The Big Time

Happy birthday to my middle son! Pooh is eighteen today. Each week, his health improves. We visited him yesterday and he smiled so much. A year ago, we couldn't get him to eat anything solid. During our visit though, he chowed down on fresh fruit plus cupcakes. Pooh loves cupcakes.

This week was wild publishing-wise. I had everything planned perfectly until Amazon decided I might not own the copyright for Rebound Biker.

I really should have prepared for this issue since Miranda pointed out such problems can arise from box sets. I admit I was freaking out a bit on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Fortunately, Laramie Briscoe followed up my messages to Amazon with one of her own since she was the account holder for the box set. Once she sent her message, Amazon quickly published Rebound Biker and I was able to get everything in order for my free promo.

With Rebound Biker's short length (just under 20,000 words) and so many of my regular readers already owning a copy from the box set, I figured I'd use free days to reach new readers. Also for those core readers who missed the box set and subscribe to my mailing list, I sent them a copy. Hopefully, the new readers who grab a free copy will like RB enough to try out a few of my other books. 

Broken Memphis has sold well even at a 3.99 price point. I'm always nervous about going that high since romance buyers tend to be voracious readers. Budget becomes a concern for them and I don't want to price myself out of top of the to-read pile. One reason Broken has solid numbers was through the help of a blogger who is a member of a lot of romance groups. I kept seeing her posts coming up (I get FB notices when my name is tagged) and I got to thinking she'd be perfect to help me.

I always lag with marketing. While I'm getting the hang of using promos, I still only utilize a few sites (BookBub, Romance Reads, and Bknights). I need help getting the word out. So I asked Nicole if she would like to be my Virtual Assistant. I'm super thrilled she agreed. Now I'll have help with organizing ARCs and other marketing avenues. I suspect one reason most of my books only rank as high as the 800's is from a lack of marketing. I have my core group of readers. If I want to reach 500 and below on Amazon, I need to expand my core group. Now I have Nicole to help me get organized.

In totally random news, an author I was chatting with on FB mentioned how she was lunching with an editor from Harlequin and they talked about MY writing. This is a best selling author and an editor who regularly works with top notch YA romance authors saying how they love my books and my unique voice. Talk about a boost for the ego.

I have met so many positive people on FB. The reality is when I was interviewing authors and pimping them on my blog I just didn't have enough reach to make a difference. On FB though, I know of readers of mine who've tried the books of authors I've pimped. They're now fans of those authors. Contrary to what many authors (usually unsuccessful ones) believe, there is a great amount of harmony and cooperation in the indie author world.

It's been a year since I put aside my blogs (besides this one and Bijou's). At first, I really missed blogging, but I lacked the time to keep up with the work involved. Now I love using FB and BookLikes to share info about sales and new releases. The interviews were a lot of work too and often I'd never hear from the authors again. Some of them seem to have even quit writing. So while blogging was fun, I prefer the kind of interactions I have now with authors and readers.

May will be a busy month. I need to finish writing In the Wind and begin editing. I'm also preparing for the Alabama signing on June 6. I ordered a new banner designed by Kari Ayasha. Meanwhile, Miranda is working on the bookmark designs. She's completed the Damaged bookmark and is trying to work with the picture I want for the Memphis series. I'm also ordering other swag for the signing.

In two weeks, I'll head to Louisville, Kentucky for another author lunch. This time, I'll travel alone. Even Moms with awesome kids need private time. I haven't been on my own for more than a few hours in a very long time, so this will be a new adventure for me. During the weekend visit, I'm meeting one of my beta readers for lunch too.

May is also Roo's last month of school. He's thrilled summer is nearly here. I'm pretty damn excited too. I like homeschooling, but everyone enjoys a bit of a break. He'll finish school the week before we travel to Alabama. Tigger will remain home with Sally for this trip. Let's hope those two don't throw any wild parties while we're gone. :P

Well I should return to writing Sawyer and Jace if I want to make my planned release date. June is just around the corner after all.

Enjoy a few new songs by my fave singer Dwight Yoakam!