Halloween Indie Author Promotion Call

Hey, Indie Authors!!

CHANGE: I've decided to showcase illustrators and artists as well. Follow the instructions below and I'll attach you to one of the days!

I'm doing a really fun promotion on my blog leading up to Halloween, mainly to help advertise the release of three new novelettes in my Katon University series. (Teen horror: Whistle, and I'll Come, Britnell Manor, and The Music of Anna Morse.) I'm super excited!

Here's how it's going to go:

Each day, or a few days a week (depending on how many people respond), I'll feature a Halloween-themed book, novella, short story, etc., on my blog, along with a very short interview of the author (short as in two questions with their answers).

What do I mean by Halloween themed? Anything and everything that can be thought of as Halloweenish! This would include horror, scary books, vampires, ghosts, witches, zombies, ghouls, monsters, spooky things, etc. If you are wondering if your book would work, shoot me an email. Romance would be fine, but there has to be some scariness in the story, brought on by the "Halloween theme." Halloween-type comedies are also fine.

Note: Your book doesn't have to happen around Halloween time. If it does, that's great! If it doesn't, that's perfectly fine too.

Right now, I'm putting a cap on how many books an author can submit - just two, which will be featured on separate days. I'll email participating authors if that goes up to three. Also, if I have a lot of responses, I'll probably feature two books (from separate authors) a day, in the same post. Which would be great for you - you'd overlap with another author and their promotions. :-)

If you're interested, send me an email with all of the following for each book (if you don't include something, I'll just ask you where it is, so include it the first time):

1. Cover for your book - a good-quality one (send it to me in an attachment - don't make me go searching for it. ;-) I use Linux, so don't have to worry about viruses. If I have problems with the download, though, I'll let you know)
2. Blurb for the book (no more than 100 words. I'll ask authors to shorten as needed)
3. Purchase links (Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, Amazon)
4. Rating for your book (as in, movie rating: G, PG, PG13, R, and which ages you feel would most appreciate it)
5. Answers (no more than 50 words) to two of the following questions (include both questions in your email):

(If you're an artist, tweak the wording)

Why did you choose to self-publish?
What advice do you have for those wanting to self-publish?
What is your favorite Halloween story/movie, and why?
When did you discover your passion for writing?
What was your favorite costume as a child, and do you still dress up?
What has worked the best for you as an Indie author (when it comes to being successful)?

Several things to note:
PLEASE read these carefully! :-)

• The two stories you submit can be any length: full-length novel, novella, novelette, or short story.
• They must be self-published.
• Coupons and sales would be a great idea. Include the necessary information in your email to me (if the book is usually one price, but it'll be a different price for the promotion, etc.)
• Short stories can be in anthologies, but the anthology must be Halloween themed.
• An anthology/compilation of two full-length books would count as your two. Anything with more than two books (50,000 words each, give or take) won't be accepted. I'd suggest submitting the books separately, so you get more air time.
• If you submit more than one book, I'll put links to the other in each post.
• For each book, give me the above information. You can use the same questions/answers twice if you'd like, or you can answer two new ones for the second book.
• Tell me which order you want the books in (for example, if you have a series - let me know which is the first book).
• If you have a preference for a day, let me know, and I'll do my best to honor it (no promises, though, and first-come, first-serve). Similarly, if you'd like your days to be on back-to-back days, let me know, and I'll do my best to arrange that.
• If you include a coupon, make sure it doesn't expire until at least a week after Halloween (for late comers).

Send this post to as many authors as you can - the more who participate, the better this will be for everyone. It also goes without saying that I'd expect you to do promotion for your day - I won't be able to reach nearly as many people as all of us together.

Clear as mud? :-) Leave any questions you have in the comments below, or ask in your email to me. :-)

DEADLINE: As soon as possible!


I'm super excited!!! :-)

For those of you who'd like double exposure during the months of October and November, check out this Indie Author Event over on Facebook.

Traditional Publish = Vanity Publishing

I'll be signing in the Sandy Costco the following days:

Monday, September 10, 2012 from 12:00 to 4:00pm
Monday, September 24, 2012 from 12:00 to 4:00pm

Click the link above to get the address. We wanted more days, but September is a very busy month for Costco, and they're working with several companies to get authors in for signings.

Can't wait to see you there!

On to the topic for today's blog post.

I read an interview a while back of an author who said she considered traditional publishing to be vanity publishing. "Oh? You're with such and such publisher (or are self-published)? Well, I'm with this publisher."

I can't remember who the author was or where I found the interview, but the idea really stayed with me, and I truly believe she was right in many, if not most, cases. Now the Huffington Post has made the same statement, (the title of their post is "The New Vanity Publishing: Traditional Publishing") and authors are reacting. (In this article, one person gives several reasons why the statement is true. Read it. It's short and good. Then come back. :-))

I understand why authors would want or need a traditional publisher - not everyone is cut out for self-publishing. But, as the author of the article, Bernard Starr, says, "When you go the traditional-publishing route, you may well find yourself self-publishing without the benefits of self-publishing." Read the article to see what he's talking about.

So, what are the benefits of self-publishing? Here's one: sales. So many traditionally published authors don't get many sales. Another benefit? Real-time reporting on those sales. Most of my author friends will never know how many books they sold. They have to trust that their publisher is reporting things correctly. Another benefit: excellent royalties (30-80% royalties versus the 5-17% in traditional publishing). And so, so many others. It constantly amazes me when people turn away from these things. They say, "Only 1% of self-published authors ever go really big. I've got a better chance in traditional publishing." But if you pay attention to the most recent traditionally published bestsellers, you'll find that the majority of them got started - made a name for themselves - in self-publishing.

Traditional publishers focus on a book for only a short time, then drop it completely, moving on to new authors. Many times, the book hasn't had the chance it deserves to grow in popularity before it is removed from shelves, and any backing the publisher gave it shifts to the next author's book. The book is considered a flop and is permanently on a writer's record. Many authors have to use a pen name to avoid being recognized for having a book that failed. In self-publishing, this doesn't happen. Authors recognize the length of time it often takes for a book to be cultivated into a bestseller, and they're willing to wait for it to happen.

Mr. Starr says, "First-time authors and those struggling to find a publisher should seriously consider self-publishing," and "self-publishing does not close the door on traditional publishing."

He talks about how self-published authors are being hand-selected by traditional publishers, given huge advances, and have actual marketing plans written up and put in place.

As Penguin CEO John Makinson said: "Self-publishing has moved into the mainstream of our industry."

It's a no brainer to me. Find a traditional publisher (if that's your goal) by self-publishing. Make a name for yourself that traditional publishers won't be able to ignore. And get paid while you're doing it. You may find yourself so content in that position, you won't want to sign the contract when the time comes.

In the News:

Is self-publishing the lazy way out?
"Bestselling American crime novelist Sue Grafton has back-pedaled on her description of self-published authors as 'too lazy to do the hard work' following disbelief and anger from the independently published community." Read more of the Guardian article here. (I appreciate Sue Grafton's response to the outcry.)

Beware the companies that want to help you self-publish!
"As with any case where something hard for one person is easy for someone else, businesses have sprung up to take advantage of that in return for a cut of the royalties." (Read more here. Seriously, be incredibly wary of any company that wants to help you self-publish.)

Publishing Is Broken, We're Drowning In Indie Books - And That's A Good Thing
Okay, I can't give a good enough summary for this article - there are too many excellent points. It's fairly long, but incredibly good, and will be well worth your time.

Character Interview: Matt Clark!!

I had a reader request I do character interviews. No offense to others out there, but to me, most character interviews are silly and boring. I realized I needed to take my interviews from a different angle. So.... without further ado, I give you:

The Fat Lady Interviewing Matt Clark!

Before you get upset with me for her name, remember from The Key of Kilenya that she insists on being called the Fat Lady. Don't ask me why, ask her. :-) You might get the chance in some upcoming interview! For now, enjoy the following scene as the Fat Lady interviews Matt Clark. :-)

The Fat Lady walked onto the make-shift stage, cheap wood flooring sagging under her massive, well over five-hundred-pound frame. She paused and stared at the furnishings, and a blush spread across her cheeks. With a growl, she turned and looked at someone beyond the camera's view. “I can't hold an interview here. This,” she motioned to the pink and very florally couch and armchair, “is disgusting! It's horrendous! My cabin back home would be better.”

“Sorry,” a woman from off stage said. “It's the best we could do with such short notice. Besides, you said you didn't have enough time clean up your place.”

“Hrmph.” The Fat Lady sat on the chair, adjusting her position several times. Her eyes continuously drifted to the clock on the wall. “All right, Andrea, where is he?”

“Almost here—he just texted.” Andrea, author of the Kilenya series, drifted in front of the camera for a moment, holding a cell phone. She held the phone out to the Fat Lady. “Want to see the text?”

“Text? What are you talking about?”

A door slammed somewhere, Andrea backed out of view, and Matt strode onto the stage, hand extended to the Fat Lady. “Sorry I'm late! And I just can't believe you're the lucky one to hold the interviews. So much fun!”

“Yeah, yeah. Sit.” The Fat Lady picked up a piece of paper from the coffee table and looked it over. “Who the heck cares about this sort of stuff?”

“Um . . . Fat Lady?” Andrea asked. “Would you please come here for a moment? The cameras are already rolling, and we don't have time for this.”

The large, over six-foot-tall woman thumped off stage. Whispered voices drifted through the room, while Matt obviously pretended not to notice. He examined his nails, played air guitar, then leaned back, arms behind his head. Finally, the Fat Lady returned with a fake smile plastered on her face.

She grabbed the paper, reading it over again. “Such great questions.” She leaned forward. “Matt. Tell your fans a little about yourself.”

Matt's face lit up. “I'd love to!” He turned and looked directly into the camera. “My name is Matthew Clark. I'm Jacob's older brother.” He paused. “And no, I'm not magical like he is—wish I were. But I'm better than him at basketball.” He snickered, then shot a glance at the Fat Lady. “Don't tell him I said that.”

The Fat Lady rolled her eyes. “Oh, I won't.” She looked down and started reading the next question. “How did—”

“Oh! And I'm also captain of the football team at my high school, Mountain Crest, and I like singing and playing the guitar.”

“Yes, yes, I'm sure the viewers wouldn't be able to live without knowing all this about you.”

“Gotta keep the ladies happy.”

The Fat Lady raised her eyebrow. “Speaking of 'the ladies . . .' How did you and your girlfriend, Samara, meet?”

Matt practically bounced to the edge of his seat. “Sammy! Oh, she's the coolest, best, most awesome girl I've ever dated.”

“I'm sure. Answer the question.”

“Okay, so it all started when I was dating her freaking hot older sister, Molly—”

The Fat Lady blinked. “Um . . . You do know that Sammy is going to watch this, right? Kid, calling her sister 'hot' is completely and totally stupid. No girl wants to hear that from her boyfriend! Unless you're trying to get out of the relationship?”

The blood rushed from Matt's face and he turned to the camera again. “Sammy. You're hot too. You know you're the only girl for me. Listen, we're always going to be together, and Molly never crosses my mind. Except that one time, but you were totally with me, and it wasn't my fault!” He looked at the Fat Lady, desperation on his face. “Can we please just erase all of this and start with the question again?”

“No, of course not.”

He turned to the woman off stage. “Please, Andrea? Pretty, pretty please?”

“Sorry, no. It's too expensive. One take is all you get.”

“Well, Sammy knows I love her.” Matt cleared his throat, loosening his collar, and looked at the Fat Lady. “Any more questions?”

“Yeah, but they're dumb. And I'm bored.” The Fat Lady jumped from her seat, grabbed Matt's hand, yanked him up and pumped his arm a few times. “Thanks for doing the interview. Get back to school.”

Matt nodded and dashed off the stage.

My Awesome, Exciting, Freakin' Cool Experience at LDSBA!!

So, I put up a teaser on Facebook, saying I had a great announcement to make. I shouldn't have done so that early - waiting until yesterday or even this morning would've been better. :-) But that would've been so painful!

The gist of the news is this: I'll be signing in Costco! Starting next month, I'll be in the Lehi, Murray, Sandy, and West Valley stores. I'm sooo excited!

This is a huge opportunity for me as an independent author! There's more to the story, and if you're interested in reading one of those uplifting, right time/right places/right person type things, read on!

Last week, my editor and friend, Tristi Pinkston, took me to the LDS Booksellers Association convention (LDSBA). It's a closed convention where a bunch of people set up booths and show the things they produce while "buyers" walk around, deciding what they want to sell in their stores. Stores such as Deseret Book, Seagull Book and Tape, independent stores, etc. Authors go to sign books and meet people who would potentially carry their books at their locations.

At the start of the convention, Tristi asked me if it would be okay for her to tell people about my books. I said yes, of course. :-) Right then, one of her friends, a Deseret Book representative, walked by. Tristi grabbed her, spoke with her briefly, and the lady referred us to another woman. We'll call her Jamie. When I told Jamie I'd had several Deseret Book managers approach me, telling me they'd had many customers request my books, Jamie said that Deseret Book actually distributes for independent authors, and that they'd be very interested in representing me.

She asked me to send her my information, along with all three available books in my series, and let her know how my sales have gone, etc. She would get back to me in a couple of weeks. I was soooo excited! Being distributed by Deseret Book would be so cool!

But that's not the end of the story. :-) Deseret Book only distributes to their stores. And Tristi, who follows the Spirit, had a feeling to introduce me to another woman. We'll call her Savannah. Savannah was there as a food rep of some sort. She and I instantly hit it off--she's energetic, fun, and knowledgeable. When Savannah found out that Deseret Book wanted to be my distributor, she said, "No. We'll represent you." Tristi, in all her sneakiness, hadn't told me that Savannah also works for one of the largest distributors in Utah, and has for many years. When Savannah wants a book, the company takes it.

And after hearing how successful my eBooks have been, and the fact that Deseret Book wants to represent me, Savannah now wants my books. :-)

She spent a few hours telling me why I should choose Brigham Distributing over Deseret Book. After I got over my shock and excitement, I realized it was a no-brainer. I talked to my hubby and we both felt good about it. :-)

Brigham Distributing gets books not only into Deseret Book, but also all Barnes and Nobles, Costco, independent bookstores, etc.

The excellent thing about all of this: I still own my rights. They only take 25% of my royalties, where an actual publisher would own the rights to my books AND take around 90% of my royalties. As an independent author, this puts me in a very, very good position! My books go everywhere an author who has a publisher goes, and I can do whatever I need to do with my books, along with keeping a very large part of the royalties. So exciting!

While I was talking to Savannah, two well-known authors (one a NYT best selling author) walked by. Savannah stopped them and had them tell me how they started. They both said she was the one who got them on their current paths. She turned to me and said, "I didn't pay them to say that." It cracked me up!

I still can't believe how things fell into place!

A year ago, an author friend (Jenni James) told me to contact the owner of Brigham Distributing and ask them to distribute for me. I did so, but was rejected a couple of months later, which didn't surprise me - I imagine they probably reject a lot of authors who submit. However, I felt very, very strongly that I would end up being distributed by them, so I didn't do what some authors would be tempted to do: write/call them back and tell them they'd regret their decision. Or beg - telling them how successful my books had been, etc. And the night before the convention, I had a feeling to ask my husband how he would feel if a distributing option came up while I was there. He said, "That would be good, but don't go to them in a position of weakness. Don't act needy or desperate. They should be wanting you just as badly as you want them." That might sound a bit pig headed, but I agreed - they'd already rejected my books. No sense in begging!

And with how everything fell into place, it was amazing. :-) Savannah took me to meet the owner. He remembered my books, remembered why they were rejected (the young adult fantasy market was saturated), and said, "If Savannah wants your books, I want your books." Yay!

Tristi is a very inspired person. She knew I had to be at the convention, so arranged it. She knew who to talk to, in what order, and what to say.

Anyway. What this means for my hubby and me is this: Savannah is putting me in Costco next month. I'll be signing just the first book in my series at the Lehi, Sandy, Murray, and West Valley stores during the month of September. Since I don't have a publisher, I'll have to foot the printing bill for 300 books. That ends up being a nice chunk of money! Savannah is absolutely positive I'll do well, and that my books will be popular. In October, depending on how September goes, they want me to sign at all eight Costcos in Utah (not including the one in St George), with all three books in my series, and with a print run of 3,000 books. Wow!

I'm going to be very busy! But I've got a couple of independent author friends who also work with Brigham, and they've promised to help me quickly learn the ropes.

Anyway. I still can't believe how quickly everything fell into place and how good it all feels! The Lord is really watching over us. It's pretty neat. :-)

Wish me luck with this new endeavor!

Andrea

Priestess of the Eggstone

One of my author friends, Jaleta Clegg, is having a book released this month. It's called Priestess of the Eggstone: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2. I promised her I would post the blurb for it, cover, and an excerpt. Enjoy! I think it sounds great!

Blurb:
Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

But that’s exactly what she’s got.

She didn’t realize she was smuggling when she accepted the courier job. Now Targon wants her for stealing the shipment and the Patrol wants to arrest her. The Sessimoniss want their god back. And Jerimon’s aunt is planning their wedding.

She doesn’t know which scares her most.

Priestess of the Eggstone: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2 by Jaleta Clegg

Here's a link to purchase it.
Here's Jaleta's website.

And here's the excerpt:

We rounded the last big moon into clear space. I checked the nav program one last time, to make sure we were headed the right direction before we jumped. The chatter of local pilots was steady as a background noise that dissolved into static as we passed into the moon's shadow. The ship lurched, then slowed, the engines whining.

I flipped switches, trying to find the problem. Jerimon pushed the thrusters all the way to the stops. The engine whine rose in pitch. The ship shuddered. The emergency lights flashed. Warnings hooted through the ship.

"Shut it down!" I yelled over the noise.

Jerimon stubbornly tried to pull more power from the engines. His face was pale and his chin set as he goosed the throttles. I reached across the controls to slam the switches off. Jerimon slumped in his chair, hands over his face. The engines spun down. The alarms shut up, all except one. It was a quiet, insistent beeping with a single, flashing red light.

I checked the screen, then muttered a bad word at the unknown vessel showing on the scans. "Who'd be using a tractor beam out here?"

The ship was bigger, but that didn't mean much. Anything was bigger than my ship. The scanners didn't show any ID traces from the other ship.

"Does it look like pirates to you?" Pirates weren't uncommon in this sector but Rucal had a major Patrol station out beyond the moons. What pirate would be stupid enough to operate under the Patrol's nose?
I knew of at least one, but he was in prison. I scowled at the screen. In a few moments, I wouldn't need the scanner. I could just look outside.

Jerimon dropped his hands to his lap, staring bleakly at the monitor. If he didn't know who was on that ship, I'd eat my socks—the ones I'd been wearing for three days without washing because I hadn't found the time.
"Who are they and why are they dragging us in?"

Jerimon shook his head, eyes locked on the approaching ship. He gripped the chair so hard his knuckles went white.