Interview: Historical Romance Author Melissa Maygrove

Hey, gang! Absolutely thrilled to share an interview I did recently with one of THE coolest writers on the block. Melissa Maygrove recently self-published her first book, Come Back. It's historical romance, and I was privileged to be able to beta read for M.

I say privileged, because Melissa is truly a wonderful writer, and she got me invested in a genre of story I normally wouldn't touch with a Texas-sized pole! 

How did she do it? How did she navigate the choppy indie waters on her own? Does she have tips for anyone else considering the plunge? Let's find out!

Interview: Come Back Author, Melissa Maygrove

EJ: We're about a month into the release of Come Back. This was your first publication, which you handled yourself. What are two things you wished you'd done differently going in? Two things you did right?

MM: I gave a detailed list in a guest post titled Woulda Shoulda Coulda, so I'll choose my top two glad-I-did's and regrets. First, the regrets.

I wish I...

Would have searched for stock images sooner. That was far more time consuming than I thought it would be--especially for a historical.

Would have learned more about the publishing industry sooner. I managed to find my way, but some of it was dumb luck.

I'm glad I... 

Hired out the graphics and formatting. It cost me a couple of extra shifts at work, but it was soooo worth it. 

Took time to learn the craft before putting my work out there. We can't and won't please everyone, but we don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

EJ: You sold me on Come Back as a beta reader, and I'm not remotely your target audience. (It being Historical Romance, and me being the reader of all things NOT Historical Romance.) What's the secret ingredient to telling an accessible story that will appeal to fans across genres?

MM: I'm not really sure, but betas have told me that about all three MSs (Come Back is my third). I guess it's because at the heart of the story are people wanting to be loved and accepted, and them struggling to find safety and happiness. That's something we all can relate to. 

EJ: I know you labored over which publishing path best suited you for a while. Was self-publishing everything you thought it would be? What would you say to another writer trying to make a similar decision?

MM: Re: publishing path... Yes, I did. Though, when I was honest with myself, I knew deep down indie was the way for me.

Was it everything I thought it would be? For the most part, yes. Some things were more difficult than I'd anticipated, but others were easier.

My advice to other writers: Spend plenty of time in the writing world before you even THINK about making a decision. Don't be in a hurry to self-publish and don't be in a rush to query either. Be a fly on the wall and watch and listen. Get your work critiqued by writers who are more experienced than you, then don your rhino skin and LISTEN to what they have to say. Be open and teachable. Keep learning and practicing until you're sure you're ready.

It doesn't matter which publishing path you choose if you jump the gun and put an inferior product out there. Rejection hurts, no matter whether it comes from publishers or readers.

EJ: Like many of us, I know you want to tell many different types of stories. (Paranormal, historical, etc.) However, I saw on your blog that you're committing to writing more in the historical romance genre to meet fan expectations. How important do you think establishing a brand or identity is to a beginning author trying to grow and maintain a fan base, and would you view it differently if you hadn't had as much initial success?

MM: The quick and unexpected success of Come Back had a big impact on my choice of genre for the next book. As I said in the post you mentioned, I'd been so busy with all the tasks of editing and publishing, I hadn't given enough thought to how the genre of my debut would brand me. 

Had my debut fizzled like a firework dud, I doubt it would matter what I wrote next. As it is, I have fans begging me for another book. So, yes, I would advise authors to consider carefully what genre they choose for their debut.

EJ: As always, here are the most important questions: Where do we find out more about you and get our hands on Come Back?

ABOUT COME BACK

Sometimes a single choice alters the course of a person's life forever.

Left behind by everyone she loves...
Rebecca Garvey had the promise of a California future dreams are made of, until the wagon train her family was traveling with left her behind. Now she’s slowly dying in the wilderness, abandoned and stripped of her self-worth. Once the shock of her desertion turns to embittered despair, she doesn’t want to be found. Then a handsome stranger challenges her convictions and changes her mind. 

Headed for Texas, chased by the demons of his past...
Seth Emerson knows exactly what he wants. Working to save for a cattle ranch of his own keeps him busy and keeps his pain buried. Rescuing a stubborn woman from the hills of New Mexico Territory isn’t part of his plan—but she’s exactly what he needs. 

Making greater sacrifices than either of them could foresee...
Seth and Rebecca set off on a risky journey and a quest for truth, each healing the other’s love-starved soul along the way. Will they give in to their growing attraction? Or will they honor their commitments when Seth returns Rebecca to civilization... and her betrothed?

Where to buy Come Back:

Amazon / Kindle / Barnes & Noble / Nook / Kobo 

Come Back on Goodreads.

ABOUT MELISSA

Native Texan Melissa Maygrove is a wife, mother, nurse, freelance editor, and romance writer. When she's not busy caring for her tiny nursery patients or shuttling teenagers back and forth to after-school activities, she's hunched over her laptop, complicating the lives of her imaginary friends and playing matchmaker. Melissa loves books with unpretentious characters and unforgettable romance, and she strives to create those same kinds of stories for her readers.

Where to find Melissa:

Website / Blog / Twitter @MelissaMaygrove / Facebook / Google+/ Goodreads

For autographs, I use Authorgraph.

How I Found The Write Path

Hey, gang! What if we could write a letter to our past selves and share the wisdom we've learned along the long, bumpy writer's road?

Or, like in my case, just say: 

"Never attempt a story in second person omniscient with multiple POVs and a sentient, singing goat... 

SERIOUSLY, PAST E.J., FOR THE LOVE OF BETA READERS EVERYWHERE, NEVER DO THAT! IF YOU DO, I'LL FUTURE-SLAP YOUR ASS BACK TO THE WOMB AND HOPE OUR EAR CANALS--AND SOME SELF-PRESERVATION INSTINCT--ACTUALLY DEVELOP THIS TIME!"

Just kidding, I've never tried that. (Although, the goat isn't a bad idea...) But I've certainly done my share of stupid things as I've crawled along one writing path after another. So naturally, the How I Found The Write Path blogfest was too good for me to pass up. 

Here's the mission:

Please write a letter/note to yourself when you first started writing toward publication. The only thing I ask is that you keep it under 800 words, including as many (or as few) of these elements as you like:

- A lesson you learned the hard way
- Something you didn’t expect about the industry (positive/negative)
- A writing-related resource you could never do without now
- One thing you’d change about your journey
- One thing you’re glad you did
- Your number one tip for pursuing publication
- Anything else you feel is worth passing on

The blogfest is the brain child of Carrie Butler & P.K. Hrezo, and they plan on compiling all of this wisdom into a free eBook resource for growing writers. 

Since this is for a good cause, AND it might actually see print, I'll try not to screw past me up too much. But I'm definitely going to give me a hard time, because I know I'll appreciate that. :)

HOW I FOUND THE WRITE PATH

TO: Past E.J. Wesley, Future author of the Moonsongs series

FROM: Future E.J. Wesley, Author of the Moonsongs series

CC: All of writerdom

Dear Past E.J.,

You're probably tripping out right now, but yes, you will actually publish something. Oh, and there'll be technology that will allow me to communicate with you and share wisdom and warnings from the future! 

Whatever you do, do NOT take the bus on April 24, 2004. You'll get the last seat, forcing another man to wait for the next bus. He's a scientist, and you just caused him to miss a very important meeting. Furious, he'll set off a chain of events eventually leading to the melting of the polar icecap and the end of the world! 

*waits for mind to explode and reassemble*

Calm down, I'm messing with you. 

God, were we really that uptight and gullible? 

I'm only here long enough to offer you a few words of writerly wisdom. Other than that, you're basically on your own. 

Well, not completely alone. You're going to bump into a lot of writers along the way to that first publication. They're determined, vulnerable, creative, fun--basically, they're everything you're going to need to be to reach your goals. 

These writing friends will carry you when you think you can't move forward, push you when you're too afraid to make the next jump, and be the first to cheer when you do cross the finish line. Get to know as many of them as you can, and always be willing to help them along in return.

You're just getting started. I know it's hard to see anything beyond the mountain you're staring up at, but there's karma involved in this writing business. The energy you put in, both positive and negative, always come back to you. So strive to be a force of positive energy in the writing community.

In fact, we'll call that one of Future E.J.'s writing proverbs. Let me share a few more with you:

• You'll never be as talented of a writer as you want to be. That's a good thing.

• Quit worrying and write.

• Quit researching agents and write.

• Quit blogging so much and write.

• Quit eating so much red meat (seriously, you don't want to know what our cholesterol is going to look like at 32) and write.

(You're getting the idea by now--just write.)

• Throw away word counts and tell the story.

• Slow, fast, pantser, plotter--who cares, tell the story.

• Finding your voice requires listening to feedback. 

• Focus on what your critique partners are saying you're doing right instead of fretting over things you're doing wrong.

• Fixing mistakes isn't nearly as important to your writing development as accentuating what you do well.

• Using first person POV is a good way to let your personality shine through your writing. If you get stuck trying to write like J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, give it a shot. (PRO TIP: You're never going to be J.K. Rowling or Stephen King ... also a good thing.)

• Until you've identified what's right and wrong with a story, it--and you--will never be as good as they can be. So embrace feedback, don't fear it.

• The real work of writing is in revisions. It's also the dividing line between authors and writers. You won't crossover until you learn to put just as much (or more) effort into perfecting the story as you did creating it.

• Stories aren't babies. They don't come out of your brain fully developed and beautiful, and you aren't obligated to love them just as they are. 

• If you insist on calling a story your baby, then be a cruel parent. Judge them harshly, discipline them regularly, and never let them cut corners.

• The first thing you write that makes you wonder if others will think you're insane, evil, or suicidal for coming up with will likely be the best thing you've written. Do it again and again.

• If your rational brain thinks something you've written is funny, sexy, scary, or intense you're likely not going deep enough. When you start coming up with things you couldn't even imagine, you're onto something.

• Nothing is a waste of your time so long as you turn it into fuel for your writing. And in writing, everything can be used for fuel.

• Writer's block is just another expression for procrastination. Simply choose not to do it. 

(And--you guessed it--keep writing.)

• The only truly unworthy story is the one that goes unwritten. So write them all. Once the words are out of your head, you've succeeded in furthering your craft and ability if nothing else.

• A writing career isn't what you think it is. It's better. All of the limitations you think you have, all of the barriers you imagine in front of you, and all of the failures you believe you've had will be stepping stones on a journey to always greater things. You'll only fail if you quit going.

Well, that should be enough to get you started. There are plenty of non-writing lessons you'll learn along the way, like understanding that nothing in the publishing industry is certain. And to never trust anyone who says there's only one way to do something. 

Those things, however, are always secondary to the writing. The words must always come first, and so long as you remember that you're going to be very proud of me ... I mean you. Us. We? Oh hell, just keep writing.

Sincerely, 

Future E.J.

---------

Credit:

E.J. Wesley, author of the Moonsongs series

http://www.ejwesley.com

"I give permission for my entry to be included in the e-book compilation without royalties and/or separate compensation."

-----------

ONE NON-BLOGFEST THING OF NOTE: We're having Susan K. Quinn on New Adult Lit Chat tonight (Thursday, 9 PM E) if you'd care to listen in to what Sue has to say about jumpstarting your writing career, you can tune in here. Also, if you'd like to submit a question for Susan to answer on air, and enter for a chance to win a copy of her book 'The Indie Author Survival Guide' or a free consultation with her, fill out this form: 

Not Dead Yet ... And Book Launch FYI

Hey, gang! Loooooonnnnnggggg time, no blog. :) So, I took most of A-Z month off, because--well, everyone was busy and I wasn't participating. Great time to disappear, right?

PLUS, I've got this novel I'm trying to get out in August. The final revisions are going great, just slowly. It'll be my first full-length novel, so I'm trying to really get it JUST right. (Cue the thieving blonde tramp and the hungry bears! Seriously, who steals food from bears anyway?!)

I'm also working on new Moonsongs stuff. (A spinoff short story for one of my characters, Marshal, is coming soon!) And I've also been busy over at New Adult Alley. We recently decided to divide an conquer, and I'm now working mostly on the website side of our operation  You can sign up for our fantastic newsletter HERE if you're dying to have me show up in your inbox on occasion. :)

Then, there has been a lot of travel lately. We attended a wedding in South Carolina last week, and were away for a week prior to that for a vacation trip up the northern coast of California. 

Here are some pics from those trips:

This guy was hanging out on the golf course near where we stayed in South Carolina!

I spotted him while riding a bicycle around the island.

This pooch had epic drool issues! LOL He was cursing around Charleston, SC.

Charleston scenery.

More Charleston scenery.

More Charleston scenery.

View from our No Cal hotel room! 

There's a bird standing on top of the rock. :)

The seals had their pups out sunning with them. :)

My wife taking in the view on our bike ride. :)

We took a train ride through one of the redwood forests.

Sunlight through the trees.

At the feet of giants. :)

The trees were so tall I couldn't get far enough away to photo an entire one, so I improvised, and shot looking up from the base. :)

All together, I kind of just lost track of the blog. But I'm back now. :) 

Speaking of blogs, I bumped into one of my favorite author-bloggers (Eve of The Desert Rocks & Intangible Hearts blogs) at our New Adult Lit Chat last night, and it made me realize how much I missed y'all!

So what's coming in this blog space? Details on great new releases and covers from my author friends, more of my thoughts on this writing adventure we're on, and I'll be incorporating a lot more of what we're doing over at NA Lit Chat (#NALitChat on the Twitters). 

I've been remiss sharing all of my work over there, here. But so much of what we talk about can be applied to all kinds of writing and authors--not just New Adult--so I want to include y'all in that as much as possible from here on out.

Specifically, I wanted to pass along the transcripts from our chat last night. We had a couple of fantastic authors on as guests (Lynn Rush & Nazarea Andrews) to talk about book launches and share their tips & tactics. 

Be sure to keep a pen and paper handy as you listen along (and read tweets), because there are a lot of useful things you'll want to stash away.

AUDIO

TWEETS

You can keep up with everything we've got cooking at the chats HERE. 

Hope you've all been doing great, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting. Have a great weekend!

~EJW~

IWSG - Modern Author Problems

Hey, gang! It's time yet again for another round of Insecure Writer's Support Group goodness. What is the IWSG? It's a band of merry scribes who gather once monthly to share worries, encouragement, and perspectives on the creativity-enduced madness we call writing.  

Sound like a good time? Click the pic below for more info, a list of bloggers who participate, and details on how to sign up!

Modern Author Problems

Like certain types of sharks, it seems the modern author has a motion problem. Well, a lack of motion problem anyway. If we aren't moving, we die.

Well, maybe more just sink to the bottom of the Internet ocean to settle on the bottom with all the other scuttled things. Which is troubling to folks who want their words to stand out, or at least float enough to be snagged in a reader's net on occasion.

This has been on my mind of late after I read THIS fantastic post by the inimitable Anne R. Allen. In the article, Anne confronts the popular notion that, for indie authors specifically, you have to write quickly to survive. That if you're not constantly bolstering your catalogue, the tide will surely sweep you away.

I loved this little bit of wisdom she shared:

"Because a writing career is not a race or a contest.

It has to be a source of joy. It doesn't pay well enough to be anything else."

She cited one of our dear blogging-writing friends (and the dude behind this IWSG thing), Alex J. Cavanaugh, as proof of this concept.

Alex is an admittedly slow writer. He works full time outside of writing, he plays in a band, and is an insane blogger. But he's also a bestselling author, even though he's only putting out a book (or less) every year. 

Then there are stalwarts like George R. R. Martin, who puts out another volume in his popular Song of Ice & Fire (Game of Thrones) series whenever he damn well feels like it.  

Ultimately, I definitely agree with Anne when it comes to the actual writing, and I sure hope we're right.  Because some of us struggle to do it any other way. 

Sometimes the words flow well for me and I can crank out a few thousand words in a sitting. Other times, I'll labor over a single scene for hours. But there's definitely no consistency to what I do.

However, when it comes to a successful writing career, there's unfortunately just more to it than the writing nowadays. (Which Anne is definitely aware of, by the way--I don't want to suggest that she isn't.)

Alex is one of the most prolific bloggers in existence. He's everywhere, so much so that there've been entire blogfests devoted to trying to uncover his ninja-like methods. :) That guy is moving.

Anne mentions that she is a 'slow blogger', meaning she doesn't post every day. She, along with her co-blogger Ruth Harris, has defied popular logic that content generation is key by winning bunches of awards and amassing a large following. 

Well let me tell you, that lady is a mover too! Her Twitter account is a must-follow, her G+ account the only one you really need in your feed if you're a writer, and her blog posts are like going to school. 

And Martin has an unbelievably popular television franchise keeping us well aware of his universe even when there's nothing new to read. Not to mention, he's been in the writing game a LONG time.

I have to think those things play a part in their publishing success as well. And it has led me to this conclusion: We, the authors building our careers right now, will be successful to the extent we are active. 

If we aren't writing, we need to be blogging, tweeting, pinning, or reading (and sharing what we think about our reading). There needs to be an almost constant awareness of what we're up to or we're essentially perceived to be up to nothing.

And that's where I get all sweaty and gross, because being perpetually engaged is tiring and sometimes just downright unpleasant for me.

I call it a modern author problem, because I don't think authors of yore faced this dilemma. It was expected that you wouldn't hear from an author until their next greatest book was ready to be read. Maybe they'd do the occasional interview on TV if they were really famous, but that's about it. The book WAS the author in that way.

Now, we can (and are) identified by so many other things besides our actual writing that we are forced into a tireless loop of performing if only for the sake of not vanishing completely.

And I don't know about y'all, but it puts me in an ongoing state of inadequacy when it comes to my writing aspirations. There's always something more I could be doing, or doing better, it seems.

What about you? Do you feel any pressure to constantly be present? Are you a slow writer, blogger, etc.? What's your impression of the successful authors out there? Are they pumping out new work at a breathless rate?

~EJW~

Should We Aim to Write Above the Reading Standard?

Hey, gang! Since we last met here I finished up a novel I've been working on for a while. *throws ALL the confetti*  Well, I say "finished", but it actually just got shipped off to the editor.  (We all know the real work comes once she takes the scalpel to it. :)

It's such a weird mixture of relief and angst when it's out of my hands. But the positive is that I'm now able to reclaim the parts of my life I've been neglecting in order to make my deadline. Like blogging! 

(Thank you all for the comments on my last post btw. My wife was duly humbled by your kind words, and I'm slowly working my way around repay each of you with a comment in kind.)

Should We Aim to Write Above the Reading Standard?

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the somewhat fallible notion of "good writing". I related it to the subjective line between a good house and a good home, saying, "The worth of a house is based upon function, form, location, etc. The worth of a home is based upon memories and feelings. Your house might be worth $150,000, but your home might very well be priceless. "

(Note: I don't quote myself out of hubris. It had just been so long ago since I'd posted that I had to go look it up to remember what I said. LOL)

Anyway, in that post I made a couple of offhanded references about the basic mechanics of "good writing", specifically calling out adverb spamming as a common stumbling block. 

Well, you fine people took me to task in the comments (and in e-mails), pointing out that the presence of an adverb will not destroy a story. I actually agreed with you in the post, but didn't articulate it very well.

So I'm afraid I gave the wrong impression. To the extent they aren't related to style, I view things like adverbs, passive phrasing, repetitive word choices, etc. like mosquitos in our writing: They are inevitable, but we should kill as many of them as we can because they are at best a nuisance, and at worst a disease spreading menace. 

Purely from a fundamentals standpoint, I've never read a perfect novel and I doubt I ever will. (God knows I'll never write one...) Furthermore, I can guarantee that a grammatically pristine read does not universally translate to a "good read". 

But all of that being said, I had more than one person let me know of various bestselling books they've read recently that are riddled with things deemed to be mistakes or sloppy writing. They use adverbs in every other line, begin every third sentence with 'it', etc. 

I've read them, too. And it's true that many of the foibles we fuss over in our critique circles the average reader could care less about. At least there's plenty of evidence to suggest that's the case.

But does that mean we shouldn't worry over them, either?

Not unlike other artists, I believe most writers hold their work to a higher standard than the general expectation. For most, there is a reading standard and a writing standard. Even though an average reader might not demand a certain level of word wielding acumen , we're going to try to achieve that anyway.

Claude Monet, the great French impressionist, once destroyed dozens of his (what would now be considered near-priceless) paintings because he didn't think they were fit for public viewing. Granted, he was going blind and severely depressed at the time, but there was clearly some level of motivation in him to achieve a standard that most people wouldn't even be able to discern. 

Similarly, when I read Hugely Popular Novel X, and it isn't the most polished, it doesn't make me relax. I don't suddenly think, "Well, I don't have to worry about getting any better, because I'm already better than that guy, and the readers love him!"

It keeps me up at night. I worry about falling into a sense of complacency with my craft. My insides fester with the notion that yes, I'm getting some good reviews, but is my work really living up to my own standards? 

That's not to say my writing sets some crazy high bar for writers everywhere. (ha) But I do work at trying to get better each time.

We live in an age--a beautiful age in my opinion--where authors are able to make their own decisions about when a work is fit for public consumption. But that freedom also comes with the burden of self-restraint.

We are truly the stewards of our craft, or at least more so than any generation of writers that has come before, and I believe we ought to struggle with that. 

What about you? Are your reading and writing standards different? Have you read a successful novel that wouldn't live up to your own writing standards? How did it make you feel?

~EJW~

Online Marketing Symposium - Free Book FYI

Hey, gang! So sorry for the blog silence and dropping off the grid this past week. We had a death in the family and I traveled back to Oklahoma for services and such.

Obvs I'm back, and I'm really excited to be taking part in the inaugural, What Works - Online Marketing Sypmposium. What is an Online Marketing Symposium?

Per Arlee Bird, Yolanda Renee, Jeremy Hawkins, and Alex J. Cavanaugh, the masterminds behind the event: 

"We want you to tell us your stories of success (or not so successful) as we present a blogging event that will help us learn. Tell us about a marketing idea that you've used and what worked or didn't work. Your post could describe a campaign that succeeded in a big or small way or one that failed drastically. Tell us about a business campaign, an organizational event, a fundraiser – anything where a bit of promotion was necessary! The What Works.. Marketing Symposium is not limited to authors but also to anyone in a business that has a promotional aspect – online or otherwise!"

For my part in the event, I've decided to share what I know (and maybe don't) about offering up your work for free. So let's get to it!

Ever met someone with a really nasty reputation that you've only ever talked about (not to) and thought hey, they aren't that bad. Then you get really confused and conflicted about what all the fuss was over. Free books are a lot like that.

You'll hear all kinds of things about free books, bad and good. 

They're undermining the value of all of our work, because readers won't want to pay for books once they're accustomed to them being free. 

They're just desperate attempts to get noticed by fledgling authors.

Only amateurs offer their work for free.

If it's free, it must be crap.

Free book promotions rocket people to the top of the Amazon charts.

Many successful authors have become so by building off of free books.

Every other industry (including traditional publishing) uses free promotions to "hook" consumers, so it works.

On and on it goes, and like all reputations, there's partial truth in all of the rumors. Giving things away for free CAN deteriorate the perceived value of a product in the eyes of the consumer. There ARE a lot of crappy free books out there. Lots of very successful authors HAVE used free book promotions on their way to the bestseller lists (M. Louisa Locke being one of my favorite indie success stories). Letting consumers sample a product for free IS a tried and true marketing technique.

So what's the real story? Are free books good or evil? Answer: Definitely. (Go ahead, throw something at the computer and curse E.J., I'll wait...)

Here's what I know for sure:

Free Books Are Not A Magic Bullet - A year (or two) ago, Amazon allowed free books to inhabit the same bestseller lists as paid books. As a result, if Free Book X got a ton of downloads and went to numero uno in the Kindle store, it was up there ahead of the big girls and boys (the Grishams, Rowlings, Kings, Browns, etc. of the world). In those wild days, a successful free ebook could easily get the attention of millions of readers. 

Nowadays that's not the case. Amazon (and most online vendors) have changed their algorithms. A rocking free book is going to get noticed, but it's not going to get the star treatment. Which leads to...

Free Books Are Tools, Not A Toolbox - You can't build an entire house with only a hammer, and you can't build a writing career with a single free book. A free book is best used as part of an overall strategy, not as THE strategy. 

The authors who seem to be using free books most successfully are those who have multiple works out--particularly in a series. It's merely a gateway into their other work.

I write a series of urban fantasy novellas. There are five of them out, and I keep the first one permanently free in hopes that readers will sample it and move on to the next in the series. (I'll share my own findings in a list below.)

Don't Be Free Just To Be Free - ALWAYS have a plan or a point to your free books. Is it permanently free to hook readers into a series? Is it a onetime promotion to try to get your book in front of new readers? Whatever the reason, just make sure there is one.  

The Clever Mouse Gets The Cheese - Being creative with your free book is as important as having a marketing strategy (see also - not being free for the sake of being free). Use holidays to your advantage (i.e., if you write horror, consider giving something away around Halloween). Band together with other authors to give your book away as part of an organized "event" of free books to increase exposure. If you write novels, consider creating a novella or short story to offer as a freebie sample. If you have a free book coming out in a series, celebrate it by offering previous titles free for a limited time.

Also recommend using your free books in conjunction with other marketing things. If you've got a big blog tour coming up, it might be a good idea to offer something free on some of your bigger stops.

Knowing The Rules Wins The Game - Every online retailer has different policies regarding free books. Amazon doesn't allow them, UNLESS another site is offering the same book for free. Then, customers can report the difference in price and (once enough reports have been received and the great Amazon Eye of Sauron has investigated) Amazon will price match. (That's how my first Moonsongs story is permanently free incidentally.)

The other way you can offer your book for free on Amazon is by enrolling it in the Kindle Direct Publishing Select program. In exchange for offering your book EXCLUSIVELY on Amazon for 90 days, they let you pick 5 days to offer it free.

Smashwords, on the other hand, allows you to price your work at whatever you'd like (they even have a setting that allows the reader to donate whatever they think it's worth). You can also use coupon codes to give your work away free on Smashwords.

Understanding the rules, and then taking advantage of them, is key to making free books work for you.

Utilizing Free Book Promotion Sites Is HUGE - Readers love books, especially when they're good and free. Surprise! Consequently, a poop-ton of free book promotion sites have sprung up. Basically, readers follow these sites and get updates when popular books go free.

It's the best way I've found to let the world know your book is free for a limited time. Unfortunately, other authors also know this.*shakes fist at other authors* :) As a result, the really popular free book sites have been inundated with requests to feature books. So there's often a waiting list and an application process to get your book featured. 

To further complicate things, many of these sites aren't exactly clear on how they pick the books they feature, so it's kind of a guessing game once you apply. A few things most of them require: 1) A set number of positive reviews for your book--usually 10-15, 4 star or better reviews are required. 2) The exact date your book will be free. 3) Cover image, description, category and genre, links, and possibly author bio.

There are lots of these sites now, and the best way to find them is via word of mouth (ask other authors who they've used) and a quick Google search. Also, I recommend the shotgun approach. When you've got a plan for your free book promotions in place, apply to as many of the sites as you can. You likely won't hear back from several, so it'll decrease your chances of striking out completely.

NOTE: Several of these sites charge to promote your book. I cannot speak to the viability of these specifically, but as with all things be wary of who you give your money to. Ask around first.

E.J.'s Free Book Story

As I noted earlier, I've made the first story in my Moonsongs series permanently free on Amazon and Smashwords. It has been that way for several months now. Since it was price matched, it has consistently stayed in the top 20k free Kindle books (out of the few million that are free, so I'll take it), and spends most of its time in the top 10k.

That has not made me rich or famous. :) But it has, I believe, resulted in more sales of the other stories in the series. (Things have been a lot more consistent since it has gone free. Prior to that, most of my sales came during the release month. Now I get downloads trickling in every month.) 

Before being permanently free, I enrolled it in the KDPS program. I coincided my free days with stops on a blog tour I was doing at the time, selecting the biggest blogs to have as my free days. I had more downloads of the story that month than I've had combined since. So it was a success. (Looking back, I got very lucky I think.) 

I recently enrolled my Moonsongs Anthology (books 1-3) in KDPS to take advantage of another blog tour. The results, although not as good as last time, were still great. Hoping to see some sales for books 4 and 5 in the next couple of months as a result of so many downloading the anthology. (Many, many readers download and stash the books until they have time to read.) I'll be sure to let y'all know!

What about you? Have you used a free book promotion? Was it helpful? 

There are lots of folks sharing tips and experiences just like this today, so be sure to hop around (and join in)!

~EJW~

Online Marketing Symposium Blogs

1.Arlee Birds Tossing It Out
2.Yolanda Renee at Defending the Pen
3.Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
4.Jeremy Hawkins at Being Retro
5.Insecure Writers Support Group
6.Blogging from A to Z Challenge
7.C. M. Brown
8.Aloha! Mark Koopmans says hi from HI
9.ShirleyisNotmyName
10.Writing Wings
11.M. J. Joachims Writing Tips
12.Spunk On A Sticks Tips
13.Ink & Alchemy
14.Christine Rains
15.J. L. Campbell
16.WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS
17.Stephen Tremp
18.Philipscom/Ariel's Jottings
19.Regarding Silexare
20.Notes Along the Way - Mary Montague Sikes
21.Susan Says
22.Jay Noel
23.Crystal Collier
24.Sandra Ulbrich Almazan--Speculative Fiction Author
25.Livia Peterson - Leave it to Livia
26.PK HREZO
27.The Write Game
28.The Open Vein - E. J. Wesley
29.Tyreans Writing Spot
30.Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
31.About Myself, By Myself
32.Sharon Bayliss
33.Julie Flanders
34.Ella's Edge
35.Swagger Writers
36.Laura Pauling
37.Elizabeth Seckman
38.Liz Fichera
39.Trisha @ WORD+STUFF
40.Angela Brown in the Pursuit of Publishness
41.Mama Diaries
42.Literary Chick
43.Cold Lake Cathy
44.Official Site of Horror Author Alex Layourne
45.Chrys Fey
46.Jemima Pett
47.The Musings of a Hopeful and Pecunious Wordsmith
48.Scribblers Sojourn
49.tara tyler
50.Steven Symes, Writer
51.Meetings with My Muse
52.Dreamers Perch
53.Sand Castles and Snow Forts
54.Nicki Elson
55.Huntress
56.Buck Inspire
57.Storypot
58.The Story of a Writer
59.Ellie Garratt
60.melanie schulz
61.Carrie-Anne's Magick Theatre
62.Coming Down the Mountain
63.Im hoping to learn
64.From Sarah With Joy

IWSG - New Year, Same Old Fears

Hey, gang! Thanks for all the "feel betters". This cold-crud hasn't licked me yet. I am a little sleep deprived though--and perhaps a little medicated--so I make no guarantees that this is going to be entirely coherent. But it should be fun! :)

It's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. What's up with the IWSG? In short, once a month a bunch of us post support, encouragement, or confess what's been eating at us. For more information, and to join in, click the button below. (And always present in the rolling sidebar gadget to the right.)

Before we get to that, I wanted to mention again that my Winter Thrills & Chills Tour is going strong. You can check the full list of stops HERE. (Today, I did guest posts on why I write like a reader and an author's tricks for pulling readers into the story--with an excerpt from Dragon's Game.)

There's also a fun giveaway you can enter (featuring books from several of our writing blog friends). Plus, the Moonsongs Anthology 1 (collecting the first 3 stories in the series) will be free on Amazon tomorrow and Friday (1/9 & 1/10). 

So if you haven't picked one up, or maybe haven't gotten around to books 2 or 3, you can do so on me. :)

IWSG New Year, Same Old Fears

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ttp://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

Confession: This started out as an "anti-resolution" post where I was going to list all of the things that could hold me back from accomplishing my writing goals this year, both real and imagined.

(FYI: That would've been a lengthy post.)

But as I was jotting things down, it occurred to me that it's the same damned list I had last year. And the year before. And probably the 5 years before that. (By my recent reckoning, I've been chasing my fiction writing tail for roughly 7 years.)

Here's the thing, I'm not even remotely in same place as a writer as I was 7 years ago. I should have new fears, new demons to scare away, and new hurdles to trip over. 

Do I? Nope. I'm the Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day of writing.

Still worried that someone I admire is going to declare me a hack and I'll have to pack it in. 

Still scared to share my writing with strangers. 

Still hate telling people outside of the Internet I'm a writer. 

Still conflicted by the balance of creativity and mass appeal you seemingly have to find to be a successful in the book business.

Still not sure I have a real place in this group. (Did I just make my own place? Is that cool?)

Still worried I'm not doing enough to reach my goals.

Still terrified I won't EVER be doing enough to reach my goals.

Still come up woefully short when I compare myself to my contemporaries. 

Still don't really know what I'm doing on social media.

Still afraid my ideas are boring, my writing unoriginal, and my characters unmoving.

On, and on, and on, and on, and on it goes...

BUT I'M TELLING YOU IT'S THE SAME. Swap the words around, adjust my perspectives a hair, toss in a pinch of refuting validation, sure. But it's still the same soupy mess I try to wade through every year.

That's why the lesson here is so important. And it's one of those Dr. Seuss, so-simple-it-blows-your-mind kinds of lessons. Ready for it? Here goes!

It doesn't matter. None of it. Not an ounce.

This stuff didn't stop me 7 years ago, nor has it stopped me any year since. Which isn't to say the fears aren't real, and that I don't have to struggle with them. It just means I can go into the scrap with a little confidence. 

It's like being the cartoon super heroes I loved to watch as a kid. I'll face stiff odds every time, but somehow, I'll come out on top. The story doesn't work any other way. No exceptions, the hero wins.

So I'd encourage you to really pause when you feel like you're facing something that's threatening to derail your writing train. Understand that many times you're going to have variations of the same obstacles for as long as you're moving forward with this gig.

You'll deal with the trouble and keep moving. After all, you've probably beat this thing before, and you'll most certainly do it again. 

~EJW~

IWSG - A Casual Affair

Hey, gang! Hope those of you who celebrated turkey and togetherness last week did so in grand fashion. It's time to for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post (IWSG). 

What is IWSG? Besides being a collection of awesome people, it's THE support network for writers. We offer each other encouragement and commiseration on the first Wednesday of each month. Click the pic below for more details and to learn how to join.

A fling… 

A flirt… 

A dalliance… 

A romp… 

A cup of devilishly unusual tea in a strange café I'll never set foot in again…

Sometimes writing a story is all of those things to me. It's like a pair of expensive shoes so impractical I'll only be able to wear them once, with a specific shirt, and then put them back in the box forever. It's one night spent in the company of a beautiful stranger, no names or phone numbers exchanged.

I firmly believe writing CAN be a casual affair. Thing is, it took me a while to work up to being able to accept that. 

See, I've been something of a serial monogamist when it comes to my writing. For the most part, I'm a Plain Jane, stick-in-the-mud, write-what-I-love kind of writer. 

I like fantasy. The impossible excites me. Thinking about dark things that shouldn't exist frightens me--in a terribly good way. The story is a-rocking when fantastical things come a-knocking so to speak.

I like feisty characters who crack the quip-whip with reckless abandon. (Don't stand too close! She'll snap you!) Bold is usually the first--and main--ingredient in my protagonist soup.

So what happens when I start writing a contemporary story with a main character who is more contemplative than combative? A story where I can't toss in an explosion or fangs when things start to drag?

*breathes heavily into paper sack*

I get a little nervous. The itchy, twitchy shakes set in. If I'm being completely honest, it feels a little like I'm stepping out on my main gal. No, it goes deeper than that. At times it feels more like I'm betraying my very writing nature.

But it's damned fun! Like a kid playing dress up, I get to be something I'm not. I get to be a writer of "serious fiction" (well, not SO serious--War And Peace this is not). In that way it is fantasy I suppose. 

Perhaps the most important aspect of playing in the shadows of my comfort zone is that it has forced me to grow as a writer. Nothing about writing this contemporary story has come easily for me. There's no writing from the cuff. It's a blissful struggle most days. 

And like all meaningful workouts, it sometimes leaves me sore and questioning if I'm fit enough to pull it off. Then I'll re-read a few pages. 

I'll see that I'm letting characters express themselves in ways I've never done before. A good scene will jump out, and I'll think, "I could never have done this in fantasy!" 

I'll find a few nuggets of sparkling brilliance in a mine full of dark rocks. My confidence spikes (a little LOL) and I get back to digging, because I know I might just hit the mother load if I keep at it.

Will I consider myself a master of contemporary fiction when I'm done? Will anyone else? Not likely. But I will have had one heck of a good time doing it. Who knows, maybe I'll even try another one.

What about you? Have you written anything outside of your usual genre or category lately? How did it turn out? Would you do it again?

~EJW~ 

Coffin Hop '13 - Four Keys To Frightening Fiction - Pt. 1 The Sinister Senses

Hey, gang! We are quickly ticking down the days to one of my favorite holidays, Halloween! This year I'm taking part in an extremely awesome blog tour for horror and thriller authors called Coffin Hop. 

Basically, a bunch of us get together to share scary stories, do giveaways, and generally try to get the blog world into the spirit of the season. (Pun most definitely intended… read further to find out why! :)

As a participant, I can blog on a theme. So seeing as how this is a writing blog, I've decided to share some tips for writing frightening fiction. 

Beginning today, with a look at how to create terror by engaging the 5 senses, I'll cover a different aspect of writing for frights.

My full hop schedule looks like this:

Monday, 10/28 - The Sinister Senses
Tuesday, 10/29 - Oh So Ordinarily Creepy
Wednesday, 10/30 - Mining The Darkness Within
Thursday,  10/31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN - A Murderous Tension

Also want to mention that the organizers behind Coffin Hop have put together a fantastic collection of horror stories to benefit an even better cause. All proceeds from the Death By Drive-In anthology will go to LitWorld.org to promote childhood reading.

*click the image below for more details on the anthology*

As for my giveaway, simply leave a comment on any of my Coffin Hop posts and I'll enter you into a drawing for one of the following items:

- 1 Digital copy of Death By Drive-In

- 1 Paper Copy of Death By Drive-In (US ONLY)

- 2 Digital Copies of Moonsongs, Anthology 1 AND my latest, Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4 (1 set to each winner)

- 1 Signed paper copy of Moonsongs, Anthology 1 (US ONLY)

Lastly, I'll be highlighting one of my fellow Coffin Hoppers at the end of every post--so let's get to it!

The Sinister Senses

If you're going to scare the bejeezus out of a reader, you must put them in the forest fleeing from a machete-weilding-maniac--it's not enough just to tell them about it. They have to live it, or at the very least, be afraid they won't live through it. 

Fear on the page is only as real as fear in the mind. Which sounds like a lot to accomplish with a few adjectives, but if you've ever been the scared kid hiding under the blankets, waiting for whatever  made the scratching sound on your bedroom window to burst through and eat you, you know the mind can do powerful things.

The first (and perhaps simplest) way to do this is by engaging the reader's five senses. Using sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste is creative writing 101, yes. But if you're writing to thrill and chill, it becomes much more important than simply adding color to your prose. It's the foundation on which you're going to create the reading experience.

Hearing the Mothman's menacing garble on the other end of a phone line, seeing a partially severed finger dangling from spaghetti-like tendons, and tasting bitter bile as it stings the back of your throat goes beyond setting the mood. It places you in the story.

More importantly, those sensory elements are the anchor to reality in what are often implausible situations. We're pretty certain Frankenstein isn't real. But when we can conjure the sickly sweet smell of raw meat--just beginning to turn--that his decaying flesh gives off, and run our fingers over the oozing ridges of the crude stitches crisscrossing his face, our minds are no longer quite so sure. 

I'll reference a family ghost story I told recently. You can check it out HERE. This was a very real story for me, and just being familiar with the players in it (my living brother, my dead grandparents) is enough to scare  me.

But the folks reading it won't know my grandparents. They haven't met my brother. So I needed to put them in our old farmhouse with my brother. I needed them to feel cold, watched, and threatened.

Here's the opening passage from the story where I used a few of the senses to try to do those things:

"It’s a mid-winter night on an isolated farm in rural Oklahoma. Inside of an old farmhouse—that was once an even older church—a noise sounds in the dark. A boy stirs, still half-asleep, under a mountain of quilts so thick and heavy he can barely rollover.

His grandmother, who is slumbering in the next room, can’t afford to run the gas stoves at night. There are times the house gets so cold her false teeth freeze in their overnight cleaning solution on the bathroom counter.

The blankets are a practical necessity. But deep inside the child’s groggy mind, they offer something even more important than blessed warmth. They’re a wall of protection between him and the unseen terrors lurking in the void around him."

Come back tomorrow as we'll take a look at turning the mundane into the macabre! (i.e., Clowns and Stephen King's It FTW :D)

FEATURED COFFIN HOPPER OF THE DAY 

Katie M. John - Dark Fairy Tales & Horror Blog

Katie is doing a fabulous rundown of each day's Coffin Hop highlights--including notable giveaways! Plus, she's a talented author and blogger, so be sure to hop over and say hey to Katie!

You check the entire hop below:

1. A Diamond In The Dark	2. A. F. Stewart
3. Adventures in SciFi Publishing w/Ronald Malfi	4. Angela Scott Author
5. Angelic Knight Press	6. As the Crowe Flies
7. Ash Krafton’s Demimonde	8. Atty’s Attic
9. Author Jaime Johnesee	10. Author Jolea M. Harrison
11. Axel Howerton	12. Becki’s Book Blog
13. Blaze McRob’s Tales Of Horror	14. BloodRedShadows
15. Bustling Along Bookshelves	16. Cait’s Place
17. Catherine Wolffe – Wolfen Secrets	18. Chris Verstraete @ GirlZombieAuthors
19. Claudia Lefeve	20. Coffin Hop
21. D. A. Ward’s The Blog That Wouldn’t Die	22. Dance on Fire
23. Dark Heart & Night Shade	24. Dark Moon Digest
25. Days with the Undead	26. DemonAuthor. com
27. Epitaphs and Headstones	28. Eric Garrison
29. Escoe Allen	30. Fangs & Halos-Charlayne Elizabeth Denney
31. Father Thunder/Mother Night	32. Greg James
33. Jack Wallen	34. Jean Booth – Zombie War
35. Jeff Chapman	36. Jessica McHugh
37. Jezri’s Nightmares	38. Joanna Parypinski
39. John Everson: Dark Arts	40. Joseph Pinto’s Horror (& not so horrible) Blog
41. Katie M. John	42. Kim Koning | I See Ghosts | Wrestling The Muse
43. Land of the Brewin	44. Lori Michelle
45. Melissa A. Smith	46. Michael Montoure’s
47. Michelle Muto	48. Murphy’s Pub
49. Musings & Little Obsessions (INT)	50. Our Darkest Fears
51. Paul Stansfield	52. Pavarti K Tyler
53. Pen of the Damned	54. Precious Monsters
55. Red Tash	56. Robot Lincoln & Zombie Jackson
57. Scattershot Writing	58. Sirens Call Publications
59. Skye Callahan	60. Spreading the Writer’s Word
61. Strandville Zombie Series (B. Frisch)	62. Swamp Full Of Lies
63. Tell Me a Story, Ghost	64. The Cerebral Writer
65. The Dark Angel – Sotet Angyal	66. The Dark Fiction of Kenneth W. Cain
67. The Endless Chase	68. The Evermore Chronicles
69. The FlipSide of Julianne	70. The Manicheans by Johanna K. Pitcairn
71. The Nickronomicon	72. The Peculiar Life of a Writer
73. The Real Horror in “Blow Up the Roses”	74. The Road to Nowhere. . .
75. The Storyteller	76. The Vampire from Hell by Ally Thomas
77. Thea Gregory’s Zombie Bedtime Stories	78. What Really Scares Me
79. Whispers From The Abyss	80. Writing with Scissors
81. Zombie Night in Canada