Tag: books

In Paperback and Amazon Kindle

7339029_1449095221.9709_funddescription

Good morning Lovelies,

The Road to Freedom – Joseph’s Story is now available in Paperback and eBook on Amazon Kindle. This also means that the Stella Trilogy is complete and all three books are now available on the site, both individually as well as a bundle pack.

In the meantime, don’t forget…. I’m in Atlanta babies!!

file

Meet me in person at The Metropolitan Branch Library at 1332 Metropolitan Parkway from 12noon – 4pm for a signed copy of this book as well as the others in the series.

The Best Way for Writers to Use Amazon’s Preorder Feature

Great info over at Live.Write.Thrive on how to use Amazon’s PreOrder feature. Here are some key bullet points in the article that can help you to make wise preordering decisions (please visit the site for the entire article). Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, and best-selling author says:

  • First Time Published Author: If you’re a newly published author, the idea of a preorder probably seems exciting, right? Your book is up on the Amazon site as time ticks down to its release. And while it seems exciting, it’s not advisable to spend a ton of marketing time on the book because you can’t get reviews (though there is a workaround for that), but using this to build a fan base may not be the best idea. 
  • Already Published Author: If you have a book out there (or several), and you’ve built a mailing list of fans, then preorder may be a fun thing to do to build excitement for your upcoming book. 

I would still caution that the lion’s share of your work should only begin when the book is actually ready for purchase. Why? Because unless you are some mega-bestselling author, it’s hard to drive significant numbers to a preorder page.

The other issue is immediacy. If a reader wants something now, they may not want to wait for your book to be ready and will, instead, buy another Amazon-recommended book. Also, this is another reason to keep your preorder time short—which I’ll explain next.

<<<I only gave about 2 weeks for my preorders. Penny explains why you should keep your Preorder time short>>>

  • Timing of Your Preorder: Though I know there are folks who are fans of long preorders, I am not one of them. Amazon allows you up to ninety days, but when I’ve done this, I have found that a month is just about right. That way you can promote it to family, friends, and even your e-mail list, and still build some momentum for it without spending a ton of time pushing a book that no one can read.
  • Promoting a Preorder: Along the lines of what we discussed earlier, I would share this with your followers and your e-mail or newsletter list. If this is your second, third, or fourth book, the interest is going to be stronger than if it’s your first. But even a newbie author should not be discouraged from pushing this to folks who know you to let them know it’s coming. You can do this through images, blog posts, Facebook posts, and Twitter updates.

<<<Don’t Forget The Road to Freedom is available now for preorder at $0.99>>>

  • Pricing Your Preorder: For reasons I mentioned earlier, I would keep your pricing low— even if you plan on raising it later. Why? Well, you’re competing with millions of titles on Amazon and your book isn’t ready (yet), so the immediacy isn’t there. If you want to entice an impulse buy, keep the pricing lower at first, then once the book is live, you can always raise it.

Thunderclap: Day One Results

5507492-120875522_3-v1

Yesterday was the launch of my Thunderclap Campaign as we count down the days until Launch Day. One of the reasons I scheduled it so close to Launch day is because it helps keep the book fresh in everyone’s minds. I also will not have so much online time on the day of release. This weekend coming up is going to be very hectic and I will need the help of my blogging friends and social media buds to help keep the thunder alive online while I handle my thing on the ground.

So my first day and first time hosting Thunderclap went very well! Now, by very well I mean I only reached 6% of my goal lol. But over 10,000 people through social media have at least seen it. We just have to get 94 of them to thunderclap!

That was yesterday. Tonight concludes Day 2 of the campaign and I am now at 8% of my goal with a social reach of 15, 613. I’m really excited about everyone who put their hands in to assist me in this endeavor and I hope that you will continue to spread the word.

Click Here to Support My Thunderclap and Follow Me To Freedom!

Book Promotions @ HarsH ReaLiTy…

Calling All Authors and Aspiring Writers! Promotional Opportunities Available on Harsh Reality. Jason’s offers are very reasonable for anyone seeking to increase visibility of their work.

Williams Wells Brown – Novelist

We have talked about some of the first black poets. Now, Williams Wells Brown is considered the first African American to publish a novel (recorded). Brown was born into slavery to a black mother and a white slave owner. Wells served various masters before escaping slavery in 1834. He then took on the name of a Quaker who helped him in his escape, Wells Brown, and in 1847 published a slave narrative, A Fugitive Slave. Brown’s only novel, Clotel was published in 1853 and tells the story of the daughters and granddaughters of President Thomas Jefferson and his slave woman. Wells also wrote a play “The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom” in 1858, along with other historical writings.

99 Cents to Help Me Launch!

IMG_20160211_191211

Help Me Launch for just 99 cents! Pre-Order Stella Book #3 on Kindle before the price goes up! You have until Wednesday, February 24th. Your downloads will help me to move up in rank. I’m trying to make the top 100 before Launch Day!

3421211-120875522_3-v1

(Don’t look at me like that, yes I said Top 100. I believe in setting reasonable goals. Gotta crawl before you walk!)

As of today, Friday, February 12, 2016, there is exactly 2 weeks left before The Stella Trilogy is complete. The early reviews are vitally important to authors like myself and your support is greatly appreciated. While you can’t leave a review now, here’s what you can do to help spread the word about this book:

7339029_1449095221.9709_funddescription

Just spread the word! (you were waiting on something fancy huh? lol hee hee). Let your friends know they can download Stella Book #3 for $0.99! They will have from now until Wednesday, February 24th  to pre-order the Kindle Edition at this price. Don’t have books 1 & 2? Don’t worry! Request the first two books in the series free in exchange for an honest review.

Two Weeks Before Book Launch

7339029_1449095221.9709_funddescription

I can’t believe its two weeks before launch day! Where did the time go? In just a short while, I’ll be wrapping up The Stella Trilogy with the release of the 3rd installment. I’m excited but I’ve been keeping things pretty chill. So here’s what’s going on.

Editing

I was excited to see that my editor sent me the copy of the final edit last week. There was a lot that needed to be changed and some things I just completely took out. I am so grateful for the revision process and the extra set of eyes. I think my ARC readers are going to really enjoy the revised edition.

Ebook Formatting

I have decided this time around to pay for professional eBook formatting! I don’t want my ebooks to keep looking like: who did it and why did they do it? So, while I have the basic understanding of how to format, I think its best to let someone more experienced handle it until I can perfect the skill. I am really excited about this change and should be getting the newly formatted manuscript back this week.

Print Book Proof

I am always very excited about my print book proofs! This is the final FINAL check where I get to read the book in its print book format for one final run through. I am expecting the mailman to deliver me the copy sometime this afternoon. Of course, I’ll do a FB blast when it arrives (that one part where I stand in front of a poster and hold the book up like I just made The New York Times Best Sellers List).

Photo Collage

I am thankful for all of the people who have submitted pictures so far for my Stella Photo Collage! Or at least the first one (I’m sure more pictures will be taken in ATL). I’m going to wait until a week before launch to put it together though. I want to wait until almost the last minute for the collage because I don’t want to miss including anyone’s picture.

Atlanta Event

Primarily, I’ve been focused on the Atlanta Stella Book Signing Event taking place in ATL the end of this month. It will be a combination of my Book release for Book #3 and a book signing for all of the books in the series. I am using these two weeks to finalize my Power Point Presentation and pick up the decor for the event. Which, interestingly enough, seems to be a lot bigger than anticipated. It wasn’t exactly an event per se at first but I actually have a staff now (special thank you to the six women who have come forward to assist me on the ground!) I am also going to be in a play the day following the signing which is keeping me busy. As we get closer to the date, we are rehearsing more. I am now in practice four nights a week. Speaking of which, I need to buy more coffee.

Future Works

The funny thing is that while I have this book coming out, I’ve been focused mostly on the next project. I’m reading so many books I can barely keep up and the research itself has been mind-blowing. I would tell you more about the project itself but its somewhat on the low right now. I will say it is another short story and I think Stella’s going to get a run for her money on this one! In the meantime, I am considering a Stella Book Tour to help keep me busy as I write this next story. What do you think? Would you like for me to visit your town?