Books, Butterflies and Hope's

"The writing in this novel was superb. It was sophisticated, and witty, and engaging, and incredibly eloquent."

"I have no words to describe how phenomenal this book was written. Every little tiny detail had a purpose, and it all comes together in such a way that, at the end, your mind is completely blown."

Hope's Rebellion is featured at Book Butterfly reviews! Check out the full review to find out why the reader didn't want to read this story at all...and why they're happy they decided to do it, anyway.

You can get the book for FREE at Smashwords. Just use the code WQ47M to get your copy in any electronic format.

Writing 101: Consistent Marketing

As an indie author, it's a good idea if you write frequently so you can publish often and keep readers interested in your work. But it's not necessary. What's even more important than writing? Consistent marketing.

My Girl Likes to Market All the Time

I may be taking a somewhat controversial stance on this issue, of this I am aware. Some may say what's a writer without the writing? But that may be wrong. Writers do not have to be prolific in order to be successful. I know I bring her up all the time, but I must point again to Margaret Mitchell. She wrote only one book. But after "Gone With the Wind," where is there to go? Jane Austen wrote a mere 6 books. 

If you write great books, you don't necessarily have to write a ton of books. But you will have to do a ton of marketing, even if you only write one book. The key to being an indie author isn't in the amount of marketing you do. It's that you do it consistently. 

Writing 101: Mismatched Titles

I'm all for being artistic, and I personally consider myself a "creative type." I like irony and I appreciate authors who want to create a title that will instantly grab readers. But when you knowingly give your book a title that directly contradicts the content of the book, readers are going to get aggravated with you. Some may even give up on you. When it comes to titling your book, literal really is better...and mismatched titles really aren't a good idea.

By Any Other Name...

Don't believe me? Fine, then don't believe me. Believe Shakespeare, truly one of the most prolific, famous and enduring storytellers in human history. Think about the names of his most famous works. Romeo & Juliet, Henry V, MacBeth, The Taming of the Shrew. Suppose that Romeo & Juliet had been about an old church named St. Pat's instead. It wouldn't make much sense, would it? You'd be pretty put-out if you went to the theater expecting to learn about Romeo and Juliet, only to find they aren't in the story at all -- wouldn't you? 

Writing 101: My Unhealthy Relationship...with Writing About Food

I'm in a toxic relationship. It's not easy to admit or to talk about, but there it is. I have such a bad relationship that it seeps into everything I do...and almost everything I write. And as a writer who's having this toxic relationship, it's impossible for me to write about this relationship without giving readers a skewed, distorted viewpoint. But I know that I can't fix this toxic relationship...so I've found a way to make it work with my writing. If you have a personal issue or some strange quirk, you can't ignore it. You can't write around it. All you can do is embrace it...just like I have.

The Girl with the Most Cake

Those of you who follow my colleague Annalisa Crawford may be aware that I've been engaged in a battle with my toxic relationship for years. I am winning, but not without casualties. My toxic relationship is with food. We've been having a torrid love-hate relationship since...well, perhaps since I was born. Me and food just can't love each other the way we want to, and so we find ourselves constantly at odds instead.

Writing 101: Tick, Tock Are You Trying to Beat the Clock?

I'm one of those writers who figured out what I wanted to do very early. Age 9, to be exact. I didn't start doing my own writing right away, however. I read a lot first, and penned (literally) my first short story at 11. What can I say? I'm the type who learns best from hands-on experience. Back when I was 11, I set a goal for myself that seemed incredibly reasonable at the time. I told myself I would be a published author by the age of 18.

It was a perfectly logical plan...for an 11-year-old. I'm past the age of 18 now, good and past it really, and sometimes I still find myself setting ridiculous goals for no reason other than to make myself feel like a failure.

Tick, Tock

I mean, that's probably not why I do it. I don't think I actually set myself up to fail, but this is almost always the case. I didn't get published before 18. I didn't get published before 20. It took me years to get published, and even longer to learn that getting published isn't nearly enough. You have to keep getting published, and selling books, and you have to do it a lot.  

Indie News: Sony Out, Kobo In...What Does It Mean for Indies?

Next month, the Sony ebook store will no longer exist. Sony's Reader Store titles will be automatically transferred to Kobo. Well, most of them. Some of them. When it comes to self-published ebooks...the issue gets a little muddy. How will this switch affect your books and your readers?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Through the new deal, some smartphones and Sony's entire line of tablets will now carry the Kobo app instead of the Reader Store app. The books in reader libraries are supposed to switch over. But what about self-published authors who have opted into Sony and/or Kobo through Smashwords?

According to a Sony representative's comments to Good e-Reader, ebooks purchased through Sony's Reader Store will transfer right to Kobo. Magazines and periodicals won't transfer, but Kobo already as a large library of these available to readers. Customers who transfer their libraries to Kobo will receive info about which titles didn't transfer, and why.

Self-published Smashwords books won't transfer automatically. The ePub files themselves won't be transferred, but Sony says that the digital identifiers for ebooks will still be available. This allows readers to find their self-published books in the Kobo library. Books distributed from Smashwords to Sony but not to Kobo will not transfer.

To make your books more readily available, opt in to Kobo through Smashwords. This will allow your books to be listed and accessible to Sony readers.

High Hope's

"An impeccably written story about three young women in a society where status is determined by hair color. This is a fast pace novel for a dystopian fantasy and one that I highly recommend."

"For the first 95% of the novel I couldn’t read fast enough.  For the last 5% I couldn’t read slow enough.  I’m sorry to say goodbye to three unforgettable protagonists."

Hope's Rebellion has been reviewed at Parajunkee! Read the full review before you get your copy of the book -- it's free this month at Smashwords with the code WQ47M.

Writing 101: Just Slow Down

Or better yet, stop. It's easy to get caught up in the business of being an indie author. You'll get overwhelmed with writing goals, blogging commitments, review requests, reading forums, using social media, editing and all the other stuff that goes into self-publishing. If you don't slow down every once in a while, you're going to stifle all your own creativity. And I should know. I have all kinds of trouble with slowing down.

Is It Really Writer's Block?

I published a book recently, so naturally I'm back at work on a new manuscript. The only trouble is, I've been stuck in the same spot for...well, for longer than I'd like to admit. And the other day, I realized exactly why that is: I haven't stopped doing stuff long enough to figure out the next scene. I've been baking and cleaning and exercising and working and doing, doing, doing every single spare second.

Of course I can't figure out my story. I haven't spent any time just thinking. Sometimes you have to do nothing just to get your mind working. It's into these empty spaces that creativity wanders.

So slow down. Stop doing things, and take a little while just to think. This is where creativity appears...and you can always make time for that.