That's right - a change is coming! A New Year is just around the corner. I want you to ask yourself if you are taking your writing career seriously. Are you doing everything you can do to become a best seller? Or, are you wandering around like a beggar, waving your book link in the air to every group you can find in social media, hoping for some reason that your book link stands out from the other million book links the readers have already seen that day? THIS DOESN'T WORK. YOU KNOW IT DOESN'T WORK.
Yet, some of you insist on sticking with that approach. Guys, book links are not interesting to people. They are a dime a dozen.
You have to create a plan to make yourself stand out! Did you really think because you published your masterpiece to Amazon that suddenly it was going to fly off the shelf like the next hottest thing to an iPhone?
NO!
It takes planning and work...and oh, being creative!
Why post a book link when you can post a book trailer video? Why only have print when you can also have audio? People are busy these days. Make it easy for them to like you!
When you submit your book to bloggers and readers, are you sending them a link or simple Word doc? Why not jazz things up with a flip style media kit that includes video, audio and all of the links on how to find you...and your books? All of your books.
Join an authors' book club AND PARTICIPATE! This is a fantastic way to gain sales and reviews, as well as honest, constructive criticism on how you can become a better and more polished writer. Click here to join a great one at Authors' Cave! Readers are always welcome too! Honest Collaboration is a fantastic tool to have in your tool box!
If you want to become a best seller, you have to get serious! It's time. Book links will never turn you into an Anne Rice (my favorite) or a Stephen King.
Here are samples of the items above. Hopefully, they will inspire you.
Audio book are a great way to gain an audience because the crowd you are competing in is much smaller. Lots of people out there love to read but just don't have the time. They do have to sit in traffic though on their way to work, on their way to pick up their children from school, and they want audio books!
Book Trailer
Please note: The trailer for Tressie: A Spirit Unleashed is still a work in progress so the images and video have not yet been finalized or purchased which is why you see the Shutterstock image.
Book trailers stand out way more than a book link...and they are super fun to create! Bring your story to life. Give some personality to a character and engage a new reader!
Media Kit
Readers want to know something about you before they decide if you are going to be their next favorite author. Give them more! Tell them something about yourself and show them that you care about your own books enough to give them more than a book link! It's time to get serious! What are you going to do for yourself? If you need help, Authors' Cave is here for you. Click here to check out our services for authors! Hopefully, I have made you think! -Ginger p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it too! Thanks!
Check out this fantastic media kit from Authors' Cave!
This one is for The Haunting of Hunter by Tracie Jules!
Don't send your masterpiece out in an ordinary package! Add some sizzle!
As you have probably learned by now, or will soon, posting book links all over the social media network does very little to sell books. You've got to get the attention of your audience.
Stand out in the crowd!
Millions of authors are posting their book links again and again and again. Self-published authors have worn out the readers on social media, so you have to do something different to gain attention.
Authors' Cave can create a media kit for your book starting at only $150! ($125 for Premium Members) Add a trailer for the low package price of $425! ($350 for Premium Members)
Welcome to the December edition of the Authors' Cave eZine! Lots of stuff to get you motivated for the upcoming year! Are you challenging yourself as a writer?
-Ginger p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below or reshare so that others may enjoy it too! Thanks!
Have you considered turning your books into audio books? I recently converted six of my books into audio books using the Amazon acX platform and have to say I am very pleased.
SO HOW DOES IT WORK?
First, you enter your ASIN or ISBN number into their search bar to find your book.
Then, it will bring up their Agreement which basically states that you are the rights holder and want to convert your book into an audio book - in many more words, of course. After you have agreed to their terms, it will load your description from the book's listing on Amazon. Check it carefully, because it doesn't bring in some of the punctuation correctly (ellipses, contractions, etc).
On the same screen, you will enter the Copyright information and the genre of the book. This is also where you will enter information about your preferred narration producer including gender, language, accent, age and style.
Once you have entered this information, you will be able to provide a short description which is also your sales pitch to the producers to hopefully entice them to audition for your book. Make it good! if you have been a best seller, make sure to mention that.
Next, you will enter any script notes to the potential producer. This is where you give them a sense of how your characters should sound, so they have something to work with. If you have an actor in mind that can be helpful, otherwise, they are shooting in the dark a bit. You will then upload your manuscript here in pdf or txt format.
On the next screen, you will enter the word count and territories you have the rights to, as well as how you would like to pay for the production. You have the option to pay the producer up front or let them share in the royalties. The chart below outlines the various options and the royalty rate you will receive.
Additionally, they have a Bounty program where you can earn $50. ACX pays Rights Holder and Producer $50 every time the audiobook is the first audiobook purchased by an AudibleListener™ member on Audible. The $50 payment is split 50-50 between Rights Holder and Producer, amounting to $25 each.
Once you have entered this information, it will bring up your listing to review one final time before posting.
Now, all that is left, is waiting for producers to audition. They will submit a short audition reading and you will be notified via email when someone has submitted an audition. When you receive the one that you like, you select them and the process begins!
They will submit a 15 minute sample and this is when you want to be careful to make any notes back to them on things you would like to change. Once the 15 minute sample is approved, they will start producing each chapter and uploading those for your review.
It probably will take a bit of tweaking because quite frankly, they aren't inside your head. It takes some teamwork to get the narration right.
Once you have approved all of the chapters and a short excerpt for potential buyers to listen to, acx will review the files to make sure everything is correct. Once they approve the production files, they will make the book live which usually takes 10-15 days. They will also send you 25 codes for free downloads that you can provide to readers.
Here are my two books if you would like to listen to the samples.
Hope this is helpful to you! Let me know if you would like to receive a code for a free download. I still have some left and would be happy to provide them in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks!
-Ginger
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Brief synopsis: When we first meet Leia York, she is depressed and alone, mourning the loss of her mother to cancer. She's never had a real relationship and has no shoulder to cry on. Fortunately, she receives an invitation from a former professor to come to the Amazon and assist him with gathering and studying various plants that may have medicinal purposes. With nothing to lose, Leia sets off on the adventure of her life. After a long journey deep into the Amazon, she finally reaches the Matis village. At first, she is awkwardly shy about the native dress (strings of beads only) and I had to laugh when she first sees her professor, James, completely naked along with the rest of the Matis tribe. One of the first people in the tribe she meets is Tanun because she falls unconscious at his feet. If she had only know the foreshadowing... It doesn't take long for Leia to forget about the high-pressure rat race she came from and she settles in to the Matis tribe, learning there ways and also learning to love them. One, far more than others... unfortunately, Matis must keep their bloodlines poor and a girl with green eyes from Chicago will never suit the tribe.
Characters: The author did a beautiful job creating characters that are believable and interesting. I absolutely fell in love with Tanun and the rest of his tribe for their sheer simplicity and how happy they were in their lives. They care for each other as a village, not as the "Smith and Jones who has the nicest house and car" syndrome. What I would give to live like them! Tanun is gorgeous and primitive, but smart and a healer and he falls for Leia every bit as much as she falls for him. If he would have only told her his secret from the beginning! Leia is so fun to grow with as the story moves along from her embarrassment of being naked all the time to a point where she actually participates in their painful rituals in order to fit in and try to become one of them - all out of love. I thought the author also did a great job with the dialogue because obviously, they didn't speak the same language, but it had great flow and never became distracting.
Originality: This one gets 5 stars for originality for sure. The story was so much more than a romance novel. It intertwined the serious and very real situation the natives in the Amazon are facing and hopefully brings to attention their need for help. You can't help but want to go there and help these people to continue their beautiful way of life. The author says at one point that it is like traveling back in time and that is true. Would we destroy our Indians in America now if we had the chance to do it over?
Recommendations:This one has to go with barbecued tapir, one of Leia's favorite dishes from the Amazon. Sorry, but it can't very well go with fine wine and a steak now can it? I highly recommend this story not only to romance readers, but to anyone who loves rich history, stories with a strong purpose, being lost in a lush tropical rain forest or simply getting away from the rat race.
-Ginger
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1. Include a picture or video of yourself in a Halloween costume! Here is Gemma Farrow in a Voodoo Skull!
2. What is your favorite scary movie? Pumpkin Head
3. What scene from a book or movie scared you more than any other? A scene from The Ring (remake 2002), when the dead girl, Samara, crawls out the TV screen.
4. If all of Stephen King's bad guys were after each other, who would win and why? I would have to say Randall Flag also referred to as R.F. I choose him because he has appeared in a number of King's books, including a starring role in The Stand; he isn't always a main antagonist, but the fact he's a continuous presence reflects his enduring personality and capabilities. His powers include necromancy, prophecy and he can influence both human and animal behaviour. He seeks the destruction of civilisations. Therefore the most likely to win out of all of King's bad guys.
6. Provide an elevator pitch for one of your books!Thomas's girlfriend is bitten by a vampire and needs to be buried to complete the change. Will he support her or turn against her? Both choices demand a high price, but which is he willing to pay?
WHOA! If you are just starting the Halloween Train Story, click here to go to Train Car #1 for the beginning - this is the ending!
...And the Ending!
I know my body is sedated on a hard bed, in a white room that has become more dominate upon my awareness than my long ago old life. I know I have lived a life before that, if Lord Hampshire is anything to go by, and maybe more lives preceding him. In the past week that has passed since waking to darkness with strange sensations upon me, my face invaded by something unknown and overwhelming, I have learned much about myself, and more about a future I never imagined in my past life as a woman who helped in the large kitchen of a convent. Yes, old memories have returned (though they are fractured, missing parts I yearn to know), sometimes with an intensity that is overpowering in their nostalgia. I remember my sister, Mary; her fragile smile. I remember Carson’s cruelty. I remember grief . . . and rage. I know these doctors with their strange new titles, such as psychologist, have placed medication in me, something like laudanum but so much stronger that my body (this new body) shows no consciousness. It sleeps as if for forever. And for a while, the real me; the soul these doctors brought back from the place where spirits belong, seemed to sleep too. I was grateful. There was no longer the sense of being pinned in an unknown world, captured inside a body that wasn't mine, and most terrible of all, being so with the monster who murdered my sister. Lord Hampshire, I think I can bear. But Carson . . . Then my spirit awoke, while my body remained passive. More strangeness, this inability to move at all, but yet within I am fluid, able to think and consider and suffer the nagging sense that I should be expecting something. These people put me to sleep for a reason. They did so because I could not deal with the spiritual conflict, not just the fight between Carson Barlow and Lord Hampshire, but the emotions I felt towards Carson Barlow. My hatred was untethering me, just as much as the two combating men were undoing my spiritual . . . core? It’s strange, the new words I am capable of attaining. I was a humble, hard-working woman. My intelligence as expected for a woman of my past time. Now, as I consider what it is I should be preparing for, I realize my intelligence is beyond anything I have known. I suspect it might even overshadow the good doctors. I scream. My spirit screams. Though my body does not move, I clench spiritually, hands, stomach; my toes curl as pain lances through me. Then heat follows. Then a cold that is reminiscent of the grave. We’ll start the extraction in one hour . . . As the pain passes it leaves me with this unsettling phrase. I focus on the word extraction. I think of rotten teeth being pulled. My old doctor, when he dealt with my abscess ruined tooth, had used such a word. Panic flutters to life. Another flare of pain, this time seeming to tug my spirit inward, as if encouraging a collapse. No, no, no . . . Extraction. Rot. Carson Barlow. They, the doctors, are trying to remove him from my body. A part of me exalts, but another part that which is fixated on the pain, is hit with terror. They are prising Carson, like one would a leach, from me, and in doing so my spirit is being pulled with him. And Lord Hampshire? No sense of him. No sense of Carson Barlow. Just this terrible pressure, the tugging, the cold and the fear. I root in, holding fast to the sense of me. My body, imagining it as it lies still and silent. I picture the white room. The doctors. Dimly, as if he is trying to distract me, hoping to redirect my attention to the vortex pull of disconnection, Carson Barlow starts to heckle. He abuses both me and the doctors. “No. Bitches. No. I’ll kill every one . . . of you. I . . . will—” I smile grimly as he screams. “You will have no body, Carson. No life. As you took my . . . sister’s life and stole her future, now the future takes . . . yours.” I laugh. I groan as the inexorable tug forces me to weaken my hold on myself. No. Doctor, she’s showing signs of stress . . That’s to be expected. Increase the pressure. “Miss Wade? Miss Wade? You must hold on. If you fail now, we will both die.” Lord Hampshire’s voice is like fuel to my lagging spirit. I imagine digging my feet into the ground, the way a person being pulled from behind will do to resist complying. I imagine holding onto a solid, immovable surface. And most of all I imagine Carson Barlow as a weak, dissolving irritant. I visualize him snapping free like a twig beneath a great storm. He screeches, the sensation of nails claw my psyche. I moan, begging the discomfort to be over . . . Dizziness washes in. The last thing I hear is Lord Hampshire’s voice, “We’re rid of the animal.” Mary smiles at me. Then she says, “Live well, Virginia. Live well.”
I wake with a start. I stare at the ceiling. It’s white. I am grateful for that whiteness because at least it isn't darkness. “Finally, you’re awake. You don’t know how pleased I am. You’re a strong soul, Miss Wade. Truly. How do you feel?” Dr Moore says. She sits by my bed, brown eyes taking in everything my face offers. “I feel exhausted. Am I well?” “You’re more than well. You are unique. And this success is as much down to you as it is to this institute’s research.” She leans forward, holding that odd contraption she calls
a . . . clipboard. Writing notes. Dr Moore always writing notes. “Can I ask you something?” And asking questions. I sigh, the good feeling I felt during my dream of my sister, fading a little. “Yes.” “Is there any awareness of the negative personality?” “No. Nothing. I felt him break free.” She nods. “What about other personalities? Our procedure was focused to his astral wavelength but as with any new trial, you were equally at risk. At the end of the day, energy is energy, and the extraction process targets energy. But, hopefully, the other consciousness present—” she checked her clipboard “—Lord Hampshire may have been . . . evicted too?” I was about to tell her what I’d experienced in the final moments of the extraction; Lord Hampshire’s supportive urging and declaration that Carson Barlow was done with, when he said in urgency: “Miss Wade, refrain from telling her those details. It would be best if we kept something back, do you not think? We are still at a great disadvantage, and in a strange time. As much as I detest being imprisoned in a female’s body, (and we, too, have our own relationship to contend with), you and I are for all intents and purposes unexpected allies—” “Miss Wade? Is Lord Hampshire still present?” Dr Moore’s eyes are filled with a look that though brief, stirs coldness in me. I give myself a little shake. I smile. “No. I believe he is gone, too.” I nod to reaffirm. “There is only me, Dr Moore.” She smiles. “Wonderful.” She claps her hands together. “There is so much you will come to understand, to experience. Miss Wade you are our prize.” “We are her prisoner, Miss Wade.” Lord Hampshire says. “It is a very unhappy situation for someone of my standing to be imprisoned by not one, but two females.” Lord Hampshire, I say mentally, we, too, will play this new game. We will learn all that we can, and then we will make our escape. And then? He replies, dubious. And then we will live well, because despite everything, we have been given life. And life is to be lived. Dr Moore continues to hold a satisfied smile. I smile in return, thinking that I have learned much, and can learn more. And the one important thing I have gained, as much as I hate to acknowledge it, is from Carson Barlow. He might have left, but there remains the memory of him, the shadow of his thoughts. I have put them inside a mental box. I feel that this new world may be more challenging than my old one. And what minds like Carson Barlow’s can give, I need to keep. And Lord Hampshire senses this change in me, because he does not contend me any further.
The End
-Ginger
p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it too. Authors' Cave celebrates Halloween for the commercial spirit and there is no relation with beliefs or non-beliefs about any pagan or other traditions.
1. Include a picture or video of yourself in a Halloween costume! We have a tight group of friends and actually call ourselves "The Village" because it takes a village people! Why not dress as the Village People for Halloween! I am the biker chic!
2. What is your favorite scary movie? Nightmare on Elm Street! My all time favorite villain was Freddy Krueger - yes it's probably Johnny Depp's fault because I couldn't get enough of him back then either! Here is the sad, sad good-bye to Glen!
3. What scene from a book or movie scared you more than any other? Michael Myers lurking the dark halls of the hospital to get to Jaime Lee Curtis in Halloween 2 has traumatized me my whole life! Glad I'll be facing my fears at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights this Halloween in the Michael Myers house!
4. If all of Stephen King's bad guys were after each other, who would win and why? The vamps from Salem's Lot are faster than any humans and can fly, so they would take out Cujo, Carrie, Jack Torrance, all the people left in The Stand, Andy DuFresne, etc.. but that little Charlie McGee, first of all appears harmless, so the others would not bother with her, but the vamps that did come for her, she'd torch in mid air! Firestarter was the first Stephen King novel I ever read and still my favorite - but I haven't read The Shining yet! One year later... I still haven't read The Shining yet! Ahhhhh!
6. Provide an elevator pitch for one of your books! I wanted to know what happened to cause the 13 Districts and led to the Rebellion. Claudia Sheeplord and the Dark Days will change how you think about the Games!
AND NOW FOR YOUR TREAT!
These 11 brave souls from all over the world took on the challenge to join the Halloween Story Train!
They were given a beginning of a story and each writer passed the torch to the next train car (blog) to continue the story. We had no idea where it would go or how it would turn out, but it's a great story and you will never guess what happens next! Follow the train to see how the story goes and to get to know some new authors!
Buried Alive?
I open my eyes and nothing changes. It's pitch black. I go to sit up and hit my head on something above me.
What? Where the...I put my hands up and they are stopped only inches from my face. Something is closing me in. I swallow hard. Think. Think. What is the last thing I can remember?
p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it too. Authors' Cave celebrates Halloween for the commercial spirit and there is no relation with beliefs or non-beliefs about any pagan or other traditions.
Brief synopsis: First I have to say, please do not let the 700+ pages scare you. It never once felt like I was trudging through to get to the end. Every page kept me turning and the story is so beautifully and elegantly written. It drew me in from the start and surprisingly continued to get better and better as I went along with a wonderful surprise at the end.
The story begins with the storytelling of Maria Martinez-Bons, daughter to Celia Merrill. She is strong, even on her deathbed and wants to make sure someone special in the family knows the truth of the family history-but not everyone.
Spanning nearly a century between 1912-2010, the epic tale takes you through four generations of history, war, love and heartache. Not to mention probably the most evil villain I've ever read. If I could get my hands around Joseph Dobbs's throat, I strangle him myself! Can't give any spoilers, but he will make your blood boil for sure!
Characters: Sometimes the best characters are the ones that we hate the most. Ms. Petken did an amazing job of making the reader feel like they might actually be able to commit murder because I know I wanted to kill that ba@$ard! With four generations to cover, she did an amazing job developing each and every one of them. I cared about all of them as they spread out in their various lives, dealing with the Spanish Civil War, each in their own way. She didn't leave any strings untied or make me feel like any of them were abandoned for the others. I cared about all of them and sat on the edge of my seat as I turned the pages, wondering if they were going to live or die. NO SPOILERS!
Originality: I have to give this 5 stars on originality! I never learned anything about the Spanish Civil War in school and the fiction that she intertwined with it was so engaging. I can't believe all of this was going on as Hitler was getting ready to cause the most devastating event in history (in my opinion). The twists wound like a rope through the entire novel. No one was safe...
Recommendations:This has to go with coffee for a couple of reasons. 1) you will need it to stay away so you can keep reading 2) because Maria and Carlos meet at the coffee shop and it's their only getaway from the devastating war around them 3) food was scarce! I highly recommend to anyone who like to be completely absorbed into another world and then wake up and thank their lucky stars that this isn't their own life!
-Ginger
p.s if you enjoyed this post, please click g+1 below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it, too!
Here's a fun video I did for my Goodread's Interview with Jaideep. One of my interview questions was "If you could live one day in the life of someone who would that be?" Click here to view the whole interview at Pebble in Still Waters!
All for now!
-GInger
p.s If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it too! Thanks!
We've been working hard to bring you resources that are fun and informative to help you with your self publishing needs! Take a look inside! Find out which 4 books will be featured in the Authors' Cave Book Club this month, where the Blog Train is going, which books are FREE and $0.99 and more!
If you would like to receive the monthly Authors' Cave Ezine
Authors' Cave will host its quarterly blog train on October 30-31! The theme will relate to Halloween. Halloween Blog Train format - Each train car (blogger) should include this spooky train image and answer these questions. You don't have to answer them all if you really don't like one, but try. Participation in the Story Train at the end is required. 1. Include a picture or video of yourself in a Halloween costume (it can be from the past)
2. What is your favorite scary movie? You can include a video clip if you like of your favorite part from that movie...like this.
3. What scene from a book or movie scared you more than any other?
4. If all of Stephen King's bad guys were after each other, who would win and why?
5. Give a Treat! Provide a link to a Halloween treat or beverage recipe. A photo is nice too, if you want. 6. Provide the cover, link and 2 or 3 sentence elevator pitch for the book or series (of your own) you would like to feature in your blog car.
And....
We will give each member who participates in the blog train a specific order for their car in the train. Car #1 will start with one of the three story beginnings below. Car #2 will start the story where car #1 left off. Each car will follow in the same manner. Each car should only feature two or three paragraphs of the story. The idea is to try to get people to follow the entire train to read all of the story. Each car will have a link just above the story that should say, 'If you are just beginning the story, please click this link to go to the beginning at Car #1.' Each story will be followed with a link that says, 'To continue the story, click here' and that will take the reader to the next car. We will cut off the sign up for the Halloween Train on Oct. 25 and will let the person know at that time that will be the last car and create the ending. You guys will get to vote for which of the following story beginnings we will start the train with. The voting has now closed and the winner is "Buried Alive?"...
WINNER
I open my eyes and nothing changes. It's pitch black. I go to sit up and hit my head on something above me.
What? Where the...I put my hands up and they are stopped only inches from my face. Something is closing me in. I swallow hard. Think. Think. What is the last thing I can remember?
for more details and to sign up to host a car or purchase a ticket to ride!
-Ginger
p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below here or reshare so that others may enjoy it too. Authors' Cave celebrates Halloween for the commercial spirit and there is no relation with beliefs or non-beliefs about any pagan or other traditions.
Lots of cool stuff going on over at Authors' Cave and we are working hard to bring you best in class services! Our latest project is the newAuthor Book Teaser! Stand out when you are trying to get attention from reviewers, bloggers and publications! Don't send them a simple word doc!
NO!
You want to make them eeeewwww and aaaawwww! You can add videos, audio clips just about anything! Check it out and we would love to know what you guys think, or how we can make it better!
So, we are working on Author Interview videos over at Authors' Cave for our new Authors' Cave Book Club. Click here to join.
Why?
We think it is important for authors to share a little bit of themselves...and their personalities with their readers, so I have gone with that over perfection. With so many books to choose from in the vast world of digital publishing, you have to give potential readers more than just a cover and a blurb. You have to get to know them and let them know you. Here is my first stab at an interview for The Dark Days series. I would love to hear what you think-good, bad or ugly!
-Ginger
p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please click the g+1 button below or reshare so that others may enjoy it, too! Thanks!
