How I Got My Book Into an Actual Bookstore!

I cheated. Plain and simple.

Okay, maybe I just cheated a little bit. It’s not like I had a friend distract the shopkeeper (Do people still say ‘shopkeeper’?) while I shoved a stack of Blood in the Past paperbacks on a shelf between Gillian Flynn and Dean Koontz.

You see, I belong to a couple of local writing organizations and one of them recently gave me a job. Of sorts. You’re now reading the blog of the South Jersey Writers Group new Account Manager! Please hold your applause. As such, I’m in charge of stocking the local bookstores and cafes with the group’s anthologies and any other books published under their press company, Hypothetical Press. Last Saturday, the president of the group, Amy Hollinger, invited me to join her to have coffee and meet a couple of the vendors, in the hopes it would make the transition easier (meeting the vendors, not drinking coffee).

The first contact I met was the owner of The Book Asylum in Blackwood, NJ. Amy gave her spiel and the owner readily purchased five copies of the current anthology, Tall Tales & Short Stories, as well as five copies of a member’s book, What to Expect When You’re Dead.

I must admit, I was a little nervous to even bring up the fact that I had a few copies of Blood in the Past in my purse. After all, I’m not published under Hypothetical Press, I’m published under my own company, Blood Read Press. Plus, the shopkeeper (Yes, I’m sticking with this antiquated term for now.) had already shelled out quite a bit of money to pay for the other titles. But it turned out that the woman was very nice and we ended up staying to chat and we even tried to get a little writing done, which really only led to more chatting. Then a regular customer joined us and we were all having a merry ole time when the newcomer asked me what I was writing. I immediately pulled out a copy of Blood in the Past for her the flip through and, wouldn’t you know it, the shopkeeper (Stop judging me, it’s my new favorite term.) immediately asked if I wanted her to stock my book as well!

Over the moon, I handed her the other two copies in my purse and quickly decided the affiliate price would be $5/copy so she could sell them for $7 and make a little profit. Yay!

I know. It’s only two books. That’s all I had on me at the time, besides the one the customer was looking at that I’d hoped she’d buy, but didn’t. But it gets better. While discussing that I was working on the next installment in the series, she offered to host a new release signing in her store! Yippie! (Keep checking the Events page for details!)

I plan to drop off more copies in a month or so when I stop in to iron out the details of the signing, but it looks like it might be as simple as finding a friendly shopkeeper and talking up your work! I’m sure it also helped that I’d showered and dressed somewhat nicely, too.

If you plan on doing this with your own work, might I suggest the following:

• Create a spreadsheet listing all the businesses you intend to visit. Include the name of the point of contact (AKA shopkeepers), phone number, address, email, and a running tally of how many books you last stocked them with, as well as whether or not they paid you in advance or on consignment.
• If someone pays you for your books up front, write them up a receipt on the spot (I believe you can find receipt pads at any office supplies store) or email them one later THAT SAME DAY. Don’t dilly-dally because you don’t want them to forget about the transaction, delete the email because they have no idea what it pertains to, and then have no record of your arrangement.
• Keep a folder where you store your copies of the receipts. You might need them to prove your arrangement to another worker in the store and you might even need them at tax time.
• I didn’t have these at the time (It was snowing and there was only so much I could tuck safely into my purse), but I recommend creating a flyer about yourself and your work and having it on hand so the store can create more of a display and shoppers know they are supporting a local author. You might even want to invest in some upright plastic sign holders in case your books are going to be displayed on a shelf.
• Be friendly! If you’re gonna walk in there like the grumpy starving artist we all know we can be sometimes, you’re probably not going to get anywhere. Just saying.

Now, before you guys head over to The Book Asylum in Blackwood, NJ and fight over those two copies of Blood in the Past, does anyone have any questions?

Jerks & Irks LIV: The Perils of Piracy & How to Prevail

You never think it will happen to you…

I was riding the high of Blood in the Past‘s most recent free day. It had done well during free days past (900+ and 800+ downloads, respectively), but this time I had submitted to several promotional websites, hoping to be picked up without paying for a guaranteed spot. To my surprise, I was featured on both Free Booksy and eReader Perks! I had over 1800 downloads that day and Blood in the Past made it to #133 in the Kindle Free Store and #2 in the Kindle Free Crime Thrillers. That was a Sunday (also my birthday, if you’ll recall). The next day, I was enjoying my bump in sales (the only reason to do these free days in the first place), when I opened my email to a Google Alert that ruined my day. Like I said, you never think it will happen to you.

You see, I set up Google Alerts for my name and the title of my book to stay abreast of cheerier situations, such as unsolicited reviews, Twitter chatter about me and my events, etc. I never expected to click on the link and see Blood in the Past available for download for FREE on some shady-ass website. But there it was. And I wanted to cry. One of the 1800 people who had downloaded it the day before–SOME JERK–had uploaded to mobilsm.org, a tech website that offers free apps, programs, ebooks, etc.

After I stopped shaking and I got a hold of myself, I remembered all the advice I’d ever read about book piracy, mostly everyone says not to sweat being on a piracy site. It means you made it, consider it extra exposure, etc. Well, with all due respect to those talking heads, screw that noise. I worked hard on Blood in the Past, it only costs a couple of bucks, and for heaven’s sake, I run a free promotion once a damn month! I decided then I wasn’t going to just bend over my desk and take this piracy crap quietly (excuse the visual). So I did what everyone does when they’re lost for answers: I Googled it. And I got an answer. And I acted on it. And less than one week later I received an email that my book had been removed. Hurrah!

I bet you’re wondering how I managed that. Here’s how:

• My Google search led me to this link. God bless anything that begins with the prefix Wiki.
• Before I consulted the steps on the WikiHow page however, I made sure the site where my book was pirated had a copyright policy, which it did. You want to make sure that you comply with the offending site’s procedures, if they have their own. For example, mobilism.org had a specific clause that had to be included within your complaint for it to even be considered.
• Next, I went back to the WikiHow page and basically followed the steps. There is actually a nifty little script for you to adhere to that makes it easier for you. FYI, when I sent my email to mobilism.org, I added an extra paragraph that went a little more in-depth in terms of proving my identity. In addition, I attached a couple of documents. You can choose whatever works best for you, but I went with the New Jersey Certificate of Trade for my publishing company, Blood Read Press, and the Copyright Page taken straight from Blood in the Past. I chose those two documents because the mailing address is the same, which tied my legal name to my pen name. Ta da!
• Now, I’d like to say that I pressed send on my polite, yet firm, email and bing-bang-boom, Blood in the Past was rescued for mobilism.org’s  slimy grasp, but that’s not how it happened. Their website claims copyright infringement complaints will be addressed within 48 hours of being received. Lord knows when my little email would be received so, after 56 hours had passed, I returned to the website. Closer inspection revealed that if you became a member and directly messaged the head of the thread where the infringement took place (i.e. apps, ebooks, software, etc.), the response time would be shorter. So, after much reticence and downright nausea, I joined the site (promptly showering after) and messaged the screen name “Phex”. Sure enough, within 48 hours, Blood in the Past was free. Well, not free. For sale, on Amazon. If it were free, that would mean it was still on the piracy site…oh never mind…you know what I mean.

I must confess: this is my first brush with piracy and this only one website. I can’t promise that these steps will work in every situation with every website. But it can’t hurt to have somewhere to start, right? My advice? Start with setting up Google Alerts for your name and book title(s). If it wasn’t for that email, I would never have had the day after my birthday ruined and I would have never sprung into action, thus saving my book from being held hostage by pirates.

Does Your Significant Other Read Your Stuff?

That’s right, folks! I’m back from my mini-vacay and already it’s back to business as usual! Fresh in my inbox this morning was this interview with me by the lovely Elena Dillon. She is one of my peeps on Triberr and I contacted her for a review of Blood in the Past a while back. She happily obliged, and enjoyed my novella so much, she offered to interview me! Well, isn’t that sweet!

Here is her review:

“The author keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat. No slowing down for this story. I was interested in the character motivation. I found them complex and thought provoking. I immediately wanted to know what made them tick. I don’t want to give too much away but I’m looking forward to the next installment of the story so I can find out what happens next!”

And here is an excerpt from our interview:

Does your significant other read your stuff? He absolutely does! Which is amazing to me because he hates reading. I know, an author married to someone who hates to read. But yes, it’s true. He usually reads my WIP’s as I’m writing them, chapter by chapter. And he’s very astute and tells me when I miss something, which is often helpful. Although I released Blood in the Past, a prequel, first, I wrote it second. Therefore, Hubby-pants was able to read Blood in the Paint, the first full-length follow-up, first, then Blood in the Past. It was great to see his reaction at having read them in reverse, his appreciation of the way I had tied certain things together and left other things hidden. My favorite moment though, had to be when he read the cliffhanger ending to Blood in the Paint. He just stuttered for about five minutes. “Wait, but, I mean, what? Shouldn’t? Wouldn’t? Who? Wait! WHAT?” Hahahaha! Priceless. What do you do to unwind and relax? Writers unwind and relax? I can’t seem to get characters and plot twists out of my head. I must be doing something wrong…

Okay, so maybe I was able to relax a little bit the last few days while Hubby-pants and I were away for our anniversary mini-vacay. That’s not the point, but more on that tomorrow, with pictures and observations. Anyway, if you’d like to read more of my interview with Elena Dillon, please visit her blog.

Also, as of this writing, Blood in the Past is currently #5310 in all of the Kindle Paid store, #6 in Serial Killers, #63 in Psychological Fiction, and #86 in Psychological Thrillers. That’s not really related to anything, I just felt like bragging thanking all of you awesome, loyal fans. And if you haven’t read it yet, maybe you should. 🙂

Interview At Creative Difference!

The incomparable Sandra Hessels, all the way on the other side of the world in the Netherlands, where her website is kind of in Dutch, has interviewed me on her blog! Don’t worry, the interview is English. Here’s a snippet:

How do you find your readers (as a self-pubbed writer) and reach the largest possible audience? Right now the three biggest mysteries of the world are: 1. What is the meaning of life? 2. Is there life outside of Earth? 3. Where are the readers? Haha. It feels like we, as authors, are all still kind of marketing to ourselves. We ‘like’ each other on Facebook, we follow each other on Twitter, we read each other’s blogs, et cetera. So, I have no idea. I hold out hope that other authors are like me and read a book a week? But I don’t pretend to know where the readers are. My research has suggested that the most effective marketing tools are Pixel of Ink, BookBub, and eReader News Today. Basically, they are services that have already found the readers, but they hog them for themselves, and authors have to (sometimes) pay them to tell the readers about their books. Figures. Do you have to do a lot of self-marketing or do you have help? I don’t really have help. A couple of internet pals pitch in here and there and share stuff for me when they can, which I appreciate with the warmth of a thousand kittens, but I don’t have a street team or an assistant or anything. I post to my blog and my Facebook author page most regularly, but I also post to Google+ and LinkedIn, and of course, Twitter. I’m a member of various reader sites, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, and so on. And I’m always scouring the internet for websites that showcase authors and their books. According to your Twitter bio, you love killing off characters. Is it that easy? It’s very easy. George RR Martin and I should go for drinks (Game of Throne fans, the books or the TV series, know what I’m talking about). He and I would toast our frosty mugs and laugh over making our readers become attached to certain characters, even root for them, and then we break their hearts, thus giving our readers PTSD. It would be a grand old time.

If you would like to read more of my interview with Sandra, which I would totally recommend, then please click this link to her blog over at Creative Difference. You know you want to learn a little more about me, because, well, I’m fascinating.

Also, don’t forget, there’s still time to enter to win a signed copy of Blood in the Past over at Tonya Kerrigan’s blog, so you should also head over there, follow her blog, and leave a comment telling her that she’s awesome, you’re awesome, and I’m awesome, and together we’d all make an awesome-ass club sandwich of some sort. (Okay, maybe that’s creepy, but I don’t know she’s picking the winner and maybe creepy will give you an edge.)

AND, speaking of paperbacks, Blood in the Past is now available in paperback! For real this time! On Amazon! Linked with the ebook! So you can see all 32 reviews! Yay!

Jerks & Irks LI (50): The Birth of a Domain Name

I’m very excited this week! The proof copy of Blood in the Past arrived at my doorstep last week. I scanned it, made a few changes, and it looks like my little novella will be available in print starting Wednesday, September, 18th. Right on time!

With this moderately monumental accomplishment in the works (yes, I’m aware that ‘moderately monumental’ is an oxymoron, but I think it’s fun), I decided to attempt to finally build a Blood Read Press website. I went with weebly.com. They seem to be the host site everyone goes to when they want an easy, free website and they don’t want their business to be associated with Danica Patrick taking her clothes off (ie GoDaddy.com).

So, I sign up. Easy enough. First things first, three options: pay $40/year to register bloodreadpress.com, use bloodreadpress.weebly.com for free, or – if I’ve already registered bloodreadpress.com – I can use that domain name and they will attach it for me. Of course, I don’t want to pay $40/year if I don’t have to. I Googled how to register a domain name and a site called register.com came up. $5/year! Well, my stars and Milky Way bars, that’s a deal! I purchased my domain name. But at check out, I find that they added some kind of security thingy to hide my personal information from spammers for $11. I couldn’t care less, so I removed that item from my cart and went about my purchase, and subsequently, my life.

The next day, I received an email from register.com informing me that since I didn’t sign up for their personal information security add-on, said personal information isn’t guarded against identity theft. Hold up. How did we go from SPAM to IDENTITY THEFT? Red flag, much? Scare tactic to get my money, maybe? I definitely think so. Especially since the email went on to say that my information – my name, email address, mailing address, and phone number – were now available on some WHOIS database. But that statement had an asterisk next to it…with the asterisk leading to a disclaimer that my info might not affect the WHOIS database at all. Absolutely shady. What a bunch of jerks.

Since my domain name has already been purchased for the year, there’s nothing I can do but stay with this shady little company and count down the days. I think I have 363 to go…

You get what you pay for, huh? But hey, Blood in the Past is in print this week! Eek! Giveaways and reduced ebook prices are on the way, too, so be on the lookout!

Technically Still a Spring Release!!!!

Last year, I promised a Spring 2013 release for the prelude novella of my upoming Blood for Blood Series. Blood in the Past was supposed to be released in March, but I wanted it to be the best it could be and that took a little more time and money. BUT, since Summer doesn’t technically begin until June 21st, I didn’t lie to anybody.

It’s been a long road since I first started writing. I started a story, wrote nine chapters of a first draft, then put it aside. A personal tragedy prompted me to finish that story, but as I continued writing, I found I wanted to tell how the characters came to be in the mental states they were in. Why is Jillian so attached to her past? What makes her so needy and love-starved? Why is Lyla so vengeful toward married men, yet still inwardly longs for a happy, married life? Why is Brighthouse so eager to please his colleagues and prove himself? These backstories needed their own spotlight. And not via a lengthy prologue or numerous, tedious info dumps. So, by golly, I gave my characters the spotlight they deserved.

And today, June 19th, 2013, I have goosebumps as I type the following: Blood in the Past is officially availaible as an ebook on Amazon!

To answer a few frequently asked questions:

1. It will only be available via Amazon, as I opted to enroll in their KDP Select Program.
2. It will only be available in digital form. Have to have a print copy? No worries. When the first full-length novel in the series (Blood in the Paint) drops this winter, there will be a limited edition that includes Blood in the Past as bonus material. 😉
3. Yes, my eye is still twitching.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Read and review, people! Read. And. Review. 🙂

Technically Still a Spring Release!!!!

Last year, I promised a Spring 2013 release for the prelude novella of my upoming Blood for Blood Series. Blood in the Past was supposed to be released in March, but I wanted it to be the best it could be and that took a little more time and money. BUT, since Summer doesn’t technically begin until June 21st, I didn’t lie to anybody.

It’s been a long road since I first started writing. I started a story, wrote nine chapters of a first draft, then put it aside. A personal tragedy prompted me to finish that story, but as I continued writing, I found I wanted to tell how the characters came to be in the mental states they were in. Why is Jillian so attached to her past? What makes her so needy and love-starved? Why is Lyla so vengeful toward married men, yet still inwardly longs for a happy, married life? Why is Brighthouse so eager to please his colleagues and prove himself? These backstories needed their own spotlight. And not via a lengthy prologue or numerous, tedious info dumps. So, by golly, I gave my characters the spotlight they deserved.

And today, June 19th, 2013, I have goosebumps as I type the following: Blood in the Past is officially availaible as an ebook on Amazon!

Click to Purchase

To answer a few frequently asked questions:

1. It will only be available via Amazon, as I opted to enroll in their KDP Select Program.
2. It will only be available in digital form. Have to have a print copy? No worries. When the first full-length novel in the series (Blood in the Paint) drops this winter, there will be a limited edition that includes Blood in the Past as bonus material. 😉
3. Yes, my eye is still twitching.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Read and review, people! Read. And. Review. 🙂

Jerks & Irks XLII: The Unglamorous Side of Writing

I’m sure you all know by now that the prelude novella to my Blood for Blood Series, Blood in the Past, will be released Wednesday. What you don’t know is why my eye has been twitching for the last nine days. It’s because of the unglamorous side of writing. It’s nothing short of awesome-rockets to create characters, write a plot around them, and see it through to “The End.” But the end is slow going. When I received my final polished copy from Cassie at Red Adept, I thought it would be smooth sailing until release day. It was not.

• Following the editing process, Blood in the Past was sent to a proofreader. After I received my manuscript back from the proofreader, I didn’t entirely trust their work (equal parts perfectionism, paranoia, and the proofreader herself had made a few errors), so I had to read my story three more times. The reading and re-reading and re-re-reading of your own work is tiresome. That in itself is eye-twitch-worthy.
• With the novella fully polished, I thought it was a good time to type up the front- and back-matter. Table of Contents. Dedication. Acknowledgments. About the Author. Contact the Author. Copyright. Agh! I bet your eyes are twitching just reading that list. Then I had to read everything over. Again and again. Typos? Spacing? Thanked everyone? Copyright page scary enough? Tres un-glam.
• Once satisfied with my edited and proofread copy, I copy-and-pasted all the components of the front- and back-matter, then I hired Karen Perkins at LionheART to format the it for Kindle. When she was done–you guessed it–I had to read it through a couple more times, this time from my Kindle. I only found a couple of errors and they might have been my doing. But Karen was very patient with me and we corresponded via email for hours until I was happy.
• Whoops, I forgot a step. See how scatter-brained I am? Before I sent Blood in the Past to LionheART, I purchased a gaggle of ISBN numbers from Bowker. I know what you’re gonna say: Amazon provides the ISBN for you. And you’re right…if you want the publisher to be listed as Amazon. I registered my own publishing company, remember? (Blood Read Press) Therefore I needed my own ISBNs. Purchasing them was pretty easy. Assigning one to my novella was a pain in the pin-cushion.There are so many QUESTIONS! Agh! A few of which I didn’t even know the answers to. Thankfully, not all the questions required an answer to continue. But seriously, that took me about two hours.

I still have yet to formally apply for a copyright, but I guess that’s for a different post. Tonight, I’ll attempt to upload Blood in the Past to Amazon. Why so early? To ensure I don’t screw it up and have to delay my release date. Duh. Wish me luck guys. I’m gonna need it.

But in all honesty, it is pretty damn cool to look at your own book on your Kindle. 😉

 

 

Why Authors Should Watch TV

I’m often asked where I get my inspiration from. When I thought about my answer seriously, I realized that television plays a large part in my ideas, my characters, and my scene settings.

I follow a lot of authors on Facebook and Twitter and I try to keep up with various forums on Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing. What I’ve recently learned is that an overwhelming number of authors shun television. I don’t know if they consider their literary prowess to be above the act of watching TV or if they view the activity in itself to be severely lowbrow. Or maybe they just spend all their time writing. Regardless, I think shunning television is a grave mistake.

Learn more about why authors should watch TV at my Guest Post on Suzanne Van Rooyen’s blog! And be sure to leave a comment either there or here!

(Please note that at the time of this writing, there are two due dates for Blood in the Past listed in the article. ONLY the first one, June 19th, is CORRECT. Winter 2013 is the expected release for my next book. Again, June 19th is the correct release date for Blood in the Past. Thank you.)

It’s HERE! Blood in the Past COVER REVEAL!

Squeeee!

I have waited a long time for this. A lot of days, weeks, and months have gone by while I whipped my novella into tip-top shape. And now it’s finally close enough to being released that I can reveal the beautiful cover Kit Foster of www.kitfosterdesign.com has created for me.

I know you can’t wait any longer, so here it is:

BLURB: Jllian Atford falls for an older man, a handsome Philadelphia cop, whose mystery is that he’s married, a reality Jillian refuses to accept. Lyla Kyle finds her mother dead on the floor from an apparent suicide. She blames her philandering father and wastes no time taking her revenge. Detective Jason Brighthouse Sr. is in the wrong place at the right time to attempt to save a colleague from his burning home. When neither of them make it out alive, his teenage son can only harp on their last argument. He shoots himself in the head…with his father’s gun.

Three lives. Three deaths. One story.

To understand the future, you must visit the past.

The Blood in the Past.

Coming this June from Blood Read Press.