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Posts Tagged ‘secrets of the wolf’

Final ROW Update for Round Two 2012

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2012| 16 Comments »

This has been a strange round for me. In the last three rounds of 2011, I wrote and published a novella for each. That’s when I did the Libby Fox series, which consists of Dark Relic: Vampires’ Curse, Secrets of the Wolf, and Search for the Vampires’ Curse. I loved writing these novellas, and I hope the sales of them pick up someday. My older works still do better than these novellas, or the compilation of them, Vampires’ Curse. I have yet to figure out what makes some books sell better than others, even when the ones that are selling aren’t quite as good as the ones that aren’t. Anyway, I digress and ramble. This round, I just couldn’t get my motivation together. I would have some days where I wrote, then many other days when I didn’t. This was so foreign to me, because I had always stuck to goals and written most days of each round. I don’t know what happened to me. I felt like I was so busy with other things in life and didn’t have the energy for writing, I guess. I really envy those who can write any time of the day because they’re not burdened by a time-consuming day job. I want to be in that situation someday. I WILL be in that situation someday. So I didn’t finish my current WIP in this round. But that’s okay because I can continue it in Round Three. No one is going to beat me with a stick for not meeting the goal I had of finishing this round. I LOVE ROW80. The word count has been good the past two days. Monday – 1119 and Tuesday – 1061. I think it’s really helped to stop focusing on a certain word count every day (usually 500) and just focusing on spending a set amount of time with my WIP. This has actually led to higher word counts, as you can see. 🙂 So I feel like I’m really back on track.

Exercise and eating habits are going well. I planned to only report specifics about this on Sundays, but since this is the last check in for the round, I’ll do it here. I walked at lunch both Monday and Tuesday, and I rode my bike Tuesday evening. I’ve been leaving food on my plate and stopping when I’m satisfied. If I feel like having a burger, I have one, but leave off the french fries. Sometimes it takes just changing little things to make a difference. I buttoned a pair of shorts today that I usually leave unbuttoned and just zip up. Yay!

I look forward to Round Three, and I hope the rest of you will join me again. It’s been fun!

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Why Do Certain Books Sell?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on February 23, 2012| 15 Comments »

I’m sitting here scratching my head and wondering why some books sell and some don’t. I don’t mean all books, I just mean mine. LOL Why do the same two books sell the best all the time?

Guardian Vampire took off in January and February of 2011 and made me a lot of money in those two months. I never figured out why that particular one sold like that. And now, over a year later, it’s still running neck and neck with Haunted Lake in sales. Haunted Lake is selling a little better right now, but GV is still doing well. If it weren’t for those two books, I wouldn’t be making much money. Haunted Lake actually took about 7 months from the publishing date to really start selling well. I don’t know why. It’s averaging 4 1/2 stars on Amazon, so that’s encouraging.

The reason I did the Libby Fox series in the first place is because my readers asked for a series. They really wanted a sequel to Guardian Vampire, but there just WASN’T a sequel in my heart and mind. So I did this other vampire series. There’s even a werewolf in the second and third book. And honestly…I think the Libby Fox books are better than Guardian Vampire. Much better, in my opinion. The covers are definitely better. Was it the title that sparked interest? (Thank you Susan.) Are the Libby Fox titles all wrong? The readers wanted a series. I gave them one. But they aren’t selling like I want them to. Is it going to be a delayed reaction like Haunted Lake was? I released the three novellas in June, August, and December of 2011. Should I be patient? I know the key to continue selling is to keep writing and publishing. But I’m still getting better sales on my older stuff.

So now I’m wondering about my garden gnome supernatural horror story. I haven’t a clue in the world how it will do. It’s out of my genre, but not too far out. There’s a romance in it, that’s just not the main focus of the story. Will readers think it really sucks? Or will they like this book that’s different from my others? My first beta reader likes it, even though she’s only seen the first draft. I’m anxious to see what my other betas think after I get the edits done. The thing is, even though I wonder about these things, I’m not AFRAID to publish this story. Because what will be will be. I’ll never know until I publish it.

So here’s an interesting question. Should I write a sequel to Haunted Lake or Guardian Vampire? Should I force myself to revisit those characters just to try to boost sales? Or should I follow my heart and mind and write what I feel? Actually, I’m not so sure I would mind revisiting Haunted Lake. Because the guy that DIDN’T get the girl might just have his own story to tell. The possibilities are endless, aren’t they?

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ROW80 Round Three Wrap Up

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on September 22, 2011| 24 Comments »

My Round Three goals were:

1. Start and finish the second Libby Fox novella by writing at least 500 words per day.
2. Finish a short story to offer on Smashwords for free.
3. Proofread (again), format, and publish Haunted Lake in print.

Accomplishments:

1. I finished Secrets of the Wolf early by writing much more than 500 words per day. And published it.
2. Massive fail. I LOOKED at the story. But I realized I can’t write two stories at the same time.
3. I published Haunted Lake with CreateSpace in August.

I was mostly pleased with what I accomplished this round. The only thing I regret is how lazy I’ve been since finishing these projects. I know that there was no reason I HAD to do anything else until Round 4. but I should have been doing SOMETHING. Anyway, I can’t wait until Round 4 where I’ll be working on the third and final novella in the Libby Fox series. After that, I think I’m done with series! LOL

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ROW80 Check In 9/4/11

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on September 4, 2011| 18 Comments »

I accomplished my goal of getting Secrets of the Wolf out by Labor Day weekend. Yay! Sales are slow, but I’ve found that the sales of all my releases start really slow and then slowly gain momentum. Haunted Lake was released in January, and sales were terrible for awhile. Then, in July and August, sales suddenly jumped. In August, it outsold my best seller, Guardian Vampire. (This pertains only to the U.S. In the UK, they still want mostly my vampire books.)

I paid a small fee to be included in the Indie Book Blowout. I’m very disappointed in my sales of Dark Relic: Vampires’ Curse, which was the book I put on the site. Sales jumped just a tad, but not enough to make up for my fee. However, I find that sometimes the sales don’t come right away, so I haven’t given up on it. This sale on the Blowout site might have helped sales for later. Sometimes it just has to build up momentum.

I’m still enjoying my anniversary weekend here in Helen, GA. For those who don’t know anything about this little town, it’s kind of a tourist attraction. The whole town is build in a Bavarian theme. I noticed even the local Wendy’s had a little alpine village type building. There are little shops where you can buy just about anything. I love the little clocks. I think we’ll get one for my mother-in-law for Christmas. If we buy one, I’ll post a pic. Most of the local restaurants feature German food. Yesterday, for lunch, I had a German sub on pretzel bread and a side of German potato salad. Yum!

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ROW80 Check In 8/31

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on August 31, 2011| 12 Comments »

My files for Secrets of the Wolf are ready to go for publishing on Amazon, Smashwords, and B & N. All I’m waiting on is my cover art. I’ve been really picky, so the cover art has been harder this time. Anya is supposed to be working on one last idea, and hopefully that will be it. I was expecting to see it last night, but she has been busy with other things. Maybe today. And hopefully, the retailers can get a move on and get it published for the Labor Day weekend.

Thanks again to J.R. for giving Secrets of the Wolf one last proof.

My first book in the Libby Fox series, Dark Relic: Vampires’ Curse, will be on the Indie Book Blowout website, so hopefully that will garner some interest. This book hasn’t sold like my others have. Then, if Secrets of the Wolf comes out this weekend, readers who buy Dark Relic will be able to continue the story.

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ROW Check In 8/24/11 and How to Be Incognito

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 24, 2011| 18 Comments »

I finished up edits on the second Libby Fox novella last night. I sent it out to another beta reader to see if anything else needs changing. My working title was Secrets of the Wolf. But there are two or three other books with that same title. But I checked out some other books I’ve read recently, and one of them had the same title as six others. What do you think? Should I change the title or leave it?

Also, I have a dilemma about what to do about a photo that will show on all social media. Right now I use my book covers for a “gravatar”. I know that a lot of you have a picture of yourself. My problem is that I need to stay under the radar. I want my personal life and author life to stay separate. There are a number of reasons, some big ones, for this that I won’t go into right now. I actually took a photo of myself and converted it into a drawing. I’ve also asked my son if he thought he could sketch a pic of me. I just don’t know what to do. Using book covers seems impersonal for some reason. What do you guys think?

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