FRIDAY, AUGUST 2nd - Seattle Signing with TEN Authors!

Do you have a book in you? 80% of Americans say they want to write a book. A much smaller percentage take the leap and put the words to page. Even fewer go the extra step of publishing their books. And with good cause. Writing a book is hard enough. Self-publishing can be even more difficult.

Have no fear! Ten New York Times bestselling authors are generously donating their time to share their experience and lessons learned. You'll get the inside scoop on the latest on publishing platforms, book marketing and the writing life.

           Authors include:
           Jasinda Wilder
           Jack Wilder
           Tina Folsom
           Jana DeLeon
           Liliana Hart
           Debra Holland
           Theresa Ragan
           Jane Graves
           Denise Grover Swank
           Colleen Gleason
           Dorien Kelly


If any of you are going to be in the area, come say hello!

The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing



Available for Pre-Order

The Naked Truth is not just another book about self-publishing. Ten New York Times Bestselling authors share their knowledge, their experiences, and their souls.


Jana DeLeon- A former CFO discusses taxes, corporations, LLCs, employees, deductions and many other things to help form your own author co-op.


Tina Folsom- An expert and bestseller in the foreign market. What to watch out for when dealing with translators, how to attract foreign readers, what countries are hot, foreign rights and much more.


Colleen Gleason- How does an MBA and two decades of sales and marketing experience translate into creating and promoting a brand that represents YOU and your work? Learn how to tackle an important element of self-publishing.


Jane Graves-What’s it like to spend more than a decade as a traditionally published author and make the switch to indie? Jane will offer guidelines to help you determine if you’re ready to make the leap.


Liliana Hart- An expert in marketing and social media, Liliana will delve into how to find your audience and keep them, and how to navigate the pesky algorithms that can make or break a career.


Debra Holland- With a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, Dr. Holland knows the mind of a writer. How do you stay sane and run a business, while trying to meet deadlines and run the emotional gauntlet caused by being an author.


Dorien Kelly-A tough and practical attorney who will share legal pitfalls that could arise while self-publishing. She’ll also delve into contracts and clauses that can tighten the noose around an author’s neck.


Theresa Ragan- Finished your book and don’t know what to do next? Theresa Ragan shares the basic steps to get you started on your self-publishing journey. Theresa also talks about money and shares real data.


Denise Grover Swank-Thinking of hiring an assistant? Where do you find one? And how do you form a business plan for a business that can be anything but consistent?


Jasinda Wilder-What happens when you have a book that skyrockets? Do you take the traditional deals thrown your way or stay indie? How to make hard decisions from multi-New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder


Get the naked truth from ten women who know.

 

 

Buy HERE

 

A DARK MIND - RELEASE DAY!

A DARK MIND, book 3 in the Lizzy Gardner series, is out TODAY! 

Amazon sent me champagne to celebrate. I will try to wait until 5 pm. before I drink it.

"T.R. Ragan has penned a dark, twisting crime thriller that will keep you up well past your bedtime. Page-turning suspense at its best!" -- Allison Brennan, New York Times Bestselling Author of Stolen

To celebrate the launch of A Dark Mind, I am giving away a Kindle Paperwhite to one lucky winner chosen by Random.org.

All you have to do for a chance to win is comment and tell me what nickname the serial killer in A DARK MIND has been given. It's that easy! 

WINNER WILL BE  CHOSEN USING RANDOM.ORG AND ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY.

I Love Jude Deveraux

1991 - Read my very first romance novel by Jude Deveraux
1991-1996 - wrote my own time travel romance, Return of the Rose
1997 - Joined RWA
1998 - 2009 - wrote at least 15 novels (time travel, contemporary, romantic suspense)
2003- 2008 - Finaled six times in RWA's Golden Heart Competition and signed with two agents
2009 - 2010 - Decided to kill some characters off. Wrote my first thriller, Abducted
2011 - Self published in March, 2011
2012 - Signed my first publishing agreement with Thomas & Mercer
2013 - Sold a half a million books and became a NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
2013 - Met Jude Deveraux!!!!

Me and Jude at RT in Kansas City - 2013

I recently returned from Kansas City after attending my very first Romantic Times Convention. I will be blogging about all of that in a few days.

More importantly, though, I met Jude Deveraux and I feel as if I have come full circle in my writing career.

I'm not one of those people who gets overly excited to spot a celebrity in the airport. But when my husband pointed out that my idol, Jude Deveraux, was signing books not too far away from where I was signing on Saturday May 4th at the Sheraton in Kansas City, I quickly ran off to meet her.

It's really weird to think that ONE person can change your life. What if I had never read A Knight in Shining Armor? Would I have become a writer? Sadly, I don't think so.

"The moment I read the last page, I knew I wanted to be a writer."

It all happened twenty years ago when I was pregnant with my fourth and last child and on leave of absence from work. My sister handed me Jude Deveraux's A Knight in Shining Armor and for the next few hours I was taken away to another world. The escapism and the joy I felt while reading AKISA was something I had never experienced before. I was so connected with the characters, Douglass and Nicholas. I cried and I laughed and the moment I read the last page, I knew I wanted to be a writer, too. I loved watching the heroine, Douglass Montgomery, slowly develop a backbone. She grew right before my eyes and I knew whatever life tossed her way, she would be okay. She found true love and she would find it again. I literally have chills just thinking about the story. There are so many great scenes, simple everyday events like making brownies come to mind, and seeing Dougless fall to her knees, overcome with emotion.

It's a special writer and a special book that can do that to someone...conjure up feelings so strong that they are literally lifechanging. That's what happened to me.

How about you? What lifechanging books have you read in your lifetime?

Thinking About Self-Publishing?

 If you're thinking about self-publishing, you might want to sign up for this course. This is the last one Amy Atwell will be offering until Fall.

 

Intro to Your Self-Publishing Business   Dates: April 28 - May 25, 2013

Course Details

Self-publishing provides an amazing opportunity for authors to take control of their own publishing career. It's also a lot of hard work.

This four-week lecture series and discussion group is designed to teach students about the business of self-publishing books digitally and in print.  When an author chooses to self-publish a book, it means supervising the production and distribution process.  We'll cover all the basics from the perspective of building a successful, long-runninng business:

- basics of self-employment models: sole proprietor, LLC, corporation
- protecting your privacy if you write under a pseudonym
- registering copyright
- obtaining ISBNs and when they're necessary
- finding and working with freelance editors, formatters and cover artists
- distributing directly to retailers vs using aggregators or publishing services
- self-publishing audio books and foreign translations
- where and how to sell your book
- building a basic timeline and budget
- best practices for building your self-published book
- understanding metadata and how and where it's used
- is self-publishing really for you?

Goals

- For students to gain a clearer understanding of how to self-publish
- For students to take ownership of their publishing career path
- For students to gain perspective on the financial and artistic reasons to choose self-publishing
- For students to gain knowledge and tools to help them embark on self-publishing their work
- For students to discover trustworthy resources for further research

Instructors

Kelli Finger is published under her pseudonym Abbey MacInnis and has recently set up her sole-proprietorship publishing company.  A classically-trained vocalist with a Masters of Social Work, Kelli is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and has worked for over six years as a Braille proofreader. Having faced the challenges of developing her own self-publishing career, she's eager to help others save time and understand their many options.  Kelli will be moderating the class, so don‚t hesitate to direct questions to her.

Amy Atwell is the self-published author of Ambersley, which sold 36,000 copies in its first year and hit #1 in Historical Romance on both Kindle and Nook. Amy combines 10+ years of writing experience with perspective from her previous careers in production management, retail and education to develop classes for Author E.M.S., an online resource library and service center for authors. She is an active member of RWA, MWA and HNS and founder of WritingGIAM, an online community for goal-oriented writers.
Specifics

Dates: April 28 - May 25, 2013
Taught by Amy Atwell and Kelli Finger
Cost:  $40 payable by PayPal or check
The class will take place on a Yahoo loop. Lectures will be posted to the group and in the files section. Registrants will receive an invitation to the group after they've completed the registration process (after April 23).

Registration link:  http://www.authorems.com/ai1ec_event/intro-to-self-publishing/?instance_id=
For more info, contact Amy, a.atwell@authorems.com

__._,_.___

Hey there!

When my daughter was home for spring break a few weeks ago, we made a stop motion claymation video for my thriller, ABDUCTED.

We had a lot of fun. The spider we made out of clay and used to crawl up and over the book had to have a spider double to take his place because we had to squish him to the book so many times. The spider walking across the screen by its lonseome took one hour just to film 15 seconds of video. Enjoy!

And for those of you who are curious about how some self-published authors are doing when it comes to # of books sold, check out Marie Force's blog post on E-Book Formatting Fairies website HERE.

Don't forget to have a wonderful day!

Theresa Ragan is...

A USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR!!!

I want to thank all of my readers for making so many of my dreams come true. Since becoming an indie author in March 2011, wonderful things continue to happen every week.

I have a few contests going on during the Month of April. If you want to enter my GET YOUR NAME IN MY BOOK CONTEST (Book #4 of my Lizzy Gardner Series), CLICK HERE to enter.

If you would like a chance to win an ADVANCED reading copy of Book #3 in the Lizzy Gardner series, ENTER HERE TO WIN.

Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter for a chance to win a $50 gift card each month! A winner will be chosen on the 15th of every month, but you must stay subscribed to be eligible each month.

Dream big and always believe in yourself!