Confusion

Many things confuse me. Like why are people so obsessed with reality television? Why is it so important to have someone retweet your tweet on Twitter? Why does it feel like an earth-ending apocalypse if no one responds to your comment on Facebook? And how in the heck do you use Google+?

I know some of my questions may never be answered but these things throw me for a loop. I’ve tried (with varying degrees of success) to understand these questions. Some braver souls have even tried to explain to me why it is so important to know what J. Lo was wearing on American Idol last night. I just don’t understand. 

I believe I may have discovered the reason for my confusion. I am shy. Simple enough. I don’t like to be singled out for either excellence or failure. Though I prefer to always be firmly seated in the excellent category. The thought of standing on a stage, even a virtual one, and being spotlighted is terrifying to me. The thought that anyone would care what I did today is a foreign concept. 

Perhaps this stems from my lack of popularity growing up. Yes, I was the dork sitting in the middle row hoping everyone would ignore me, but at the same time wishing with all my might that I could also be popular. So, I will continue to try to work through my confusion. I will attempt to become a more active participant in the social world. I just hope I don’t get in my own way.

Giveaway: Signed Draft Copy of Forever

Prize

A signed draft copy of Forever. I accidentally ordered one to many copies. So rather than allowing it to sit on my on my bookshelf I decided hold a contest. I am afraid there is only one copy though given that it is a draft.

Rules

The contest is open to everyone with reliable mail service. This includes international readers. The contest begins on December 15th at midnight and ends on December 31st at midnight. All times are EST. The winner will be chosen via random.org and will be contact by e-mail within 72 hours from the end of the contest.

Update

Thank you all for your interest and entries. The winner is Vickie Jones. Thank you again for all the support and interest. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Forever on Nook, Other E-readers, and Paperback

I know everything is up and going on Amazon and Smashwords but I’m getting many questions about the release date on the Nook and other e-readers. The good news is Nook should be up within 24-72 hours. The bad news is that it may be 2-3 weeks before it is available on other e-reading devices like the Sony e-reader and iBooks.

Forever can be downloaded for other e-reading devices (besides the Nook and Kindle) on Smashwords. The paperback is ready to go through Createspace. It will soon be available through Amazon and B&N as well. Below I have the links for Smashwords and Createspace to purchase electronic copies or paperbacks. I will let everyone know as soon as Forever is available through other vendors.

Smashwords  Createspace

Forever Release Date Moved Up

So a funny story for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

I uploaded the new version of Immortal some months back after editing was completed. It took nearly four days to go live on Smashwords and another two days before it was updated on Amazon. I don’t really know how long it took before Barnes & Noble got it up on their site but it took a few weeks.

The reason I’m telling you all this is that I set my release date for Forever as December 1, 2011. I didn’t want the formatting and upload time to cause me to miss the date so I began the process in the WEEEEEEEEE hours of the morning on November 24, 2011. Funny thing is it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. In fact, it is now available for purchase on Smashwords and will soon be available on Amazon. I considered removing them and waiting an extra few days but that can be a tricky game so I am leaving them up.

Think of it as a Black Friday present. I hope you all enjoy and that the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend is a happy one.

Forever Book Trailer

I made a book trailer for the upcoming release. I hope you all enjoy it.

Forever Release Date

I know everyone has been waiting for an update and I told you I would let you know milestones as I reached them. The suspense is over in some regards and just starting in another. Forever has been sent to the proofer (to make sure all my I’s have dots and those pesky homophones are found). With that said, I am setting the tentative release date for Forever as December 1, 2011.

As a little treat, I am also posting the cover for Forever. I hope you all enjoy it. And I look forward to your feedback.

Mistake Number One

Not hiring a professional editor.

This may seem like a no brainer but I have to learn everything the hard way. This is the thing I regret the most and would change if I could. I honestly thought that when I released Immortal it was the best it could be. There were, however, some glaring errors in the manuscript and those reviewers or readers who threw their hands up and quit reading I apologize.

Earlier this year I decided to correct this issue. I hired a professional editor (Lynn O’Dell) and after a few months of hard work and back and forth we got it worked out. I now have the edited version of Immortal at Amazon and Smashwords. I have also uploaded it to B&N but I’m not sure how long it will take to be corrected as they tend to lag behind slightly on updates.

My advice to those who are considering going the Indie route is to hire a professional editor. It may seem like and unnecessary or frivolous expense, but it is worth every penny you spend. Also make sure they do an adequate job (most editors will offer sample edits). There really is no substitute for an editor. Beta readers are great but they usually are not getting paid to find the mistakes. So if you want your book to be the best it can be, get a reputable editor. This will not guarantee success but it will hopefully help prevent some bad reviews or readers giving up on your novel prematurely due to common spelling errors or holes in your plot.