What does a romance novel do for you?

This post is for all of you, me included, that lose yourself in a romance novel often or as often as you can. Have you ever wondered why it’s one of the largest genres? Well here is my take on this.

A romance novel can take the reader to another place. Maybe it’s another country, some exotic destination or just to another time in history. You may be saying, well so can science fiction, non fiction or any of the other genres out there. For some reason a romance novel just inspires you to want more.

Maybe the reader just needs to lose themselves in someone else’s world for a while. It’s a way to escape and what better way than to lose yourself in a romance novel. Most romance novels end with a happy ending and you’re pretty sure to have a better outlook when you finish.

Most romance novels just leave you wanting to read another one. Maybe you like the sexy characters that are described in the stories that unfold. Maybe it’s the feelings that a good romance brings about in you.

For me a good romance inspires me. I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a young teenager. There’s something about following someone else’s relationship and not having to worry whether you’ve said the right thing or done the right thing. You just leave it up to the character.

If it’s a good descriptive romance, you may even feel like you’re part of the story. Sometimes I’m reading and I get so immersed in the story that I forget everything around me. That’s what I try to achieve in the romance that I write. I want my readers to get lost in the story. I want it to make them feel better about themselves or at least feel better than they did when they started.

As I always say, this is just my thoughts on the subject. What are yours?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday! Waiting on Weekend of writing…

If you haven’t glanced at your calendar, yep it’s Friday. The last day of the work week for most of us. Of course if you’re a writer, it never ends. Which is good because if it’s your passion, then you look forward to the stolen moments when you sit down with your laptop or pen and paper and you just spill your heart out.

As I’m working on the finishing touches of one of my manuscripts I do hope to have the time tomorrow to get it ready for my editor. Of course that means a couple of hours of constant attention paid to it. As the weather is supposed to be pleasant I might just grab a lawn chair and sit under a tree and let the birds inspire me 🙂

I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to schedule your time or it won’t work. When you have a busy life already and you try to fit in writing time, it has to be planned. Of course you know as well as I do, sometimes the inspiration to write over loads your brain and you have to rearrange that schedule. Yep, like in the middle of the night when you have it in your schedule to sleep. That character just keeps nudging you in the shoulder shouting “GET UP!”.

Hoping all have a great weekend and good luck with your writing time. Don’t forget to make time for your family and Church on Sunday. Inspirational time is very important…

As always, good writing and My God Bless You…

Reviews

Reviews can be fickle things. Some people pay big bucks to get reviews added to their books. Well there’s nothing wrong with that if they’re honest reviews. I’ve seen books that have several raving reviews but their sales ranking in terrible. Makes you think, was it worth the money?

I’ve searched out sites where you just send out your book to a reviewer and that’s all it costs is the book. Do you have some sites that you use? Right now I’m not in the position to really pay for reviews, but it would be nice if some of the people that have read my books would give a review.

I’ve been receiving several reviews on the Barnes & Noble site and Kobo, but not many on Amazon. Some advice on how to get more on Amazon would be great. I’ve gone in and changed my categories on Amazon to those that don’t have thousands of books already listed.

Are reviews that important? I think they are important to most readers. If you don’t have reviews on a book, then most people just scan right over it. I’ve noticed that some people now just give you a star rating and no comment. Sometimes that can be a good thing, but as for me, I love to hear what you liked or didn’t like. Just always be nice.

One of my books on Barnes & Noble has received several reviews. What’s funny is someone posted a nasty review and it was followed almost immediately by three really sweet reviews. Of course this reviewer has popped up on several of my books and it’s always the same. Unfortunately for that reviewer their review is not real credible as the review did not follow the book. It’s sad that some people get their kicks from downgrading us authors. Oh, well if you can live with yourself that’s up to you 🙂

Hope all is well with you and your writing. If you have comments on reviews and such, send a response. I love to hear from everyone.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Building a Platform…

For those of you that aren’t authors I’m not talking about a stage. I mentioned to my husband one day that I was trying to build my author platform and he started laughing. He asked me where I was going to put it and what was I going to say when I got up on it. I then explained to him that a author platform is the advertising, blogging, etc. you do to get your book out there. He still thought it was funny. MEN!

When I first started publishing I wasn’t very computer savvy. Of course I knew about accounting programs and such but not the intricacies of publishing, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and all that goes with it. Since then I’ve developed blogs on several sites and now I Tweet everyday. It’s funny how your life changes when you become a published author.

Here are the top ten places I’ve used to build my platform:

1: WordPress: I set up a blog and made it my very own author website. It’s so easy to do once you get into it and take the time to set it up.

2: Twitter: My Twitter account has garnered lots of interest in my writing and it’s attached to my blog so they go hand in hand.

3: LinkedIn: This site allows you to follow many people from various walks of life. My blog is attached to my LinkedIn account, so everything I blog it goes straight to this page.

4: Goodreads: For an author this is a very important aspect of building your platform. Here is where you meet established authors and Indie authors all on the same page. It’s also a good place to gather reviews.

5: Independent Author Network: This site is awesome and it’s so reasonable to set up. I have my own author page and you can put all of your sites on it. Also, other authors will tweet your page for you and they’ll tweet your tweets. It’s really helped my fan base and I really like how it works.

6: Smashwords: This is a place that I have my books for sale. They also put them through to Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, Kobo, Diesel and several others. You also get an author page and you can be an affiliate.

7: KindleBoards: This one takes a little more time and reading, but it can get some interest in your books.

8: AllRomanceEbooks.com: This is a great place to sell and advertise your books. It’s all about every genre of romance. It’s easy to set up and put your books on it.

9: CreateSpace: This is where I currently have my books for print. I also have a blog on this site.

10: Amazon: I have all my books on this site. You can set up a author page and link it to your blog and Twitter Account. On Amazon you can be in several countries.

Well, these are just a few of my spots that help me. I have many more, but I didn’t want to bore you too much 🙂

As always, Good writing and May God Bless You…

Advertising…

Authors have to wear many hats. We have to be creative, innovative, and an expert in advertising. Well, not an expert, but at least willing to learn. I’ve learned so much in the last year about advertising. There are so many angles to advertising.

Do you pay for advertising or just go the free route? I’ve investigated many options and found that free still works well. Although sometimes we do have to go with some that charge a fee to broaden the scope.

The free routes can include Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, Goodreads, Shelfari, Library Thing, Press Releases, Word of Mouth, and that’s to name a few. These have worked well for me. It’s funny that when I tweet from one of my book sites I get several hits on my books. It’s like hitting refresh.

Some of the not so free advertising I’ve done. Book Barista is really reasonable. I’ve expanded my WordPress to a website. The Independent Author Network is an awesome tool for any author or reader for that fact. This last one has a huge author network that works together to help get your name out.

The main thing is to follow as many blogs about writing as you can. You can learn so much from your fellow authors. My wordpress blog has really broadened my knowledge. I am so thankful for all my blog friends. Keep the great posts coming.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Decisions…Decisions?

We have decisions to make as writers. What’s funny is if you’re a writer then you made a big decision, you decided to be a writer. You may say, ‘I haven’t published anything’, but if you write down what’s in your mind, then you’re a writer.

Here are a couple of decisions to make as a writer:

1: Most importantly – Decide to actually begin writing. Whether it be an unpublished journal or a novel that could be the next big one. If you enjoy it, then go for it.

2: You have to decide if you’re going to make your writing public or just keep it in a drawer for your enjoyment only. I’m really glad I decided to get mine out of a drawer and blow off the dust.

3: After you’ve written your masterpiece (well that’s how we all feel after we’ve finished a manuscript. It may be only us that labels it this, but oh well.) do you try to submit to a traditional publisher and wait and wait and wait and wait some more or do you tackle self publishing it and taking a chance on your own.

4: If you decide on traditional publishing, who do you go with. Well, decide what genre your manuscript best fits, then check into publishers that specialize in your genre. Traditional publishers come in all sizes and needs. I’ve been approached by a couple and I was surprised at the diversity of each one. One guy was so funny that I laughed actually at him, he said ‘we want your book on our team’ then he proceeded to tell me how much money he wanted for the honor of them wanting my book, which was a couple of thousand and that included putting it on the same social media sites I already have them on. NOT! Then you have the publishers that only take a portion of your royalties. Here’s where it gets tricky, do you want to give up 50% or more of your royalties?

5: Do you want to self publish? This is easier than you might think. The self publishing sites available is phenomenal and a statement of how popular this type of publishing is. With this type of publishing you have to be careful when reading the disclaimers, but most of the popular sites are just general and do not your first born up front 🙂

6: Marketing, Marketing, Marketing… As a self publisher you have to do this if you want to be seen. This is where you meet so many wonderful people from all over the world. I’ve enjoyed this part of the whole process so much.

7: Finally, don’t forget the decisions about the book itself. You have the cover, the description, the trailer video pictures, the music for the trailer, etc. It goes on and on and on.

As I always say, this is just the wandering musings of a writer, but hopefully it gives you some food for thought. Each decision you make needs to be met with lots of prayer and contemplation.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Getting to the heart of a writer…

I’ve been asked several times lately why I love to write. Well, that’s an interesting question. I write for a lot of reasons. I enjoy it for one. It’s very satisfying to put my thoughts and whims on paper and then have people buy them. I love to sit down with an idea and watch it take shape under my fingertips.

You know it’s the writer’s bug you have when the simplest thing inspires you to write. Watching a sunset can inspire you, but when you have the writer’s bug even a lady bug crawling on leaf can send you into a writing frenzy. Maybe that’s a little over the top but it’s not far off the mark. As a writer everything inspires me.

Sometimes I get an idea in the middle of the night and I have to get up and write it down. It will take over your thoughts until you get it down on paper. The heart of a writer is often open and raw. The only way to heal it is to write.

I know that if you have a true writer’s heart, then it’s a gift from God and you need to just open a notebook or turn on your computer and start writing. You only live once and if you’re meant to be a writer you need to at least give it a try. I’ve enjoyed every moment of being a writer. I’m so glad that my assistant gave me a nudge to publish the dusty manuscripts in my files.

As always good writing and May God bless you…

Amazing! Have you tried this?

As writers we try everything to get our work noticed. We go on sites and follow other established writers to see how they do it. We put our name everywhere. I’ve put my name in some of the most unlikely places. Some have worked and others have just plain out flopped around like a dead fish.

Well I’ve found a couple of avenues for my work and I wanted to share them with you. Some of you may already be using these channels and if so I hope it’s going well, if not I hope this gives you some new advantages.

1. The Independent Authors Network

I’ve been playing with the choice of paying for a space on this network. I researched it and noticed that some of the authors I love are on there and it’s relatively reasonable. It’s a $24.95 one time fee for a basic membership and $74.95 a year for a Gold membership. I chose the basic. It’s like a author family of sorts. The network sends out your info periodically on their social media and other authors or readers send out your links and you do the same for them. I’ve noticed a real change in my sales since joining. My author page, yes I got an author page shows six of my books and some of the links that are clickable for purchasing my work.

2. Romance Writers of America

I wanted to join this earlier than I did, but the entry fee kept me held back. I’m really glad I decided to join this wonderful organization. I get a magazine monthly and newsletters periodically. They both provide some great advice and instruments I can use in making my author platform more sturdy.

3. allromanceebooks.com

This is one of the sites where you can sell your books. It doesn’t cost anything to set up a publisher/author account and have your books sold on their site through Paypal. You can put as many books as you want to on their site. It’s fairly easy to put your books on their site and they take several formats. Actually they recommend publishing them in several formats. I set this up and was able to put five of my books on there yesterday and already have had sales. You get 60% royalty. I figure that’s pretty good especially since it’s another avenue for my books to be seen and it’s FREE.

Maybe this will be helpful for you or just old news, but it helped me. My objective is to let others know when I find a great way to get my work seen. These are not my only avenues, but are my newest. If you use other sites, please list them and send to me. It could warrant a whole new blog post of what others use to market their work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

When a program rules you…

For those that don’t know what I do to make a living, I’m an Accountant. Now you know one of the reasons I write, it’s to get away for a few minutes or hours. Well today’s post is a rant and rage so get ready, here it goes.

Since tax season is in full swing my desk has piled up with tax returns to be completed. Since I had to help with a IRS audit a couple of weeks ago, I’ve started out behind. Well, now the tax program I’ve used for the last ten or more years has major issues. It’s slow loading every return. It’s a complete nightmare.

This weekend was going to be a catch up and clean off desk weekend. I even put up my writing for the whole weekend. The program has progressively gotten worse and slower. It’s so frustrating watching the spinning wheel. You may be saying, well have you tried upgrading your ram on your computer. Yep, I even had more ram put in my laptop which is not over a year old to begin with. My computer tech told me this program is utilizing over 60% of my computers resources. He said a program shouldn’t do that especially with the laptop I have.

Well, needless to say I’m even further behind by the day. The sad thing is I have been working on three different manuscripts and my mind is filled with chapters on top of chapters of writing that is just pushing and shoving trying to get to the forefront. They were not happy when I refused to even pull them up this weekend. I did however keep a watch on sales as barnes & noble updated all weekend.

So as for my writing, don’t forget to check out my giveaway on Goodreads for “Rekindled Flame” and for a couple of days all my books are free on Smashwords during the March Ereader Campaign.

My weekend was not a bust as I had a big Children’s Ministry Meeting yesterday and was able to bring on more volunteers which helps me out. I no longer have to teach twice on Sunday mornings. The kids were good yesterday and it’s a good thing because I was unfortunately on a short tether. All this has happened on the heels of finding out one of my friends has gotten into some major legal trouble. This has troubled my mind all weekend.

So, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. I’m still smiling and optimistic. You know me, can’t keep me down for long.

Social Media and writing books

One year ago I was in the editing process of the first book I published. At that time I was just a normal (Well as normal as I can be) accountant. I didn’t have a Twitter account, refused to go on Facebook and didn’t think much about social media. Funny huh!

Now I’ve got social media accounts running out my ears. But that’s one thing I learned was that you have to go social media crazy when you publish a book. That is if you want to succeed.

My first venture into the social world was this blog. It has been so much fun. I at first wondered what I would write about on a daily basis. Then I laughed at myself because I guess you would say I’ve got a writers brain. If I could write a 400 page novel surely I could handle a blog post. So far so good. I don’t guess I’ve put anyone to sleep yet, or at least I hope not anyway. 🙂

Then the social media world spiraled. My editor set up a Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook for each book, then one for me, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Pinterest, Reddit, and the list goes on. It takes me a good part of two cups of coffee in the mornings to get through all of them. I actually look forward to the new additions to my pages from all of my new friends that I’ve gained from all over the world through these sites. It’s never a dull moment. I love reading all of the posts from other bloggers. I’ve learned a lot.

So, as a writer you’ve got to embrace social media and just go for it. I’ve been conducting an experiment with my smashwords book stats and Twitter. When I Tweet my books from the Smashwords website the views skyrocket. It’s funny how that simple click of the key just makes people curious.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…