Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Need a quickie? Ravishing Rosaline is free...

Ravishing Rosaline is free this week at Amazon! Yay!

So much happened before Romeo met Juliet... 

Ravishing Rosaline...Romeo's first love or so the story of Romeo and Juliet tells us. But who was she really? In this sizzling erotic tale, we are invited in to Rosaline's world--a place where women are expected to be chaste and submissive. But Rosaline isn't like that. Her pleasures know no bounds, her need for revenge against a former lover consumes her. She will do whatever it takes to get her desires met--even if it means taking Romeo away from Juliet. 

Once again, Esmae Browder delivers a modern day prequel to one of Shakespeare's most timeless romances.


CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY

Sunday, June 21, 2015

How To Market the Heck Out of Your First Book--Without Expiring!

This is actually a repeat post. I decided to re-post it because I've been seeing a lot of chatter from writers about how hard it is to be in the business of writing. I agree that it is more difficult than it was even ten years ago. Publishing has changed so much and so have the demands of the marketing department. We simply can't sit back and expect that some other person is going to do the work for us! Check out this article for some great tips on marketing your book!---Mary Ann

How to Market the Heck Out of Your First Book--Without Expiring
By
Kathryn Jones

                Burned out?

                Many of us are, especially when it comes to marketing our first book, and I'm not counting the craziness of wondering where to start in the first place.
                But since I've suggested it, let's start there.
                Here's a long but sweet list of places/ways to market:
                1. Reviews
                2. Interviews
                3. Blogs
                4. Social Media
                5. Postcards
                6. Speaking Engagements
                7. Online Advertising
                8. Book Trailers
                9. Book Signings
                10. Contests
                Burned out yet? Just reading the list may do that to you. But I want you to notice something. Almost all of these ideas are online ways of marketing. And that's good. Why is that good?
                FREE. Don't you love the word FREE?
                Consider all of the money you'll be saving by plugging in an idea or two and running with it. Now, pay attention. I did not say you have to do all of these ideas at the same time, or that you had to do all of the ideas above, just that this was a list I was creating for you to look at.
                So why the list, you ask?
                Sure beats trying to figure out where to start. Now with that said, I want you to look over the list again. Pay special attention to the top two ideas.
                will get the word out about your book without too much work on your end. A search for reviewers need no longer difficult either. Consider all of the bloggers who read and who would love a free copy of your book so that they might review it. Sold. Think about all of the reviewers who will review a PDF copy of your book over a paperback copy. Even better. And think about this link:
Reviews
                http://www.Stepbystepselfpublishing.net/reviewer-list.html.
                Interviews include blog interviews and blog radio interviews. Both of these come free to you and take very little of your time once you have them lined up.
                Blog interviews: Blog owner sends you a writer's questionnaire. Just fill it out and return it along with your author photo and book cover. The blog owner will do the rest.
                Try: http://www.4writersandreaders.com
                Blog radio interviews: Same as above, only you are recorded via blog radio. The host may send you a list of questions beforehand, or he/she may just schedule a day. The radio interview will be live or recorded.
                Try: http://www.wnbetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShow.html
                Once you have a handle on Reviews and Interviews, go down the list. See what additional two you'd like to add to your marketing plan. For example, consider the ease with which you can talk to others about your books if you also have a postcard in hand to give them when they ask about it.
                Postcards are wonderful things. Consider how often you are at the grocery story, the bank, the doctor's office, just standing around waiting for someone or something. I get my postcards through Vista Print online. On one side of the card is printed my book cover. On the back? Information about me and about my book including my website, my email, my book's synopsis and my social media links.

                If the first two prospects, getting reviews of your book and obtaining interviews, scares you about as much as hanging off of the Eiffel Tower, start here. Get 500 cards made up and talk your book up.
                But don't make that your only task. I sometimes get burned out when I forget to balance my marketing with my writing. That means I don't market more than I write, and I don't write more than I market. Even then, I sometimes get burned out, but that's because I've forgotten that life is more than writing and marketing.
                And so I take a break.
                It's amazing what I can do with a fresh mind.


Kathryn Jones is a writer, publisher, and marketer. She loves to weed the garden, take early morning walks, and speak to fans about her books. She is currently, with the help of her genius husband, renovating her newly purchased home. She is a reader of the works of C.S. Lewis, whether it be fiction or nonfiction and is open to connecting with writers and readers alike.


 http://www.ariverofstones.com.
·         http://www.ideacreationspress.com
·         http://www.twitter.com/kakido
·         http://www.facebook.com/kathrynelizabethjones.author


               
               

                

Friday, June 19, 2015

Kindle Scout and Erotic Fiction: Not a Perfect Marriage

Like many authors, I'm intrigued by the idea of the new KindleScout program. I've been watching it closely, paying attention to what other writers are saying about it on the RWA threads, and had come to the conclusion that it might be worth a try.

So I read the fine print, followed the instructions, came up with a cover, (see example) and uploaded my manuscript...only to have it rejected for the content. The eligibility guidelines indicate that they do not take manuscripts with excessive profanity, racial slurs, or sexual content that may be considered graphic or too offensive to others.

Hmm....okay, I went back to the drawing board and cut out all dirty sex words referring to male or female body parts beginning with the letter C. I figured that might help the content machine.

Nope. Still rejected. Same reason.

So I went back again and edited all the curse words which started with F, Sh, or started with an A and ended with the word hole. Actually, there were quite a few of those words. Excessive. Alright. I could see that.

Nope. Still rejected. Kept on trying.

Finally, after several more tries, Amazon sends me a letter saying that I've submitted a bunch of times, blah, blah, blah,...I email them back, trying to find out exactly what the problem is. Tell me what needs fixin', people! You do take erotic material, right? It's listed as a subgenre on your KindleScout site.

Received an email back saying they can't give me any exact information. And yes, they do take erotic fiction. Have a nice day.

At this point, I'm kind of done. Something in my work is too racy, but since they can't provide any real clue as to what it is, it seems sort of pointless to keep trying. I can only assume it has something to do with the sex scenes. However, since the story is an erotic fiction, it's not like I can cut them out!

So here's my word of advice: Be careful about submitting a story with sex in it to KindleScout. Apparently, they are really afraid of offending their readers! Like, really afraid....

Visit me at Esmae Browder Website

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Bayou Scar free on Amazon June 18-22

I love to be able to offer free things to readers! So when it comes to Bayou Scar, I'm doing it! For the next five days, the second book in the Bayou Myth series will be available for your Kindle for free. I've had several fans ask me when the third book is coming out. Well...let's just say the hope is that it will be available for you as a Christmas present!

By the way, I love reviews--good or bad. Even the bad ones can help you grow as writer! So if you choose to take advantage of this free offer, would you be so kind as to leave me a review? Don't feel comfortable doing that? Feel free to drop me a note at my email address: maryannloesch374@gmail.com. Be sure and drop by my website to see what else has been going on in my world!

AMAZON BAYOU SCAR FREE

Being a teenage voodoo queen is never easy, especially when your heart is broken, a bossy arch nemesis lives in your house, and your psychic freakiness is suddenly the coolest thing in your high school.  Though she’s tried to clean up the tainted artifacts left over from the Fates Potion, Joan Renault’s mind has been on other things—namely the voodoo priestess trapped on the astral plain who is plotting revenge against her.

But the moment Joan Renault holds the Apple of Discord in her hand, its power ripples through her life like a poison. The least of Joan's worries should be some silly apple her nominee for the Winter Court Ball will have to carry but this is more than some symbol of high school pageantry. It’s poisonous. Toxic. And it just might kill the people Joan loves.

When the voodoo god, Baron Samedi, approaches her with a tempting offer that could put right all the things that have gone wrong, Joan must decide what’s more important: fixing the past or moving into an uncertain future filled with voodoo and witchcraft.


This is Book 2 in the Bayou Myth series. Haven’t read Book 1? Get your copy of Bayou Myth today!