I can’t help but share Judith’s lovely review of Harbinger. Nothing like this for starting one’s day off RIGHT! Thank you, Judith!!
Miscellaneous News
What makes a book a bestseller?
After two years of pounding the keyboard and putting out indie fiction, I finally hit what I consider a bestseller. Half Wolf had 6,000 combined sales and borrows during its first three months of life, and the sequel seems to be enjoying even better reviews (and, hopefully, sales).
While my figures still don’t hold a candle to those of some authors, I thought it would be worth mentioning what I did differently in case you want to follow suit. Here’s a quick rundown in what went into my bestseller.
- Studied the genre harder. I read widely and often and write what I love to read. That said, I noticed repeated criticisms of my Wolf Rampant series surrounding lack of sex and action scenes. At first, I turned up my nose and said, “Hmmph! That’s what makes me an indie author — I can write what I want!” But then I decided to give it a whirl. And I have to admit I feel like the resulting book was more powerful for the inclusions (even though those component are still below average on a modern chart).
- Paid for an amazing cover. I have basic photoshop skills and thought I could make my own covers…and I did manage to make passable ones. Then I upgraded to hiring a cover artist…and was amazed at the difference in sales. Rebecca Frank is, unfortunately, now booked months in advance and no longer accepting new clients. However, I highly recommend shopping around and paying for a top-notch cover to match your top-notch book, hitting all of the same genre buttons to signal exactly what’s inside.
- Workshopped my blurb to death. Seriously, I think about ten people helped me make approximately 100 revisions on my blurb. Even before that, I studied the blurbs of the bestsellers in my genre, noting word count and other factors. Overall, I spent nearly a week on the project! But the result is tight and humming with life and it sells books.
- Launched with forethought. A lot more goes into a sticky launch than just telling your fans and waiting for the sales to roll in. If you haven’t read it, I recommend Chris Fox’s Launch to Market as a primer. I used a spreadsheet and every bit of social capital I’d built up in recent months on my launch and it was very much worth it.
I hope that gives you some ideas for pushing your next book into the stratosphere! And, if you’re curious, Half Wolf will be free Saturday and Lone Wolf Dawn is already marked down to 99 cents for launch week. Feel free to lurk and see whether my second launch does as well as the first.
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Free World Building Course–Back by popular demand
I’m happy to say, that my free world building course coupons were a hit. I made 500 hundred of them thinking that would be too many, but I was wrong. They were all gone in a matter of days.
So I’ve created 500 more coupons for my World Building course for fantasy writers. Take the course for free.
To take the course, just go to: https://www.udemy.com/world-building-for-fantasy-writers/?couponCode=worldbuilder1
If asked for a code, type in “worldbuilder1”.
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What Feedback Should You Apply To Your Story?
#writingadvice – Handling feedback on your story: Helpful post with useful tips and a few caveats…
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Finding the meaning in little flags
Ned always says it better! Remember our heroes, who fought and died to protect and preserve our freedom.
(Though we live in a time where the lines that divide us seem more clearly drawn than ever, for today I hope we can unite in solemn appreciation for the men and women throughout our nation’s history who sacrificed themselves so that we can live — and even disagree — as Americans. As adults, we tend to complicate things and ideals. It’s days like today that I am reminded that a child’s pure, unbiased perspective is sometimes our best source of wisdom…)
It’s been 15 years since I introduced my oldest daughter to the meaning of Memorial Day. She was seven then, but I still remember the short gusts of warm wind on my neck, the earthy smell of the fresh-cut grass, and the hushed snap of small American flags standing like sentries next to dozens of tombstones along the hillside.
“How come some of them have little flags…
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#ThorsDaySmile
Every now and then, the ThorsDay Smile should be about . . . THOR!
At least twice. Maybe three times.
(Make of that as you will, Ned Hickson!)
😀
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Free Online World Building Course for Fantasy Writers
As you can probably imagine, there’s a lot of work that goes into writing a fantasy novel. One of the things I had to do for The Legender was invent an entirely new world. We fantasy nerds call the task “world building.”
For the last 20 years, I’ve been working on the craft of world building and fantasy writing. And a few months ago, I began taking what I learned from the process and formatting it into an online course on Udemy–a course I would like to offer to you for free.
This course is designed to teach you how to create a believable and compelling world for your fantasy story–a world your readers will want to get lost in again and again.
In the course you will learn how to:
- Build a compelling and believable world for a fantasy novel
- Establish rules for your world
- Give a sense of depth to your world
- Assign meaningful names to different parts of your world (i.e. landmarks and invented creatures)
- Manage a healthy relationship between your world and your story
As I said before, since you have been supportive readers, I’d like to offer this course to you for free:
https://www.udemy.com/world-building-for-fantasy-writers/?couponCode=worldbuilder10
In return, I’d love to get some honest feedback from you.
Thanks for the support, and enjoy world building!
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Mail List Sign Up & Free Goodies
Decided it was way past time to start building a better Mail List, so here’s an offer you can’t refuse: Sign up for my monthly newsletter and win a free download of either Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love, or Wake-Robin Ridge Book 1. Just click on the link in the menu above. It’s easy. And did I mention FREE? 🙂 Thanks!
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Looks like Rain: A Poem about Adulting
Caitlin’s outdone herself with this one! I love it!
Sometimes you’re just not ready to be an adult that day. Other times, you totally got this.
Looks like Rain
The satisfaction of entering a building under
a cloudy sky and exiting
to rain
and opening the umbrella
you remembered to bring
is not, I hope, founded on the people
standing under the overhang
staring at the falling drops in dismay
their hands empty–
but of pride
in your ability to be a successful adult
today
remember that the next time you feel
less than competent to take on
the world
once you held responsibility with a water-proof canopy
and walked, dry, under opened heavens
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Hello from Elizabeth Vollstadt
Hi! I’m Elizabeth Weiss Vollstadt, a children’s writer, and I’m delighted to introduce myself to other authors on Marcia’s blog. I met Marcia when she spoke at the Victoria Gardens Book Club in January. I’ve been following her blog ever since.
As a children’s writer, I’ve been published three different ways:
––On contract for Lucent books, for four non-fiction books
––Traditionally with Boyds Mills Press, for the anthology, Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution, written with co-author Marcella Anderson
––Independently for my preteen novel, Pairs on Ice.
I’ve discovered that the hardest things about publishing a book is not the writing, but the marketing, and I hope to exchange ideas with other writers about what works. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s especially difficult to market children’s books because most are purchased by libraries––and they rarely buy indie books. So far, I’ve used Amazon, social media, word of mouth, and one ad. My most successful book signings have been at ice rinks. Unfortunately, there are few in Florida.
Pairs on Ice, the first of a three-book series, was published in 2014. It’s about friendship, family, and the competitive world of figure skating. My main character, Jamie, 12, is a singles skater who switches to pairs––and the sparks start to fly! The book was inspired by my years as a skating mom when my daughter competed. I’ve always marveled at skaters who could jump, spin, and glide over the ice. It’s been fun creating characters who can skate the way I’ve always wished I could.
I have just completed revisions on Pairs at Nationals, the second book in the series, and to celebrate, I’m offering the Kindle version of Pairs on Ice for only 99 cents, beginning today, May 17, and lasting through May 23rd.
Pairs On Ice On Sale Today Here
You can find out more about me and Pairs on Ice at my Amazon Author’s Page, http://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethvollstadt
and also at my blog, www.elizabethvollstadt.blogspot.com
I’d love to share marketing ideas with any writers who are interested. Thanks and hope to hear from you.
The Write Stuff 