Author Spotlight!

Welcome to everyone who is joining me today. Today I'm going to be spotlighting an author. 
Author Raven Moon is an indie author, with five books available now. I had the pleasure of reviewing her book Black Mountain recently on Distinct Authors Podcast Channel as well as Youtube. You can catch the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify now. 

Check out her books on Amazon today! 


Abandoned as a young child, Jade Sierra lived on the streets in the small town of Golden Pond, Ky. But after a Vampire attack, she was left for dead until a thousand-year-old Vampire named Jewel found her.

Jade has spent her life living with Immortals and Shapeshifters. She has hidden her true identity from the human race. But when suspicions rise in the small town, Jewel moves her Immortal family to Black Mountain, NC.Just when Jade thought being uprooted was the worst that could happen, she learns she is dead wrong. When she stumbles upon a dead body, she is in for a rude awaking. Now with Black Mountain starting to grow suspicious of the newcomers, Jade must learn everything about the murderer before they strike again.Jade must help the first murder victim get justice so she can be rid of him. But is she strong enough to go against something she knows nothing about?

Negative Reviews and how to deal with them.

I'm certain we've all gotten a negative review. The one-star review or a review where your book is literally torn to pieces leaving you ragged and raw. Every one of us has had to deal with such a review at one point or other in our career. It's not the review we must worry about, but how we deal with it.

Many years ago, (10 years or so) I got some amazing advice from my publisher at the time. She told me to consider how my life had altered and for me to consider what it meant to have a book on the market. For better or worse, I was a public figure, even if it was only to a select group of people. What I did was being watched closely.

Her words ring true even now after she's retired and I'm working on book number...thirteen or so. In some ways, my life altered with the first contract, in other ways, it's still the same. For me, the biggest difference is how much thought I have to put into what I say online.

Okay, I can hear you say, "Nonsense, what could possibly have changed?"

Well for starters, I had to be aware of getting into controversial arguments on social media. Not that I was into them, to begin with, but I've seen some authors who have lost their s**t over a bad review, or some percieved personal attack. I'm all for defending one's self, especially in light of some of the negatives out there such as Piracy but that's another topic for another day.

Reviews are a keystone for authors, you need them to create sales. Unfortunately, you need sales to get reviews. It becomes an endless cycle of hope and prayer, lol. But let's get back to the topic - I meandered away there, my apologies. We write this book, pour our sweat, blood, and tears into it. It becomes a living entity to us. After weeks, months even, of work, it's published and on the market. And we want people to love it, but you check and see a *gasp* review. Reading it, the anger rolls, steam's bursting from your ears, and you're ready to throw the laptop out the window.

How dare someone tear it apart? What do they mean giving it a single star?

Guess what, it happens.

The way we handle it will set the tone for ourselves and our reputation as authors. No, you don't toss out the laptop or break things. It won't change anything, and you'll have to clean up the mess. Instead, take it for what it's worth. A review is a reader's opinion, and there is very little likelihood you're going to satisfy every person who picks up your novel.

So we have to balance it out. Yes, a negative review sucks, but if we expend all our energy on that one review - what's left. In my experience, and I make no implication I'm speaking for anyone else, the best way to deal with the negative review is to pick it apart. What is the reader telling me? Was there some plot hole which I didn't see and it pulled the reader from the book? Maybe it was pacing? Is there a kernel of information within the review I can use?

If you can answer any of these questions positively, then I would say make this a positive review.
One thing an author should never do is attack the person leaving the review. If you want to lose any credibility, or gain a bad reputation then engage in an all out troll war.

Now, if there is no way to look at the review in a positive light for whatever reason, then just getting passed the review is your only option.

Put your energy into a more positive endeavour such as writing. There is never going to be a day when you will please every person who reads your book. And it's been proven, bad publicity can work in your favour. Keep in mind, reviews are opinions, and trying to force, cajole, or otherwise please everyone so you get nothing but 5 star reviews will ultimately hurt you when you suffer burnout.

Insanity...or Determination

Insanity by its own definition is utilizing the same action time and again while expecting different results.

How often have we, as authors, tried some new-fangled promotional tool and not seen the results we want, but we continue to use it in the hope it'll suddenly net us the sales. Well, if you're anything like me, or some of my author friends, probably more times than you'd like to admit. Perhaps, its the sense of entitlement we have come to believe in, or maybe its complacency, or simply a desperate hope we cling to like a shipwrecked victim clinging to the dingy. Or perhaps, its none of those things but rather a simple lack of awareness of what we're trying to do.


Are we trying to get recognized?
Looking to boost our ranking on Amazon?
Perhaps, we are trying to attract sales?
Are we trying to compete with other authors?

Whatever the answer, it drives us forward, beating our fists against a brick wall without truly understanding what the end result is meant to be.

I've talked with a lot of people, including professional coaches about using the tools at our disposal in the pursuit of success and sales. During those conversations, the very idea of having an expectation of instant return on investment was talked over.

I had one conversation where the person I was speaking to asked me at one point a question. Instantly it had me rearing back with a gasp. How dare she ask me such a question. How dare anyone assume I wasn't looking at the big picture. 

What is this question which caused such a monumental moment of shock and horror? It was a simple question, and instantly had my defences going up.

When was I going to stop blaming everyone and everything else for my lack of sales?

After sitting for a few moments doing an Emmy award worthy impression of a goldfish, I blinked, and sat back in the chair and stared at her.  Her question was a difficult one, but one I needed to answer for a couple of reasons.  One, I didn't necessarily want to accept I wasn't carrying my share of the burden of promotion. I wasn't, by the way. And two, to see the results I want to see, I needed to have the blinders taken off.

I could sit around and complain about how my sales suck, or I'm not getting anywhere, I want to make more money.

In truth, I discovered the reality of there is an endless supply of "I'm spending money on ads on social media, I hired a PA to do my scheduling for promotion etc.

Excuses are plentiful, I found, like juicy apples on a tree.

Full disclosure: I've offered my fair share of excuses, of paying the blame forward. Its not my fault the books are selling it must be someone elses. In truth, I've spoken of them numerous times, until I got the wakeup call.

Sitting at my desk, bemoaning the lack of sales, and search engine placement, I drafted an email. I could almost feel the ulcers forming as I hit send on my message and wondered if it was the right thing to do.

That email was the first smart action I took. The answer I got was a wake-up call, and one I'd tried very hard to pretend wasn't what I needed.  My correspondence was met with a hard truth, one which lifted the wool from my eyes. If I wanted to succeed I had to take a cold, hard look at what I was doing...and cut away the dead weight of repetitive action I was hampering myself with. I had to acknowledge being accountable for my own mistakes meant I needed to push aside the excuses, the laziness, the sheer lethargy I had managed to convince myself was working.

I failed to see how my actions of epeatedly, trying to gain ground by doing the same thing over and over again was in its own way insanity. Believe me, I tried the basics until it was nearly muscle memory. But, I wasn't gaining, by all accounts I was holding steady with a decline in sales as my books were superseded by new releases by other authors.

I had to do some thinking, what did I want to do? Get a head or spend my time spinning my wheels in quicksand. With every post, every missed chance, I was making the choice to walk along the path of denial.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering, what does this have to do with the title of this blog?

Well, its a prime example of my experience with the insanity of inaction. I was determined to unmine myself, to make my own projects second, while I wallowed in the woe is me of lack of sales.

Taking the advice and critism from others was hard. It was shocking and bold, and what was needed. For me to succeed - for any of us to succeed, I believe we need to take a solid look at what have and what we don't have. What we know and what we don't want to know.

If I want to be sure I'm making sales, I have to accept my part in the process and step up to the plate. I need to step off the revolving door of complacency and jump into the deep end of promoting and marketing my brand, my books, and engage with my readers.

Is this going to be easy? Probably not, but then the things we want aren't always easy to obtain. When we have to work for what we desire, we appreciate it much more than if its handed to us. So, it begs the question, my fellow authors, where do you fit in the cogs of this wonderfully crazy world of publishing?

Creating Your Perfect Writing Space Part Two

In my last post, I talked about why authors need their writing space to be productive. I touched on the where of the space as well, but today I'm going to into further detail and talk about the top five things we need to be creatively productive.

You've picked out your 'office' spot, a quiet little nook you can claim as your own. But turning it from the bare, uninspiring spot into the wonderful pool of a creative fountain is going to take some work. A little sweat equity will ensure success.

As an author, I know what I need when I'm sitting down to write. Whether its notes I jotted down while making dinner, or the research books for my next story, I want them to be at the of my arms reach. Having a few shelves to hang on the wall allows for vertical storage, and you can buy shelving for a few dollars on Amazon or even your local Walmart.

Honestly putting the shelves together may be more taxing than hanging them.

A desk or table you can put your computer on is of course vital. If you use a Desktop or a Laptop it is imperative you have a desk you can place it on. This allows for better air circulation for the laptop, as well as a healthier position for you to write in. Finding the perfect desk doesn't necessarily mean running to the store and buying one, refurbishing an old table, will work just as well. Currently, I'm using a table we had in storage as my desk.

Having a comfortable chair to sit in makes a big difference in how productive you are. If you're constantly having to readjust yourself or get up and walk around, stretch  perhaps investing in a more ergonomical chair would be a good idea. Remember to take breaks though, just because the chair is comfortable enough to sit in for hours on end, doesn't mean you shouldn't take a few microbreaks during your writing time. In the end, it will help keep you healthy both mentally and physically.

You want to have good lighting of course. Natural light is always the best, but if your writing space doesn't have a window, ensuring you have adaquate lighting is a must. Investing in a good lamp and placing it near your computer is the best way to get great results. As well, having a lamp will ensure you are able to work any time of the day or night. There are a lot of good lamps out there ranging from ones which sit on the desk with a shade to the ones which have a positioning arm. Which you use, is entirely up to you. I prefer the one with the arm, simply because you can move it around to focus the light where you want it.

So, you've got the desk, chair, shelving, and lighting figured out. Now comes the fun part of this. Picking a color for the walls of your writing space. Yes, colors do have an impact on your creativity. Depending on what mood you want to create will ultimately affect which color of paint you purchase.

The top three colors I've found for creative productivity are Blue, Red, and Yellow. There are of course benefits in other colors, but for my writing space, these I've found work the best.

Blue being an intellectual color, helps the brain function at a higher level. It's used to in areas which require focus and mental strain.

Red is a physical color. Typically a person would put this in their office if they're required to exert themselves physically.

Yellow is a wonderful color, full of sunshine, and happiness. It represents the more creative aspects of our minds and helps to stimulate creativity, happiness, and positivity.

For myself, having walls of yellow with blue and red accents is ideal. It allows me to focus on my writing as well as keeping me motivated to not only work on my writing but my health as well. Taking breaks to do some stretches, or turn away from the computer for a few minutes and do some reading ... or even grab a cup of coffee all helps.

Having a few plants in your work space is helpful, as it creates a more natural atmosphere and thus allows us to recharge those creative batteries.

I hope these suggestions have proven to be helpful as you work toward creating the perfect creative space within your home. Happy decorating and make your creative space your own!!

I'd love to hear from you on what your writing space looks like. Share in the comments below!

The Forsaken Series - Our Journey Began with a bang

The Forsaken Series has long been a baby of mine - and of co-author Ciara Lake. In 2010, when we first started talking about this project we had a vision of what we wanted it to look like. Unfortunately, for us, we had no idea where this project would lead us.

Ciara and I sat down and began to work on developing the series in its entirety. As we talked and plotted, and planned, we worked out a rough idea of what we were going to do. In our enthusiasm and eagerness, our vision was simple: Fill the rapidly developing, and smoking hot paranormal romance genre with a series of books. Sounds easy, doesn't it?




We discovered it wasn't quite that simple...or easy.

 Boy, did we have a lot to learn.



The journey itself has been filled with pot holes, self-doubt, frustration, anxiety, joy and euphoria. It hasn't always been an easy one, there have been learning curves, differences, and self-doubts. This project proved to be a challenge unlike anything we'd ever known, or anticipated. There were layers and layers of things we needed to do, tasks we had to master, and even when we thought we knew what we were doing. We have learned how to work as a team - even though we work independently - and overcome our own negative mentalities and egos.

I think we found the stories to be easier to write than we had anticipated, especially since both of us were familiar with writing. Ciara and I had already been published, and were familiar with the process in the sense we were comfortable with the story-telling. The characters were open and willing to allow us to tell their stories, and the worlds were fairly straight forward. It was only as we got further into the actual meat of the project where we stumbled.

However, that's for another post. As we near the release of book thirteen and the release of the second volume of our Boxed Sets, we are still learning, still developing our voices with each new book, each new character and really beginning to not only appreciate the journey for the journey's sake, but understanding the road we are on, is guiding us to yet another crossroad. As we near it, and stand upon the rocky ground, we can only trust ourselves to guide us on the next part of our journey...and we hope you'll come along with us.

Who do you write for?

Do you know who you are writing for?

Back in the day, when an author submitted their manuscript to a publisher, there was a certain expectation, they – the author- would know who their audience was. In some fields of publication this is still a mandatory practice, but in recent years has become less common when it comes to fiction. Publishers really expected authors to know in advance because it reduced the risks and increased the potential profits.

Having the understanding of who is incredibly important to ensure success and to show the publisher you as an author is serious. The publisher’s request for this information was to show them, the author held a basic understanding of their target market. Knowledge is power, and potentially sales, and having a grasp on where a reader base could be found, and who they are is an asset beyond measure.

In my recent experience, within the last five years or so, I've seen a few publishers actively request a marketing plan it as part of the submission package. Before you panic, let me clarify what I’ve seen. In most cases, the publisher wasn’t asking for a novel length plan on how the author was going to promote their work, but rather something to indicate they had put serious thought into three of the biggest questions for an author. Who? Where? How?

 

The first question is probably the biggest, because if you don't know who you're trying to reach, everything you do will have limited success. Sort of throwing something at the wall in hopes it will stick. So, lets break things down.

"Who am I trying to reach?"

Is she one of my potential readers?

The answer to this question changes is as diverse as we are, and can be answered by how well you understand your genre and who reads it. Every genre has a different reader, yet nothing will help if you don't understand who your reader is. Figuring out your target market is in of itself a complex issue, but do not panic. I know when I first had to think of this question I was freaking out. In the simplest function possible, your target market is the people who read in the genre you write. Bear in mind, if you’re like me, your fan base probably read in more than one genre. This can be a benefit in your favor.

So, we have to ask ourselves, and be brutal in our honestly: Are you trying to reach the middle-aged male reader who lives alone, is slightly anti-social, or shy, and so tries to avoid crowds? Or perhaps you're trying to reach a twenty-something single woman who reads only when she's on public transport? Maybe, the reader you're trying to reach is the stay at home mom with three kids and only a few minutes to read in the evening? Or, are your readers a unique blend of all of the above?

Having the awareness of who your readers are will help you with any promotional and or marketing effort you undertake. Once you understand the who of the equation, you can focus on some of the other aspects of discovering who you are trying to reach. Things like, where to find these wonderful connoisseurs of fine literature. What's the best option for connecting with them?

In my opinion, this trio of questions can either be a help, or a hinderance. Discovering the answers to them is vital to reach the consumer...but making them the focus of everything you say, do, post, write can also be limiting to an author. To be successful, one needs to know who they are as they write, but just as important they need to know who they are writing for while continuing to write.

So, it begs the question – as an author, who are you trying to reach? Do you know who you are writing for?