Yeah Yeah, you know this already… Jack and Jill Volume One released yesterday. Thanks so much for everyone who picked up a copy!
I now have official links, so if you guys could do me a favor and hit “like” on Amazon for the Paperback Version and the Kindle Version (No, I don’t know why it’s separate either.
Well, I do, but that’s a story for another day.
Also, if you could be a dear and add it to your Goodreads list, that would be just sumptuous.
Posted in Marketing Madness
Tagged blue, blue lady, book release, Goodreads, Jack and Jill, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, lady from mars, little, Mars, Martian, new book, release day
Firstly, I’m being interviewed today over at Georgie Tyler’s blog. Hop on over and visit! http://www.georgietyler.com/2012/12/say-hi-to-author-jennifer-eaton.html
Annnnnnddddd………………….
I’m interrupting this blog tour for “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas” with some exciting news!
A while ago I announced that my story “Test of Faith” was accepted by Still Moments Publishing.
Well, It gets even better!
A Test of Faith is going to be combined with the re-release of my “Connect the Dots” as a Novella called “Jack and Jill, Volume One”.
Did you catch that? VOLUME ONE!
I pitched the idea of following these characters through the tremulous first year in a relationship, and Still Moments liked the idea, so you will get to see more of these characters as their relationship progresses.
And for even more fun… Here is the Cover Reveal!
Jack and Jill, Volume One will be available on January 22!
What do you think of the cover?
Posted in Marketing Madness
Tagged Christmas, cover reveal, Holiday, Jack and Jill, Literature, New Year, New Years, Opinions, Relationships, religious, story
It’s here! The brandy-spanking-new, fresh-off-the-press… well, sort of… cover for the new Christmas Anthology featuring my story “Connect the Dots.”
Doesn’t that just make ya wanna start singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman? Or my personal favorite …
I’m Mister White Christmas
I’m Mister Snow
I’m Mister Icicle
I’m Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser,
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I’m too much!
I’m Mister Green Christmas
I’m Mister Sun
I’m Mister Heat Blister
I’m Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser,
What ever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I’m too much!
Everybody sing with me!
Okay, well… maybe not, but how about that cover? Sparkly, huh?
Posted in Marketing Madness
Alright, we’ve talked about not marketing your novel… instead, marketing yourself. How do you do that? By being nice.
(Check out the last few Friday posts if you’re just jumping in.)
Okay, so it’s all well and good doing this over the internet… but what about those public appearances?
We can all be nice, that’s not too hard. Getting out there in front of people… that is hard. But when you do, just remember that you don’t need to shove your novel in people’s faces.
Just smile pretty. Answer questions. Be yourself.
If you are a scared, timid writer, invent a new character who is outgoing and friendly… and be that person for a little while. (It’s called acting).
In the end, the connections you make will sell your work. The connections you make will lead to “word of mouth”. And you never know when you will be nice to someone, and they will help you out.
Remember Ed Griffis? After my post on his novel, dozens of my followers re-tweeted it. It’s the Twitter snowball effect. His Kindle rating jumped. Pretty cool, huh? I’m not saying that is all because of my post. Maybe it was just a coincidence. (There is a lot that goes into your Amazon rating. It not only has to do with your sales, but everyone else’s too.) But if you guys did all run out and buy his book, that’s great… and you found out about it because the author was “nice” to me for a little while.
Smile pretty at everyone.
You never know who you might meet.
We’re talking about Marketing your novel the easy way. Last week established author Danielle Ackley McPhail told us…
I was lucky enough to hear her elucidate, but it really made me think about my own experiences… and I realised that she’s absolutely right.
Let’s dig a little deeper into that thought.
I have personally read several Romance novels recently. I don’t like Romance Novels. Why did I read them? I’ve cyber-met the authors, and we “chat” on Twitter, email, or through my blog. They are Cyber-Friends, and I wanted to see their work (Now I am trying to convince them to blow a few things up to make their novels more exciting.) But did I buy their novels? Yes!
On the flip side… if I am having trouble writing a kiss (with bombs going off in the background) I can ask them for some guidance. They don’t like explosions, but might they become interested in my work? Hmmmm. Maybe.
Recently, I contacted an author, and asked her some questions. I told her I’d read her book. She never asked me if I liked it. We just chatted. Now we are cyber-friends. Will I buy her next novel?
Yep. I sure will. She didn’t push her book… she just marketed HERSELF. I am not sure she even realized what she was doing… She was just being NICE.
It’s easy to do that on the internet. We can think about what we write, and edit if we sound stupid. How about in person?
We’ll chat about that next Friday.
Posted in Author Advice, Marketing Madness
Tagged Blog, blogging, Facebook, marketing, novel, public appearance, Twitter, writing selling, your novel
Last week we talked about the best way to market your novel. I promised the secret magic recipe from established author Danielle Ackley McPhail. Are ya ready for it?
Most people don’t go out looking for a particular novel. They go looking for an author… even if they don’t even know it. Consider this: If you are breezing through an Amazon page full of novels, who are you going to click on first— the unknown, or the name that you recognize… even if you cannot remember why you recognize the name.
Chew on this for a little while, and next week I’m going to fill you in on what I thought when I really considered what she said. This works, because I’ve seen it. Think about your own experiences, what you think has worked, and hasn’t worked for people. Let’s chat it up!
In the meantime, can you think of a time when someone marketed themself, and it worked? Can you think of a time when someone marketed their novel and it didn’t work? (That one should be easy)
Posted in Author Advice, Marketing Madness
Tagged Amazon, Fiction, Literature, Market, market your novel, market yourself, marketing, sell your novel
When you do this… Learn from my mistake… don’t schedule it a few days before the pictures are actually due.
I went on a Saturday. The pictures were due Tuesday at the latest. No problem, right?
Okay, so I am sure you are expecting me to say that the photo shoot was a disaster. No, it wasn’t. On the contrary. What it was, though, was LONG.
I have a new appreciation for models. Believe it or not, it’s not easy to hold your body in one position and constantly tilt your head in different directions. And leaning back and holding your head at a certain angle is PAINFUL.
Granted, I could have said, “boring head shots only,” but if you’ve been hanging out here for a while, you know that’s just not me. Yeah, I got some boring head shots, but I got some really artistic head shots as well, along with full body poses and fun stuff.
This is where my problem came in. Time. I wanted to hand my portrait in on Sunday so I could work on the final proof of Last Winter Red to offer it up to slaughter submit it to the editor Monday or Tuesday.
I opened the proof disk to find 325 photographs. Ugh! (A good ugh, but still Ugh!)
It took me a few hours to narrow it down to 60 shots. Then I narrowed those down to 27. Then I took those and got vainly anal about them.
I have a lot of great shots that are fun and show more of my personality, but looking at other author shots, they are all pretty much the same. The photographs of me that I loved were all looking away from the camera, but my husband and I decided to look right at the camera for something more engaging.
I did end up sending two shots to the publisher. One was a full body shot with my socks off. The other was a normal portrait shot. (I know, socks off sounds weird… felt weird doing it, too, but I have a ton of socks-off pictures in my “love it” file.
The publisher ended up cropping the “socks off” picture into a portrait. Not too original, but it looks nice.
What can you learn from this? Save time and money when you get your pictures taken and only get boring stuff done.
However, if you have the time, get a whole slew of them done, and get some great pictures that you can have fun with on your web site, or treat yourself to a nice picture of you for a change rather than only having pictures of your kids on the wall.
More than anything: ENJOY IT! Consider it pampering. Once in a while, everyone deserves a little “it’s all about me” time.
Book Trailers. What do you think of them? Are they valuable? Is this the next best way to use the wonderful free media outlets out there to help promote yourself, or is this the next best way to shoot yourself in the foot?
Which camp are you in?
My answer (Surprise! I have an opinion!) is that it can really go both ways. As in any marketing idea, it depends on what you put into it. The best book trailer I have ever seen is actually a FAKE one put together by Nathan Bransford to show how easy it was to make one. Unfortunately, I searched through his site, and I cannot find it. Anyone have it?
Here is a great one I can link up to. It is a little long for my tastes. They probably could have edited it down under two minutes, especially without music — but WOW does it pack a punch. Take a look. This is definitely one of the five best I’ve seen, despite the length.
Here’s another live-action one, with voice-over. This one I think is pretty good too. And it’s short enough that it does not annoy you out of buying the book.
The worst one I have seen? Hmmmm. Out of the 30 Book Trailers I have watched preparing for this article, you actually want me to pick the worst out of the 27 that were just horrible?
I think the numbers make my point without picking on any one person. I don’t want to embarrass anyone.
This is the thing. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. Let’s take a look at another one that I think is pretty good. This one does not have expensive live-action. It’s just pictures, graphics and swipes, and a really good soundtrack. The pictures are perfect, and it doesn’t look thrown together.
Wow. Good, huh? Even if you don’t like the genre, you are tempted… aren’t you? So what made this so much better than the other 28? I will take a wild guess and say PRICE. I don’t know if it was professionally done or not, but the person who did it knew what they were doing, and took their time to make sure it was RIGHT.
The other 28? Well, they look like they were thrown together on someone’s home computer.
What does this say about your work?
As a consumer looking at a book trailer… this is what goes through my head when I see a bad book trailer.
“Is the book as lame as that trailer was?”
“Is that the best they could do?”
“Is the book going to be as bad as that trailer?”
These are all normal, honest reactions. On the flip side, for the really good trailer… something professionally done means someone believed in the work enough that they spent the time, and maybe money, to produce a quality product. If they took the time to do this, the book must have been worth it.
Is a bad book trailer going to make you pass over the book? In my eyes… YES. Others may have a different opinion, but for the reasons I listed above… yes.
My Opinion? If you are going to do it at all… do it right. Get a professional to do it. If you are going to get a bunch of stock photography that is mismatched and does not flow together, and glue it together with a cheesy free soundtrack in the background you are not doing your novel any justice.
You are better off not having a book trailer at all.
Along with the book cover, and here ya go, in case you missed it.
Sigh… just don’t get tired of looking at my name on there…
Anyway…
Along with the book cover, we now have the back cover copy with details on all the cool stories about this little lady in red.
And no, It’s not Little Red Riding Hood. It had to be about anything BUT that fabled character. So without further ado, here is the back cover copy for “Make Believe”
Oh! It would be great if you’d click on these lovely ladies’ names and give them a shout out on their blogs. We’re all celebrating!
Back of the Book
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.
The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford
There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.
After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.
Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she’s never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.
Petrified by Kelly Said
A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow. Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either.
The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.
Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton
Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.
The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.
Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.
Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.
URL: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/17
Posted in Marketing Madness, Road to Publication, Writing to a Deadline
Tagged anthology, Book, Book cover, cover reveal, Florida, Grief Loss and Bereavement, J. Keller Ford, J. Taylor Publishing, J.A. Belfield, jennifer M. Eaton, Kelly Said, Little Red Riding Hood, Lynda R. Young, Make Believe, Make Believe Anthology, Short story, Terri Rochenski
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What makes you comment in reply to an article on a Blog?
I’ve been wondering about this a lot. What makes you stop and comment on a blog article your read? There are some people who comment all the time.
My top commenters are pretty much the same people. Three of them switch back and forth duking it out for the “Top Commenter” honors on a daily basis.
I don’t know why there is a Shakespeare guy next to this post, either.
I think maybe some people comment for the social-networking aspect, and some people are just looking for information.
Stop, read, and go. I guess that’s okay too.
Does anyone else mull over this? I guess I’m weird, but when I visit another blog, I usually like the person to know that I’ve been there.
It’s kind of like poking them with a sword, or leaving a message on someone’s desk.
“Hi! I stopped by, and wanted to let you know I was here. Catch ya later”.
According to my stats, I average 150 people visiting this blog every day. (Crazy, isn’t it?) I run an average of six to twelve comments per post, give or take a few here and there. (Yes, a few have gone as high as 50 comments, but that’s not the norm)
That means 90% of people read, but don’t comment. I’ve seen some people create Gravitar accounts just to comment. That’s cool. You don’t need to be a blogger to join in the fun.
So… If you are a commenter, what makes you comment?
If you don’t comment, are you just shy?
Now, I am completely aware that the people who don’t comment probably still won’t. But if a few of you do, it would be great! If you are shy, and think “I don’t have anything to say” just type “Hi, I was here.”
Consider it your first step into the madness of Social Networking.
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Posted in Marketing Madness, Senseless Ranting
Tagged blogging, commenting, Facebook, how to get comments on your blog, LinkedIn, Online Communities, Social media, Social network, Social network service, Twitter