Newsletters?

I was reminded this morning (via Elizabeth Spann Craig's blog) of something that is on the list of 'things I should be doing but don't'...

Newsletters. 

If you've been in the self-pub biz for any length of time, I'm sure you've heard that you should be sending out newsletters.  Well, actually, you should be getting copious amounts of people to sign up for your newsletter and then you should send them out on a regular basis.  Whether that regular basis is once a month or whenever you have something exciting to share is up to you. 

Early on, I started a newsletter thing.  I sent it out once a month and it had stuffs about book releases and the publishing schedule and a little contest in every one.  But only a few people signed up and it began to seem like a humongous waste of time.  Plus, nearly everyone on it was following the blog and/or following me on Facebook, so they were getting hit with the same information in multiple ways. 

Anyway, I haven't put out a new newsletter in years.  It's been so long that I actually took down the link to sign up for it. 

I feel guilty about it every time I think about not sending one out.  Everyone says you need a newsletter.  Then again, everyone who says that has subscribers in the thousands.  I guess if I had thousands of people clamoring for news from me, it would be easier to muster the will to put one out.  (Not that I don't love those half dozen people who cared enough to read the newsletters I put out, but they're all getting notice of my news elsewhere.)  Not exactly sure how to get thousands of people to sign up for the newsletter, though. 

Maybe I should think about resurrecting the newsletter.  I don't know.  As a reader, I rarely even skim through the author newsletters I receive these days.  The authors I love provide me with all the info I need via social media, so I'm not sure what the point is.  Maybe that's just me. 

What say you?  If I put out a new newsletter, would you subscribe to it?  Would you read it?  Do you have a newsletter?  How's that going for you?

News and Stuff

AWE (Awesome Wonderful Editor) got my edits back to me yesterday morning.  I hit them hard last night and I'm already through chapter 3, so I'm ahead of schedule to meet my self-imposed deadline of September 14th.  If I get it done sooner, you'll get a chance to buy it sooner.  Yay!

If you want an Advance Review Copy - one without all of the final edits, but still pretty much done - let me know and I'll shoot you a PDF.  I give you a copy, you give me an honest review.  K?

Oh, and since I didn't mention it, it's the ARC for Up Wish Creek (Once Upon a Djinn #3).  Here's the blurb I came up with:

For Jo Mayweather, genie life is far from perfect, but it was finally beginning to settle down after the incident where she accidentally glassed over part of the Florida Panhandle.  Her enemies have been quiet.  The Djinn Council has left her alone.  Her traitorous ex-lover has disappeared.  Finally, she has time to figure out who’s behind the conspiracy to ruin her life.  But setting her feet on that trail means discovering things from her past she’d rather not know, facing her parents in their newest incarnations, and getting a mission from the gods that she’s not sure she can complete.  All in a day’s work, right?  Sometimes Jo wishes she had a different occupation.  Too bad wishes don’t work that way.

It's up at Goodreads, if you want to add it to your 'Want to Read' list.

Right now, the other two books in the series - Wish in One Hand and In Deep Wish - are still 99 cents each.  I'll be making Up Wish Creek 99 cents, too, but only for a limited time.  Shop early, shop often.  Of course, when I raise prices again, they'll only be $2.99 each, so if you miss the sale, you won't be killing yourself.

I will be putting a newsletter out.  Eventually.  It'll have stuff in it.  If you want to see what kinds of stuff, click the newsletter button up there near the top, fill out the form, submit.  Easy peasy. 

And just for reading all the way to here, I'll give you a chance to win a paperback copy of one of my books.  Just comment and I'll draw a name next week. 

What's Going On

I got my newsletter out yesterday.  If you didn't get one, check your spam folder.  If you still didn't get one, and you know you signed up, let me know.  If you haven't signed up for a newsletter, shame on you.  Just kidding.  But you are missing out on some 'subscriber only' stuff.  Like a first look at the cover and the blurb.  And chances at an early copy of my latest books or free swag.

I'll release the cover and the blurb worldwide on Friday.

My final round of edits came back from AWE last night.  I read through her edit letter and it all seems good.  I have plans to get Fertile Ground ready to publish by the 16th - whether I set it for pre-order so it goes live on the 26th or I just release it into the wild like an eagle who's been held captive, I don't know.  Either way, I hope it's maiden flight doesn't result in a crash.

I have a winner for my Goodreads contest for a copy of In Deep Wish.  I'll package that for shipment today, along with a book for my editor (I'm such a slacker) and a copy of Dying Embers for an injured police officer in TX to help with his recovery. (He likes mystery, suspense, and crime, so I offered to send a book.)

I need to order postcards for Fertile Ground and create new bookmarks.  If you want one of my old pre-'Fertile Ground' bookmarks, let me know. 

I feel like I'm forgetting something.  Not surprising, since forgetting something is a natural state for me. 

Anyway, have an awesome Monday and stop back on Friday for the cover reveal for Fertile Ground.

News and Junk and Stuff

The first bit of news is that I have finished this editing round for In Deep Wish!  I did twelve hours worth of editing on Wednesday and then a couple more yesterday, and shot that sucker off to my editor for her final pass.  Afterwards, I was a total spazz.  Euphoria hit me and I now can be fairly certain the neighbors think I'm insane, but hey, who doesn't sing bad opera off their decks when they're happy?  Just me, eh?  Oh well.  This place - with the woods and the hills - is an awesome amphitheater.

The next bit is that starting next week, I'll be trying to do some fun things to get everyone excited about the launch of In Deep Wish in March.  I'm dying to show all y'all the pretty pretty cover, but I think I'll reveal that in the next newsletter.  (If you haven't signed up for it yet, get thee to the top of this page and click the Newsletter Sign Up Form tab.  Easy peasy.)  Here's a little tease for it, though. 

If you want to see the rest, sign up for the newsletter.  Seriously.  Or wait about week after the newsletter goes out to see the whole thing splashed everywhere.  Of course, the newsletter will also have other awesome morsels, so why not sign up?  It don't cost nothin'.

The stuff: I thought about having a few contests next month, but the turnout for my contests has been super-pathetic.  If you want a contest, say so in the comments and if I get more than a few people interested, I'll put something out there.  Maybe a free book or some swag or an electronic ARC of In Deep Wish.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?


The junk?  If you've been waiting for the right time to snag one of my books, they're all on sale for 99 cents until tomorrow night.  So grab a copy now.  I won't necessarily be raising the prices on all four books, but I haven't decided which ones will stay inexpensive and which will go back to being more profitable for me.  Get 'em while the gettin' is good.

In other news, now that I have three weeks free from In Deep Wish, I can get back to working on Fertile Ground (SCIU #2).  I have pages of edit notes already done there, so all I have to do it enter them.  Then I'll also be doing a read-through of Up Wish Creek, in order to come up with some ideas for the cover artist and so that I can start the editing process on that.  It's on the schedule for August.  (Or earlier if I can swing it.)

I had something else to say, but then I got up to refill my coffee and lost it between here and the kitchen.  Any news or stuff or junk to share?

The Production Schedule

Yesterday, I went out and about in the world with my swag to see how my local fans responded to news of the next book.

There was some squeeing, some yaying, and a couple curious responses.  The first makes me wonder if I have a typo on my postcard somewhere.  "How many of these do you get printed at one time?"  I'll address that one after I've had some more coffee.

The next made me wonder how the average person is perceiving my books with this production schedule I've created.  "Wow.  Another book?  Already?"  The look in her eyes seemed skeptical to me.  Like 'how it is even possible' and had me wondering whether she was thinking I couldn't possible put out this many books in one year and have them all still be good.  (Yeah,  I might've read more into that than was there, but I do tend to overthink interpersonal interludes.)

Of course, I explained that since I have been writing books for ten years, I have a lot of books in the hopper ready to move forward - with professional editing and cover art, of course.  She didn't seem convinced.  Especially after I told her I plan on a fourth book this year. :shrug:

If you received my newsletter*, you know the upcoming production schedule.  It's at the end of the email - right above how to contact me.  Anyway, here's this quarter's 'Future Stuff' section:

In near future stuff, my fourth book - the one I am currently referring to as Bloodflow - is under way and should be ready for a November launch.  It's another suspense, but more in the techological / political vein.  Government conspiracies, kick ass good guys, evil villains.  I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Further down the road, the production schedule still looks something like this in 2016:

Winter: Fifth book - In Deep Wish (Djinn 2) (paranormal suspense)

Spring: Sixth book - SCIU 2 (suspense) or Dennis Haggarty 2 (mystery)

Summer: Seventh book - Up Wish Creek (Djinn 3) (paranormal suspense)

Fall: Eighth book - Whichever book didn't go live in the Spring.

You see, of the books in the future schedule, two are already written.  This year, all the books were already written and simply needed to be edited.  That tends to make things a lot quicker.  The other two books for next year are each started and written partway through.  Those should be easy enough to complete and slide right into the schedule. 

So no worries about me rushing, or the quality of the work taking a hit.  K?  This is just how I roll.  I will not put out work I don't feel is the best possible work I can offer you.  Hopefully, you'll agree.

*If you have signed up for my newsletter, but did not get a copy on Saturday morning, please let me know.   If you'd like a copy, ask.  I can forward mine.  If you'd like to sign up for the next newsletter - due in November - go here.

A Sale, A Little News, and A Series Review

First things first... Dying Embers is on sale for 99 cents right now.  Spread the word.  Snag a copy for yourself.  Gift a copy.  Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated. 

Secondly, my maiden newsletter went out on Friday.  Did you get yours?  It has fun stuff in it and a giveaway and news. 

Next, I'll be letting the world know about the cover and the blurb for Accidental Death on Friday - when it goes live on Omnimystery News.  If you don't subscribe to them, though, don't worry.  I'll post it here, too.  

Finally, I know you're probably fans of suspense and junk, since you're here, but I'm a cross-genre reader.  To that end, I'd like to point you toward a SF series I've been enjoying.  I haven't read them all, and I'm way behind, but still I do love every installment I've been able to get my hot little hands on.

Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series.

Kris is the daughter of the Prime Minister, she's the heir to a family fortune, and the grand-daughter of a war hero and a corporate hero.  But rather than be a princess, she wants to fly.  So she's in the Navy - piloting ships through the galaxy. 

In Mike's own words: "The Kris Longknife saga is the story of a young woman coming of age during a time when things are falling apart and discovering that maybe humanity still does need heroes."

Damn straight!

Kris Longknife kicks ass, takes names, and still manages to be snarky.  I love her.

I've read the first four and just snagged the fifth this weekend.  Squee!  Now if I just had time to read. 

Changes

Hey Everybody!

You may have noticed the blog has a new name and a new header.  I wanted a more professional look and a more professional introduction for new visitors.  (You guys already know how professional I am.  Quit laughing.  I'm serious.  Okay, well, maybe not entirely serious, but I am trying to find some modicum of professionalism here.)

So, Outside the Box.  I came up with the name and did the header, then I showed Hubs who promptly said he follows a firm who's newsletter is called 'Outside the Box'. :shrug:  Since they aren't novelists, I'm cool with that.

If you've been following along, you already heard the story of the rat in the rice paper maze.  If not, it goes something like this.  Once there was a lab rat who ran the same maze every day to get to his food.  But the maze was made of rice paper and if the rat had only realized how flimsy his maze was, he could've ripped through the walls and reached his goal so much quicker.  I did debate on naming the blog "Breaking through the Maze", but then I'd have to explain the story over and over again.  Instead, I took a more known form of the basic moral to the story.  The box holds us back, so I broke down the cardboard.  I'm living live outside the box now.

Basically, I've gone rogue.  I'm done with traditional publishing and, as hard as it may be, I'm doing all this myself.  Yay!  Go me! 

And they can take that box and shove it.  Yeah, yeah, someday someone from traditional publishing may hunt me down and make me an offer.  I'll deal with that if it ever happens.  (I'm not holding my breath because blue isn't a good look for facial color.) 

Anyway, here I am.  Out of the box and happy.  At last.

I have some other things coming up.  Not so much changes, but additional steps in the direction I've been trying to take all these years.  Book 2 is well on its way to a release date.  (Official announcement in my newsletter on May 1st, so if you want to know ahead of everyone else, sign up.)  I'll be paying the new cover artist for my third book today - and his work is freakin' amazing. (Also being announced in the newsletter.)

Accidental Death will be be on Omnimystery News with a cover release on May 8th and a book excerpt on May 15th - so if you aren't following their blog, you should think about that. 

I can't think of anything else right now, but if anything else comes up, I'll let you know. 

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Bring a friend next time.  We'll party.  (And by party, I mean non-alcoholic drinks and ultra-fattening desserts.)

:hugs:

-B.E.

Newsletter News

The maiden voyage of my newsletter is set for May 1st.  I'm calling it my May Day! campaign.  I'm not sinking, the title just amuses me.

Anyway I have some plans for the newsletter and it's really coming together.  I was working on it last night, trying to make it fun and interesting and pertinent.  And there'll be a contest and... just because it's Wednesday and I'm feeling wicked...

Newsletter recipients will be the first people (other than Hubs) to see Accidental Death's new and improved e-cover, and they'll be able to read the back cover copy before anyone else.  So if you want to be one of the in-crowd, go sign up for the newsletter.  Ah, peer pressure.  ;o)

Thank you to everyone who's already signed up.  And special thanks to a couple people who had trouble signing up and then had to go through the process again.  Whatever little bobble happened, it appears to be fixed now. I wish I could make it easier, but the spammers of the world have seen to it that we now have to have a double confirmation system to ensure everyone actually wants the newsletters.  :shrug:

They're the wicked ones - now that I think about it.  Maybe I'll address that next Wicked Wednesday - spammers, scammers, and hucksters.

So, yeah, the newsletter... It'll be a lot like the blog.  I'll chat at you a bit, give you news and updates, show you some stuff, and maybe have a contest.  I'm planning to put one out on the first of each month I'll be publishing in.  This means - if I keep with my publication schedule - four times a year.  (Maybe 5, if I'm really diligent.)

Thanks again for being here and being a friend or a fan or both.  I really appreciate it.  :hugs: