That feeling you have when you finish...

I just finished major edits to my historical drama, PLAYING WITH MATCHES. I've been working on this story for evah. What started out as a labor of love is now just labor. You know how you can get so lost in the story of some books they feel like they're writing themselves? When you finally come up to take a breath, you know that THIS is why you write? Pure pleasure?

Yeah, this was not one of those books. Sometimes writing is just plain work. Sometimes you have to just show up and do it. That's why it's called a job.(I'm tempted to tie in some Olympic analogy here, but I'll refrain.)


I think PWM was once a pleasure, but I've just been at it too long, read it too many times. In the music world they call this Song Fatigue. I've got Story Fatigue. 


Don't get me wrong. I think all the hard work, time and effort; blood, sweat and tears has paid off and I can't wait to show it off to the world. Really. I. Can't. Wait.

So, the feeling you get when you're done? Relief. Shock. Glee. And finally the warm fuzzy feeling you get after you drink a glass of wine.


Have you ever worked on something for so long and so often that the thought of going back into it just made you ill? Did you do it anyway?

Friday Four or Five

1. Summer has more or less arrived in the idylic town where I live, but this year I find myself working through most of it. Yeah, I have to break for special functions but I'm driven to work. Which is why I'm not on the blogs that much lately. I'm working hard because I have a goal, and that goal is to be earning full-time wages by 2014. To do this I need to be prolific and focused. So I plan to work extra hard this year and next and hopefully then I'll be able to tone the schedule down and enjoy the fruit of my labor. See my post Prolific Writing + Long Tail = Win!

2. One of the projects I'm working hard on is a sci-fi series. The first book, PERCEPTION, will be out sometime this fall. I've got covers being designed and the first manuscript with my editor. I'm really excited about this series and one of the cool things is I have to research a lot of science stuff. I've recently subscribed to NewScientist magazine and I can see by my first copy that it was a good investment. I've said this before: writing makes you smarter, and researching all the different things you wouldn't normally read about is one of the reasons why.

3. I'm also trying something new for me this fall. I'm releasing a three volume novelette series called JARS OF CLAY. These three short books take place in ancient Rome- Carthage, Africa, 200AD, to be exact. Another example of how I'm now smarter because of my books. =) All that history I had to read up on!

4. Which brings me to the topic of branding. I've come to realize that my name, Elle Strauss, has become a brand. Elle Strauss = light and fun. Which my next several releases are not. Because of this I've decided to change my first name for these books, consider it my Dark and Serious brand name. I not going to keep it secret that I'm the same person, I just want my readers to know going in what kind of book they're getting.

Stay tuned for the announcement of my alter ego!!

5. My blog posts are going to be light on photos and pics since the recent suing incident of a popular blogger. In case you're wondering. *need to take my own pics*


So that's it, my five for Friday. Friday is also my errand running day, so I'm off.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Cover Reveal for Anne Riley's SHADOWS OF THE HIDDEN

A teenage girl discovers the true reason behind her parents' disappearances and finds herself at the center of a centuries-old quest for immortality. 

Natalie Watson doesn't believe her parents are dead, even though they disappeared five years ago. Discovering the truth about their fate is one of the only things that gets her out of bed in the morning. But after moving from her home in Georgia to her aunt's boarding school in Maine, solving the mystery of her parents' whereabouts is just one of several challenges she must face. When she's not fending off attacks from the popular kids, she puzzles over the rumors about a strange boy in her math class--one with fiery red hair who rarely speaks.

Despite suspicions that he murdered his sister a year earlier, Natalie finds it impossible to stay away from Liam Abernathy--especially when he confesses to knowing something about her parents. Soon she's following him into the forest, where things happen she doesn't understand...things that shouldn't be possible. 

Natalie soon realizes her connection to Liam is deeper than she ever imagined, and not everyone she counts as a friend can be trusted. When she finds herself at the center of a centuries-old quest for immortality, she must work with Liam to stay alive--even if it means facing a truth about herself and her family that will not only shake her perception of herself, but of the entire world around her.


Shadows of the Hidden was previous self-published by Anne with the title The Clearing. It was bought by Compass Press for publication this December.

I read it as The Clearing and loved it. I'm sure it's going to rock it even more as Shadows of the Hidden!


You can find out more about Anne at www.annerileybooks.com

Another Big Publishing Landmine- Author Beware

If you haven't heard, big six publisher Penguin bought a big vanity press. This isn't good for authors. Others have unpackaged this more eloquently than I have time to and I'm posting their links below, but what I will say is this: If you are self-publishing and don't want to do everything yourself, you can farm out the work (such as cover, editing, formatting) for low one time fees. If you don't know where to start, ask me or other indie writers. We have how to/resource information on the Indelibles site. There are also a lot of great marketing advice  books out there for indie authors and you don't have to rob the bank to do it.

Please don't do any big moves until you read this post by Susan Kaye Quinn and this one by Jane Friedman.

And I have to steal Susan's cat video....just because....

What do you think about the Penguin/Author solutions acquisition? Are you concerned (as I am) about the blurring lines between legitimate (traditional and indie/self) publishing and vanity presses?

How Do I do it?

Okay, I've had a few people ask me how I'm getting so many books out so fast. Well, here's the thing.

I have a back list.

Not of published books, just of books I've written, because, truth be told, I've been writing for a lonnnnngg time. My daughter was one year old when I started and she just graduated from high school. Much of what I've written over the years is not publishable. But some of those ideas were pretty good--it's just the execution that wasn't. As my writing chops improved I was able to go back and make them better.

Back list books:

Clockwise (first draft written in 2007, based on a time travel book written in 1998)
Like Clockwork (half written in a Nano 2009)
Seaweed (first draft written in 2009 or 10, can't remember)
Playing with Matches (first draft written 2005, still revising, planned release this fall).
Jars of Clay (first draft written in 2002, releasing as three novellas, first one this fall)
It's a Little Haywire (first draft written in 1996)

Newly written books:

Clockwiser (written winter 2011/12)
Perception (written 2011, planned release this fall)
Clocked ( written 2012)

Planned to write books:

Volition (book 2 in Perception series, first act written)
Book 3 -6 in Perception series
A retelling of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell
A sequel to Seaweed

Two other factors:

I quit my job to do this full-time.
My four kids are grown up.

So now you know.

How about you? Do you have a back list? Do you have any planned releases coming up?

Prolific Writing + the Long Tail = Win!

I'm posting on the Indelibles blog today on Starter Covers. If cover choices intrigue you, go check it out. (After you read this blog post, of course =) .

Zoe Winters wrote a post last week on Prolific Writing and the Long Tail that struck a chord.She said that successful indie authors are the ones who write a lot, publish often and let time do its work. I believe this. In case you haven't heard the term "the long tail," it refers to a graph of (perhaps modest) sales over a long period of time (equaling good earnings).

The point being, the more titles you have out with a long tail, the more you make over an extended period of time.

This is something I believe. Since January I've added five titles to the one I had released in 2011. I'm now seeing  respectable monthly earnings, greater than what I made at my part-time job last year thereby achieving my goal: Quit job and make as much selling books. Yay!

It's the beginning of summer and I'm thinking, I still have half of the year to go. My schedule is busier with travel and other things, but I think I can still get three more titles out. These are books that are already written, they just need editing, covers and marketing. So, my new goal is to get three more books out by Christmas. That will be a total of nine books all growing a long tail.

More on those books later. For now I want to let everyone know that Clockwise is finally Free on Barnes & Noble (better late than never) so if you're a nook person, go get your copy!


Also, I released SEAWEED last week. So exciting!

My books are all listed in the left-hand column on this blog, so feel free to check them out.

How about you? Are you growing a tail?

Magan Vernon's got hot new Alien Covers!

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVED my original covers for How to Date an Alien and How to Break up with an Alien, but to some people it was giving off the impression that it was a cutesy MG book.

If you still loved my original covers, the beautiful designs by CA Marshall will still grace my paperbacks. To up the stakes and grace my covers with a hot alien boy, I enlisted the help of the awesome Steven Novak who has designed covers for Rashelle Workman, Megg Jensen, and Angela Carlie.

He understood my vision and my NEED for Ace to have guyliner on the covers. These new covers will be uploaded to Amazon ASAP so hopefully the rest of the world can understand the hotness of aliens.

What do you think of the new covers?

Have you hopped over to Amazon yet and picked up How to Date an Alien for FREE?

Introducing NEVER ENOUGH by Denise Jaden + cool video!

To celebrate the release of her new book, Never Enough, Denise Jaden has just released a special video where various authors talk about how they never felt like enough, especially during their teen years. 






 Denise is offering some great boxes of books and other prizes, and if you comment on this post, you’ll be automatically entered to win. Or spotlight this video on your own blog for even more chances to win! Find out more at www.denisejaden.com

Get Your Copy--SEAWEED free for a limited time!

Don't forget to grab your copy of SEAWEED, free for a limited time on Amazon.

(it's also free on itunes and smashwords for you non-kindle people).

Please pass it on. :)

 A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever.

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length.

Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery.

But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too.

Dori has new fantastical enemies , and they will do anything to get to her.

Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?
 

Thank you to everyone who have already downloaded! I hope you enjoy!!

Elle

Blood and Snow series by RaShelle Workman

You may have read RaShelle Workman's first novel in the Immortal Essence series entitled "Exiled." If not, check it out, it's free on amazon. If you have read it, and are anxiously awaiting book 2, "Beguiled,"or haven't read it, that's okay. She has a new series out. Blood and Snow. Here's what a few reviewers have said about the series so far: "...A fun, smart, and sexy read!"  "This book will definitely suck you in (no pun intended) instantly." "Best books that I have read!"

The Blood and Snow series Summary:

"Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the Vampire, Snow White." Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White. *******

Each volume is novelette length. Book 1 is "Blood and Snow," book 2 is "Revenant in Training," and book 3 is entitled "The Vampire Christopher." All three are now available.

Today is the big reveal day for book 3...

Ready!

                Set!

                        Here it is!!!

To purchase Blood and Snow, click HERE.

Revenant in Training (book 2), is FREE from July 11th through the 13th. Pick it up by clicking HERE. 

And, The Vampire Christopher (book 3), click HERE.

Twitter: @RaShelleWorkman

Facebook: RaShelle Workman Author

Website: http://www.rashelleworkman.com

About the author:  Lover of books, baking, and toffee-making. The author of Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story, Exiled, Sleeping Roses, and the series, Blood and Snow. Honorary nerd with attitude.

Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie has a beautiful new cover

Dream Smashers celebrated her first birthday in March all alone. I'm a horrible book parent and didn't even throw her a party. To make up for it, I gave her a facelift. I hope she likes it. And I hope her readers like it, too. Take a look. Isn't she pretty?

Dream Smashers has needed a new cover for a while now. It's an important story, but often gets overlooked. The original cover, which I love, wasn't sitting well with the readers. It even was nominated for a most ugly cover list over on Goodreads. The second cover was an experiment, something I whipped up myself, and not very professional.  I believe this new cover captures the emotion of the story, but also has appeal for the readers. I adore it!

About Dream Smashers:

Letting go is hard to do, but sometimes, it's all you can do.

Sixteen-year-old Autumn is a human heartache. Everywhere she turns people are stomping on her hopes and dreams. Her mom's a tweaker. She's lived with her chain-smoking grandmother for as long as she can remember. Even her best friend has issues. Autumn seems to be the only responsible person she knows and she's sick of putting up with it all.

When she meets Evan, a hot guy without a worry in the world, she can only wonder if he's for real or just another Dream Smasher.

A girl who no longer wants to care and a boy who cares enough for the both of them. Dream Smashers is a love story, but most of all, it's about letting go.

Thanks to my good friend, Megg Jensen, for inspiring me to get 'er done, and RaShelle Workman who referred Megg who then referred me to the cover artisan Steven Novak. Go check him out. He's awesome. Dream Smashers is available on Amazon Kindle and wherever else eBooks are sold.  It may take a day or two for the new version to be available. So tell me, do you like it?

Announcing SEAWEED!!

You might have seen my cover around on the blogosphere, but I've purposely been keeping quiet about it because I've been waiting for it to go free on Amazon. It's also free on itunes and smashwords. It's a big cover/book reveal this week on my blog, so I'm sneaking this in.

A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever.

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length.

Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery.

But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too.

Dori has new fantastical enemies , and they will do anything to get to her.

Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?

Go get your copy! Amazon

Whoot!!

Introducing SURRENDER by Elana Johnson and guest post on Why Whining Won't Help

I'm thrilled to be part of Elana Johnson's blog tour for her book SURRENDER!  Read on for a guest post and to learn more about the second book in her Possession Series.

Why Whining Won’t Help

A guest post by Elana Johnson

Okay, so I like to whine. I complain about the first draft, and how I want it to be perfect. I wonder why someone else can’t edit my books to make them better, why revisions have to be SO HARD.

 

I whine when things don’t move as quickly as I’d like. I wonder if I’m doing enough to market my book. Or too much. I worry that everything on the publishing side of writing is robbing the fun on the creative side of writing.

And that’s when I realize that it does no good to whine. Yes, writing is hard. That’s why not everyone does it. It takes patience (which I have little of), and steadfastness, and dedication. It takes constant self-scrutiny, and continual re-dedication to the craft.

It does no good to whine about those things. In fact, I daresay they are what makes the writing fun. Thinking back over what SURRENDER first was when I spit it out, and what it is now? The growth is tremendous. And I think, “I did that. I molded and shaped that word vomit into something worth reading.”

The hard work has a reward at the end of it. It has an amazing story others can read.

And there’s no whining involved when you can hold your book and know you’ve bled over every word. So today I pledge to be whine-free! Who’s with me??

 Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.
 

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn.

Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque…. 

Purchase your copy here: http://books.simonandschuster.com/buy/Surrender/9781442445680/from-other-retailers#book_retailers

 Elana's work including POSSESSION, REGRET, and SURRENDER is available from Simon & Schuster wherever books are sold. She is the author of From the Query to the Call, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query, which can be downloaded for free on her website. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog. She blogs regularly at The League of Extraordinary Writers, co-organizes WriteOnCon, and is a member of SCBWI, ANWA and LDStorymakers.

She wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/possessionthebook

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/elanaJ

And the Winners Are....

Thanks to those of you who stopped by on the INDIEpendance day hop. I hope you discovered many great authors.

I was happy to  feature KISS ME, I'M IRISH by Bella Street.  The winner according to Rafflecopter of the  print version is Giedre  (USA only. Giedre if you are out of country than you will receive an e-copy)

The winner of the e-version is DeeDee

Congratulations Giedre and DeeDee. You will be notified by email of your winnings.

Wednesday Round -Up -- must read blog posts

 It hasn't been life as usual in the Strauss house hold lately--a normal phenomonan for most folks when summer hits, I think. 

Though I haven't had as much time to write or social network, I have managed to read a few great blog posts over the last few days, certainly worth reading and pondering when you got the time.

Most recently, today's huffingtonpost.com piece by Hugh Howey, the indie author of WOOL, now in movie talks. I love this piece of advice he offers:

Please the reader. Write your best works for them; make those works affordable; interact with your fans; and take their feedback to heart. Without a single dime spent in advertising, a short story I wrote and didn't even work to promote climbed to the top of the Amazon charts. It drew the attention of Hollywood. It landed me an agent and half a dozen foreign book deals. All because of word of mouth. Because I happened to please you, and you told someone else, and they spread the word further.

 On craft, this post by Alexandra Sokoloff on Brainstorming Thematic words, was inspiring.

On publishing Catherine Howard talks about why it's a bad idea to overload your kindle book, and she refers to another great post by Andre Hyde who has gathered data on Amazon mark-up delivery of "heavy" books. His data also includes stats on his sales via nook, which I found interesting.

On pricing, Dean Wesley Smith gives his perspective on the right price for e-books. I don't agree 100% but I do think higher e-book pricing is working more often for more authors. By higher I mean above 2.99 but still below 9.99. It's worth reading the comments on this.

I'd love to hear what you think on any of these points.

And for my American friends-- HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

It's INDIEpendants Day!

 I'm proudly participating in INDIEpendents Day! What's INDIEpendents day, you ask? It's  a day where many of us Indelible writers, and other bloggers are featuring great indie authors and their books. 

I've chosen to feature Belle Street, author of KISS ME, I'M IRISH.  I loved this book because a) it's clever time travel, b) it's sweet romance and c) it's about being Irish in Nashville--how cool is that?

Emily Musgrave is heading a direction she never wanted to go in Regency England--namely a convent to turn her from her waywardness. But it's more loneliness than rebellion that motivates her to escape her certain fate.

Liam Jackson is going nowhere fast in modern-day Tennessee. Playing his Dobro in seedy bars and backward dives along with his fiddling sister, Tinker, is doing nothing for his music career--and even less for the dark places in his soul.

Pixie mischief can not only change time-lines, it can change hearts. Because sometimes a girl just needs a little magic in her life.



I recently had a chance to ask Belle Street a few questions. Here's what she had to say!

1. Why did you chose to go Indie?
Even when I had an agent and had sold a book traditionally, the idea of having complete creative control, and ultimately the potential to make a lot more money, was too good to resist.

2. What do you like best about being Indie? What's the hardest thing?

Best is complete creative control (I might have control issues LOL). The hardest thing in in the book production--formatting, editing, marketing--but even then, my success or failure rests with me and no one else, and I'm able to be fluid when something's not working.

3. What's your favorite scene in Kiss Me, I'm Irish?

When Emily drinks those guys under the table in the bar. In Regency times, young women were accustomed to drinking ratafia--it was considered a ladies drink and tame--but actually had a kick like a mule. As a lady of some fortune, Emily would have been a regular imbiber and therefore, more able to hold her liquor LOL

4. I loved how your main characters, Emily, Liam and Tinker are so different and the complexity you weaved throwing them together. Which was your favorite character to write?

Tinker was a lot of fun because when she was good, she was very good, and when she was bad, she was horrible. LOL

5. I'm a fan of time travel stories (obviously :). What do you love most about writing time travel?

It's my favorite too! I love the fish out of water theme. Along with the usual conflict in a story, in time-travel, the characters must also reconcile their vastly changed surroundings.

6. Can you tell us about your other series?

I have a 6 book series called Apocalypse Babes. It's a take on the myth of Persephone where a Juicy Couture may or may not have magical time-travel properties. The main character Seffy (get it??) must deal with zombies, possible alien abduction, behavior modification, Soviet plots, and her deepest fears...along with an Isosceles love triangle.

For more on Bella and  her books, check out her blog: www.bellastreetwrites.blogspot.com

You can purchase KISS ME, I'M IRISH at these e-retailer sites:

Amazon http://amzn.com/B004XD1ZYK

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kiss-me-im-irish-bella-street/1100250040

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54483

Bella is offering a FREE print copy of Kiss Me, I'm Irish in the US, and an e-copy internationally.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Enter on the Rafflecopter below.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

  Follow these blogs to find out about more great INDIE books!
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