Self Publishing

Posts about self-publishing. Obviously.

Last call for alcohol! (And by alcohol, I mean my Goodreads Giveaway)

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

Hey guys! Just a quick post to remind everyone that my Goodreads Giveaway for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It closes tonight! As of this writing, there are 6 hours left on the clock, so hop over and get yourself entered ASAP!

Here’s the blurb (for anyone who hasn’t heard me prattle on about the book a million times before):

A fun, flirty, fast-paced YA sci-fi/romance novel of cosmic proportions!

High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. Then she gets abducted by scaly six-armed aliens with a strange fondness for the color blue, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse.

Trapped on a spaceship bound for the slave markets of Sirius B, Eris fears she’ll never see her home again. But then fate whisks her away from her reptilian captors and into the arms of Varrin, a fast-talking space pirate who promises to deliver her safely back to Earth. He claims to have her best interests at heart, but Eris soon discovers that her charming rescuer has a hidden agenda.

As they race across the galaxy, outrunning a villainous figure from Varrin’s past, Eris begins to realize that their relationship is putting her planet, her life, and her heart in imminent danger. She knows that trusting Varrin could prove deadly … but what other choice does she have?

 

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Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Chasing Nonconformity is finally taking shape!

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

As you may know, I’ve been working on the sequel to Imminent Danger for a while now. I believe I started it back in … 2010? Possibly earlier. Anyway, it’s been quite the laborious process. I’ve never written a sequel before, so there was a lot of stumbling and self-doubt and re-writing (the current version is almost indistinguishable from the original draft) and … yeah. You get the picture!

Anyway, I’m pleased to announce that things are finally taking shape with the sequel. I’ve settled on how I want events to happen, I figured out Varrin’s motivation (he had one before, but it was kind of a stupid motivation, so that’s changed), and I flexed my mediocre organizational muscles and did up a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of what the heck is going on in the story. I even made a timeline!

Guys, I’m so psyched right now. You know that point where everything just starts to come together, and you kind of sit back and go: “Wow. This feels amazing. And I can’t believe it took so freaking long to get to this point.” And then you ask yourself if all the hours of writing and re-writing and agonizing and plotting and arguing with your brother who absolutely refuses to entertain the possibility that maybe characters don’t have to make logical decisions all the time were worth it. The answer is yes — yes, it was worth it!

There’s still a heckuva long way to go before Chasing Nonconformity is ready for publication (obviously!). Part of my plan calls for new scenes, which need to be written. And then other scenes have been completely flipped around to be from a different character’s POV, or the same events happen but in a different location, etc. It’s going to be an epic re-write, that’s for sure. But now I have my lovely, color-coded chapter breakdown to guide me, so I’m confident it will turn out more or less the way I envisioned it.

So for anyone wondering how work on Chasing Nonconformity is progressing — there’s your update! I’m going to be working on it a lot over Christmas (hopefully I’ll finish the re-write!), and after that the basic process will be:

  1. Run the draft past my mother
  2. Wait two months for her to actually read it
  3. Get it back — cringe at the red-coated pages — revise
  4. Run the draft past my brother
  5. Wait three days for him to read it and return it with a brilliant and in-depth analysis something along the lines of: “It’s fine”
  6. Correct the inevitable logical errors he points out
  7. Run the draft past my alpha readers (“alpha” makes them sound like a wolf pack — Arooooo!)
  8. Make corrections
  9. Run the draft past my beta readers (I might ask some of you awesome WordPress peeps for help with that, so stay tuned!)
  10. Make corrections
  11. Run the draft past my mother
  12. Go through the entire book with her page by pain-staking page, tightening up my inevitably sloppy writing and probably chopping off about 10k from the final word count
  13. Run the book past a copy-editor
  14. PUBLISH!!!!!!!!

Realistically I see this book being published no sooner than Fall 2014. Cease your tears, my friends! The novel-writing process is not for the weak-hearted. We must stand together or we will surely perish!

Right. Thanks for reading! Remember to enter my Goodreads Giveaway for a signed copy of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It!

 

Unrelated media

Note: Cleverbot’s responses are in blue.

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/SwjJi

 

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Give the gift of reading this Christmas …

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

… by buying a copy of my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It!

That’s right, folks, it’s shameless self-promotion time! For all my lovely readers who haven’t yet read my book, why not give it a shot this Christmas? Or if you have read it and loved it, how about grabbing up a copy for your friends, daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, alpacas, rutabagas … whomever in your life you think might enjoy a little science fiction fun!

Click the gigantic book cover in the sidebar to get links to all the various online retailers that carry the book. Or just click here to go straight to Amazon.com.

Now, sadly I can’t actually offer any discounts, because iUniverse controls the pricing, not me. I know, I know, I’m working on it! In the meantime, while I can’t offer a price drop on book, I can offer a signed copy (sort of) if you buy a softcover or hardcover. Basically, I’m using this newfangled contraption called a “bookplate” (also known as a “sticker”). The idea here is that you buy the book, you send me an email letting me know you want a signed bookplate (along with your mailing address), and then I send you a bookplate free of charge, along with some Imminent Danger swag (bookmarks, stickers, personal thank you note for supporting me, etc.) Here’s a picture of a hastily done up bookplate that I totally didn’t just make five seconds ago:

bookplate

I promise I’ll get a better gold marker so it isn’t all fuzzy looking. And if you want me to address the bookplate to a certain individual, or write a custom message or whatever, just let me know.

Anyway, that’s my shameless self-promotion for the Christmas season! If you’ve got a spare minute, please consider spreading the word about this whole “bookplate” thing … or just about my book and how awesome it is in general. And if you already bought a copy and want a bookplate, shoot a message/email my way and I’ll hook you up!

Unrelated media of the day:

As always, I can’t remember if I’ve already shared this or not, but either way, enjoy!

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/7FNBr

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Be careful how you advertise your book …

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

I was browsing the “Once Upon a Time” sub-reddit yesterday, and …

Okay, I should probably explain that, because I know a lot of people have no idea what the heck I’m talking about. Reddit is a website where people post pictures, links, and comments about things they find interesting, funny, disgusting, whatever. There are thousands of “sub-reddits”, which are devoted to specific subjects. In my case, I was on the “Once Upon a Time” sub-reddit, where fans of the ABC network’s “Once Upon a Time” tv show post theories, fan videos, etc.

Right! Anyway, this leads into today’s topic, which is be careful how you advertise your book. Here’s what happened: a self-published author went onto this sub-reddit, thinking it was about fairy tales in general (i.e., she didn’t do her research), and posted a link to her book. This is obviously a silly thing to do, as the sub-reddit is for fans of a television show, and is definitely not a place to post what is essentially an ad for your book.

Most of the sub-reddit commenters ignored the post entirely. One did not, and took the time to explain to the author what she had done wrong. What followed was a very interesting conversation, which I think the author handled very poorly. She comes off as kind of haughty at the start, then gets snippy, and also kind of passive-aggressively implies the person she’s talking to is over-sensitive and a bit of an idiot.

Here’s a screencap of the convo (click to enlarge):

(Note: “/r/trees” refers to a sub-reddit about drugs, not trees)

subreddit

So what can we take away from this?

1. Don’t advertise on a website if you don’t know the purpose of the website.

2. If you put your advertisement somewhere it doesn’t belong, just take it down. Don’t get into an argument with the person who points out what you did wrong!

 

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Categories: Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , , | 31 Comments

What should I call my book series?

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

As work on the sequel to Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It proceeds at a glacial pace, my thoughts turn to the series as a whole and what it should be called. Considering that the first two things that draw me to a book are 1) the cover, and 2) the name, I want to make sure the series name is just as catchy as the book names themselves.

So to recap you, the two books currently in the series are Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It (published) and Chasing Nonconformity (not yet published). The genre is young adult space adventure / romance / humor. And now I need a series name.

The obvious choice is to base the name off of “Imminent Danger”, since that’s the first book in the series. But that could look a bit silly. Imagining browsing through Amazon and coming across this name:

Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It (Imminent Danger, #1)

Seems a bit redundant. Then again, that sort of thing happens to Twilight, Divergent, The Hunger Games … lots of popular series. Hmmm …

Time to draw inspiration from popular book series! Let’s see which popular YA series have “series names” that differ from the name of the first book in the series …

  • The Mortal Instruments (first book = City of Bones)
  • Caster Chronicles (first book = Beautiful Creatures)
  • The Infernal Devices (first book = Clockwork Angel)
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians (first book = The Lightning Thief)
  • House of Night (first book = Marked)
  • Lunar Chronicles (first book = Lunar)
  • Gemma Doyle (first book = A Great and Terrible Beauty)

Time to analyze! Weeeeeeeeeee …

So it seems like most YA series go with whatever the name of the first book is. Probably makes life easier. The series that don’t do that seem to draw their names from either the protagonist, important items in the story, or … well, whatever the heck “House of Night” means. The word “Chronicles” also seems popular.

Either I go with something slightly dull, like The Imminent Danger Series, or I spice it up and capture the essence of the book with something a bit more vague, like The Lamri Chronicles or The Reluctant Xenophile Saga or Abducted! (I quite enjoy the gratuitous exclamation mark in the last one).

Hmm … what do you guys think? What’s a good series name for my fledgling YA space adventure / romance / humor series? All suggestions welcome, no matter how silly!

 

Unrelated media of the day:

I may have already shared this last Christmas, but whatever. It’s a lovely Christmas medley shot in a very cool way, so listen/watch and enjoy!

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Cover Reveal! Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies (Charles Yallowitz)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m psyched to announce that I’m taking part in fellow blogger Charles Yallowitz‘s cover reveal for his new book Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies.

Without further ado … the cover reveal!

Allure Final Cover (2)Isn’t it gorgeous? It was created by talented artist Jason Pedersen — click his name to check out his website!

And now, since you’re probably wondering what the heck the book is actually about, here’s the blurb:

The epic adventures of Luke Callindor and Nyx continue after their journey down the L’Dandrin River in Legends of Windemere: Prodigy of Rainbow Tower.

Reeling from his failures in their previous adventure, Luke leads his surviving friends to his hometown.  With his mind frayed and his confidence fractured, Luke must face the family and fiancée he left behind.  It is a brief homecoming when the vampire Kalam attacks the village, forcing Luke and Nyx to break into his lair for the key to resurrecting a fallen warrior.  It is a quest that will force both young heroes to reach new heights of strength and power that they never knew they had.

Can Luke and Nyx escape the lair of Kalam?  And, what role will the orphaned gypsy Sari play in their looming destiny?

The book will be released on December 1st, 2013 — so mark it in your calendars!

Also, this is the third book in the Legends of Windemere series. If you want to check out the first two books, here are some links:

Book 1 — Beginning of a Hero:  http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Hero-Legends-Windemere-ebook/dp/B00BL9GBU2/

Book 2 — Prodigy of Rainbow Tower:  http://www.amazon.com/Prodigy-Rainbow-Legends-Windemere-ebook/dp/B00E8WUD5S/

Aaaand to round out the cover reveal, here’s some info on the author himself, Charles Yallowitz!

Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

Check out his blog to learn more about his books!

I think that covers it! Best of luck to Mister Yallowitz and his new book!

 

Categories: Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Goodreads Giveaways … hit or miss?

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

I have decided to take a few minutes this evening to reflect on Goodreads Giveaways.

Brace yourselves.

My first giveaway for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It from waaaaay back in April was a pretty rousing success. I gave away two books to two lovely ladies, and I got stellar reviews back in response. Huzzah!

My second giveaway in July was … not quite as successful. I only gave away one book that time, and perhaps the Stingy Gods have decided to punish me, because the lady who won my book has yet to post a review. Of course, it’s only been three months, so I remain hopeful, but the second giveaway definitely wasn’t on par with the first.

Going on the concept of bigger is better, I’ve decided to launch another giveaway! The giveaway starts tomorrow, and ends on my birthday (December 19). I’m giving away four books this time, and since my success percentages thus far on receiving reviews from the winners have been 100% and 0%, I’m aiming to reach a nice, even 50% with this new giveaway. Wish me luck!

I’ll write up another post tomorrow with the link so you can actually enter the giveaway — if you want! I figure that even if you don’t necessarily want a copy, you could hypothetically gift the book to a friend or your favorite niece as a Christmas present. Win win win!

Anyway, fingers crossed that this giveaway works out a bit better than the last one. Happy NaNo-ing to everyone, and see you again tomorrow for that link I promised!

 

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Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Opinion time! What should I put on the Imminent Danger bumper sticker?

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

That’s right, my friends. It’s time. Time to make an Imminent Danger bumper sticker. Please, contain your excitement. Falling off your chair and collapsing on the floor in a quivering wreck is undignified. And what are we without our dignity, I ask you? WELL?

Moving on. I want to make an Imminent Danger bumper sticker, mostly because I want one to stick on my car. That’s right, I have a car now! Technically it’s my mother’s, but she bought a new one and gifted me her old one — virtual high five for awesome mothers! The car’s a bit rusty, but it’s now mine, and I want to decorate it. So let’s talk bumper stickers!

I’m thinking text is probably the best option, since bumper stickers are small and I’m not sure intricate artwork would really come across well. I was originally thinking of just putting the book title on the sticker, but that doesn’t really do much to promote my book — and ideally, the sticker would both say “Yay! Imminent Danger!” and “Buy this book!”.

Any thoughts? I’m considering including my website on the sticker, but I’m worried that’s going to put too much text to read clearly from a distance. Hmmm.

My brother suggested just having one big word — “SHWOOP”. That is, of course, the sound my spaceships make when they leap across great distances. Very appropriate for a vehicle. But no one would get the reference, not to mention it wouldn’t advertise my book at all. Then again, having a SHWOOP sticker would be pretty cool. If a couple of people got them, we could be like a secret SHWOOP club.

What do you guys think?

 

Unrelated media of the day:

I may have shared this already, but whatever, it’s funny.

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/poxZL

 

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

My Book … In Chinese?

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

In her eternal attempts to be as adorable as possible, my mother phoned me up a few evenings ago practically bursting with excitement over her latest idea for marketing my book. And I’m happy to report that it is (possibly) a pretty good idea! So the idea is:

Hire my polyglot friend who speaks and writes Cantonese to translate my book, Imminent Danger, into Chinese … and then self-publish it to the Chinese market.

What do you guys think? Doable? Crazy? I know that Amazon KDP doesn’t currently have support for Chinese, but Smashwords does support Chinese, so … could it possibly work? Has anyone had any experience with translating and self-publishing an ebook? Share your wisdom with me!!!

To thank you in advance for your undoubtedly excellent advice, I present to you today’s …

Unrelated media of the day

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/pFhZ6CQ

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Free Short Story — “The Coin Collector”

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Michelle Proulx

I’m psyched to announce that after many hours of messing around with formatting and design and whatnot, my short story The Coin Collector is now available for FREE download from Smashwords! Click here to download it now!

Here’s the cover image again for your viewing delight:

the coin collector cover 1

And here’s an excerpt to get you irreparably hooked:

Pounding his fist against the dented metal door, Mr. Quimbly shouted, “Anyone in?”

“Just a moment, if you please,” a voice rumbled from inside.

After a few seconds, the door squeaked open of its own accord. A huge, gleaming claw attached to a scaly green appendage nearly the size of Mr. Quimbly’s entire body reached out toward him. Mr. Quimbly yelped, stumbling back and nearly dropping his file.

“Forgive my rudeness,” said the same deep voice, and the claw retracted back through the doorway. “I didn’t mean to startle you, little manling. Do come inside. I’ll put the kettle on.”

“I—I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you,” said Mr. Quimbly, preparing to run.

“It isn’t, actually.”

The claw shot back out, hooked around Mr. Quimbly’s waist, and yanked him inside.

Mr. Quimbly landed on the floor of the dimly-lit warehouse with a thud and a groan. As he shakily retrieved his fallen spectacles and pushed himself to his knees, he noticed a glint of gold near his left hand. Picking it up, he realized it was a Spanish doubloon. How curious, he thought.

Then he looked up, and found himself staring at the scaly snout of a massive green dragon. The resplendent beast towered over Mr. Quimbly’s head, its horns brushing the ceiling. Its jagged viridian scales contrasted magnificently with the small mountain of gleaming gold coins on which it was nestled.

“Good heavens,” said Mr. Quimbly, dropping the doubloon. “You’re a dragon.”

Thanks to everyone who gave me valuable advice and insights on self-publishing and formatting and content and whatnot! If you feel like sharing my exciting self-publishing news with your respective friends/family/bloggers, I would obviously be incredibly appreciative. I would even bribe you with a free copy of the ebook, but … well, it’s already free. Cheers!

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