Welcome to Sunday

I can't think of a good title for this post, so we'll go with Welcome to Sunday. I'm a horrible blogger. It's weird. I want to post. I try to post. But I procrastinate. I tell myself I'll do it later. Later turns into tomorrow which turns into next week; before I know it, I haven't done a content post in months. To be honest, that's also how my writing goes.

There has been a crazy amount of change in my personal life recently, not the least of which is changing jobs. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to no longer be in an environment that had turned toxic for me. I'm working much better hours as well, so my goal is to attempt to use the extra hours I have in the morning to help keep things updated. We'll see how that goes.

On the writing front, I'm back to working on  Taking the Realm, and I'm determined to finish the damn book. Some of you have been waiting for the conclusion to Sha and Connor's trilogy for literally years and I'm determined it will happen very soon. I'm also working on a plethora of projects so while I originally had planned to work on the next Mythrian Realm books right after this one, I'm honestly not sure what will be the next book completed. My publisher has changed things so she won't give a release date until we've given her a mostly polished manuscript, so there won't be any more missing my release dates. The downside is, I have to hold myself more accountable to finish things. If I ever want this to be my full-time career, however, I need to do that anyway, so this may be best for me.

As for the next few weeks, be on the lookout for some reviews and actual content posts from me. A number of fantabulous authors have generously given me their books and I promised reviews so that is most definitely happening. I do love you all and appreciate your support through my absences and  crazy life more than words can ever express.

Musings on success

About to go shopping for some new sundresses but something has gotten me thinking lately. Pardon the length, this just annoys me.

People need to support each other. I'm lucky in that most of my lovelies are incredibly supportive, but I've also known some who aren't. There are some authors who get bizarrely competitive and backstabby with other authors and it seriously baffles me.

I'm blessed to be with a publisher who has managed to unite a massive group of amazing authors who are genuinely supportive of each other. We celebrate even the tiniest victories and milestones, like ranking for the first time in a category. It doesn't matter if that person is ranked #100,000 in all of the Kindle store. They ranked in the top 100 for their category and that's a big achievement. We have some phenomenally successful authors and some just starting out and you know what? If you didn't know their books, you wouldn't be able to tell which was which because EVERYONE is respectful and helpful.

I've always wanted to help others with writing. I used to be able to do more with spreading the word by interviewing and reviewing (I'm going to try reviewing more soon though), but it grew overwhelming so I stepped back from that. Even so, I met many amazing authors and some of them have gone on to be wildly successful. I'm truly happy for those authors. They worked hard for it and they deserve their success.

I see it with both fans and authors, but I don't get it when I see authors go after other authors. The last time I checked, NO author is prolific enough to provide their readers with enough material to sustain them. There's room for everyone. Just because I read MC books from one author doesn't mean I'll refuse to read books from another author. This is not a business where you can have "exclusive" readers. Just because someone hits the NY Times and USA Today lists doesn't mean my sales are going to suffer. Last time I checked, if you love an author, you love an author. You'll get their books right alongside other authors you love, regardless of their success.

Trying to undermine other authors, being jealous of more successful authors, will do nothing but tarnish your reputation, hurt others, and make yourself miserable. Be happy for others, be respectful of others, and if someone outsells you, try to learn from them.

Ok, I'll jump off of my soapbox. Love you all and thanks to anyone who actually read this whole thing :)

Return of my (in)sanity

Hello my lovelies! I know I don't update my blog like I should, but I'm sure that's no surprise to many of you. For those who haven't been following my journey, I struggle with anxiety and sensory processing issues. Last year, I let things get too overwhelming and completely vanished for a while. Now, I'm trying to manage things a bit better, yet I still have to disappear for a bit at a time.

Recently, I had the awesome opportunity to go to Lori Foster's RAGT and it was a BLAST. I met so many amazing authors and readers and I'm one step closer to fulfilling the job of my dreams by becoming a full-time author. I can't even begin to describe how exciting it was, but it was also stressful for me. I do well one on one and I had some coping mechanisms in place, but being around that many people and that much noise was very difficult. Combine that with the week before having a different kind of insanity with my best friend having her baby 5 weeks early, and it was a perfect storm. Then there was the weekend after RAGT where I had a signing and my sister's baby shower. Suffice it to say, I've needed to decompress.

As you've probably figured out, Waking the Phoenix is still not released yet. With the pressures of everything going on (I haven't even mentioned what's happening in my day job), I couldn't give the book the attention it, and my readers, deserve. I'm so blessed to have an amazing publisher who encourages me to focus on my writing instead of meeting the deadline when I'm stressed out beyond belief.

Things are calming now so it's back into the writing! I'll be finishing Waking the Phoenix, and I'll also be working on my new project, Dante. I pitched this at RAGT to Carina Press and also had a critique session with the editorial director of Carina and she's so excited about it :) This will be a paranormal romance line completely separate from my Mythrian Realm.

As always, thank you all so much for your support. I couldn't do what I love without you all, especially the encouragement you all give me as I share my struggles. I truly adore writing and one day, it'll be my full time career. Until that day, I'll do my best to squeeze it in :)

I do love hearing from readers so please, if you've enjoyed any of my books, feel free to email me at pa.lindsayavalon AT gmail DOT com. Also, please take the time to leave a short review and find me on Facebook. I should have some more updates and snippets soon!

Channeling negativity into something good

I've been pretty open about the fact that I recently took a hiatus from writing and my online presence as I struggled with anxiety. Long story short, anxiety sucks and is far more crippling than I could ever have imagined.

I have beaten it into submission for the most part, but I still get anxiety attacks. They come in different forms, some where I'm obsessing over every little situation to the point where I want to scream at myself to chill the hell out. Ok, sometimes I do that. Doesn't necessarily help, but it's amusing to audibly yell at yourself ;)

Other times, I get antsy and claustrophobic around people. I get incredibly overwhelmed and can't stand the noise and it feels like everyone is just pressing in on me and getting into my personal space, even if they're not. I'm not claustrophobic by nature, in fact I like seeing what tight spaces I can fit myself into. In high school, I was very proud of the fact that I fit into my locker on my own. Of course I tore my pants on the way OUT of the locker and had to safety pin them closed for the rest of the day, but that's beside the point.

This type of anxiety attack hit me the other day at work. I hated it, felt helpless and like I was going to crawl out of my own skin. Instead of letting myself be crippled by it though, I opened up to a few people when it was happening. Then I decided to harness those feelings and wrote a scene from Dante and Marisa's book.

It was more cathartic than I'd ever thought. When I was younger, I'd write poetry when the anxiety got bad but I'd lost touch with that practice as I got older. Writing this scene was so amazing because it rekindled the calm that I felt after getting my emotions out on paper. I ended up loving what I wrote and have a new tool in my arsenal to battle back the anxiety.

Thursday Thoughts - The Need for Efficiency

In my day job, we have a daily meeting called a "stand up" that is supposed to take 15 minutes. Since I started back in June, that thing has NEVER taken 15 minutes. Most of the time, it's closer to an hour than anything else. There are usually 15-20 people in this meeting so consider, for a moment, just how much work is lost when so many people are tied for that long.

Never mind the toll on the feet. It's not called a stand up because you get to lounge in comfy chairs. Let it be known that I mostly wear boots to work (or sandals with a heel) and it is NOT comfortable to stand in one place that long. Plus I fidget like no other. But, I digress.

Now, we tried various ways to cut down the time, changing formats, etc. Nothing really helped. People would still go off on tangents and nobody would stop them. The point of a stand off is to update the team on what you're working on and what issues you have, if any. I'm not going to remember the 20 minute conversation between 3 people about implementation of some functionality (sorry all whose eyes just glazed over on that little bit).

Today, we attained the unattainable. A 15 minute stand up. Actually, it was a little less than 15 minutes. Want to know what changed? I ran the show.

Ok, it's not just my awesomeness, though I'm sure that helped. I ran through everyone's assignments and asked a simple question: "Any blockers or issues?" Most of the time people said no. I asked for progress in a few areas, a simple thing to answer with things like "I'm working on that now" or "I haven't started it yet." Short, simple phrases. Issues were briefly explained but if people tried to discuss solutions, I interjected with "let's take that offline."

15 minutes later I announced we'd finally done what none of those was possible. Needless to say, everyone was happy with the outcome. Everything that needed to be said was said. All of those needless discussions that only applied to a few people were tabled. People got the information they required without the other distractions.

What's the point of this story? Efficiency is needed in all aspects of writing. Whether it's tightening your story and stripping out that unnecessary filler bogging down your plot, or stripping out distractions so you can write when you have little time, efficiency is crucial. I can't tell you how many times I've read something (including my own writing) and thought to myself, "Self, why the hell couldn't they have gotten to the point faster?"

Be it cutting an hour long meeting to just 15 minutes or cutting an entire chapter of needless filler, try to take a look at being more efficient. It's easier said than done, believe me. But try not to discount the importance of being efficient :)

Wednesday Wisdom - Finding your style

I'm going to impart great wisdom upon all of my lovelies.

Ok, who am I kidding? That's just not my style lol. I will however ramble on as usual about random stuff. Today, I feel like rambling on about writing style.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Well, not so much a secret as a story. But, I digress. Breaking the Nexus began as a story for National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. If you haven't participated in that, I highly recommend it. It's a challenge and exhilarating and without it (and my sister's nagging), you wouldn't have Breaking the Nexus.

There was just one little problem with NaNoWriMo...I wrote the story hoping to win (which I did). You have all of these little tricks to help your word count along, such as not using contractions. In my defense, I'd often gotten yelled at by English teachers for using contractions (albeit in papers), so I thought I was doing it the correct way. There were a host of other issues with the story, but I was blissfully unaware of them. I mean, a friend of mine had told me it was wonderful. Wasn't that good enough?

Yeah, not so much. I had a few people read it and the general consensus was something along the lines of: Great premise! But ye gods, woman, your style needs help.

Granted, nobody said that exactly, but it was what they were thinking. I meekly flipped through the corrections, astounded by the bloody marks all over my masterpiece. I was crushed. I had been the one to massacre friends' papers in high school. It wasn't supposed to be my writing that sustained such mortal wounds!

I dragged my feet over to my husband and started crying and saying how I was going to have to rewrite the story. He asked if I was sure and I wailed that there was so many mistakes, there was no way to edit it. My dreams of being a writer were crushed. It had taken me forever to write this much! How was I going to rewrite it? Then he simplified it in the most magnificent way. He said very matter-of-factly: "Then I guess you'll have to rewrite it."

My tears stopped and I thought, He's a genius! I'll just rewrite it!

Yes, I know how illogical that logic was. You'd think I'd have listened to myself when I thought those same words, but in my defense, my hubby has a magical way of cutting through bullshit and making everything make sense.

I set about rewriting the story, going paragraph by paragraph, keeping the same general story line and fixing the style. I let it flow naturally instead of fighting the words like I had when I first wrote the book. Want to know what happened? I discovered it was infinitely easier to let it flow.

So, what was the point of my rambling story? Don't be afraid to get critiques on your style. You're not going to get it right the first time, I'm pretty sure nobody ever has. Take advice on things you do wrong and make changes you agree with. If you disagree on a point, go back and read your favorite authors and see what they do. I had multiple people tell me to stop jumping perspectives. I disagreed, but I went back through multiple authors to see what they did. On the one hand, several authors did jump perspective quite a bit and did it well, yet I found a few that lost me in the jumps. I also saw that more authors used section breaks for perspective jumps and it was much more coherent.

I incorporated this into my writing and *gasp* the world didn't end. Shocking, I know. Find your style and stay true to it. There will always be people who don't like your voice, accept that and move on. Focus on the ones who love your style because clearly, they're the smarter ones ;) But always realize that your style will change and grow the more you write. That's the truly exciting, magical thing about being an author and it excites me to see where my style will go next.

Cut off from the world

Good morning my lovelies! Today, the unthinkable happened. I forgot my cellphone. I carpool with a coworker and this is her week to drive. The way it works is that we meet at a parking lot and one of us drives to work. I ALWAYS have my phone, but not today. Nope, I brilliantly left it in my car in that parking lot.

Now, you'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I mean, people lived for millenia without constant contact with the outside world. There's just one little problem...I'm addicted to my cellphone. There, I've admitted it. I'm a tech addict.

It doesn't help that my company blocks a lot of access to websites and such, including my beloved Gmail. I got my first phone at 16 and before that, I was fine. Needed to go somewhere? I just had to be sure to have a quarter, know one of several tricks to get a free call, or call the 1-800 number my daddy set up for when we forgot money. If all else failed, we could call collect. Remember collect? Yeah, I barely do either.

Isn't it sad how forgetting your cellphone leaves you feeling cut off from the world? The first thing I did was text my husband from my friend's cell to tell him I left mine at home. Then I emailed him the same thing. Logically I know it's not the end of the world not to have my little Android at the ready. Hell, in some ways it'll probably be better because it removes a major distraction for me. That doesn't help those seconds of panic when I reach for my phone out of sheer habit and it's not there. Automatically, I wonder, "OMG did I lose it?! Oh, wait. It's safe in my car...wait...what if someone breaks in and steals my phone?!"

Yes, I'm weird. Don't judge me ;)

Anyway, what would you do if you had to be without your phone for an entire day? Would it be nothing to you or would you feel cut off from the world?

Musings from my Phone: Plot ideas

Let's face it, you've wondered at some point how authors come up with their plot ideas. Some dream about them, others take inspiration from things they've read, and still others can't really answer where their ideas come from because they magically appear in their imagination.

So, where do I get my plot ideas? Nobody's asked me that question for a while, but I'll answer it anyway.

I get them from all different sources. For one thing, I have a warped mind and constantly daydream. I hold conversations with characters when I get bored. I used to think I was insane because of those conversations, but I know the characters aren't real and I decided I'm just weird.

Breaking the Nexus drew inspiration from a few external sources as a way to reconcile my constant daydream that magic exists and mythical creatures are real. Nobody can tell me that I won't one day have magical powers. Daddy always said I could be anything I wanted to be, and I've decided I'm going to be a Sorceri.

I'm also inspired by mythology and other books I've read. My sister drilled into me an appreciation for classical mythology as well as my own fascination with all things Celtic (as if that weren't already obvious lol). Sometimes listening to epic music will inspire a plot point or battle scene. Other times, a funny phrase will spark my imagination.

The best inspiration can come from my amazing beta readers who know just how to ask me the questions that get my creative juices flowing. If I'm stuck at a certain area or I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, one of them is always there to help give me that not-so-gentle shove right where I need it. Plus, they have the patience of saints. Literally. You should ask them sometime how mean I am to give them a scene that leaves them begging for more only to then have to wait weeks for the writing fairy to return to me.

Every once in a while, a few simple words trigger an avalanche of ideas. When I came up with a certain book title, I had the best inspiration for where that book would end up that I started dancing around in my car. You should've seen the looks I got from the other cars around me. Then again, I usually get weird looks because I like doing my happy dance wherever I am :) I seriously cannot WAIT until you people read that book, but I don't want to give away anything so I'll endeavor to keep my mouth shut.

So there you have it, lovelies. Now you know how I get my plot ideas and I should probably go back to thinking up those delicious plot ideas so my betas finally get more content :D

Trials of an Indie Author: How to be an Author 101

First of all, I'd like to point out that I'm actually doing some regular posting, go me! I may have been updated by duckies or aliens or alien duckies. That's ok though :)

Today I wanted to talk about how to be an author. It's really quite simple. You sit down, bang on a keyboard for a while, and magically a book will appear. Then you do some more magic and it goes up for sale and people magically know how to find it and buy it and boom! You're famous.

Man, I wish it were that easy. It's not, of course, but don't burst my little bubble yet.

Anyway, you need a combination of insanity, determination, creativity, and some really good friends to be an author. Oh, and luck. Lots and lots and LOTS of luck. Think about it, how many times have you grabbed a best seller and flipped through it going, "Really? THIS is a bestseller when [Insert your favorite obscure author] writes so much better?!" Let's be honest, lovelies...we've all thought that. Everyone's entitled to think that, that's what makes people unique.

Granted, I hope at least some of you inserted my name in that little phrase ;)

But, I digress. Luck plays a massive role in being an author. You need luck to find the right people to work with, for your idea to take off, and for so many things. Vampires were around long before Twilight came about, yet few were as insanely popular. BDSM books were around long before 50 Shades of Grey, but again, few took off as well as that did. It's all about luck. That's the part that sucks because you can't control it.

Let's take luck out of the equation, then. You need to be insane to be an author. Imagine pouring everything you have into something then tossing it out for the world to judge and criticize. Insane, right? Insanity also comes in handy when you need twisted plots and ideas.

You also need determination. When I first wrote Breaking the Nexus, I was writing during NaNoWriMo 2011 and I was determined to win that year so I could shut up my older sister. No, seriously. We were doing it together and she bugged me constantly about my word count. I won, then I had to find the determination to finish the book. Before I'd written the whole thing, I let a few people read it.

Let's just say, it needed some love. The kind of love that can only come from burning it to the ground so you can start fresh. The painful love.

I could have thrown in the towel and I wanted to...ask my husband sometime about how I sobbed that I'd probably have to rewrite the whole thing. Know what he said? "Then you'll just have to rewrite it." It was that simple. I was determined to get my story out there so I salvaged the basic plot and rewrote it. Feel free to ask anyone who read both versions...they are VASTLY different.

It's not just the beginning of the journey that requires determination. Every book will test your determination. You hit a wall where you go "I will never finish this damn thing, I don't even want to look at it anymore." You have to figure out what's more important: giving in to the frustration you're feeling or giving up your dream.

The last thing you need are some really good friends. You need people who will listen to you when you're frustrated then tell you to get your butt back to writing. You need people who can ask you questions to get your brain in gear and the writing muse flowing. You need people to tell you how awesome you are when you feel like you can't do it anymore and people to tell you where you need work because they know you can do better.

I majorly simplified everything, but for me, this is what I've needed to be an author. It's not easy, it's frustrating, and I've cried more than once. I took a hiatus where I questioned if this is what I was meant to do. In the end, it comes back to that determination. I have stories I can't keep locked in my brain anymore. Plus, I've got some amazing friends I've never even met in person who wouldn't let me quit.

My Journey from Self-Published to Indie-Publisher

Yesterday marked my very first release with my new publishing company, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. A year ago, I never would have thought I'd sign on with a publisher of any kind. I was too scared to submit my work to anyone so the safest route seemed to be self-publishing.

As I embarked on the journey of self-publishing, I learned many things. First of all, I'm a control freak in many ways which reinforced my desire to stay self-published. I didn't want to lose control over things like setting the price of my book or having someone tell me I needed to change my fundamental story. I loved having the final say in many things.

I also learned how expensive it is to self-publish. While you get to keep more of the profits, you have to pay for everything up front. Stuff like cover art, formatting, and editing do not come cheap if you want it done well. Then there's the task of finding good people. How do you know that you'll find someone that does quality work and is easy to work with? It's harder than you'd think, though part of that is probably just my personality lol.

The details that fascinated me at first soon became overwhelming. I was stressing more and more over the process of publishing than the actual writing. Setting deadlines for myself wasn't working and I was losing sight of what I loved.

Enter the epiphany. One evening I messaged a friend on a whim and asked about her publisher. She raved and answered my questions honestly and to my amazement I learned she still maintained a high level of freedom over her books. No one I'd talked to ever got a say in price and half of the time, they didn't even get a say in the cover art. I decided to stop being a chicken and submit my story. Every day I checked for a response and wondered if I was making the right decision.

Then came the day I got that wonderful response: they wanted my books. I thought long and hard about what I was doing, knowing I wouldn't be able to shop those books around to main stream publishers. I knew I'd have to change some things, but I hoped my friend had been right. Finally, I knew I'd made my decision and signed a contract for the two books I'd already released plus two more books I had planned.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Not only is my publisher amazing to work with, so sweet and fun to talk to, she's flexible. She proposed some ideas for release dates, but left the decision up to me. She assigned me a brilliant cover artist who did a fantastic job and who let me pick the image I wanted to use. Even when I sent some stuff to her late because of some unexpected issues, she was easy-going and didn't flip out on me. When I asked if she'd credit my amazing editor on Amazon, she had no problem and asked for the editor's name so she could get it right.

Beyond all of that, I joined a wonderfully supportive literary family. When I say family, I mean it. Everyone welcomed me and readily offered advice when I needed it. Already I'm making new friends and I have new energy. My publisher put me into categories that had me ranking as an Amazon BestSeller straight out of the gate.

Instead of worrying over everything, particularly the cost of everything, I can focus on my writing again. I'm re-energized with a plan to expand Breaking the Nexus and now I have release dates for the rest of the books in the trilogy. I have a plan and for me, that was vital.

I'm not saying that going with an indie publisher is the way to go and my publisher could very well be the exception. But no matter what, I know it's the right decision for me. I may still self-publish other books and I plan to try to find an agent to go the traditional publishing route.

After overcoming a number of things recently, signing on with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly was the change I needed to find my way back to the part of being an author that's most important: loving what I'm writing.

Musings from my Phone, Part 3 - Chaos Demon

I'm the most accident prone person, ever. Seriously, I am. Put me in a room with nothing in it but soft, padded walls and I can guarantee you I'll find a way to fall over or some other way to injure myself. I don't mean to be, but I can be a bit impulsive and distracted. I'll be walking out of a room, lost in my own little world, when bam! Suddenly a door jamb has mysteriously appeared right where my shoulder is.

Being accident prone is annoying as hell. Besides the obvious downside of it hurting, you open yourself up to all sorts of teasing, well-meant of course :) Well, yesterday I hit a new low. I apparently can't even walk out of my house now.

Now, in my book Breaking the Nexus, I invented a chaos demon that liked to wreak havoc on unsuspecting people. I'm 99% sure my subconscious was drawing from personal experience. It's the only explanation. I'm not really a klutz, I'm just plagued by a chaos demon.

Anyway, back to the story. There I was minding my own business, leaving the house to go to my day job. I took one single, little step out of the front door and disaster struck. My left ankle turned under me. Not an uncommon occurance, really, so I wasn't worried. I not-so-smoothly tried to compensate and catch myself so I would have just stumbled a bit. Yeah, not so much.

My right ankle decided to join the party and twisted underneath me, twisting my whole damn leg in the process and down I went. To add insult to injury, I braced myself with my right arm and discovered hours later that my shoulder was unhappy with the impact.

I maintain, however, that it's not my fault. There had to have been a chaos demon lurking somewhere, right? I mean seriously, I can't be THAT accident prone that I can't even walk properly. So my dear lovelies, be sure to watch out for those tricky chaos demons. And walking. Walking is dangerous. Maybe I should just stay inside and write all day where it's safe. Unless, of course, I have to walk through a doorway. Those things come out of nowhere, you know. ;)

Craziness abounds and fun fact about me!

Hello my lovelies! I know it has been a while since I did a rambling post or one of my Trials of an Indie Author posts, but in my defense things have been insane lately. It's good news for you because it means I'm working on a novella and book 2 of Sha and Connor's trilogy, both of which are coming soon! On the bright side, I do plan on doing another Trials post very soon. In the meantime, how are you all?

Part of the reason I've been neglecting my random posts is that I have no idea what to say about myself. When it comes time to fill out interviews and such, I'm always at a loss for words. I'm going to try something new though. At least once a week I'm going to try to tell you a random fact about myself so you can get to know the mysterious Lindsay Avalon a bit better :) Hopefully you enjoy the little tidbits!

So, are you ready for today's random fact? It's a fun one!

You all have probably figured out that I have a special obsession with rubber duckies. Well, did you know that I adore dolphins almost as much as I love my duckies? My husband and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon and I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a dolphin experience. We got to be "dolphin trainers" and we went behind the scenes of the dolphin areas in Disney World. It was so amazing. Technically we weren't supposed to swim with the dolphins, but I slipped on algae on the bottom of the tank and ended up dunking myself so I'm going to count that as swimming ;)

We got to meet Calvin, an amazingly intelligent dolphin who outsmarts all of his trainers. Calvin loves cheating at his tricks. When he's supposed to race around the tank, he lazily swims for part of the way then cuts across the tank so he's the winner. When they tried to do a matching game with Calvin, he'd peek at the reflection of the cards as they were being set up so he'd always win. They tried putting special suction cup goggles on him so he couldn't cheat but he just figured out how to pop them off lol. I loved every second of getting to work with Calvin and the other dolphins and it's an experience I'll never forget!

Duckies are still my all-time favorite animal but I must admit that dolphins come in at a very very VERY close second. Also at the top of my list are penguins because they're just awesome too :)

Mwah lovelies! Hope you enjoyed today's fun fact about me!

The Trials of an Indie Author - Part 2: Reviews

My dear lovelies, it's time for the next exciting installment of The Trials of an Indie Author! Today we will be talking about reviews. So, what's so special about reviews? Well, when you're an indie author, reviews are crucial for helping people decide to read your book. If you see a book in a traditional bookstore, you can flip through it and see what you think. Online? You have to rely on reviews, the description of the book, and a small sample of the book.

There's another little known fact. On the US Amazon site (no idea about the other countries because Amazon's not exactly consistent), they've gotten rid of the tagging feature which helped indie authors gain visibility. Essentially, when you would view a book and saw a list of suggested books, tags were helping determine which books were displayed. They also helped in searching (I think, I could be wrong because I'm new). Amazon now wants users to rely on the "Like" functionality and reviews to promote books. I can't go into details about HOW this works beyond saying they have a magical formula that nobody knows.

Now you know reviews are important for the book, but that's not the point of my post. Reviews are ESSENTIAL for the author. Why? They should help you become a better author. I'm not talking about the 5 star reviews (or 5 blue ducky reviews in my case), though those are fantabulous because you get warm fuzzies when you see them. I'm talking about the negative reviews. You know, the ones everyone (including myself) dreads to see.

Let me start by saying, I've learned that all 5 star reviews can actually be detrimental. Having a mix of star ratings gives your book more credibility that it hasn't been reviewed by a ton of your friends. A well worded 3 star review can in many ways be more beneficial than a 5 star review written by an obvious super fan. That being said, nobody really looks forward to the poor reviews.

The first time I got a 3 star review about my book I wanted to cry. Seriously. Then I sucked it up and read the review. Parts of it were kind of funny in that I 100% could NOT see where they were coming from, but parts were very valid. One of the big complaints about Breaking the Nexus is the length. I know it's short, I designed it that way. As many of you know, I had problems with severe pain and stiffness in my hands and I wanted to ensure I could release Breaking the Nexus so I could give my hands a rest before continuing. Honestly lovelies, it has taken about 2 months to get back to fighting form. But I digress. I love the pacing of my book and as much as it has frustrated my readers, I love the cliff hanger ending. It may not have been what I had in mind when I set out writing this book back in November of 2011, but it's the only way I could see ending it. Trust me when I say, Waking the Phoenix will have an even more epic ending :)

Another 3 star review made me scratch my head because there was a ton of praise and the only criticism was length. I tend to click on low reviews to see what people didn't like, so this one works in my benefit. Since that was the lowest star rating on Amazon, I thought I dodged a bullet. I thought I'd escaped the horrible 1 star review.

Then I looked at Goodreads. BAM! There was a 1 star review. I didn't even let myself get upset, I started to read the review. The person wrote about how they loved the story but hated the cliffhanger. I could have pouted, cried, and screamed at the unfairness of a 1 star review. I didn't. Want to know what I did?

I contacted the reviewer. Not to demand an explanation or to ask her to change her mind. No, I contacted her to honestly thank her for her opinion and to ask her to be a beta reader for my Waking the Phoenix. I bet you're thinking I'm insane right? Here's the deal. I legitimately want her input because she enjoyed the rest of the book and I want it to be the best it can be. She may be more critical than some of my other betas who adore everything about my book.

Guess what happened when I contacted her? She said my book was exceptional. She just wanted areas fleshed out. I know it moved quickly and I wondered if I needed more detail in other places. So not only did I brave the risk of rejection by contacting this person, I got a wonderful compliment and have gained a beta who could prove to be quite helpful in my future books.

My point is, bad reviews suck. I didn't like seeing 1 star but everyone is entitled to their opinion. If everyone tells you you're amazing and awesome, you'll always wonder if it's true or if they're just fans. Criticism is VITAL to help you improve, no matter how painful it may be to hear. 

I'm not saying everyone should take the approach I did and contact the reviewer. In fact, I don't suggest it. The only reason I did was she specifically mentioned she really enjoyed the story and characters and I was asking for her help. Most times, it's best to read the review, analyze the criticism, and decide if it warrants further consideration or if it could just be a case of that person didn't like your book. No matter what, don't take it personally; look at it as an opportunity to improve your craft. If you're still upset, just go read your positive reviews to cheer yourself up ;)

New Year's Resolutions

Overall, I think New Years resolutions are silly. What is it about the first day of a new year that will make you suddenly change your bad habits? In theory, it's a good concept but few people follow through with them. It cracks me up how as soon as January rolls around, diet plans, gym memberships, exercise gimmicks, and more all run rampant on the TV.

Now, I freely admit that I waited until the New Year to sign up for the gym because I was hoping to get in on some good deals. My husband and I are a little overweight, but mostly we want to get healthy. Neither of us are fans of tons of fruits and veggies so we both need to do what we can to keep our bodies in relatively decent health. He's actually doing a better job than I am right now at exercising, but I had a small victory this morning.

I actually woke my lazy ass up 90 minutes before I usually do so I could meet my friend at the gym!!

Granted, I only worked out for 15 minutes because I was late, but I'm focusing on the fact that I actually took that first step. It didn't kill me to wake up early, the world didn't end because I was out and about, and best of all? I actually felt relatively awake by the time we went into work. I'm going to attempt (keyword being attempt) to go some mornings by myself so I can swim, but my friend and I have a plan to meet a couple of times a week in the mornings so maybe I'll be able to stick with it!

I refuse to call it a resolution though. That'll jinx the whole process.

I've set goals for 2013 for myself. Those are different right? I plan to have my trilogy featuring Connor and Sha done this year, as well as at least one or two novellas. I plan on breaking the top 10k in rankings on Amazon. And I plan to try to relax and enjoy life. You see, I'm one of those people who obsesses over everything. I'm a control freak in all aspects of everything because if I wasn't in control, I'd be wondering what was happening at all times and whether it was being done correctly. That worked just fine before I was an author. Now? Not so much.

I'm proud of myself. I've let go of the reigns to a few wonderful lovelies who will manage aspects that overwhelm me, like social networking. I'm not going to run my next blog tour and will instead let someone else handle all the details. I've realized if my writing is going to take off, I need to write. Imagine that. So my biggest goal for 2013 is to continue delegating some of the work so I can bring the stories in my head to all of you wonderful lovelies. My other goal is to blog more on here. You lovelies who interact with me on Facebook know me pretty well, but as awesome as Facebook can be, I can't babble like this in a status message. I'm pretty sure Facebook would hate me if I did. I love babbling though so this will get interesting.

So, those are my goals, not resolutions. Don't want to jinx it :) Now let's see if I can make this happen!

A totally random post for once!

Hello my lovelies! A few months ago I had brain block when it came to blogs. I wanted to help my fellow author lovelies and to network, thus began the awesome idea of author interviews! I have loved meeting all of my new friends and my TBR pile is now about a mile long. The original intention of the author interviews was to also give me time to think of my own posts.

Well, about that...umm...yeah. About those ideas I was going to magically come up with. Let's see, in mid-November I unveiled the gorgeous cover for Breaking the Nexus (a huge thank you again to the fantabulous Miranda Stork for designing it!!) and then all of December I was consumed by a massive blog tour that I set up and ran myself. As many of you know, January has been spent battling illness, though I'm very happy to report I think I may have finally kicked illness' ass.

Long story short? I never did come up with tons of brilliant blog topics :( Have no fear though, I'm going to just approach things as I do everything else...with insanity and chaos and lots of fun :)

Let's face it, if I try to have defined topics and organization, it's going to fall apart. I'm not organized whatsoever. Plus, if I were to suddenly have everything thought out and planned, I'm pretty sure a number of you would wonder if I'd been abducted by aliens. Last time I checked, I hadn't been abducted. Pretty sure. Maybe.

What's the point of this post? Well my lovelies, I'm announcing my intention to bring more of myself to my blog instead of being totally focused on others. There will still be plenty of author interviews, some reviews coming up, that blog series called The Trials of an Indie Author, guest posts by other author lovelies, some reader interviews (no I haven't forgotten about the request for those), and of course my blog hops that I love so much.

That's right, you'll start getting some more random posts from me! They could be random, incoherent babbling or telling you about some big changes coming up in my life (believe me, there are TONS coming up). And of course, I will be bringing you snippets and such from my current work in progress, Waking the Phoenix!

So sit back and enjoy the show! If you have any ideas for topics you want me to talk about, questions about myself you'd like answered, random comments, ideas on how I can go even more insane, just give me a shout out in the comments or on Facebook. Hope you all enjoy the changes coming!

The Trials of an Indie Author: Part 1 - Promoting yourself

Hello my lovelies! As you can tell by the title of this post, I'm beginning a multi-part series by request of you wonderful people to do my best to answer some questions about the world of being an indie author. I'm by no means an expert but I'm more than happy to share the knowledge I've been accumulating and to answer any questions you may have. If you have any requests for certain topics, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments below!

Now, the first topic I'd like to address is the issue of promoting yourself. You see, it's not enough to write a fantastic book and publish it; unfortunately, your work is just beginning. Your book could be the greatest book ever written, but if you don't promote yourself, few people are likely to find it. So, how do you promote yourself? That's a hard question to answer to be perfectly honest. I'm still feeling my way around in this aspect, but I've started off pretty well.

One last thing before we get started. I self-publish but even if you sign on with an indie publisher, you'll probably have to do some promoting on your own. These all still apply :)

Step 1: Be realistic in your expectations

The first and most important piece of advice I can give you is to be realistic in your expectations with regards to your sales. Even authors signed on with one of the Big 6 authors take several books before they truly start achieving success. I know you want to release your book and instantly have it be a sensation and make tons of money, but the reality is it's extremely unlikely to happen. The best thing to do is have a great idea that brings people back for more. Keep writing and hopefully every book will be a bit more successful than the first. 

Don't be discouraged if you don't sell many books right off the bat. You should be writing because you love to write and have a story to tell. If you're in this for the money, you really need to sit down and think about whether this is what you truly want to do.

Step 2: Throw yourself to the social networking wolves

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: I'm a very shy person in real life. I'm introverted and would much prefer sitting at home curled up with a good book rather than going out to parties and being social. I never ever thought I'd enjoy the world of social networking as much as I have, but it has been a wonderful experience. I've met so many wonderful people that have helped me tremendously and interacting online takes a lot of the scariness of meeting new people. Nobody can see you directly so it makes it much easier to relax and be yourself.

Facebook and Twitter are two extremely valuable tools to keep  you in touch with your readers and connect yourself to other authors. Make as many author friends as you can so you can learn as much as you can. I thought Breaking the Nexus was the best thing ever written, until I had some authors read it and pointed out areas that really needed work. No matter how amazing your book is, there's always room for improvement.

I recommend establishing yourself well in advance of your book's release so you have the best release day possible. If you've already released your books, that's awesome and you can still establish yourself. The most important thing to remember is don't start by bombarding people with your book. You wouldn't want to meet someone and immediately have them trying to sell you something, so don't make online friends and immediately start with "OMG I have this book and you totally need to go buy it because it's awesome." There are times when the first contact I receive from someone on Facebook or Twitter is a link to buy their book and I'll be honest, it annoys me.

I'm not saying, don't tell everyone about your awesome book, but really try to make friends. Talk about the everyday things and share snippets to increase interest. The more people enjoy conversing with you, the better your chances are of persuading them to want to read your work.

Step 3: Have a blog and/or website

Blogs are great for several reasons. I started doing author interviews on my blogs and it introduced me to tons of fellow authors of all different genres. I've made some great friends this way and best of all, it has been a huge help in networking. Just because I write paranormal/fantasy romance doesn't mean I should focus on authors of those genres. People have diverse tastes and opinions and you can learn so much from so many people.

A blog is also great for enticing your readers. Post snippets, character interviews, character sketches, etc to keep your interest alive. The more anticipation you can build, the better. It helps readers find out more about you because I know if I read an author I like, the first thing I do is look for a blog or website.

One other benefit to blogging is participating in Blog Hops. These are when a bunch of bloggers sign up for a themed hop and people jump around to the different blogs. Typically you have a giveaway to entice people to visit your blog and it helps you get greater visibility. Carrie Ann Ryan holds fantastic blog hops with some pretty awesome grand prizes that have been amazing for bringing traffic to my blog. I highly recommend looking into participating in one of her hops by clicking here.

Not into blogging? Then at the very least have a website to make it easier for your fans to find out about you. If I look up an author and can't find a website or blog, I'm far more likely to forget about them because I don't want to go hunting down the information or their other books.

Step 4: Hold giveaways and promotional events

Everybody loves free stuff. It doesn't matter if it's a bookmark, an ebook, a gift card, or a rubber ducky. Giveaways are a great way to bring people to your events or blogs for the chance to win a prize. If you can't afford a bunch of prizes (and believe me, it does add up quickly), have a big prize and hold games and such for entries to win that bigger prize. I met many of my lovelies through my cover reveal and blog tour giveaways. They came for the prizes but stayed because they had a blast. You don't need to spend a fortune, just get creative. You can also ask fellow authors for donations of swag or ebooks because it gives them a great chance for cross promotion.

Step 5: Be willing to give away copies of your book for review

I can't tell you how many copies of Breaking the Nexus I've given away but it's a ton. I'm striving for 50 reviews on Amazon and have given away a good portion of that as review copies. I've also emailed about 20-30 review blogs asking for review (though I've only heard back from a handful of them). No, you don't make any money on those review copies out right, but it introduces people to your work and the reviews will bring others. There are also a number of amazing people who will buy the book after they've read it because they loved it so much and want to support you.

Breaking the Nexus is the first in a trilogy so my goal has been to get as many people addicted to my trilogy as possible so that they'll be more likely to buy book 2, Waking the Phoenix, when it comes out. I'm not making much money on all those review copies now but if it translates to future sales, it's more than worth it.

One last point on reviews. I'm told Amazon.com will work harder to promote your books once you get to 50 reviews. I've also watched as my ranking jumps after a review goes live, even if I didn't sell a book. Reviews are critical so don't be stingy with those copies!

Step 6: Be patient and willing to experiment

I said at the start of this post that I'm no expert. I'm still working out the exact methods that work for me and my book and there's still a ton that you'll need to do. Promoting your book will require lots of time, effort and research on your part, but it's essential for you to be successful as a writer. You won't become famous overnight so be patient. It's hard, I know, but the pay off is worth it.

Ok my lovelies, I hope this has helped a bit. Please let me know what other topics you'd like me to discuss! My next post will be on the merits of getting an editor!

Happy Thanksgiving! What I'm thankful for...

It's that time of year, a time to give thanks. There are so many things I'm thankful for in my life. I have an amazing husband, a good job, a wonderful little house to rent. This year has been full of ups and downs, more trials and tribulations that I ever thought I'd face. Here are some of the highlights...

My mini Schnauzer was diagnosed with two serious medical conditions, megaesophagus caused by Myasthenia Gravis and aspiration pneumonia, a life threatening illness that claims more dogs with megaesophagus than I care to think about. In the early days of her pneumonia, I went home over lunch to check on her and was in a minor car accident. For two months, my life revolved around a schedule of waking up at 4:30AM to give her the first dose of medicine, holding her upright for 5-10 minutes, going to bed for an hour, waking up to give her the next medicine, waiting 30 minutes, feeding her in her car seat (a chore that took anywhere from 20-45 minutes), then getting ready for work. Every morning. A similar routine was in the evenings, but at least then my husband could help. I battled the constant fear she would aspirate again.

I'm thankful that she has beaten the odds. She's free of her medications, her Myasthenia is in remission, she can eat like a normal dog most of the time (just a modified diet), and she's thriving.

My best friend was stationed in Afghanistan and even though I knew she would be on base the whole time, there's the constant fear that something would happen to her over there. She may not have been on the front lines, but there's always danger.

I'm thankful that in June, I got to welcome her back to the States and in less than a year, I'll be standing for her in her wedding.

My brother had a baby, lost his job, was kicked out by his wife, and hit rock bottom. He had to come home to our parents and rebuild his life under enormous strain, any of which a person would have a hard time coping with, much less all at once. I tried to help as much as I could financially and emotionally, but they live hours away.

I'm thankful that now my brother is divorced and regaining his self-esteem, he has a new job, new apartment, and he sounds happier than I've heard him in years.

My husband neared the end of medical school, one of the most stressful times for a student as they study for their boards and begin the process of applying to medical residencies. The boards are the most important test of a med student's life and literally determine your fate for the rest of your life. Screwing them up or not matching into a residency means you just wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of paper you can't use.

I'm thankful that the end is in site, he passed his boards and has 13 interviews for residency positions, meaning the odds are in his favor for matching somewhere.

Last but not least, I began pursuing my dream of becoming a writer. I started this terrifying, exhilarating journey not really having a clue what the hell I was doing, but feeling compelled to give it a shot.

I'm thankful that I've met so many new friends who are so amazing. I published my first novella with some of the best friends I could ever ask for, and in a few weeks I will release my first solo book into the wild. The people I've met have changed my life and words cannot begin to describe how glad I am to have met you all.

So lovelies, what are you all thankful for?

Week 17: The Next Big Thing

I was tagged by the fabulous Catherine Wolffe (www.shootercreek.wordpress.com) to do the Next Big Thing blog hop so let's get this party started! :)

What is the working title of your book?
My book is called Breaking the Nexus.


Where did the idea come from for the book?
I've always loved mythology and legends, and a part of me has always wanted to believe in magic. I got to thinking, what if the world we lived in coexisted with another world where all those myths and legends were reality? From there Breaking the Nexus just kind of happened. This also incorporates a murder mystery because romantic suspense happens to be one of my favorite genres.


What genre does your book fall under?
It is somewhat of a cross genre book, but the easiest way to describe it is paranormal romance.


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Honestly I am horrible at knowing actors so I really don't know how to answer this. When I started writing Breaking the Nexus, I didn't really have particular people in mind.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Myths and legends are reality and only a thin magical barrier separates the Mythrian Realm from the Human Realm; however, now that barrier is beginning to fall and when the realms will collide, will you be ready?


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I will be self-publishing.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first 50k words were written during November 2011 as a part of NaNoWriMo. Since then, I've been working to finish the rest in between the rest of my hectic life.


What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
To be honest, I'm not sure I've read any books quite like Breaking the Nexus. I've read some that deal with portions of my books like having mythological creatures or incorporating a barrier separating worlds, but nothing I would really compare mine to. 


Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My sister inspired me to participate in NaNoWriMo, which got me started writing this book. Other than that, only my imagination.


What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
As I mentioned before, my book is a blend of genres. There's the love story between my main characters, Sha and Connor, the paranormal aspect of having different mythological and legendary creatures, a mystery aspect because Connor is a human homicide detective investigating a serial killer, and suspense aspects as the Nexus breaks down. There really is something for many diverse interests.


I want to thank Catherine for tagging me to do this! I'm so happy to be able to talk about Breaking the Nexus and I hope this has shed a little more light on my debut paranormal romance! Be sure to check out the following awesome writers next week as they talk about their current WIP!

Kathy Ree: http://krmorrison777.posterous.com/
Angela Boudreau: www.angelarosebooks.wordpress.com

Insanity with a $5 GIVEAWAY!!

Don't ask me why but I feel the need to just post a random rambling post :)

These past few weeks have been insane to say the least. I've been working my butt off to finish my novella for the Once Upon A Twisted Time anthology (due out Halloween!!), my husband has been applying for medical residencies, I've been setting up a blog tour for Breaking the Nexus in December, and I've been working with a number of people who want to do interviews with me. Oh and still have that pesky day job and all the general things that go along with being a wife and mother to a special needs dog.

Now I promise that's not whining it's just that randomly it hits me that holy crap I'm taking on a lot of stuff. I have never ever been accused of being an organized person. Seriously, just ask my family. Somehow instead of wanting to find the nearest hole to crawl inside and hide, I'm loving being this busy and I'm doing my best to be all organized. That part is still a work in progress LOL. I have a nifty Android app that manages ToDo lists of all the things I'm supposed to be doing which has helped, but damn it's not easy!

So what's the point of babbling about all of that? To ask for a little help. First off, if I don't get back to you with your interview questions or haven't followed up with you, shoot me a message. I promise I don't bite...much ;) I also would love it if any of you have tips for staying organized when it comes to keeping track of events, managing social networking stuff, stuff like that. I'm learning as I go but for a chronic procrastinator and candidate for most flighty person ever, I could use all the help I can get :)

I'd also love suggestions on what you'd like to see on my blog. Do you like seeing all of these interviews or do you want more from me too? I haven't posted too much story stuff because my novella has a twist I don't want to give away in the snippets and I haven't gotten to write much in Breaking the Nexus lately. As soon as I start back on that, trust me I'll be including much more :) As I work my way through my TBR pile, I'll also be posting more reviews!


Your mission: Please leave a comment sharing any tips you have about organization or sharing something you'd like to see here. I'm really curious what you have to say so I'm even going to bribe, er reward, you for your input :) I'll randomly choose one commenter to receive a $5 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. Contest will run until midnight EST Sunday 10/14.

Finally, I cannot thank you all for your support enough. I wouldn't be where I am now without you guys and I couldn't ask to be a part of a more amazing community.

Oh and if you've noticed I'm doing a bunch of giveaways all of a sudden, it's because recently my life has been truly blessed. When things got rough, something as simple as winning a little gift card or an ebook was enough to make my day and I want to share that with others. As long as I can afford to and as long as there's still interest, I'll keep doing these little giveaways :)

MWAH!

Progress Update!

Just thought I'd give an update on things. My original tentative plan was to publish Breaking the Nexus this fall. That's why I said tentative :) Plans have a way of changing, especially when life gets in the way. I work full time as a computer programmer and my husband is a medical student so things get insane. That has slowed down work a little bit.

Additionally, Breaking the Nexus is the first book I've ever written. I have since gotten some spectacular feedback from a few betas and in the process have decided to do some significant revisions to ensure I release the best possible story. This book is my baby and I want to share it with the world so much. It just has to be as close to perfect as possible!

Now all that being said, my book will be published this year. I'm determined nothing stops this from happening. I have a couple of dates in mind but won't reveal them, just like I never revealed my original target date :) To make up for the delay, I'm diving head first into an anthology of twisted fairy tales with the lovely Miranda Stork, Trish Marie Dawson, and Tara S. Wood. This is set to be released on Halloween. Trust me when I tell you my contribution to this will be amazing. I'll even post a snippet for you all soon!

So have no fear, you WILL get to read my work. Stay tuned for excerpts and more announcements about both pieces! Also be sure to follow my blog. With the exception of this weekend (family obligations cropped up), I'm going to try to participate in Six Sentence Sunday as many weekends as I can.

Thank you to all of my new friends and followers. Your support means the world!