First drafts are hard. No, let me rephrase. First drafts are as tough as fitting into my jeggings after a Chinese buffet. To put it precisely, they suck big time. Over ninety percent of writers who attempt a first draft quit before the end. That gives you, dear writer, worse than Vegas odds on completing your manuscript. But, I'm here to help. After writing my fifth completed first draft (check out my book The Breeders), I've outlined a seven step process that will get you to that golden finish marker. And it won't even hurt that much, I promise. 

Step One: Pre-plan
I didn't always pre-plan. I, like many of you, read On Writing by Stephen King and decided, "Yes, I'll just pants my way along and a gem will appear after all my toil." However, I missed one important point. I'm not Stephen King (a surprising fact no-doubt). But, pre-planning doesn't have to be highlighted grafts, two tons of sticky notes and color-coded pie charts. I do it rather loosely. My research is in the form of websites, articles and pictures, anything that paints my world in brighter colors. It's sloppy plot outlines and character sketches written in a google doc that no one will ever see. It's a map so I know where I am going and where I am going to end up. It doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to get me there. 

Step Two: Set a goal
I stick to 1000 words a day and more if I can carve out time. I work full time and have two little children, so time is like gold in my hands (I couldn't resist a Joe VS. the Volcano reference. Fans? Anyone?).  However, having little time is no excuse. Let me repeat: Having little time is no excuse. I've learned along the way that anything could stop me from writing: a bad day, indigestion, a poopy diaper (my kids, not mine). I'd never write if I let any little issue stop me. So I do 1000 words a day, six days a week. No excuses unless someone is bleeding, dying or on fire. (Or if Downton Abbey is on. Hey, a girl has to live once and a while). 6000 words a week will get you done with a rough draft in three months. Not too shabby. 

Step Three: Write, darn you, write
Here's the thing. Whenever I sit down to write, for the first five minutes I am always thinking I can't. When my little fingers touch the keyboard I think, "I've got nothing left. Whatever is inside my head feels more like moldy swish cheese than brains. I'll just do it tomorrow." See, our brains are condition to avoid something hard like creating a new world. Writing is hard work. But, we have to fight our brains. How, you ask? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, that's how. 

You don't need a psychologist. What you need is a set of mantras. Below are the ones I use to kick my lazy brain into gear. 
 - If I just get started, I'll write something. And something is better than nothing.
 - I've felt this way before and been able to write by just making myself. I can do it     
  again.
 - It is okay if I write crap. I know I can always change it later. 
 - At least if I start I can meet my goal and feel good about myself, no matter the outcome. 

Once I give myself a good talking to, I write. No excuses. Remember: bleeding, dying or on fire. 

Step Four: Go Forward. Always Forward
Now once you're happily typing away, don't stop. No, really, don't stop. You may want to read the last few paragraphs and tweak them. You may find errors, spelling, something you missed. You may think that by fixing these things you are doing yourself a favor. You are not. This is your sneaky brain tricking you again. It thinks, "Boy, it's easier to fix what already exists, so let's just do that instead." Don't let it fool you. You must get words on the page fast or your momentum will die. This is the secret that those 90% that never finish don't understand. Words on page. Do. Nuff said. 

Step Five: Stop for Nothing
Imagine writing is an all night road trip from Florida to Michigan with two children under the ages of five crying in the back and your husband is throwing up in the seat next to you. (This really happened to me. No joke.) You are tired and sick. The smell from your husband is nauseating and you kind of want to put him in the trunk. You know you must get home or face trying to sleep in a Motel 6 with your fussy one year old while bed bugs climb up your nose and give you Herpes. Stopping is not an option. You pound two Red Bulls and you just keep driving.  

Writing is like this. Don't stop and come up with an awesome metaphor that takes you two hours to create. Write something like, "PUT AWESOME METAPHOR HERE," and keep on truckin'. Need a funny line? Write, "MAKE THIS FUNNY HERE," and go. Remember, momentum is your friend. 

Step Six: Finish. Like a Boss
Do the above for ninety days. Moses wandered the desert for forty years. You can write 1000 words each day for ninety days. Man, it feels good to write THE END. Kick the pants off the rest of the 90% who will never cross that finish line. 

Step Seven: Celebrate for One Day. Then get back in the saddle 
You get one day off for good behavior. Go out to eat. Watch a movie you haven't seen (and believe me there will be many to choose from). Frolic in the gales. Enjoy it. 

Then get your butt back to your computer and fix all the crap. And believe me there will be a lot of crap. 

But, Katie, you say, haven't you just accomplished writing a hunk of junk? Yes, but it is a complete hunk of junk and you will be surprised at how many things actually make sense. Sure there will be a million things to fix, but none of them would even exist if you hadn't made yourself bang out the draft. Remember, it is easier to fix something than to create something. So, you've just done the hard part. Congratulations. 

That's my take for good or ill. I'd love to hear from you on what works in your drafts. So, what about you? What techniques do you use to write a first draft?

Title: Night of the Purple Moon

Author: Scott Cramer

Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult Science Fiction

Length: 188 pages


THE RUNDOWN

Just like everyone on her small island town, seventh grader Abby Leigh is looking forward to the purple moon, an event caused by the earth being swallowed by a comet's tale. They watch the purple hues filter into the night sky, yawn and go to bed. It is when she awakens that she realizes what has become of the world as she knew it. 

Pounding on  her door wakens Abby. It's her friend Kevin who announces his parents are dead. Desperate to find the truth, she and her siblings try to find her father. Sadly, he too is dead. Slowly they begin to realize that anyone who has matured to puberty succumbed to the toxic space dust. The adults are gone. Now their only hope of survival is to stick together and build a new life all their own. 

They build a life, one rather civil, organized and tidy, but there is a renagade tribe of boys that threaten their upotia. Soon, they learn the CDC is conducting trials to create an antiboitic that can save them from falling to the same fate as their parents once they reach puberty. Abby and her crew must leave their little world behind and find a cure before it is too late. 

THE RECOMMENDATION

Night of the Purple Moon has all the elements of a successful book. The pace is fast and enthralling, the characters are likable, hard-working and kind and the premise is killer. What child hasn't fantasied about a world with no parents? I found myself wondering what would happen to my own children if suddenly this sort of thing were to occur. How would children survive without the adults that shepherd them? Cramer sets up his much tamer Lord of the Flies well, guiding us through each step of their new found independence so we can picture Abby's world and wonder what might become of our own should a tragedy of this magnitude befall us.

My qualms are few and minor compared to the above. The children acted very mature for their age. Almost instantaneously they formed a democratic society with scheduled chores, meetings and duties. I know my own children only need about five minutes alone before they are close to braining each other over a cup of applesauce. I had to suspend some disbelief that these children are the most kind, thoughtful, selfless children on the planet. Perhaps they are. Perhaps island air makes them saints. 

Another qualm was the middle dragged a bit. The conflict present was in the form of three boys who stole eggs and said the s-word. I admit I am a fan of dark literature, so when the boys laughed off stealing eggs and everyone went on their merry way I craved more. 

The last issue is the one that I think may be what's keeping Cramer's story down. I am not sure what audience he is writing to. The protagonists are mainly in middle school, though most middle schoolers might find the themes of mass death and body removal too dark for their developing minds. Teens are unlikely to pick up a book about children younger than them, and adults often read YA, but not generally MG. Unfortunately, that may keep audiences from picking up this title and missing out on an interesting story. 

Overall, it is a quality book worth 4 out of 5 stars.  

You can find the book here and Scott Cramer here.

Talented British author Emma Mills has done it again. This paranormal romance author has release book three in her WitchBlood series. Audiences everywhere rejoice. To give our readers a taste of her main character, Jess, she's provided a character interview. Enjoy. 

Interviewer: Hi Jess, so we last chatted with you a year ago when you had just been turned into a vampire. How are you now, I notice your eyes have changed color?

Jess: Ha! Yeah that was a bit of a shock for the clan. (She laughs and twirls a strand of hair around her finger). What a year I’ve had, huh? Well, I guess I get the best of both worlds now.


Interviewer: Last time we spoke you basically admitted that you were a hopeless vampire. Is that still the case?

Jess: Nah… I don’t know. I guess I’ve come to terms with my new diet. I certainly don’t ever find myself craving human food anymore that’s for sure. I think Eva would agree that I’ve found my fangs!


Interviewer: So if you have come to terms with being a vampire how do you feel about the part of you that is half witch?

Jess: Now I can control my power and have my license it’s pretty awesome, but when I was just stressing out and blowing all the electricals it was a pain in the rear. I guess when you’re half and half you run the risk of not quite being accepted into either group, but in my case I have to be wary of the wrong types welcoming me, for the wrong reasons.


Interviewer: Are you talking about Brittany’s grandmother now or the Coven of the Blood Moon?

Jess: Hmm, I suppose both. The drama with Brit’s grandmother was difficult because she’s family, but the coven has supposedly been disbanded… though I’m not sure how true that is.


Interviewer: So, at the moment you are staying with your Aunt in Massachusetts. Do you have any plans to go back to the UK?

Jess: (Jess smiles shyly and resumes the hair twirling.) Yeah, I think so. At the moment Brittany is studying for her license and I think my Aunt is enjoying having us around but I miss Manchester and…


Interviewer: And there are rumours that a certain someone is back in your life?

Jess: …Maybe… there are actually several reasons for me to come back to the UK. Luke is currently up in York fighting this weird human insurgency who hates supernaturals. I want to check in on him and the Council have yet to find Mary… the vampire who killed my friend.


Interviewer: So you’re not going to answer my question about Daniel then?

Jess: Ha! Maybe… and maybe not! It’s personal. It’s hard talking about things that mean so much to me. It still feels very raw.

Emma: Thanks so much for hosting me on Underground Books. Here is the information on my new book WitchLove, which is book 3 in the Witchblood series.

With the reappearance of a lost love, Jess flees to the only people who can help her control her increasing powers and gain independence – her family’s coven. But with a bruised heart can Jess learn to forgive or will she find new love in the United States? Witchlove, the third installment of the Witchblood series, is a new adventure that takes Jess from New England to Voodoo country in the South.

In case you missed it, I began this series last week on my many experiments with marketing and my take on what works and what doesn't. You can find part one here and part two here. There is one very important marketing tool that I think may have been the single most important technique, so important I thought it deserved its own post. Are you ready for this mind-blowing secret? Here it is: giving your book away for free. 

The brain child for using this technique came when I began working with my super agent, Amanda Luedeke. She suggested that I try to increase sales numbers and rankings before we went to submission on The Breeders. I am always game for something that will make more money and create more visability, so I told her I was game for any idea she had. She suggested a five day giveaway through KDP Select. If you haven't heard, KDP Select is Amazon's book sharing program. If you opt in to KDP you agree to offer your e-books nowhere but Amazon. The upside is Prime Members can borrow your book for free. The down side is that Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Apple customers get no e-book love. I opted into KDP pretty early on in my writing adventure. It was clear from the start that Amazon was where I was selling and nothing was going on anywhere else. KDP worked well, allowing people to try my book for free through Amazon Prime. And I get paid a hunk of the money Amazon shares out for its KDP authors (roughly $2). 

Another thing KDP offers are promotional days where you can set your content for free. I had tried this before and given away a good number of free books. Each time I saw a little spike in ratings that would eventually slide back down. I had never tried a five day giveaway before, so I decided it was time and started to plan.

The interesting thing was we were approaching Christmas, a booming time for ebooks. Everyone gets sparkling new Kindles or Amazon gift cards in their stockings. I thought it might be a good idea to run the giveaway the week before Christmas and then return my book to $2.99, on the 23rd right before the sales boom. So, I set my five days up and held my breath. 

The result was tremendous. I gave away 2200 books in 5 days. I got a ton of reviews, sequel notification emails and Facebook friends. My book rating sky-rocketed (from 15,000 to 6,000) and I began selling quite a few more titles each day. I went from selling five books a day before Christmas to selling 15 a day after the promotion. And the wave still hasn't peaked. This month I am selling twenty-five books a day with little to no promotional leg work. 

So, the result is free days work, especially when they are timed right. Now, I know you'll have to wait a whole eight months before you can take advantage of the Christmas boom, but I think that any special event will help (i.e. the release of a new title or a marketing promo you are running). The free books you give away will likely translate into sales that will quickly make up for any lost revenue on those free days. 

So, there you have it, the not so big secret that has brought me success. What about you? How have KDP free days worked for you?

Book Marketing Part Four

I'm so excited it's finally here. Black Sea Gods is a book I've been waiting to read in print for over a year and a half. When I first met its author, Brian Braden on the ReviewFuse reviewers site I knew this guy had chops. He could make a mythological creature like a dragon so real, you'd think the guy had one in his back yard. His writing is so descriptive and detailed you can taste the salt spray and feel the vibrations as the world he creates shudders under its impending doom. 

Now, that I've peaked your curiosity, here's the premise. 

The fish have disappeared from the sea. The animals have vanished from the land. All humanity, and even the gods, tremble under the specter of a pending cataclysm. The demigod Fu Xi races home from the edge of the world bringing news of a looming god war, but finds his land under attack by monsters he once called his children. He discovers a terrible curse has been cast, one intended to destroy the gods and all life. To his shock, Fu Xi learns mankind’s hope rest solely on him, a simple fisherman and a banished slave girl.

Beset on all sides, Fu Xi knows he must act quickly and races west to rescue the saviors. Unaware of the real doom that awaits, Aizarg the fisherman and his party begin a perilous journey across a dangerous steppe. They seek the last of the Narim, the legendary Black Sea Gods, who hold the key to their salvation. Leading them is the rescued slave girl Sarah, the only one among them who knows the path to the land of the god-men.

Over seven days the defining struggle of gods and humans begins under the onslaught of a powerful force whose true objective and origin remain a mystery. Fu Xi knows the secret to victory resides in a fisherman and a slave girl, whose lives he must protect, even if it means the rest of the world must perish. 

BLACK SEA GODS transforms recently re-discovered Black Sea legends, possibly the root of all Eurasian mythology, with ancient Chinese mythology to create an unprecedented epic fantasy series.
 
It's priced at $2.99, so there's nothing to lose and a whole fantastic world to gain. 

Buy it on Amazon. 
Find Brian here. 

On Wednesday I began this post on what works and what doesn't in self-promotion and marketing for authors. You can find part one here. The next five strategies are those that I have found most effective. Again, these are just my own personal experiences and not an exhaustive list. 

5. Sequel Notification List or Newsletter
I saw my good friend and awesome writer A.G. Henley use this and picked it up immediately. She had a sequel notification sign-up on her blog and mentioned it in the back material of her book, The Scourge (seriously, if you haven't read it, you need to). I have found this to be exceedingly helpful. I used Feedburner to create the widget on my website. It took a little bit of reading and tinkering, but for a girl who isn't particularly tech savvy, I was able to pull it off. 

The Result- I have a sequel notification list about fifty readers long so far. This is an invaluable tool and once it is set up, it runs itself. DO IT. 

4. Kismet Review Blog Tour
This one is hard to recommend because I haven't actually participated in it yet. I am signed up for a Kismet Review Blog Tour in March. Kismet is a top notch review site that puts on blog tours, review tours and the like. A.G. Henley introduced this one to me, as well. She said she really enjoyed it and got over twenty great reviews (remember, review numbers count) and had a lot to tweet about. The price isn't for the faint of heart, however, so if I don't see a lot of increase in sales this will definitely be a bust. 

The Result - Hard to say, but this one is a gamble because of the high price. I'll have to follow up to let you know if I think it was worth it or not. 

3. Blogging
This goes without saying, but blogging is huge. It draws people to your content, your website and your books. I maintain two blogs (scary, I know). The first blog is a review site dedicated to Indie Publishing. We get a ton of hits every day (upwards of 1500) from writers just like you and I who want reviews. How many of those readers go on to buy my book? Again, it is hard to say, but it is definitely nice to be able to do an announcement post and know that at least one thousand people are likely to stumble on it that day. 

My blog gets far less traffic and it is much newer. The nice thing about having my own blog is I can post whatever I want. I can do giveaways, host guest and ramble. The drawback is writing content. It is not easy to find time. 

The Result - Every writer needs a blog. Not an option. DO IT. 

2. Social Media
I was already on Facebook before I became an author, so I decided it would be easy to create an author Facebook page. I like having a separate profile for my writing so I am not inundating my friends and family who aren't interested in hearing about my book twenty-four/seven. It may be a bit more work to maintain both, but not much. I check in on Facebook a few times a day to post, respond to a few comments and get out of there. It can be a time-suck, so I keep one eye on the clock. So far I have 340 fans. It's nice to have numbers like that when you are releasing something new. 

Twitter is newer for me, and not as user-friendly in my opinion. I am using it, though. I know many people prefer it as their new method of online interaction and I need to be where they are. It doesn't come as easily, but a post once a day is fine and easy to fit into my schedule. 

The Result - Having 340 Facebook fans and 70 Twitter followers is better than having none. I am sure the more I'm on there, the more people I will reach. 

1. Writing New Content
Nothing drives people to your work better than liking something else you wrote. I am sure you've heard the more you can publish the better. I'd like to think that the more WELL-WRITTEN work you can publish the better. Sure, you can churn out content like a madman, but all these suggestions cannot make a bad book into a good one. Marketing a bad book will only make it fail faster. So, write good content and write it fast. (Ha! That's like saying, just don't eat cake to someone who wants to lose weight.) 

The Result - My new novelette is selling well and The Breeders continues to sell well (5500 on the Amazon rankings today). I hope to have a new book published in May and hopefully the sequel to The Breeders in August or September. The bottom line is, if you want to make it as an indie author you have to write a lot. No excuses. Then you will see results. 

So, there you have it. Ten marketing strategies and their pros and cons as I see them. I'm always reading, tweaking and revising and I'd love to hear from some of you as to what works and what doesn't in the comments below. So, in regard to marketing, what works for you?

Book Marketing Part Three 
Book Marketing Part Four

The Breeders is over six months old now and in that time I have done my share of trial and error marketing to let people know about my work. If you are like me, marketing sometimes feels like fumbling around in the dark, so I thought I'd take a moment and list the top ten marketing strategies that I have found to be successful in my experience. This is by no means and exhaustive list, but just some observations of someone who's been there. 

10. Google AdSence Advertising 
Ever see those little ads on the sides of your gmail account advertising anything from Mortgage Insurance to Free Copy-Editing? Well, I took twenty-five dollars and made a Google AdSence ad just to see if it might drum up interest. The nice thing about Google (or not so nice depending on your Big Brother view of it) is they read people's email  and tailor ads to fit potential clients. The bad new is that many people don't pay attention to those ads. I know I don't. 

The Result - I'm pretty sure nothing. In my opinion not worth the money. 

9. Blog Begging or "Can you please review my title?"
Every marketing book from here to Kingdom Come says you need reviews. You must get reviews for your book or it will languish and die faster than the plant in my office at work (seriously, I have a black thumb).  However, getting reviews is difficult, nay, nearly impossible. I spent hours sending out query emails to book bloggers for weeks on end. I'd say that 90% of the people ignored me. The bonus, I did get a few reviews and connected with some bloggers, but most blogs either won't read self-published or are swamped up to their pretty little eyeballs and cannot possibly take another book.

The Result - Too much time and energy for only a few reviews. 

8. Begging fans to review your book.
Once my random emails to book bloggers stopped working, I turned to my fan base. I made sure to put a request for reviews at the back of my book. I put a plea or two out on Facebook. I made sure to email everyone who wrote me on my sequel notification list (we'll get to that in a minute) and requested reviews. The upside was many responded and did so. The downside was some still ignored me.

The Result - Totally worth it because it require little energy or time. You may not get many reviews, but every little bit helps. The downside is you may feel a little bit like a pest, but you really have to get over that in today's business. 

7. Giveaways
I have tried two giveaways so far: one for signed copies of my book and one for a free amazon gift card. Both upped my twitter and facebook action and drew people to my blog. Both were pretty easy as I used Rafflecopter and that makes it exceedingly simple. The Amazon gift card raffle corresponded with the release of my new novelette in the hopes of drawing new people from Twitter to my site with the tag #free. Unfortunately there's about a million tweets a day with the tag #free. 

The Result - The blog traffic was nice, but each giveaway was expensive and only had about 30-50 entries a piece, most of which were already fans. I may try this again, but I hear the bigger the item, the more traffic you get. Maybe I'll try it with a fifty dollar gift card or a Kindle paper white. Spending that kind of money is risky, though. You may not get a return on your investment. 

6. Facebook Ads
Facebook offered me fifty dollars in free advertising a couple months back, and I am a sucker for free. At first I tried a straight-forward ad, something like "Katie French's book The Breeders, a Young Adult Dystopian yada yada yada." Nothing happened. No one clicked on it. The money just sat there. So I decided I'd try to be funny (not easy, but I have been known to make people laugh from time to time). I created this ad. "Nine of out ten dentists agree that liking my Author page helps fight gingivitis." Then I sent that puppy out. The amazing thing was people clicked on it. A LOT. I got about one hundred new likes with that fifty dollars.  Now the question is, how did that relate to sales? That's the hard part; I'm not sure. No one can say that any of those people have bought my title. But, the good news is, they hear from me a lot and the more they hear, the more likely they are to buy. 

The Result - I liked this strategy so much I'm trying it again. Funny ad is a must. If you can't be funny, I don't think it is worth it. 


Okay so there you have it. Tune in on Friday for the next five marketing strategies that are a must in self-promotion. So, what works for you? Leave your comments below. 

Book Marketing Part Two
Book Marketing Part Three
Book Marketing Part Four

Life is a funny thing. Just when you think you are on one path, something unexpected comes along and WHAMO you are spun 180 and heading in the opposite direction. I feel like this is what my writing career has been like so far. But, let’s rewind, shall we?

I’ve been seriously writing for five and a half years. I wrote two books (one dreadful, one passably awful) and queried like a good girl should. Of course I was rejected, but I kept on keeping on. Then I started my third manuscript. This one felt different from the get-go. I was faster, more skilled and more dedicated. I knew the premise was worthwhile and the characters were working. I got great feedback from my CPs. I took it to New York and pitched my heart out to some big time editors. I got some full requests and held my breath. Unfortunately, doors kept slamming in my face. Ouch.

Now, I’m not one to take no for an answer. It just isn’t in my nature. I KNEW this book was good. I KNEW people would want to read it. So, I took a big leap, despite all my fears and self-published. It was the only way my words would see the light of day and I took it, jumping in feet first, eyes closed.

For those of you who self-publish, you know it isn’t for the faint of heart. For me, self-publishing was like querying on steroids (the nasty kind that make you grow hair in weird places). I spent hours researching HTML, I read books on marketing, I became a website designer and much, much more. When all that was said and done, I had to send my brand new book baby out into the world without the clout of an agent or publishing house behind me. It was as scary as the time I watched The Ring alone at night in my apartment.

And… it was amazing. The book is doing great (ranked right now in the 7000s on Amazon) and the fans have been fantastic. I love that people are reading and liking my book. I love reading the reviews. I was all set to navigate this publishing world alone with all the skills I had acquired.

Then came the WHAMO.

In December I was contacted by an agent I sent a full manuscript to back in May. (Yes, it can sometimes take that long.) Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary emailed to say she was finally reading it and was it still available. Imagine my surprise. I said yes and then disclosed that I had self-published. I thought this would be a deal-breaker and we would go along our merry way. Little did I know that Amanda would not let that sway her. She pursued me further with more emails and a phone call. A year ago I would’ve been peeing my pants and dancing in the puddle, but now I was self-published. What could an agent possibly offer me?

The bottom line is I liked Amanda, really, really liked her. She was young, energetic and in love with my book.  She had a marketing background. The thing that sold me was that she was fine with me saying I didn’t want a tiny deal that took all my rights and control and gave me nothing in return.

So, I took a deep breath and signed. Our relationship is new and not a lot has changed for me yet. I’m still doing my thing, blogging, writing and marketing my book, but now I have a cheerleader and advisor to help me through sticky spots. Amanda plans to go out on submission in the spring and we shall see what awaits. Until then, I’m still happily self-publishing and glad I did it. Right now, I’ve got the best of both worlds and everything’s coming up roses.

What about you? What are your thoughts on self-publishing versus traditional publishing?

It's finally here, the release of Nessa: A Breeders Story. I'm so excited for her story to be told and to hear what you think. And it's only 99 cents. To celebrate I'm offering a free Amazon gift card to one lucky winner. Enter below and please pick up your copy Nessa: A Breeders Story today. 

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