I’m hard at work on more books and some special related projects that I can’t talk too much about right now. I have some really exciting marketing and contests planned for the year. As always, our (Michelle Pillow and I) gift card giveaway is ongoing. We award hundreds of dollars a month in them so be sure you’re entered for a chance to win one.
I wanted to say thank you again for making 2011 a record sales year for me. I know I’ve said it before but I do have the best readers out there. You guys are great!
On deck for 2012 (I’ll list just the things for first portion of year) I have Civil Twilight (Project Exorcism 4), Prince of Flight (King of Prey 4), Separation Zone (Immortal Ops 5).
As for my Rory Michaels books (by now I’m sure you all know this is my pen name) I have The Unabashed (Macon Valley Menage 6) and Theirs to Take (Hazard County Threesome).
I would love to get Parker’s Honor out. Its book two in my Cowboys and Supernaturals series but Blaze of Glory had lackluster sales but MUCH pirating. *sigh* I will say that if you enjoy my book (written under my name Mandy M. Roth) I think you’ll really like Blaze of Glory. It has my “flare” for sure. I’d really love to keep working on this series.
I keep getting emails from readers wanting to know what they can do to help me. Let me first say, that’s friggin’ awesome that so many of you want to lend a hand. I hope you feel as invested in my career as I do because so many of you have been there with me for the entire eight years. Those who are new to me, welcome! I always tell readers the best way to help an author out is by spreading the word about their books, telling others, recommending them. Another is by “liking” their books on online store sites such as Amazon, by agreeing with tags on products and most importantly, taking time out to review a book—even a few short words (good, bad, indifferent). This helps so much!
I wake up in the morning feeling like “insert random rap star name here”… not really but it seemed like a fun intro to this glimpse into my writing daily life.
I treat writing just like what it is, a full-time job. When I was still “in the workplace” I would wake up in the morning, get ready for work and be to my office by 8am. Same holds true with me being home and writing from my home office. I’m to work by 8am. I start my day the same as when I was in the workplace. I check email, catch up on anything pressing there and by 9am I have my daily conference call with my fellow co-owner of The Raven Books, Michelle Pillow. We discuss what needs to be done administration wise for the company that day, who is doing what task, what book is in what stage of the publishing process and any type of marketing things we need to think about. We are an e-first publisher and our goal is to always stay one step ahead of the market, never to chase it. We have the ability to switch gears on a dime and because of that, we are always in touch with one another. The conversation normally lasts an hour. When you’re dealing with a business earning what Raven Books earns, and you’re doing it with a very small number of employees, you have to be in the thick of it. You have to be hands on. After the conversation is over I normally catch up on whatever we discussed and then I take a lunch break.
While on my lunch hour I eat and then contact people regarding anything personal, like dog groomer apts, dr appts, catching up with friend quickly or saying hi to mom or grandmother. I watch the clock. I’m off the phone and done with my tasks by the time my hour is up. Then, it’s time for me to return to my office and get to writing. I write until 4pm when my youngest two children get home from school. Then, my time is theirs. I’m “Mommy” until bed time. I then return to my office to write more or do covers. Whatever needs done. I often get up in the middle of the night and work too.
I don’t treat writing as a hobby. It’s not. It’s my full time job. It’s my livelihood. It’s what pays the bills at my house and what is needed to put three boys through college. I’m strict with myself and my time because if I don’t take my writing/job seriously how in the heck can I expect readers to take my work seriously and spend their hard earned cash on it?
I should say that I keep this schedule Mon-Fri. Once a month I have a week that is nearly all admin and often includes travel related to the publishing house or at the very least research for my next book. I also know after 8 years of writing full-time that the month of Dec is a work wash for me. Thanksgiving pretty much kicks off the “get nothing done” stage and I know better than to plan a heavy release schedule for that time or for January. I work as much as I can through December and think of whatever I get done as a huge win. Since there are holidays there and the kids are off for a week, I know when to label a win a win.
During the summer the kids are home and I do a ton of research/writing travel. I’ve learned how to set my yearly releases accordingly. I know which months I have more work time and which I have less. No matter what month it is, I’m always doing something to better my career and myself. If I’m not writing, I’m doing admin. If I’m not doing admin, I’m doing research. If I’m not doing that, I’m doing work related travel (research, signings, meetings, appearances, workshops, guest speaking). If I’m not doing that, I’m doing social media and I’m out there planning marketing for my books.
I take my job very seriously. It’s my career, what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve spent eight years building a brand for myself, a name, a new small press and a decent sized following of loyal readers (who are awesome, I might add). I’m just lucky enough to be doing something I love. That doesn’t make it any less important to me or my time any less valuable. Authors and aspiring authors, don’t feel ashamed for demanding time to do your job. And readers, please know, I really do put a lot of time in all my books and I truly hope you enjoy them as much I do writing them!
My mantle. I have a thing for nutcrackers. Love them. This is only about 15-20% of my collection. I have to rotate them each year because only around 20-30 fit there. Does anyone else have a certain holiday “thing” they love? I’m big into Christmas music. I start humming it around Thanksgiving and don’t stop until Jan 2nd.
So, I lost all my book videos that had been on my computer. I have a few old ones that were on youtube. So, I decided to give it a go at putting one together for The Project Exorcism Series. Here ya go….
The last year has been a whirlwind. It seems like only yesterday I received a call telling me to get to the hospital only to find when I arrived that my father had already passed from a massive heart attack. For those who don’t know, he’d been on the golf course, enjoying a round of golf with his buddies when he went down at tee off. He was 56 and in what we had thought was great health. Just like that he was gone. A part of me has found comfort in the fact he passed doing something he loved (understatement, he LOVED LOVED LOVED golf). Its been a year now. A year of forgetting he was gone and picking up the phone to call him, a year of putting dvd box sets of shows I know he’d like that are on sale in my cart on Amazon only to remember he’s not around, a year of looking out in my driveway to see his ’81 Corvette sitting there and a year of answering the seemingly endless questions my youngest son has about death. My youngest even asked Santa for a jet pack so he could fly to heaven to visit his Papa. Try explaining why that wasn’t under the tree. I went with because the government banded them for fear of what they’d do to the environment and that with all the flight restrictions post 9-11 it wasn’t feasible.
Recently, I found a box of books on my doorstep. They were my promo copies of my Project Exorcism print book. I opened it was was excited to see how they turned out. I set the box in my office and didn’t think much of it until I was cleaning up in here and removed them. I flipped one open and noticed the dedication–it was written to my father prior to his passing. It was thanking him for turning me into a Sci-Fi fan and for all the movie marathon’s we’d had at his house on the weekends. I have to admit, this got to me. I was happy I’d taken the time out while he was alive to give thanks but sorry that he’d never lived to see the book in print. I often wonder if he knew how much he meant to me and how much he influenced me. I ended up with his quick sarcasm, his sense of humor, his taste in music and his love of all things sci-fi.
I still remember him taking my brother and I to see Star Wars when we were little. Everyone remember the Six Million Dollar Man? I used to watch that on Saturday mornings at his place. He never complained that he’d already seen them all many times. He just laughed, gave me a box of Ho-hos that were to pass as a healthy breakfast and put his oversized headphones on to listen to a Doobie Brother’s record.
I know that my dad was proud of me–even if he didn’t read romance books. I know that he’d have been pleased to see I’d dedicated one to him. And mostly, I know he’d pretty much laugh and point at me for getting sentimental now. He’d find a way to make me smile. So, in honor of him, I’m going to keep a promo copy of the book for myself and just smile whenever I glance at it. Hell, I might even drive that ‘vette of his to somewhere scenic and read the book even though I already know the ending.
I’m on the hunt for affordable wines. These can range anywhere from $7-40 a bottle. The record should state I’m really only a fan of reds. I often find bottles at the $10 and under price point to be less than what I’d hoped for. Case in point, Raven’s Wood. Wasn’t a fan by any means. Very oak heavy IMO. Now, let me get to the wine at hand–Red Bicyclette’s Pinot Noir. I read some reviews prior to buying and was expecting it to be heavy on the iron and tannis side. I have to admit, I didn’t find that to be the case. I think that the wine would certainly do better with cheese or something of the like but it stands on its own just fine.
*PRIZES-If you win a prize in a contest or theme day (etc) from Mandy's blog or from any of its affiliates and do not claim it within 30 days, its void.
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