)
I've met most of these authors - they're a lot of fun, and they write dang good books!
Also, there's going to be a silent auction, and all proceeds will go straight to the Pleasant Grove Library. I love libraries, and it's exciting to be able to help them.
Hope to see you there!
In case you didn't already know, The Key of Kilenya is still up for free everywhere eBooks are sold. Go check it out. :-) The downloads (and sales on the other books) have been so good that I didn't have the heart to up the price again. :-)
What: August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three, in print, of course! Also, The Key of Kilenya, The Ember Gods, and the Key of Kilenya accessory! (To see the accessory, click on Kilenya Merchandising above)
Just so you know: All of my books will be available for $10 each. :-) If you buy all three books, it'll be $25. Why the discounts? Each author will be handling their own money, and $10 is a lot easier to work with than the usual price of $12.99. :-)
When: Wednesday, August 1, 2012
(It's fitting, isn't it, that August Fortress be launched in August? :-))
Where: Pleasant Grove Library, Pleasant Grove, UT
30 East Center Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 (Click here for a map and the Facebook event Tristi Pinkston put together)
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Who: A TON of authors!
Including:
Tristi Pinkston (also launching a new book! It's a super fun YA romance called Turning Pages)
Julie Coulter Bellon (suspense)
Nichole Giles (humor, memoir)
Angie Lofthouse (speculative (religious science fiction))
Monique Bucheger (middle grade)
Heather (H.B.) Moore (inspirational nonfiction and historical fiction)
Rachelle Christensen (suspense)
Heather Justesen (family drama, romance)
Loralee Evans (historical fiction)
Suzanne Reese (paranormal romance)
L. L. Muir (romance)
Julie N. Ford (romance)
And me, of course! :-)
I've met most of these authors - they're a lot of fun, and they write dang good books!
Also, there's going to be a silent auction, and all proceeds will go straight to the Pleasant Grove Library. I love libraries, and it's exciting to be able to help them.
Hope to see you there!
In case you didn't already know, The Key of Kilenya is still up for free everywhere eBooks are sold. Go check it out. :-) The downloads (and sales on the other books) have been so good that I didn't have the heart to up the price again. :-)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Let's Not Be So Negative...
Smashwords interviewed Jonathan Maberry, a NYT Bestselling author. One of his responses, about being positive online, really stuck with me. And I know it's geared to writers and the writing field, but MAN is it applicable in every day life and conversation. Here's a quote from it (I've edited it a bit):
"Negativity does not sell, but a lot of writers seem to use it as a way of getting heard. Sure, you’re heard ... and then ignored. If you want to vent, do it over beers at the next Stoker banquet. We’ll all listen. But don’t put it online.
(He then uses Twilight as an example, where a lot of authors/writers talked online about how stupid and awful it was. Then he said agents and editors pay attention to these sorts of things, that they know that Twilight brought a lot of money into the industry and will avoid you for slamming it and other crappy (but potentially successful) books.)
"So, what do you put out there? Think about a party. If there’s someone who is whining and moaning and someone else who’s getting folks to laugh and loosen up, which way do you drift? If a kid in a playground is constantly whining about the quality of the toys, and another kid has turned a cardboard box into a sideshow funhouse, who’s getting more attention? Who’s going to be remembered in a positive way?
"And, even if you are a naturally cranky, snarky, sour-tempered pain in the butt, for goodness’ sake share that with your therapist or priest. When you go online to promote yourself and therefore you products, try not to actually scare people off your lawn."
I loved this quote. And like I said, I know it's geared to writers and the writing field, but it is definitely applicable to anyone. Every time we post something online, we're "promoting" ourselves. And don't we want people to remember us in a positive instead of negative light?
People who complain and whine all the time about how horrible and hard life is, and how other people who don't deserve success are getting it, tend to be ignored - except by other people who whine and complain a lot. Whereas people who are uplifting, complimentary, and positive are cheered on, then supported when they need support. They put a positive spin on everything, which is so much more attractive than a negative spin. Let's be "an example of the believers, in word, in conversation" (1 Tim 4:12), by seeking (and writing/posting) things that are "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" (13th AofF).
This applies not only to people who are wanting to be traditionally published, but those of us who are indie authors. None of us can afford to lose readers (agents/editors) because of one temper-tantrum article we post.
To read the rest of the interview, including the parts I cut out of the above quote, go here.
"Negativity does not sell, but a lot of writers seem to use it as a way of getting heard. Sure, you’re heard ... and then ignored. If you want to vent, do it over beers at the next Stoker banquet. We’ll all listen. But don’t put it online.
(He then uses Twilight as an example, where a lot of authors/writers talked online about how stupid and awful it was. Then he said agents and editors pay attention to these sorts of things, that they know that Twilight brought a lot of money into the industry and will avoid you for slamming it and other crappy (but potentially successful) books.)
"So, what do you put out there? Think about a party. If there’s someone who is whining and moaning and someone else who’s getting folks to laugh and loosen up, which way do you drift? If a kid in a playground is constantly whining about the quality of the toys, and another kid has turned a cardboard box into a sideshow funhouse, who’s getting more attention? Who’s going to be remembered in a positive way?
"And, even if you are a naturally cranky, snarky, sour-tempered pain in the butt, for goodness’ sake share that with your therapist or priest. When you go online to promote yourself and therefore you products, try not to actually scare people off your lawn."
I loved this quote. And like I said, I know it's geared to writers and the writing field, but it is definitely applicable to anyone. Every time we post something online, we're "promoting" ourselves. And don't we want people to remember us in a positive instead of negative light?
People who complain and whine all the time about how horrible and hard life is, and how other people who don't deserve success are getting it, tend to be ignored - except by other people who whine and complain a lot. Whereas people who are uplifting, complimentary, and positive are cheered on, then supported when they need support. They put a positive spin on everything, which is so much more attractive than a negative spin. Let's be "an example of the believers, in word, in conversation" (1 Tim 4:12), by seeking (and writing/posting) things that are "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" (13th AofF).
This applies not only to people who are wanting to be traditionally published, but those of us who are indie authors. None of us can afford to lose readers (agents/editors) because of one temper-tantrum article we post.
To read the rest of the interview, including the parts I cut out of the above quote, go here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Big, Awesome, Wonderful Announcements! :-)
Today is the day I can finally make some announcements I've been wanting to make for a very long time! I've got five of them, so be sure to read through to the end, and help me spread the news!
First, The Key of Kilenya (or, as my hubby says, "Keys of Kilenya") is now available for purchase! James Curwen and I decided not to make them into individual necklaces, since several people said they wanted to carry them in their pockets, or to put on a key chain. The simple loop you see in the picture below will come with every key. Cost: $5.00. Click here to purchase, for more information, including shipping and handling info, and specs on how they were made! :-)
Second, I'm pregnant!!! Yay!! I can't even begin to say how excited we are. :-) And I can't even say how hard it was not to blurt it out randomly (before we made the announcement)! Morning sickness = awful. Being tired all the time = not so much fun. Frequent bathroom trips = sigh. A baby coming the first week in December = wonderful and awesome! Here's an older picture from our first ultrasound (cause it's an adorable picture :-)):
It's hard to know who's more excited: me or my husband. Yay! :-)
Third, August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three is now available as an eBook! Hallelujah and miracle of miracles! :-) You can get it from Kindle, Nook, or Smashwords for $3.99 (Smashwords carries most formats). It'll populate to Sony, Kobo, Apple, etc., in a couple of weeks, and the print version will be out in a month or so.
Fourth, we've released a compilation of books one and two into an eBook, complete with a gagreel of silly/stupid/funny typos my editor(s), beta readers, and I discovered while going through The Key of Kilenya and The Ember Gods. If you want to get caught up on the first two books before reading August Fortress, download Kilenya Series Books One and Two from Kindle or Smashwords (Smashwords has Nook's format, along with formats for the other eReaders). It's only $2.99 right now.
Fifth, and as many of you already know, the eBook version of The Key of Kilenya is up for free across the board! (Kindle, Nook, Smashwords) It has been this way for a little over a month (will be for another week or so), and the downloads have been super, super good! And having it up for free has increased sales on all of my other eBooks. "Neato," as my dad would say. :-) The Key of Kilenya hasn't fallen below 25 on the bestsellers list on Amazon for its genre since going up for free. So cool. :-)
Sixth, did I mention I'm pregnant? Yes? He he. :-)
Seventh, August Fortress is FINALLY out!
Ha ha. Okay, you get the point.
Please help me spread the news by clicking on the "share" buttons a couple of lines below - especially the one for Facebook!
Thank you so much to all of you for your support, patience (while waiting for August Fortress), and friendship!
First, The Key of Kilenya (or, as my hubby says, "Keys of Kilenya") is now available for purchase! James Curwen and I decided not to make them into individual necklaces, since several people said they wanted to carry them in their pockets, or to put on a key chain. The simple loop you see in the picture below will come with every key. Cost: $5.00. Click here to purchase, for more information, including shipping and handling info, and specs on how they were made! :-)
Second, I'm pregnant!!! Yay!! I can't even begin to say how excited we are. :-) And I can't even say how hard it was not to blurt it out randomly (before we made the announcement)! Morning sickness = awful. Being tired all the time = not so much fun. Frequent bathroom trips = sigh. A baby coming the first week in December = wonderful and awesome! Here's an older picture from our first ultrasound (cause it's an adorable picture :-)):
It's hard to know who's more excited: me or my husband. Yay! :-)
Third, August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three is now available as an eBook! Hallelujah and miracle of miracles! :-) You can get it from Kindle, Nook, or Smashwords for $3.99 (Smashwords carries most formats). It'll populate to Sony, Kobo, Apple, etc., in a couple of weeks, and the print version will be out in a month or so.
Fourth, we've released a compilation of books one and two into an eBook, complete with a gagreel of silly/stupid/funny typos my editor(s), beta readers, and I discovered while going through The Key of Kilenya and The Ember Gods. If you want to get caught up on the first two books before reading August Fortress, download Kilenya Series Books One and Two from Kindle or Smashwords (Smashwords has Nook's format, along with formats for the other eReaders). It's only $2.99 right now.
Fifth, and as many of you already know, the eBook version of The Key of Kilenya is up for free across the board! (Kindle, Nook, Smashwords) It has been this way for a little over a month (will be for another week or so), and the downloads have been super, super good! And having it up for free has increased sales on all of my other eBooks. "Neato," as my dad would say. :-) The Key of Kilenya hasn't fallen below 25 on the bestsellers list on Amazon for its genre since going up for free. So cool. :-)
Sixth, did I mention I'm pregnant? Yes? He he. :-)
Seventh, August Fortress is FINALLY out!
Ha ha. Okay, you get the point.
Please help me spread the news by clicking on the "share" buttons a couple of lines below - especially the one for Facebook!
Thank you so much to all of you for your support, patience (while waiting for August Fortress), and friendship!
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