Happy Halloween

I hope everyone is having a Happy Halloween!! I'll be spending my night burning the midnight oil and working on my rewrites and new scenes. Though I'm not going to lie and say I haven't spent the day pigging out on candy. And I may have creeped everyone out at work by dressing as a heartless psychopath. But hey I am who I am.

If you haven't gotten your copy of Triple Threat you can find it here: http://goo.gl/P0cLGF
And if you haven't preordered your copy of Taming An Alpha you can get it here: http://goo.gl/USvAzw

I am hoping to have everything done by the end of next week and you guys might even get your copies early.

Tomorrow starts Nanowrimo and I usually participate but this year I won't be but I will be giving everyone that is lots of support. I will be working on one of my mystery projects next month and I have even had a zombie story lurking in my mind, though I'm not sure if I want to write it some of the scenes that have been going through my mind for it are heart wrenching. Maybe I just need to rewatch The Walking Dead....

Ok I'm going back into my own little world.

Happy Halloween!

Slaughtered It

There is a HUGE possibility that I may have over edited my first book. I have gotten a few good replies from my beta readers about book 2. And I pulled out my lovely copy of book 1 and compared my editing notes between the two. Book 2 has a few cuts and bruises while book 1 looks like it has been slaughtered.  So there is a big possibility that once I am done with the series I will be going BACK over book 1 and 'fixing' it AKA changing it back. I am almost done with my edits I have a few more betas to hear back from and then I can begin the wonderful process of rewriting and then submitting it.

Next month is Nanowrimo! I usually participate but I won't be this year. I already am jotting down notes and beginning my outline for the next book in the Millersburg Shifters series. But I am not sure which characters I want to write about.

You can't just change your characters! Yes, yes I can. My outline is constantly changing from what I originally jotted down. I even have a new character that I didn't know was going to show up. Yay more character descriptions....

I have also noticed that I seem to love the word so.... I have edited it out I don't know how many times now from my books and blogs. And the word anyway.... I am not a very prolific word person. Which makes no sense what so ever.

Whatever. That's what a dictionary and thesaurus is for.

But I am very excited. One of my friends has decided to write her own story and so far I am loving what she has researched and outlined. I can't wait for her to finish it so I can read it. I may see if she has any of it written by the time book 3 comes out so I can pop a preview in there for all of you.

Q&A 1

So I was scrolling through Pinterest and came across this. Some of the questions asked I had no answer for. FYI these are not verbatim. 

1. What's your book about? It's a paranormal romance and can be found on Amazon

2. Did you self-publish and are you making money? Yes I did. *snorts and laughs hysterically* 

3. How long did it take you to write your book? 2 years

4.Why should I read your book? Because it is amazing and I would love for you to fall in love with the characters like I have.

5. As a writer what are you good at? I am good at imagining fantastical worlds and bringing them to life. (Book I am referring to has not been published yet.)

Questions 4 and 5 I really had to think about and my answers are probably not the best ones out there but they work for me. Are these all the questions an author is going to be asked? No. 

I have met some people who want an in depth explanation of your book which pretty much tells them the whole story and then they never read it. I have found that just replying with my blurb is the best course of action.

I have even been asked if I was ever going to go through a traditional publisher. Um... I've only published one book and my second one is up for pre order. I don't know if I would go through a traditional publishing company. I might. I might not. I honestly don't know.

Then the one that killed me. Am I going to find your book at my local book store? This hurt. I would love to be able to see my books on shelves at book stores but I am not going to be offering a paperback version of my books until after book 3 has been published. I don't feel that my stories have enough meat on their bones to offer a paperback version for each one.

But each author is different and so is each series. When I started writing the Millersburg Shifters series I knew they would not be very long stories. Just like my spin off series Millersburg Agents. These are just to create my niche in the publishing world. 

Do I have other stories planned? Yes I do and some of them are nothing like my Millersburg Shifters. I don't only write paranormal romance. I also write about zombies, fantasy worlds, outer-space, and undersea worlds.

I've already divulged more than I want to so I am going to stop with these final words of wisdom. Each author is different. Just like each book is different. Never compare yourself to others otherwise your story will never get written. You have a voice inside of you that wants out. If you keep pushing that voice to the wayside it won't be there when you are finally ready to write down what it is telling you.

Beta Readers

I posted on my personal Facebook page for beta readers and I was asked a very important question that I felt needed to be addressed. The question was whether or not it was a paid gig. For a first time writer I told them my sales were not enough to actually pay them but... Yes but I would give them a free copy of the book that they were beta reading for me.

I felt that I should give a bit of advice to other new authors out there. If you have beta readers who are willing to read your book free of charge that's awesome. But it's just good manners to give them something in return. (Edit) If you are a new reader and find someone willing to be a beta reader, always offer them a free copy of your book if they want one. I would not suggest offering money, unless you have ready cash for them. If you want to offer them money do not depend on what you get from sales.

1. You don't know what your sales are going to look like.
2. If you go through Amazon you won't get your first payment for 60 days.
3. Taxes and fees (may) apply to what you get. So if you price your book at $.99 then when someone buys it the get charged $1.07 (if I did my math right) and then there is a Delivery Cost if you do 70% Royalty (which pricing starts at $2.99)

But beware your beta readers. I'm not saying all of them are bad most are really nice but there are bad apples out there. They might steal/copy your work. Or troll you once you have published your work. Yes there are some messed up people out there. Just turn on the news.

Also, there is always one thing that sits in the back of my mind. These are my friends (if you are using your friends as beta readers) are they really going to give me their honest opinion or are they going to sugar coat it?

This question dogs me every time I ask someone to read something for me and it has actually stopped me a few times. But to be a successful writer you have to face your fears. To be successful at anything you have to face your fears. I've talked about my fears before.

Hopefully after the feedback I receive I will get my edits done and have it submitted for ya'll to read on December 1st. I thought I had set up the pre-order for Dec. 14th but I was wrong. Anyway, keep an eye out for little updates on my Facebook page and Twitter. I try to remember to update but sometimes I forget. I'm sure some of you are going to ask about my personal page but I will tell you right now that my personal page is just that, personal.

Don't forget to get your copy of Triple Threat and pre order your copy of Taming An Alpha.

Look at me getting all tech savvy... Not! I learned how to use the little links button.... Yeah I'm a dork. It's ok. Don't hate me for my dorkiness.

A Quick Update

After I publish Taming An Alpha I will be taking a short break due to the holiday season and since I am a supervisor at work that means I will be grumpier when I get home. (Retail sucks!) 

I am hoping to be bringing you either book 3 of the Millersburg Shifters or one of my mystery projects that I work on when I take down time from my series. But next year I will have a full schedule and will be working long and hard on my books. 

After reviewing my schedule I realized that I won't have much time to be blogging a whole lot in the coming year so please do not be upset if my posts are sporadic. Now I am off to finish up what I am working on. Tootles!