Thursday, June 30, 2011

This Might Come as a Surprise, But

I am not a bright person.

Just kidding, I do okay. Not as smart as some of the (annoyingly) smart people I surround myself with (Ott, Husband), but I'm no dummy. So it's been difficult to reconcile all the mistakes I've made on the road to indie publishing. I have done almost everything wrong!

But I think I've finally gotten on top of it, and will very soon have three books (Faith Creation, Darkness Within, and Messages) available for Kindle, iBooks, Nook, Sony, and also...wait for it!...PRINT! Not to mention: my own website.

Any books clubs or writers clubs interested in hearing my trials, feel free to email me! I'm not ashamed to talk about all the bonehead things I've done.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Everything BUT Writing

Okay, so, I just baked blueberry muffins. It's blueberry season and the blueberries are fat, ripe and delicious and who doesn't like blueberry muffins, right? I know I love them.

Here's the problem: I've spent this entire Sunday doing everything but writing and that always makes me feel a little uneasy. I'd like to get something down EVERY day.

I am also anxious because Darkness Within didn't appear on Amazon yet. Fingers crossed for tomorrow so I can make sure it is okay through this new service (BookBaby.com) and then I can get Faith moved over. Messages (the new book, yay!) will hopefully be up by next week. Husband and I worked on the cover together. It was fun to watch him search the photo site...he's new to it. The cover kicks ass.

I feel super distracted by all the marketing-type stuff I've been doing for the books. I am trying to figure out Twitter and trying to be active on Facebook. You feel like you are yelling into such a big, crowded space. How can you get people to hear you?

Sundays are bluesy nights. Tomorrow will be better.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Another Avenue

The link to Darkness Within isn't active right now. Here's why:

I originally went directly through Amazon.com to upload it and that was a great experience, but then I tried to find out about the other e-readers: iBooks, Nook, Sony and they all have to be formatted differently and I have to download software to convert my .doc to ePub and to be honest, I'd rather be writing!

So, my friend Gwyn told me about Bookbaby.com and for a fee, they will put your e-book on all four sites. They also offer other stuff–like cover design–but I didn't delve into it too deeply. I just want my books available to the widest range of e-readers as possible. So I joined up and put Darkness Within on there and it should be available within a week or so.

The unfortunate part is that I'll have to sell a lot of books to make up the fee–a LOT.

Well, look, it's all experimental right now as the Husband and I try and find the best avenue to independent wealth. At least, until Stephen King finds me and starts endorsing my books.

Come ON Stephen!!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Second Book

My second book is available on Amazon. Click it! Here is the scoop on the book:

Darkness Within, A Collection of Horrorific Short Stories
These bone-chilling, mind-wrenching short stories will leave you wondering about the people around you...and yourself!
The Owners-What happens to us when the original owners of the planet finally show up?
More To Me-When the ugly truth is too much to bear, some people make their own truth...and it can get even uglier.
Popcorn-Cats are the most lovable of companions...until you cross them.
Kings Mountain-Three points of view spanning one Town's story of treachery and murder.
Junie-Plumb the depths of what a woman is capable of when everything she knows is threatened.

As a reader of horror and thrillers, I can tell you that those descriptions would capture my attention. What's wrong with a little hyperbole among good friends, right? Now, if I could just get Stephen King's attention...

Monday, June 20, 2011

Milestone?

The first Faith Creation sold this weekend. Can I count the first book sold as a milestone? I think I can.

It's an odd feeling, knowing that someone, somewhere is reading Faith Creation. I had people read it for me pre-publish to give me feedback and suggestions, but that's different. To just have it 'out there' teeters me somewhere between excitement and the worst feeling of vulnerability you can imagine.

I think a lot of the vulnerability probably comes back to the voices--you know the ones I mean, right? The ones that say things like: why are you wasting your time with this? and you're going to look like the world's biggest fool when nothing sells! and everyone is going to think your book is stupid.

I've tried telling the voices to f off, but really, the best way to handle it is to plow on through, ignoring them as best you can. Just leave 'em in the dust.

The only marketing we've done so far is to post links to the book on Husband's Facebook page. I'm not much on self-promotion–since I am generally somewhat introverted...but I am trying.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A Bit of Explanation

Faith Creation is a fiction thriller. This is the first in a series. The second book should be out some time in late 2011 or early 2012.

Here is the 'blurb' for Faith Creation:


Faith was three the first time her twin sister died.

The second time, she was ten.

Raised by emotionally distant Grandparents, Faith and her twin had depended only on each other and devastated by her loss, Faith becomes a shut in, trying to never think about the telepathy that made her and her twin unique or about the odd form her body seems to be taking as she gets older.

Her only contact with the outside world is Lotte, the mysterious woman who first appears after the Grandmother’s suicide and then again to help the Grandfather through his final years. It is Lotte who finally pushes Faith–now a young woman–into reentering the world by getting her a job at a local greenhouse. It is there that Faith meets Joe–the amiable owner of Jungle Joe’s who alludes to a past that includes himself, Lotte and the Grandparents.

When Faith spots her twin sister during a trip to visit the ailing Grandfather, her unsteadily assembled world is turned upside down and Faith is forced onto a path to discover where her sister is and in the process finds out just who (and what) she is herself.

Hitches in the Giddy Up

Okay, I had a few hitches in the giddy up. I got Faith Creation set up and then found out that Husband didn't like the cover. So I pitched a (small) fit and after a bit of tussling, got something that he (and other people) seemed to like. I can always count on Husband to push me. I can count on it, even if I don't always dig it.

I have pasted the link at the end of this post. Fingers crossed that it works. If you can't click on it, copy and paste should work.

You can download a free sample--try it before you buy it, right?--and I hope you love it and buy and tell everyone you know about it.

http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Creation-ebook/dp/B00560QXPA/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308164184&sr=1-2

Monday, June 13, 2011

Giving Up or Moving On

I guess you could see it either way. Today I published my first Amazon E Book. It is Faith: Creation and is the first in a series. I shopped it around to many agents, trying to find a champion for it and although I had a few nibbles, nothing concrete came of it.

Then I saw some stories about people who had self-published e-books and did very well with them, so I thought why not?

I'll post a link to it once it has cleared their lines.

More about me later.