Monday, May 21, 2012

Need a proofreader and copyeditor? Meet Faith Williams!


Faith Williams is a freelance proofreader and copyeditor.  Working with independent authors, she has proofed and copyedited in romance, thriller, science fiction, and non-fiction genres.  Follow The Atwater Group on Facebook or check out the webpage at www.theatwatergroup.com.

As a freelance proofreader, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great indie authors over the past year.  I’ve read great stories and gotten a sneak peek at best-sellers.  I love my job so much, I feel like I can’t call it a “job” because a “job” doesn’t fill me with the giddiness that I feel every time I start a new project with an author or, better yet, finish it.

But sometimes, after reading and reading and reading, there are words or phrases that become annoying. Most recently, the little voice inside my head has become very unhappy with the word “then.”  I have begun to actually hate this word, because it’s abused in two very different ways. 

The first offense is starting a sentence with the word in question.  “Taking a step, he closed the distance between them. Then he hugged her.” Really?  Did I, as a reader, not figure out that after he stepped toward the heroine, that he didn’t stop to answer his cell phone but went directly into hug mode? Did I need that “then”?  I don’t think so.

A related pet peeve is the comma splice.  This is where “then” is used as a conjunction.  “Taking a step, he closed the distance between them then he hugged her.”

Wikipedia says: Coordinating conjunctions, also called coordinators, are conjunctions that join two or more items of equal syntactic importance, such as words, main clauses, or sentences. In English the mnemonic acronym FANBOYS can be used to remember the coordinators for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

Did you see “then” in that list?  Me neither.  Does this one matter too much?  Maybe not.  But it still irks me.

The second abuse I find difficult to overlook is the incorrect use of “then.”  I know this trips up a lot of people and it’s even happened to me (once in a while, anyway!).  When do you use “then” or “than”?  If you want to compare something, it’s “than.”  Think of the A in compAre and the A in thAn to remember.  If you are talking about a moment in time or something that happened next, it’s “then.”  Think of the E in timE or nExt and the E in thEn to remember. 

More than anything, I hope you remember those little rules, and then you will always know which to use!

Monday, May 14, 2012

May Sales Update I


BOOKS SOLD as of May 13, 2012: 284,452


*Total(s) are as of May 13, 2012 and do NOT include over 200,000 FREE downloads
(Amazon and B&N combined Sales)
Borrows have NOT been included in total sales

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011 $2.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 298
April: 894
May: 1,600
June: 1,475
July: 1,291
August: 2,352
September: 1,955
October: 1,527
November: 981
December: 1,074
January: 1,457
February: 1,519
March 2012: 1422
April 2012: 1800 (289 borrows)
May 13, 2012: 237* (29  borrows)
Total: 19,882

A Knight in Central Park- Released March 18, 2011 $.99/$2.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 247
April: 6,071
May: 4,306
June: 2,414
July: 1,330
August: 9,812
September: 2,088
October: 1,348
November: 876
December: 2,383
January: 2,685
February: 1,485
March 2012: 1,620
April 2012: 1,032
May 13, 2012: 298*
Total: 37,995


Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011 $2.99
Contemporary Romance

April: 30
May: 182
June: 265
July: 310
August: 934
September: 1,872
October: 2,125
November: 2,150
December: 1,561 (272 borrows)
January: 4,393 (782 borrows)
February: 1,088 (99 borrows)
March 2012: 1,692 (114 borrows)
April 2012: 872
May 13, 2012: 398*
Total: 17,872




Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense
May: 187
June: 261
July: 325
August: 1,159
September: 3,363
October: 2,089
November: 1,095
December: 4,421 (1,088 borrows)
January: 2,523 (791 borrows)
February: 1,908 (123 borrows)
March 2012: 2,077 (46 borrows)
April 2012: 1,384
May 13, 2012: 452*
Total: 21,244



Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25
June: 694
July: 1,708
August: 12,917
September: 39,413
October: 18,176
November: 6,645
December: 3,649
January: 2,118
February: 32,500 (5,088 borrows)
March 2012: 18,188 (3,674 borrows)
April 2012: 6,103 (893 borrows)
May 13, 2012: 1,129* (277 borrows)
Total: 143,265



Dead Weight - Released December 22, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense/Thriller

December: 451
January: 1,430
February: 11,385 (325 borrows)
March 2012: 15,836 (1,399 borrows)
April 2012: 6,934 (738 borrows)
May 13, 2012: 1,225* (234 borrows)
Total: 37,261

Having My Baby - Released April 13, 2012 $3.99
Contemporary Romance

April 2012: 3,855 (378 borrows)
May 13, 2012: 3,078* (640 borrows)
Total:   6,933



If you are thinking of self-publishing, go to my LINKS tab above and see what I did to get started. There are also links to the IRI group, 1000+ members who are not only welcoming but also willing to share tips with you!

Self-publishing and being an independent authors is lots of fun and a lot of work, but if you are patient and take one thing at a time, you'll enjoy every step of the ride. Just like writing a book, it can't all be done in one day.

Most important of all, stay positive and don't worry about slow sales at first. Say YES to interviews and blogging. Try to get your books reviewed. Send one request to a reviewer every day and eventually someone will agree to review your book. Remember...what works for one author, might not work for another. For instance, I love Kindle Direct Publishing's Prime Lending program, but it doesn't seem to work for everyone. I also believe in FREE, because sometimes a book needs a little push. Mrs. Fields walked the streets giving out samples of her cookies before she made it big. If you don't like the idea of going FREE, then don't! It's that easy. It's all up to you. Believe in yourself and your books. You can do it!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. I plan to write 10,000 words this week. How about you?

If you are a READER, thanks for stopping by. Let me know what you would like to see posted!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

Come visit me today at RG2E and meet a fabulous fun reader, Emmy Jordan.


Being a Mom is the toughest job on earth. My four kids are now ages 19 to 31! If I had it to do all over again, I would be much more patient. And I would try to live in the moment even when surrounded by chaos. I wonder if that would be possible?!

Joey, Brittany, Morgan, Jesse



Have a great day. I hope you are all surrounded by nothing but happy smiles and lots of love.

Theresa

Monday, May 7, 2012

uPublishU - Book Expo



I've been invited to speak on a panel with three other authors at the upcoming BEA in June! I've never been before and I can't wait! If you have attended the Book Expo before, please let me know how it went.


Penned & Published – Self-Published Authors & Stories of Success!



Moderator

PJ Campbell, Director of Events for a major global trade publisher



Speakers/Participants

Darcie Chan, Self-Published Author of The Mill River Recluse

Brittany Geragotelis, Self-Published Author of Life's a Witch

C.S. Marks, Self-Published Author of the Elfhunter trilogy

Theresa Ragan, Self-Published Author, Author of Return of the Rose



Description

Combine your talent and business sense and take your writing dreams to the next level by penning and publishing your own work of literary art! Join celebrated authors and publishing professionals for this inspirational and engaging session where they describe what it takes to become a best-selling author. Long-time Publishing Veteran and author, PJ Campbell, will share her experiences of publishing and talk with authors who have made the leap to publish. Meet this dynamic group of writing professionals and learn exactly what tips and techniques are needed and applied to create a successful book campaign. This exciting session includes an expert panel of successful authors who will share their thrilling self-publishing stories! These courageous writers will share their experiences and insights on their own best practices and how they turned their trials into triumphs! From pen to published author, this session will prove that You can Publish You! 


Bios

PJ Campbell is the Director of Events for a major, global trade publisher and an authority in the creation of successful book campaigns through author appearances. She has more than 17 years’experience in formulating, marketing and publicizing author appearances through webinars, blog tours, online chats, Skype, bookstores, conventions, conferences, seminars, workshops, galas, and launch parties. Including her background as a former bookstore General Manager and Director of Events, she has an all-inclusive perspective of the business of writing. As an author, PJ has written articles and essays on a variety of adult topics including the business of events, women’s issues, motivation, sports, health and art. Her writing has been published in national and international newspapers, magazines and websites. Her 2009 published book, 101 AUTHOR TIPS: Creating A Successful Book Campaign was an award finalist in Best Books USA Book News and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. PJ’s newest book will be published as an e-book, entitled, Authors’ Online Bestseller Resource: Sales, Publicity, Promotion, E-Publishing. PJ is a member of the following professional writing associations: National Association of Women Writers, International Women Writers Guild, Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Western Writers of America, Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Contact PJ Campbell at http://pjcampbellwriter.com,

Darcie Chan is the author of The Mill River Recluse, a self-published debut novel that has become a word-of-mouth e-book sensation. With over 570,000 copies sold, The Mill River Recluse appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists for more than 24 weeks and became a heartwarming favorite of readers across the country. Darcie was born in Wisconsin and grew up in the small towns of Brandon, Wisconsin, La Junta and Cheraw, Colorado, and Paoli, Indiana. Thanks to loving and supportive parents who are both educators, she learned to read and write at an early age. She has two younger sisters, with whom she is very close. Currently, Darcie lives just north of New York City with her husband and son. She writes during every moment she isn’t working as a lawyer or spending time with her family. She gets very little sleep, especially now that she is hard at work on a second novel set in Mill River, Vermont.

An Olympic-bound gymnast during her teen years, Brittany Geragotelis always thought she'd see her name in print one day. That dream came true first as a magazine editor, where she had the chance to interview celebrities like Dakota Fanning, Miley Cyrus and Jamie Foxx, and then more recently in news outlets like Publisher's Weekly, Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Though she's now a full-time writer, she also pens the blog Brittany the Book Slayer (www.thebookslayer.com) as well as produces and stars in author videos for her YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/thebookslayer). After publishing her first book, Life's a Witch, on the community writing site Wattpad (www.wattpad.com/BrittTheBookSlayer) and receiving nearly 18 million reads of the paranormal action romance, she landed a 3-book, 6-figure deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The prequel to Life's A Witch, titled What the Spell? Will be published as an e-book in three parts beginning in September 2012 and in paperback in December. The re-release of Life's a Witch and the sequel will follow one per year. A self-professed pop-culture junkie, Brittany currently lives in NYC with her boyfriend and two cats, Murray and Cohen.

C.S. Marks has often been described as a ‘Renaissance woman’.The child of an English professor, Chris has always loved classic literature as well as epic fantasy, and decided to try her hand at writing and illustrating an epic series. The result: The very successful Elfhunter trilogy, which has sold over 40,000 copies both in print and e-book form. This epic trilogy has garnered awards (Reviewer’s Choice Best Fantasy, Best Series) and nearly 200 reviews. She is now hard at work on an exciting new Alterran series, the Undiscovered Realms. A former field biologist and avid horsewoman, Chris holds a PhD in Biology, and has competed both nationally and internationally in the sport of endurance riding. She is a full professor of equine science at a small liberal arts college in the midwest. She is in demand as a lecturer and presenter at conventions, academic fairs, and publishing workshops. In 2011, Chris signed a three book deal with Sea Lion Books, including comic book and graphic novel adaptations of the Elfhunter trilogy as well as hard covers and paperbacks. While she has enjoyed an ample measure of success as an independent author, she is now looking forward to a long and productive relationship with Sea Lion Books, bringing her wonderful Tales of Alterra to an ever-widening group of appreciative readers of all ages.


Theresa Ragan has been writing for nineteen years and has garnered six Golden Heart nominations in Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Competition for her work. She lives with her husband, Joe, and the youngest of her four children in Sacramento, California. Theresa writes medieval time travels, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, and thrillers under the name T.R. Ragan. In her first year as an indie author, Theresa sold 250,000 ebooks. Books by Theresa include: Return of the Rose, A Knight in Central Park, Taming Mad Max, Finding Kate Huntley. Also look for Abducted and Dead Weight, romantic thrillers under the name T.R. Ragan. Many of her titles are top sellers in their category!

 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

A First Time for Everything!



I have enjoyed so many amazingly wonderful FIRSTS since publishing Return of the Rose in March of 2011. It just doesn't stop. I am seriously grateful to every single reader who has picked up one of my books and then taken the time to let me know how much they enjoyed it.

Just a few days ago, I received an e-mail from Kaylee Beyea from Nebraska. She had to pick an American author to write a report about and do a speech in class and she picked ME!! She asked me a few questions about myself and, of course, I eagerly obliged. 

Kaylee read two of my books, Finding Kate Huntley and Taming Mad Max. She loved them both and she is going to share her report with me when she is finished with it. Kaylee is a Junior in High School and here is a picture of her classmates. Hopefully Kaylee will comment and let us know where she is in the picture.

Thank you, Kaylee!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

April Sales Update





BOOKS SOLD as of April 30, 2012: 277,635

Total(s) are as of April 30, 2012 and do NOT include over 200,000 FREE downloads
(Amazon and B&N combined Sales)
Borrows have NOT been included in total sales

Return of the Rose - Released March 2, 2011 $2.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 298
April: 894
May: 1,600
June: 1,475
July: 1,291
August: 2,352
September: 1,955
October: 1,527
November: 981
December: 1,074
January: 1,457
February: 1,519
March 2012: 1422
April 2012: 1800 (289 borrows)
Total: 19,645

A Knight in Central Park- Released March 18, 2011 $.99
Medieval Time Travel Romance

March: 247
April: 6,071
May: 4,306
June: 2,414
July: 1,330
August: 9,812
September: 2,088
October: 1,348
November: 876
December: 2,383
January: 2,685
February: 1,485
March 2012: 1,620
April 2012: 1,032
Total: 37,697


Taming Mad Max - Released April 25, 2011 $2.99
Contemporary Romance

April: 30
May: 182
June: 265
July: 310
August: 934
September: 1,872
October: 2,125
November: 2,150
December: 1,561 (272 borrows)
January: 4,393 (782 borrows)
February: 1,088 (99 borrows)
March 2012: 1,692 (114 borrows)
April 2012: 872
Total: 17,474



Finding Kate Huntley - Released May 5, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense
May: 187
June: 261
July: 325
August: 1,159
September: 3,363
October: 2,089
November: 1,095
December: 4,421 (1,088 borrows)
January: 2,523 (791 borrows)
February: 1,908 (123 borrows)
March 2012: 2,077 (46 borrows)
April 2012: 1,384
Total: 20,792

Abducted - Released May 29, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense/Thriller

May: 25
June: 694
July: 1,708
August: 12,917
September: 39,413
October: 18,176
November: 6,645
December: 3,649
January: 2,118
February: 32,500 (5,088 borrows)
March 2012: 18,188 (3,674 borrows)
April 2012: 6,103 (893 borrows)
Total: 142,136

Dead Weight - Released December 22, 2011 $2.99
Romantic Suspense/Thriller

December: 451
January: 1,430
February: 11,385 (325 borrows)
March 2012: 15,836 (1,399 borrows)
April 2012: 6,934 (738 borrows)
Total: 36,036

Having My Baby - Released April 13, 2012 $3.99
Contemporary Romance

April 2012: 3,855 (378 borrows)
Total:   3,855
 
 




Exciting news! Amazon has invited me to be on a panel at the BEA in New York in June! I hope to see you there!


 
Penned & Published - Self Published Authors & Stories of Success! 
Moderator
PJ Campbell, Director of Events for a major global trade publisher
Speakers/Participants
Darcie Chan, Self-Published Author of The Mill River Recluse
Brittany Geragotelis, Self-Published Author of Life's a Witch
C.S. Marks, Self-Published Author of the Elfhunter trilogy
Theresa Ragan, Self-Published Author of Return of the Rose
 
 
No matter what YOUR dreams are, don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed. If you are self-publishing a book and you are not seeing the sales that you were hoping for, try not to dwell on low sales. Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing. And you MUST believe in yourself. As writers, there are too many factors that we have no control over as to whether our books will sell well, or not. Worrying about the ups and downs will only make you crazy. Just keep writing.

Don't be afraid to try new things. Stay positive.

YOU CAN DO IT!