Yes Yes and Yes! I was just working on a guest article covering this same subject. Please, authors, do your research. Don’t let the perceived prestige of “being signed” get you scammed! Times have changed and there’s a lot you can do yourself.
Tag: self-publishing
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – Southern Horror Stories by Lisa W. Tetting
Title: Southern Horror Stories
Author: Lisa W. Tetting
Print Length: 68 pages
Publication Date: October 26, 2017
ASIN: B076WW49KN
Almost 400 years ago, the first enslaved Blacks arrived in the Virginia colony at Point Comfort on the James River. Spanish records suggest that the enslaved were captured in the Portuguese colony of Angola. At first, the number of enslaved taken was small. In about 1650, however, with the development of plantations on the newly colonized Caribbean Islands and American mainland, the trade grew.
But what if things had turned out differently? What if the enslaved could exact immediate vengeance on their oppressors and gain their freedom with help from their ancestors? That is essentially the theme connecting six short stories in Lisa W. Tetting’s short story collection, Southern Horror Stories.
Each story begins with a tragedy familiar to that of chattel slavery. In Barren Plantation, Pansy witnesses the death of her baby girl immediately after giving birth. Afterward, the woman bathes in the child’s blood, soaking up the energy, and begins to hear chanting in a foreign language. She becomes possessed and starts chanting along with the voices until an entity arrives to give her word on her next move. She is to save the other children on the plantation in a most chilling way.
In “Caleb’s Stitches,” children of the enslaved go missing. In “Mind of Hope,” a girl witnesses her mother’s beating death and her father’s shooting. Her ancestors instruct her on how to get revenge for her parents. And in Underground Hell Road, the slaves have overtaken the plantation in an intelligent plan to create a portal to freedom. All the stories involve the enslaved receiving guidance from their ancestors on how to strike back at those who hurt them.
I loved most the connection between the stories. Linking Barren Plantation and Caleb’s Stitches was brilliant and so was the connection between Slave Island and Pirates of Slavery. I would also love to see Underground Hell Road fleshed out into a full-length novel with elements of the other stories possibly weaved in. I love the idea of the plantation being a way for the slaves to transition their way to freedom and would love to read a full novel on the concept.
Southern Horror Stories is an easy and entertaining read that is not recommended for children (though with the author’s talent, I can easily see a PG version of the stories to help youth understand about the horrors of slavery). Lisa’s writing style is lovely and easy to understand.
Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 5/5
Characterization: 4/5
Authenticity / Believable: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
Southern Horror Stories is Available Now on Amazon
Connect with Lisa Online!
Indie Authors: Stop Giving Away Your Books for Free – Angela Ford
Check out this article by Angela Ford on giving away your books for free. I’ve never been comfortable giving away my books except to my ARC / Beta Readers so I find her perspective interesting. I would love to hear other’s opinion on it though and to be provided with more resources to support the article. The comment left on the post poses a good question too.
What about you? Do you think authors should give their books away for free? Why or why not?
“In the indie author community, there’s a false mindset you have to give your books away for free before people will be willing to purchase them. If the first book in your series is free, someone will pay $0.99, $2.99 and even $5.99 for your full priced books. In truth, I’ve been seeing the opposite effect and heard from indie authors who have had the same experience. Here are some examples…”
Click through to the ORIGINAL post HERE
New Page for Introduce Yourself Author Feature + How Guest Posting Can Help You Win
As we approach the end of the year, I am doing what I always do at this time. Revisit my pages, update them, move some things around and maybe change my theme. In doing so, I’ve compiled all the Introduce Yourself Interviews and stored them away on their own page. You can now easily access the author’s interview using the Introduce Yourself Author Interview page. If you are one of the featured authors, you can also easily access your feature if you need to copy and paste your link or share it.
As a reminder, I am still looking for authors interested in being interviewed by me on this page. When I took that extensive break the feature slowed down but I am now ready to start scheduling again. AND if I missed you, please resend your information to my email HERE.
Interviews are published every Monday (being it’s already Sunday afternoon here whether we have one tomorrow will depend on how early I get some questions in).
Here are some benefits of being featured on someone’s blog:
Whether you are guest blogging or being interviewed, promoted or featured, as a guest your work is introduced to a NEW audience. This gives people who have never heard of you or your books an opportunity to learn more about you, follow your blog and check out your social media pages.
I’ve heard it said that guest posting is FIVE TIMES GREATER than posting to your own blog. Now, I am not sure how accurate that is but I do know from experience that guest posting gives you the opportunity to connect with a new group of people and to share your expertise or skill. If you wrote a book, I believe you are an expert on the subject matter that you are writing or have written about. In fact, I believe we are all experts in some way. Everyone is a genius when we focus on our own individual gifts. We have all been given something special that others can learn from.
You could have been blogging for five years and promote your books the whole time only to find out, after posting to someone else blog, that few people knew you existed. That’s the power of networking. Being featured on someone’s blog is stepping outside the box. If you’ve been blogging longer than one year, chances are you are already comfortable with your own blog. If you want to continue this growth, step outside your comfort zone and introduce your books to a new audience. Why not start here? Whenever I publish an Introduce Yourself Feature, it always becomes the most viewed page on my site for that week and a few authors have even informed me that they have sold a book or two.
VISIT THE ORIGINAL POST HERE TO GET STARTED
and Remember, this feature is FREE.
Not interested in an interview but have books to promote? Just shoot me an email with your covers, links, bio, and release date. I’ll be happy to help you to spread the word!
Note: If you have any trouble with the email link or emailing me in general, use the contact page.
Yecheilyah (e-see-lee-yah) is an Author, Blogger, and Poet of nine published works including Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One), her latest novel available now on Amazon.com. Learn more by exploring Yecheilyah’s writing on this blog and her website at yecheilyahysrayl.com.
Self-Publishing: Don’t Forget to Set Up Your Amazon Author Central Page
UPDATED: The layout has changed since this post was last published in 2017. I am republishing this with instructions on using the new platform, which I have found more straightforward than the previous layout.
I read a ton of books written by Indie Authors. If I like a book, I am going to click on their name on Amazon.
What happens when I click on this name are two things:
- It will take me to the author’s page with a listing of all their books to date, along with their bio, videos and photos, blog updates, and website link. (Update: Amazon Author Central no longer includes the blog posts.)
Or..
- It will take me to a page on Amazon with a listing of that author’s book, along with a lot of other authors.
Authors, don’t forget to set up your Amazon Author Central Page. In this post, I show you how.
What is an Author Central Page?
Author Central is your author page on Amazon. If this is set up, readers can click on your name under your book as seen below…
And be taken to a page that looks like this….
Update: The page looks different now, but it still lists your books and other info as shown.
There’s an author photo, bio, display of all the books you have on Amazon next to your photo, and at the bottom. You can also add your blog feed to your page and videos.
Update: You can no longer add your blog feed.
Getting Started
First, go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/ and sign in.
The layout of the page has changed. You used to see this page…
Now it looks like this…
And it is a lot easier to set up this way.
On this page, go to Edit Profile
It will take you to a page that looks like this.
Upload your photo here…
Add a bio here and media like photos and video
Now add your books…
Scroll back up and click on Books
It will take you to a page that looks like this. If you have books already added you should see them here.
If you have no books added, simply click on the Add a Book Button
And then search your book on Amazon by your Name, Title, or ISBN
Now go back to profile and click here to see your page on Amazon.
It should take you back to this page
Now test it. Go back to your page and click on your name.
If set up correctly, it should take you back to the page you just left.
Another thing that makes this cool is that your bio will also show up on the book page where readers have bought it. And once again, it is the opportunity for readers to follow you! It looks like this.
I hope this has helped someone!
Check out more Indie Author Basics Here.
Enjoy the Process
I’ve been focusing a lot on adding value to my personal, spiritual, mental and professional life. This process has caused me to reflect on a lot of things, pay attention to my actions, my words, and my interactions with others. I’ve had to dig deep and to make decisions that were not easy to make but that were necessary for my well-being and for my mental health.
I want to encourage you to enjoy the process of writing your books and taking it through the necessary steps to get it published. I know how easy it is to stress out during this time as you anxiously anticipate the birth of your book. We are in the winter months now which can be the darkest time of the year. With the pressure of the Holidays, depression, violence, and suicide rates skyrocket. We don’t need to add to this the worry of writing.
Worrying about every aspect of the progression takes the fun out of publishing. Makes it tedious and all-consuming. We focus so much on the end goal, “the release,” that the process itself, the going from A to B, the journey, becomes a blur. A hair pulling, tear-jerking, depression-inducing blur with the only satisfaction being the hope of seeing the book in print. That’s not the kind of professional life I want for myself and that’s not the kind of professional life I want for you.
I am starting over, it seems, in many ways and I’ve realized this is not a bad thing. This is growth and it’s exciting. I feel like a newbie writer again setting out on uncharted territory. I want to take my time and I want to do this right. My goal is always to do better, to move forward and to progress a little more each day.
It is always my hope that you do well in your endeavors and whatever you set your mind to do. It is my hope that you can do what you love every day of your life and that you do so without compromising your integrity, your happiness or your love.
While I don’t participate in NaNoWriMo (too much for me), I am rooting for you, but I also hope you are not being too hard on yourself. Just enjoy the process.
Yecheilyah (e-see-lee-yah) is an Author, Blogger, and Poet of nine published works including her work in progress and short inspirational guide “Keep Yourself Full.” Learn more by exploring Yecheilyah’s writing on this blog and her website at yecheilyahysrayl.com. Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One) is her latest novel and is available now on Amazon.com.
Introduce Yourself Returns
I am just about settled in which means that I will be getting back into the swing of things with reviews and promotions real soon. I still have a few things to do before I am back full time so I am still somewhat MIA this week, but I’d still like to get some interviews scheduled in time for November if possible.
If you are not familiar with my Introduce Yourself feature, here is a short breakdown. For more information, please do check out the first post HERE:
Introduce Yourself is a free promotional opportunity for new and established authors via an author interview on this blog. Unlike the same questions over and over again, authors have the opportunity to choose from 50 questions (SEE ORIGINAL POST) they would like to answer in the interview from writing and books to relationships, religion, and politics. But that’s not all.
To further set this feature apart, I do not just copy and paste your answers so be sure your answers are juicy and interesting! Once you have sent me your Q&A, I go over them to see if there is anything I want to add by way of commentary and you are given the chance to respond. We email back and forth until the interview sounds more authentic and real life (as if we are two friends sitting down for coffee) because that is at the core of what Introduce Yourself is all about. We want to get to know the real you. While your books and links will be promoted freely on this site, I ask that you use this opportunity to do less selling and more connecting with potential readers. This is what social media is all about.
If you are an author (Indie / Trad / Hybrid) and you’re looking for more exposure, CLICK THROUGH TO THE ORIGINAL POST HERE, choose your questions and email them to me at yecheilyah@yecheilyahysrayl.com. I will look over them, email you back so we can chit chat and then schedule your feature. All interviews are scheduled to go live the Monday of every week @ 12:00am Eastern Standard Time.
The PBS Blog 