Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Mar 20, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy Marketing with Mandy Spotlight on Reviewers: Limecello
Q: Please take a minute to tell us a little about yourself.
A: Well, on my profile(s) it says “Reader, Reviewer, Lawyer, Foodie, Blogger, and Discusser of all things random.” and that really does sum me up. Well, other than the ranting. I feel like I’m a crazy angry bitchy ranter a lot. I think it’s something of a divide though. There are those people who think I’m really nice. There are those who I think if they could get away with stabbing me in the back – literally – would. Or possibly even the front. You know, win some, lose some.
At the least (or most?) though – I will say that what you see is what you get. How I am online on twitter, my blog, emails and so forth, is how I am in real life. No dissembling, no bullshit. I do, however, know how to be civil and observe social niceties. Oh, and I swear, I’m actually not a blithering idiot. I would say “I just come across that way sometimes” but… that rather negates my previous statement, doesn’t it. Dammit. (You did see that “random” part of the bio, yes?)
Q: Where can your reviews be found (what sites)?
A: Reviews. About that. And me being a reviewer. I actually asked Mandy and was like “um, what if I’m more a blogger?” But she was all awesome and said “you’re legit! I consider bloggers to be the same as journal reviewers” But it (me asking) was more like… what if I just spout shit and don’t actually post reviews all that often, but I figured I wouldn’t bother Mandy any more than I had. So maybe I snuck in here and I’m cheating the system. GO ME!
Anyway since um… ’07? I was a reviewer/blogger at TGTBTU. I’m not in the “roll” now but I think if you search for me my tags are still there? (Not my icon though *sniffles*) Anyway we parted ways in 2010. I’m also a blogger at Heroes and Heartbreakers, and then I have my own blog, which nobody knows what to call/refers to it as Limecello. Personally I think of it as “A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet” but what do I know.
ETA: Since I first wrote out these answers back in January… my blog has changed! I now post a review a week! Progress! (And I’m still looking for reviewers to join in…)
Q: What prompted you to get into reviewing books?
A: Actually, I won something at TGTBTU O_o gosh maybe in early 07? 06? And then Sybil was all “would you like to do a guest review?” And at the time I was all like “zomg! Reviews! Fun!” I was also young and stupid. I posted something like 175? Something? reviews my first calendar year there. Never again. (So for all of you getting excited, sorry. You can leave now if you want – but hey – I try to make up for it by featuring authors at my blog.) And readers. Because I think readers don’t actually get enough love in this community. Anyway. That’s another discussion for another day.
The point is – I was going to do a single guest review. And possibly see how that went. But then Sybil was all “Hey! Where are all your reviews? Give them to me! I want reviews!” And well, if you’ve ever interacted with Sybil, you know she’s crazy. And scary. (She threatened to kill me countless of times within like the first month of my talking to her.) It wasn’t a benevolent dictatorship. But I loved her and feared her. 
So anyway, that’s how I got started.
Q: How has the experience been to date?
A: Uhhhh well, considering I personally didn’t do reviews for about a year … am I allowed to say it’s self explanatory? I just don’t know that anyone cares about my reviews. And that’s totally cool. No really. Honest. I like having reviews, and asking other people to do them, because I know – and it seems – people care about them. Well, that an this EPIC reading slump. It was killer.
But! I’m starting reviews again. I now have some lovely, intelligent people who post guest reviews at my blog, and am looking for more people. (I think it’s just people are sick of hearing what I have to say, you know? ;P)
Also, it’s just… well, I find reviewing can sometimes take the fun out of reading. You have to worry about remembering it all, and doing it in a timely manner. And then even though you say you don’t care what others think there’s are a lot of potentially dangerous pitfalls.
I never really got into review dust ups, thankfully, although I did have one slight kerfluffle. But it’s just… bleh. I think what really also killed it was the demand for them making it like work – HARD thankless unpaid work.
And then I’m totally not someone who only posts positive reviews. In fact general consensus is that I’m a rather tough grader.
So yeah. For those people who review regularly? Give them a candy bar. Or maybe I just need to get out of my head. I very much enjoy reading whatever the hell I like, whenever I like.
And I might post a “formal review” on it, or I might just discuss it lightly. Or talk about a group of books. Does that count as a review? To me personally, the latter? Not so much. But I still talk about books and what I thought. That part I like.
Of course, if I read a book and have a strong reaction to it – positive or negative, I do still write about it if I’m at all possible.
I’m as I said also actually looking for reviewers to join the blog. (Those innocent, clueless little lambs… kidding!) But if someone is going to be reviewing at ALBTALBS I want thoughtful, insightful reviews. Not just a book blurb and a sentence. So at least I’ve got the substance thing going on…
Q: If you could change one thing about reviewing, what would it be?
A: The drama. Dear God and the “rules” and the “this is how it should be” and… ugh. I mean – just look around the web for the January 2012 dust ups. That’s… yeah. Do not want. See why I generally want to avoid this stuff?
I’m extremely gifted at annoying and offending people all on my own without even posting reviews. It’d be like… using a blowtorch as a fireplace poker. >.> Not that that’s speaking from personal experience.
Q: If an author would like to submit their book to you for review, how should they go about doing it?
A: Very, very nicely. Possibly with a box of chocolates. Or a bottle of wine. Actually, there’s a contact form on my blog anyone is welcome to use. I may or may not respond, and that’s the way this sort of thing goes.
If the message asks for some sort of response, I generally do, but I get a number of WTF message with nothing but book information. No review request, nothing of substance/nothing that tells me what the hell I’m supposed to do with it. Those I ignore. … Or email to friends to mock.
I’m kidding. Maybe. No really. O_o
So yeah. Now that I’ve scared everyone away, I’d love for you to visit me at my blog and sign up for a guest spot!
LINKS:
My blog
My posts at Heroes & Heartbreakers
Twitter – where I talk a lot about anything and everything
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Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Mar 7, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Spotlight on Self-Publishing: SM Blooding
Q: Please take a minute to tell us a little about yourself.
A: Well, the first thing is that SM stands for Stephanie Marie, but only associates and family call me that. Friends call me Frankie, which is a funny story for another time. LOL! I live in Colorado next to my lovely Rocky Mountains. I love to hike, bike, and I’m trying to learn to play the guitar. That’s…not going well.
I’ve dated a werewolf, almost married a vampire who was also a US government assassin…@_@… and am an investigator with Colorado Paranormal Rescue. Boy, do I have stories!
Q: What prompted you to self-publish your book(s)?
A: Well, I’ve been down the published route with a few books back in 2005 thru 2007. Then I got the hair-brained idea to traditionally publish my books. I sold the first three books of my Demon Talker series to TLT Publishing in 2011, but I still have more books than I can contract!
I have friends who have self-published and are doing a phenomenal job with it, so I sat down with myself and said, “Frankie, what’s going on here, girl-child? You have all these books and even if you tried a gajillion years, there’s no publisher in the world that wants them all.” But they’re all good stories with characters that I loved enough to write about and I want and need to share them with the world.
So I pulled myself off my lazy butt and came up with an insane publishing plan and I’m just going to do this! The industry is really in our favor! Who would have thought that a year ago? Not me.
Q: How has the experience been to date?
A: CRAZY! I sat down and came up with a business plan that should be doable and I think my readers will be happy with it. But to start off, I’m doing almost everything by myself.
I had to sit down and take a very hard look at my budget. As a self-published author, the expense is on me and my $0-checking account. So I had to ask myself: What can you afford to farm out? What are you good at? What do you suck at? What’s worth the money? There are a lot of people out there offering services that really aren’t worth the investment. But there are other things that, OMW, you really need to find someone else to help with.
Then you have to look at the schedule. *looks heavenward* There are so many things to do! And you need to make sure you have time to do it all without stressing. I quickly found out that the writing is the easy part. LOL!
It’s not just about the writing. There’s the edits that you have schedule in, and the promoting, and the socializing, and the reading, and the reviewing (which is essential to staying on top of the market while helping your fellow authors) and then there’s the helping other authors because the indie authors are a GREAT source for socializing and helping you get word of your books out there. There’s just. So. Much. Work.
But the people in the indie side of the industry are fantastic. Whenever I have a question, it’s usually followed by, “Oh, Frankie, that’s so easy!” LOL!
Q: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started?
A: I was really fortunate to have some friends who went through this in 2011, so I had a really good idea of what I needed to do and when.
The biggest thing I learned was from Denise Swank. Write a business plan going in and, boy, am I glad that I did. Granted, I’m just starting out, but I feel confident in what I’m doing and the only real anxiety I have is whether or not the readers are going to like my work. Which is exactly what an author should be worrying about.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I’m still learning those. Really, it’s all about who you know and what kind of a socializer you are. The people I know of that are successful indie authors 1.) write a LOT of books and 2.) talk a LOT on Twitter and Facebook. And…people talk about them a lot on Amazon and Goodreads.
I think the best tip though, is to remember that it isn’t just about you. There’s a whole world of authors out there trying to make it with you. You support them. Hopefully, they’ll support you.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Do. Your. Homework!
And…You ms might be your baby, but even babies need discipline sometimes.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: Try Taking Her Down was originally published in 2005 and was written on a family vacation to Mt. Rushmore. Oh, the things we do for our characters, but it was a long drive. Hello, Wyoming? *head desk* LOL!
After Angel’s sister commits suicide with Angel’s three young children, she swears that things like that will never happen again. She appoints herself vigilante of a group of New York street urchins. Someone has decided these kids need to die. But why? What’s the common thread between all these kids? Is it for money or information or something different? And why is it that no one but Angel seems to care?
Except for Detective Kevin Stephens, he’s not giving up on this case until he finds out why people would want to kill all these children. But will Angel welcome his help? How many more children will disappear without Angel and Kevin’s help?
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s (works in progress)?
A: Oh my word! This is a crazy year for WIP’s. I’m currently going through my final pass through of As Night Falls, which will be launching in March. It was another book published in 2005 and actually made it to the top 10 Erotica Sci-Fi book on Preditors and Editors. Raven’s a vampire trying to ensure his race doesn’t become extinct in the President’s New Order. Becca holds the key to their survival, but she’s afraid that if she helps him, she’ll lose who she is and is terrified of what she could become.
Another one in the editing stage is The Dustman, which currently has a May launch date, is a cute Urban Fantasy Romance about a dustman who needs someone to believe in him, and a single mother who needs a little less reality and a little more whimsy. Together, they must save Dreamland from being forgotten.
And the last one I’ll mention today is The Hands of Tarot, my Steampunk novel which is tentatively scheduled for release in July/August. Captured by the House of Wands and kept as the Queen’s pet project, Synn has to find a way to escape before he becomes the secret weapon the Hands can use to take control of all the resisting Families.
The Demon Talker series should be launching this year, too. It s a fantastic series. Demons Are Jackasses has been done for awhile and we’ve just completed the edits of book 2, Those Damn Angels. I should have book 3 finished in the next couple of months.
Can you say INSANE?! LOL!
LINKS:
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Tags: author spotlight, guest author, indie author, self-publishing
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Feb 29, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Author Spotlight: Jenna Bayley-Burke
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Samhain.
A: Amazing. I’ve been supported and mentored every step of the way. I’ve done six novels with them, and another slated for late summer.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I try to listen to my circle of loyal readers and what they think works. I had a basic marketing plan that grew a little with each release – blog & website ads, review requests, guest blogging, giveaway contests. With my latest, For Kicks, I’m trying something different. I heard from a number of readers that they’re not all that interested in winning a free book from a favorite author because if they are a favorite, they bought the book the day it was released. With this release I decided to try taking by budget for ads and give away e-giftcards instead. That way, the winner can choose any of my titles. Or gum. I can’t police what they use it for. That’s the gamble.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Be the author you want to interact with. My favorite authors are open and personable with fans, which is what I try for. Oh, and the very best thing you can do to sell your book is to write another one. Multiple releases are the best thing you can do career-wise.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: For Kicks is my take on retail management business travel…Breeze is on the kind of trip I took far too often back in the day. To make it easier on her, I have a schmexy former soccer star chasing her across the country, bringing her gifts, doing her laundry, and awakening parts of her she never thought existed.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: I’m waiting for edits on y next story, Drive Me Crazy, where an unlikely couple explores one another and the US on a road trip to a wedding. Wild horses, a haunted hotel, and a tree house all have a role. I had such fun with it. I’m also trying to convince my editor she does in fact have time to work in a Christmas novella for the 2012 schedule. That’s the thing with having such a great editor, she’s crazy busy!
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: Almost every time I hear or read a story, I want to change it so it ends the way I want it to. I guess I started ‘writing’ when I edited Cinderella to have the Fairy Godmother vamoose the step mother & sisters into pigs. I tried explaining this version to my 3-year-old. She was not impressed with my re-write.
Q: How do balance family and writing?
A: I’m a little askew right now. I spend more time on family than I do on writing, hence the slow-down in the number of stories I had out last year. Health issues sucked up too much of my time. Now that my best friend is cancer-free and my brother is completely healthy, I can get back to work. I tell the husband and kiddos what I’m hoping to get done in the coming week. Now that my boys are old enough to understand that unless Mommy writes enough there will be no Disneyland, they’re much better about respecting the time I need.
LINKS:
Homepage
Blog
Facebook
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Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Feb 22, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Author Spotlight: Cat Johnson
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Samhain Publishing.
A: I find Samhain does a lot of effective things to promote their authors. Probably the biggest thing recently was when they made the first ebook in my Red, Hot & Blue series free on Amazon.com. That put TREY on a few best-seller lists on Amazon and bumped up the sales of my entire backlist dramatically, as well as gave me huge hits on my website.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I try to interact with and spread my name to fans of the subjects in which I write (IE supporters of the military, fans of rodeo/bull riding) as much as I do with romance readers. I also signed on to be a blogger at a site owned by a chef who writes aphrodisiac cookbooks. I thought people who like sexy food might also be interested in what an author of sexy books has to say. So far, I was right. Thinking out of the box as far as marketing expands the pool of potential readers wider than your usual romance readers.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Never stop learning. This business is changing faster than anyone can keep up with.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: TEXAS TWO-STEP: COWBOY SHUFFLE is a February 2, 2012 exclusive release from All Romance eBooks (though it will also be available at the iBookstore). In 2011 ARe invited a select group of authors to write for their Perfect Strangers Valentines Day promotion and I was lucky enough to be one of those authors. My title from 2011, TEXAS TWO-STEP, was a site-wide top 10 best seller. For this year’s Perfect Strangers release, I’ve written the sequel.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIPs?
A: I’m currently writing Book 5 in my Studs and Spurs series (with Samhain). I’m finding through this series that there are a lot of stories in the world of professional bull riding to be told.
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: I’ve written my entire life, but my first paid contract was 2 weeks out of college when I got hired onto a YA series. I was an English major so writing seemed like a perfect fit.
Q: How do balance family and writing?
A: Not well. I’m a terrible housekeeper. I take care of what really needs to be done—like feeding my animals so they don’t kill me and eat me in my sleep, and doing laundry so my husband doesn’t leave me, but things like vacuuming tend to fall by the wayside (a little cat hair on the carpet won’t kill anyone LOL).
LINKS:
Homepage
Twitter
Facebook
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Tags: author spotlight, guest author, Marketing with Mandy, Who Can It Be Now (Guest Blogger)
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Feb 15, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Self-Publishing Spotlight: James Mace
Q: Please take a minute to tell us a little about yourself.
A: I grew up in Meridian, Idaho, which is just outside of Boise. I spent three years in the Air Force and was stationed in Phoenix before getting out and moving back to Boise. I worked full-time as a federal technician for the Army Guard for fifteen years before recently resigning in order to focus exclusively on writing.
I am the author of four books in the series Soldier of Rome – The Artorian Chronicles, as well as a short novella based on one of the characters. Writers are often stereotyped as introverts, hence why one of my best friends told recently that he’s surprised it’s what I do for a living as I am the most sociable person he knows.
I work out religiously, hitting the weights, swimming laps, running, or bicycling five to six days a week. My goal is to compete in my first Spartan Race this year. I also belong to a rather insane running / social club called The Hash House Harriers.
Q: What prompted you to self-publish your book(s)?
A: After writing my first book in 2005, I made numerous attempts to go the traditional route. The perception was that you had to have an agent and go to a big publisher, otherwise you were a failure. I sent out approximately a hundred queries and received about twenty responses. I was told that was phenomenal, since the response rate was supposedly only about 2%. I shrugged it off, as even though I got twenty responses, none of them would take me on as a writer. No one said they didn’t like the story; what all of them said was, “There is no market for this”. Apparently they’d never seen “Gladiator”. A friend of mine had written a book a few years back and recommended that I try self-publishing.
Q: How has the experience been to date?
A: It was slow at first. I certainly was not writing in order to become rich. It was simply a hobby that I made a little bit of money at. The issue with self-publishing is you are completely on your own when it comes to marketing and advertising. You are also required to front the costs, though these are not too bad.
Where my real success has been is in the rise of the eBook. I tell people all the time that Amazon Kindle is my new best friend! Around the spring of 2011 I managed to get all of my books onto Kindle and the sales immediately took off. By summer I was making substantially more in royalties off Kindle alone that I was working full-time for the federal government.
Q: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started?
A: I’ve gone through many hard lessons learned, foremost being don’t skimp when it comes to proof-reading and editing! Unfortunately, no one has written a “Self-Publishing for Dummies” guide, so I had to learn most lessons the hard way.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: This is still something I’m actually trying to learn more about. I’ve done the occasional blog tour, plus I have a fan page on Facebook, along with my official website.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Keep writing! Sounds clichéd, I know. Thing is, focus on what you’re good at and start getting a catalog of quality work out. Also, like I mentioned above, don’t skimp on the proof-reading / editing. You may think you can proof your own work. Trust me, you can’t. The brain will see what is supposed to be there, but it may not be what is actually printed. Also, if you don’t put your works onto eBook, especially Kindle, you’re only hurting yourself. Between my four books (my novella is eBook only), I sell maybe a hundred or so copies per month combined. Conversely, I sell several thousand a month on Kindle. And if you have short stories, you can publish those directly to eBook and sell them for $0.99, thereby giving readers a sample of your writing style.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My latest release was my short novella, Centurion Valens and the Empress of Death. Though it has characters from The Artorian Chronicles in it, it is not a “military” story. I classify it more as a semi-erotic thriller involving a Centurion and the fallout that comes from his transgression with the notorious Empress Messalina. It’s about 26,000 words, so about a quarter of the length of one of my regular books. It has been well received and in fact is my best-seller in the U.K.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s (works in progress)?
A: I am currently working on the fifth installment of The Artorian Chronicles, entitled Soldier of Rome: Judea. This will be the second-to-last book of the series, so I am looking at branching out into other eras of history. That is why after Judea is released I will be working on another short novella before I jump into the final book, Soldier of Rome: The Last Campaign. This particular story will take place during one of the most brutal sieges of the Napoleonic Wars which took place in April 1812. It is called Forlorn Hope: The Storming of Badajoz.
LINKS:
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Tags: indie author, Marketing with Mandy, self-publishing, Who Can It Be Now (Guest Blogger)
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Feb 8, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Author Spotlight: Jenna Ives
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Samhain Publishing as well as self publishing.
A: Samhain is an awesome publisher. They have great distribution and are very supportive of their authors. I’m very happy with them, but I decided to self-publish my novella Snow White And Her Seven Lovers to “test the waters” of self-publishing, since some authors are doing really well in this new frontier of publishing! My Snow White story came out on December 26.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I try to think outside the box for promo tie-in opportunities. I always make a really big push at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, since romances are a natural at those times of the year. I did a “Heat Up Your Holidays” book signing at a local lingerie store, and it was so successful they invited me back for Valentine’s Day!
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: My marketing advice for any new author is that even if you’re published with a traditional publisher, there’s always some additional publicity you can get for yourself: pitch yourself as a “success story” to your local newspaper, college alumni magazine, or, if you happen to write about a particular thing (cats, knitting, martial arts, etc) pitch yourself to a magazine that focuses on those topics. No one will work harder for you than you yourself!
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My new novella is called Snow White And Her Seven Lovers, and it’s an erotic twist on the classic fairy tale. Here’s the blurb for the story, which is written in first-person from my heroine’s point of view:
What’s a girl to do when she wakes up poisoned in the ER and finds that she’s lost her memory, her family, and very nearly her life?
That was me. Three months ago. With no identity, no money, and nowhere to go on the day I was discharged from the hospital, I gratefully accepted my gorgeous ER doctor’s offer to move in with him and his equally gorgeous six friends – the ones who’d found me unconscious in an apple orchard. My plan was to stay until my memory returned, and I could figure out who I was and if someone really had tried to kill me.
Together with Doc, these were an amazingly diverse bunch of guys, but there was something about each of them that attracted me powerfully enough to want to explore it. The policeman with his clever handcuffs. The cunningly linguistic librarian. The disciplinarian teacher. The virgin computer whiz who loved to play sex games. The engineer who created shotgun orgasms. The wildly imaginative baker.
Becoming intimate with these seven men completed me in ways I suspected discovering my name never would. That is, until the fateful day a man showed up claiming to be my fiancé…
Conflict with lots of steamy love scenes! But by far, my most favorite part of this story was figuring out real-life jobs for these seven men. Doc (of course) is the ER doctor who saves my heroine’s life after she’s poisoned, but can you guess which of the above are Sleepy? Dopey? Grumpy? Sneezy? Bashful? Happy?
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: My Samhain release is called The Initiation Of Isabella, and believe me, you’ll be hot to join this sorority after reading this story! I’m currently working on another college co-ed and her sorority initiation…
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: Well, as the oldest child, I was always making up stories to keep my two brothers and sister entertained. When I became an adult, the stories just kept coming!
Q: How do you balance family and writing?
A: Sometimes with the craziness of family life (plus a day job!) it’s very hard to find time to write, but you just have to sit your butt in the computer chair and do it. Writing is fun, but you also have to think of it as a job, or else you won’t treat it seriously.
LINKS:
Homepage
Amazon buy link
Barnes and Noble buy link
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Tags: Marketing with Mandy, Who Can It Be Now (Guest Blogger)
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Feb 1, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Self-Publishing: Leigh Ellwood
Q: Please take a minute to tell us a little about yourself.
A: Thanks for having me here. I am Leigh Ellwood and I mainly write romance and erotica, though I take on other genres under another name. I have been writing all of my life, but didn’t publish a book until 2001. When I’m not at the day job helping clients with social media, I’m writing and reading, and hope to complete at least one novel a year.
Presently I have works out with Phaze Books, Samhain Publishing, Loose ID, and a number of works pubbed myself through an co-op imprint, DLP Books.
Q: What prompted you to self-publish your book(s)?
A: There are a few reasons. Early in my writing career, I had a few non-erotic books publish and quickly fizzle. I didn’t know much about marketing back then, and the publisher of the first book unfortunately had little experience, too. When I got the rights back to these works I noticed few publishers were willing to take on the reprint rights, so I published them myself through DLP. To my great pleasure, those titles are selling better now than they had with their original publishers!
As for new material that I self-publish, the works are mainly genres that didn’t interest some of my target publishers. I have a number of F/F erotic stories, which were once hard to place with pubs. After publishing them myself, though, I’ve noticed they sell well.
Q: How has the experience been to date?
A: I find the experience is good. I like that I get to keep most of the spoils when the checks are cut. The challenge for me is time to handle all of the marketing in addition to the writing. It’s expected even when you’re with a legacy publisher, yes, but publishers do relieve you of some of the book production that now falls on you.
Q: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started?
A: I know cover art is very important in terms of making the package attractive to readers. I feel I have grown as a self-publisher in a sense because I know where my weaknesses lie in the process. I can produce an “okay” cover, or I can invest in a professional to create something more visually appealing.
Also, I wish I were a better accountant! Just a note for those of you new to this: keep track of EVERYTHING you buy – ad space, stock photos, etc.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I believe content is king. I find that blogging and guest blogging (blog tours) are the way to go to get your name out there. I am planning one for my next work and hope to do one for every release going forward. I do also play around with Twitter and Facebook, but mainly for personal purposes. Your name needs to be where the readers go, and I think readers are more inclined to check out the book bloggers for recommendations.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Write, revise, and revise some more. Find a good critique partner who will stick with you and be honest about your work – one who tells you when things don’t work. If he/she doesn’t, a reader just may tell you later.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My latest, ODD, is a M/M short out through All Romance’s Perfect Strangers imprint. It is a contemporary, humorous short about two partygoers who meet at a most unusual event. It is available exclusively through ARe along with others from the line.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s (works in progress)?
A: I am also finishing up a full length M/M work, tentatively titled Act Daring. This story is about an actor who makes a bad career move and leaves Hollywood to recover. While visiting his parents, he falls for a small town man directing a play and looking for inspiration. I hope to announce a release date soon.
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Tags: guest author, indie author, Marketing with Mandy, self-publishing
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Jan 25, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy 
Marketing with Mandy Author Spotlight: Trinity Blacio
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Ravenous Romance. (insert publisher name here or if self-published put self-publishing here).
A: I first started working with Ravenous Romance four years ago. Lori Perkins brought me on board. Everyone at RR has gone out of their way to work with me. Holly Schmidt, Allan Penn, and Lori Perkins are always working on promoting their authors, getting Ravenous Romance books out there to uncharted waters. If you have a suggestion they listen and they are always on the lookout for more talented authors.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: Short and sweet. Do not step on toes, follow the rules when promoting. Interviews, blogs, radio shows, anything that gets your name out there. Carry business cards with you and hand them out when you do your errands. They might not be interested in what you write, but they will be telling others they met an author and that could get you a sale.
Leave free stuff at your local library’s, book stores, and colleges.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Never give up. Any business you go into there are ups and downs. Cut throat people who will try everything to discredit you and your stories. So believe in yourself, talk to other authors, most of them would be willing to give you any advice they can. They can even point out some do’s or don’ts.
Also you find a great place on the internet link it, write it down you never know when you’ll need that place again.
Ask authors to do interviews for your website, other authors also bring different readers to your websites. Plus, you help others, others will help you.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My latest release is Book seven in my series, Running In fear: New Beginnings Jubilee, and yes it is better to read the books in a row.
They have a new world, a new beginning: now all they need is for their enemies to drop dead and leave them alone. Jaycee LeBlathe, Suzanne Hazelfield, and Lissa Elam have no idea how to be the first ladies, to be queens, let alone rule over anyone. All they know how to do is survive, until now.
Nikola, Dominic, Remi, and Dane have decided it is time for their female companions to live again, to love, and to know what a family unit is all about. Their people now brought over, settling into new homes on a new planet, everyone waits for the word that the war on Earth is over. Are their mates truly safe now? Or will this New Beginning Jubilee be put on hold?
The previous titles are as follow, which all can be found at Ravenous Romance:
1. Running In Fear: Escape
2. Running In Fear: Abandoned
3. Running In Fear: Coming Home
4. Running In Fear: Cupid’s Venom
5. Running In Fear: Dragon’s Den
6. Running In Fear: Ghost Warrior
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: Right now I’m working on the first book for my witch series called, Rapturous Celestial Sanctum. The first book, The Triad Warriors.
In the year 2020, vampires, witches and warlocks, shifters live among the human race, trying to survive. A peace has settled among the races, but the witches and warlocks still trust no one. Prosecuted throughout time, the gods have stepped in to set up havens for said witches and Warlocks.
Fourteen Sanctums are scattered across Earth. Each one is run by an ancient warrior, protector of witches and warlocks, giving them a haven from those that would kill them or use them for evil purposes. Each Sanctum will have at least three novel-length stories. The Sanctum is hidden behind the image of private BDSM clubs.
What better way to hide, to fuel their powers, and to shore up alliances for the threats against their people in a private club of sex?
A: Q: How did you get into writing? A: Actually, my mother encouraged me, after seeing some of my college papers printed in the local newspapers and such. Ever since then I haven’t stopped. I’ve wanted to, believe me especially after the first set of bullies came along. Yes, there are authors who are bullies in our world. Just have to learn how to ignore them.
Q: How do balance family and writing?
A: I work when ever and where ever I can. Making supper I’ll be running back and forth to the computer when I can writing, but the majority of my writing comes in the early morning hours, when all is asleep or in school.
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Tags: guest author, Marketing with Mandy
Posted by Mandy M. Roth on Jan 24, 2012 in
Marketing with Mandy Guest Blogging and Author Interviews Tips and Tricks
When invited to guest blog on another’s blog it’s important you make the experience as painless as possible for the person hosting you that day. I know what you’re thinking “but I’m the author, it should be me, me all about me”. Odds are, the person you’re going to be visiting that day is also an author, if you’re lucky one with a very large following or steady fanbase—or they’re probably in the industry somehow. Regardless, they are doing you a favor. They are helping you reach more people, even if it’s just a handful, they are helping.
Here are some pointers to help you make your blog post as “user friendly” as possible. While it may take you a few extra minutes it will make you appealing as a return guest blogger. And you never want to lose marketing avenues.
Tips and Tricks:
Due Date: Be timely and don’t email a bunch of times with various questions. If you have questions, put them all in one email.
Forms and files: Fill out any forms you are given properly. Example: If they have a spot for name and you leave it blank do not be surprised if they accidentally use your real name (on your email if you sent from non-author name account), or if they leave your name blank. I’ve seen this happen before. Not effective marketing in the least.
If no form was sent to you and you’re winging a blog post be sure it’s more than just a shameless “buy my book” self-promo plug. That will turn off readers and do the opposite of what you’re wanting. There is nothing wrong with including a buy link to your book or even mentioning your book but do so in a way that “fits” with a post.
Example: In my upcoming release (name of title) I tackle the age old question of blah blah blah and find that in today’s society blah blah blah. Go on with some related relevant info or discussion starters.
Linkage: Provide proper URLs. This does not mean you type in www.yourweb.com and expect it to link perfectly later. You must type in http://www.yourweb.com (or whatever the exact url to your site is).
Be sure you provide your website addy and that your website is up to date. There is a chance people who are reading the post will in fact click through the link. Nothing worse than having them show up on your page to find it’s totally outdated. Stay current and make it easy for them to navigate around. Once you have them there, the goal is to keep them there a bit not frustrate them into leaving. And ALWAYS make your buy links on your website easy to spot, understand and access.
Cover/Photos: Some bloggers ask that you send the cover to them and they in turn handle sizing and what not. More often than not, they will ask you to provide a URL link to your cover. It is important you send the url to a cover that is sized properly for a blog post. Another words, do NOT send them to your full high res on the web or your jumbo-sized low res. You will often find your cover left off the post if this is the case because they deal with many guest bloggers and time is a factor.
Don’t know how to find the URL of your cover? It’s easy. Simply find your cover on your website or your publisher’s site. Right click on it. Click on view image. The image should then become the only thing you see in the window. If so, go to top of the navigation page and copy the URL in the title bar. Paste this into your form or email. That’s all there is to it. I make sure I have three sizes on my website of each cover. A thumbnail size often shown while browsing online bookstores, the web res, the slightly larger (and most used on the web for blogs) size and then my larger low res. This is rarely used but I still have a “ghost” page on my web that hosts only my covers in various sizes so I can go to it and get the urls for the size I might need.
Does the blogger want you to send them a separate file of the cover at a smaller/different size than what you have and you don’t know how to resize your cover? That’s easy. I made a step by step video on the matter. You can watch it here.
Only provide one cover/url link to cover unless specifically asked to send more. Don’t assume the blogger wants to have endless photos of your covers on their blog. Don’t send a bunch and say use what one you like and if it’s not sized properly, don’t expect a cover on your post. And please, please, please send professional looking covers and photos. Glamour shots are a thing of the past. Pics of your cleavage—not really the “face” you want to put forward to be taken seriously in this industry.
What if I don’t have all the info for my post yet, like I don’t have cover art yet or a book title?
Honestly, pick another book to feature. If you can’t, politely ask the blogger if they would mind you sending this info at a later date. Do not assume they will be fine with this. Many pre-load the posts, meaning they spend several days going through and loading their blog for several months out and do not want to stop again and again to enter or tweak posts. If you really want to feature a book that doesn’t have all its info be SURE you keep YOUR website up to date. So if anyone clicks from the post when it comes up they will then see the cover and the buy links and the title and…. Well, all that good stuff.
This info is all well and good but I’m having trouble finding blogs that will let me do a guest post or interview me. How should I go about this?
You should have a network of peers. It’s very important you be out there, be it facebook, twitter, etc getting to know other authors in your genre. I’ve said this too many times to count but we, as authors, need to support one another. Writing does not have to be the solo career they make it out to be. That means, get talking with other authors, pay attention when they post they’re guest blogging somewhere or if they’re looking for people to guest blog on their site. Read their posts. Read their info and bios and learn from them—buy their books. I know this sounds stupid to type out but really, authors are readers too and what better way to know the industry than to study it from the inside out. Plus, I’ve gotten more readers by recommending fellow authors than I can count. Readers like knowing you’re not all about you—that you’re a team player. If you can’t play well with others, I suggest you get out of the business because at some point you will need the help of the fellow authors you’ve snubbed and then what?
Another way to find places to guest blog/be interviewed is to troll the net. Find blogs that deal with what you do and see if they have guest bloggers or do interviews. Read them to be sure you “fit” with what they do. No point if you write inspirational fiction and you’re on an erotic fiction blog. Not really your target market. Next step: contact them and politely ask to guest blog or be interviewed. Be sure to provide a brief bio, your website, author name, all that good stuff so they can peek and see if you fit what they’re looking for. Don’t be upset if you don’t. Move on to the next one. There are plenty more out there.
What should I do when my interview posts?
You should tell your readers that you’re guest blogging and give the link. Put it in your newsletter, mention on your website, your blog, your author board. And for heaven’s sake, even if NO ONE comments (which is actually quite common bc many people get a blog feed and do not go directly to the blog site) you still need to comment–even if just to thank the host for having you. And if people are there commenting, comment back.
Pay it forward or back or sideways: If you have a blog, open it to the people you’ve guest blogged or interviewed at. The worst they can say is thank you but no. Many will welcome the exposure even if your blog doesn’t generate much in the way of views or hits just yet. Make it easy for them to guest blog or be interviewed by you—have a ready-made form to send them. Keep it light, simple and to the point. Give them a clear date of when it will post.
If I missed anything be sure to tell me and I’ll try to answer it. I’ve been blogging for over 8 years and a published author for 8 years. My background is art and marketing and when you put it all together I’d like to think I know enough to “get buy”.
Mandy M. Roth
Mandy M. Roth grew up fascinated by creatures that go bump in the night. From the very beginning, she showed signs of creativity—writing, painting, telling scary stories that left her little brother afraid to come out from under his bed. Combining her creativity with her passion for the paranormal has left her banging on the keyboard into the wee hours of the night. Her books have won numerous awards, including an RT nomination for Best Paranormal Erotic.
Mandy lives on the shores of Lake Erie with her husband, their three boys and a boxer pup named Hercules. When Mandy is not writing, she’s doing cover art for various places with a super double secret brush name. She also co-hosts a live talk radio show, Raven Radio, which was recently mentioned in Romantic Times Magazine and has given several marketing workshops for authors. She has a Bachelor of Science and is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Marketing.
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Tags: author tips and tricks
It was difficult to decide to launch a self-publishing endeavor. Even with the support of my friend and fellow author, Michelle M. Pillow, it was still a hard decision to make. So, let me put you in my mindset for mid 2009-2010. I’d had some issues with one of my publishers. I won’t go in to who or what but it’s safe to say that I did not elect to renew my time released contracts with them. Already many of my titles with them had reverted back to me. I’d down some outsourcing, re-releasing several with Samhain Publishing and Ellora’s Cave Publishing but I simply had too many coming out of contract at one time for either publishing house to get out in a timely manner. Plus, I would hear from my editors, this is great but I want some new (non-previously pubbed) work from you. I understood where they were coming from but my readers had other demands. My inbox was exploding with requests/demands for the next books in existing series. Many of the series at that point were out of contract and without a home.
The pressure began to mount as did the emails from readers. After talking with Michelle and realizing she was in the exact situation as I was, we thought, well, we could try publishing them ourselves. Keep in mind, this was still very “new” to authors. We’d already spent years being pointed at and singled out because we were at e-first publishing housing. (We’ve been published since 2004 and it was with an e-first/ebook publisher.)
I know I was actually told I wasn’t a “real” author because of the publishing houses I was with and that I needed to post my sales number to prove I was actually making any money. Insulted, and frankly ready to kick a few select persons straight in the teeth, I elected not to post my sales numbers. It was none of their damn business. I didn’t ask to see their income, asking to see mine was rude.
It was pointed out more than once that I might as well be vanity published instead of bothering with Samhain and Ellora’s Cave and other e-first pubs. I am NOT the only author who went through this. I believe the majority of us with these companies from nearly the start dealt with this. It was just the way it was. So, when it came to 2009-2010 time frame I’ll admit to being gun shy about wanting to publish my own books—re-release or not.
Michelle and I talked and talked and talked and decided nothing ventured, nothing gained. We’d stood up against the naysayers with small press and came out the other side smiling, we’d do the same with self-publishing. We’d already been heavily involved in The Raven Happy Hour. It actually comes from a nightclub in my Daughter of Darkness books that was hugely popular with my readers, so much so that it spawned into an online free ongoing story and an online hangout for our readers and fellow author friends. It was wildly popular and very time consuming. It already had a following, a name and we were known for Raven-ish promos so it was a no brainer to call our self-publishing endeavor The Raven Books.
It also was a no brainer to tackle new territory with Michelle. I am a cover artist as well as an author. I’ve done covers for many, many houses (over 500 covers to date) under the brush name Natalie Winters so we already had a professional cover artist at our disposal and I was already doing websites for so many people I lost count, why not do The Raven Books as well? Michelle worked hard teaching herself to format ebooks for us as well as countless other administrative tasks that would bore a normal person to tears. We put out a call and interviewed possible editors and final line editors. We found several we were comfortable with and hired them out on a per book basis.
We started small, hosting a shopping cart site, uploading our formats, having people buy directly from us. Then, one day we read a news release about Amazon opening its doors to indie/self-pubbed titles. We decided, why not? Barnes and noble did the same and then ARE and others did as well. By July of 2010 we were listed our self-pubbed titles on Amazon, BN, ARE and smashwords (who in turn sends to Sony and Diesel and others).
Putting the titles back in front of the masses was hugely successful. That was when we knew we had a “home” for our out of contract books. Self-pubbing!
More titles came out of contract and we went through the process of hiring editors to go through them again, doing edits, new cover art, new ads, the works. As we were able to get a fair number of them back in front of readers again we realized we could actually write something totally new and self-publish it. Immortal Ops 4 was the very first book I wrote totally with the idea I would publish it. Strategic Vulnerability didn’t just do as well as the other books in the series which I’d gotten rights back to and re-released, it did better!
From there other stories were born with the idea I’d be the one publishing them. It was amazing how creatively energized I felt. I knew I didn’t need to worry about certain things my other publishers would and wouldn’t allow in books. I had the freedom to write what I wanted and how I wanted it. Such an awesome and muse librating thing.
I also realized I could do a side project I’d always wanted to do but couldn’t without hurting my author name branding. I wanted to write contemporary westerns that were erotic. Now, the erotic part isn’t really a stretch for me. It’s the contemporary western part that was vastly different from everything written under the Mandy M. Roth name. Thus, my pen name, Rory Michaels was born. It was a great way to keep the branding I’d established and focus on a new one just related to contemp westerns. All the Rory books are new and never before released. And to date I’ve published several new (never before released) Mandy M. Roth titles as well (Strategic Vulnerability, Master of the Hunt, Winter Solstice and Adam’s Angel).
Yesterday, I was finally able to sit down and go through my sales reports. I mean, really go through them. I decided to do every report from my top three sales vendors. The goal was to see what books/series were selling well and which had something left to be desires. I have many books and many series. I need to know when to pull focus. I figured this would be a help. Boy did it ever!
As I compiled the data from July 2010- Dec 2011 (from Amazon, BN and ARE) I was stunned at the unit sale numbers coming in. I already knew how much money had been made. I track that very carefully. But this was actual numbers of unit sales clear as day before me. In my mind I’d somehow thought I’d sold maybe 20,000 ebooks. (No, that number doesn’t jive with my income earned but I didn’t really think hard on it. I knew I was earning more per title than I had when they were with other small presses so I naturally assumed it meant a lower unit sales number than what it was.)
Much to my shock and delight, I saw that I was OVER 60,000 self-pubbed ebooks sold from Jul 2010-Dec 2011 just at the top three. Note: not all my books have been out this entire time. They have been released over the time. I was over the moon with excitement. The number does NOT include any FREE ebooks giving away through KDP select (that total is around 10kish). The total is ONLY units sold and ONLY my selp-pubbed units sold. Not Michelle’s. I would never release her or any author’s sales numbers. None of my titles still with Spice, Samahin or Ellora’s Cave were factored into this. The over 60,000 does NOT include sales figures from the titles when they were with other publishers, these are ONLY the numbers from them being published by me. So be mindful, these numbers are on most titles that are re-releases and just a very few new works. These had already sold first and second editions at other pubs so I was stunned to see them perform this well for me.
To me this was a huge milestone. It added validity to all the hours, all the hard work, all the sleepless nights of getting the Raven going. We honestly have put in many 18 hour days. It also proved to me that we truly have the best community of readers, friends and fellow authors out there.
I’m sure someone will try very hard to dismiss this accomplishment or belittle it. Sadly, there are many who can only find the negative in things. That’s fine. I’ve been dealing with those people since I started writing just over 8years ago and since I was first published. I’ll be dealing with them until I drop, I’m sure. What matters is that I’m ecstatic over the numbers. They’re not what New York could move but they are what “I” could move and that makes each and every single one so VERY important to me. Thank you for helping me reach this personal milestone and for sharing this journey with me to date. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.
Are Michelle and I moving totally to self-publishing (Raven) only? No. We still have offers from large houses and still have titles with Harlequin Spice Briefs, Samhain Publishing, Virgin Black Lace, Pocket, Ellora’s Cave, Random House, Running Press, Adam’s Media and more. We love the Raven and the freedom it provides. But we also love what other houses provide us as well. Every experience we’ve had to date has helped to mold us into the authors we are today. These sales numbers for my self-pubbed titles are being shared because I’m proud of them and simply wanted to share with “friends, readers and fellow authors”.
I’ve always been extremely supportive of fellow authors and have always appreciated my readers beyond words. I hope these numbers inspire others and that we as authors/readers move forth together as a united front in the publishing community and continue to move the industry forward.
Side Note: Raven Jul2010-Dec2011 sold over 150,000 self-published ebook titles!
Mandy M. Roth
www.mandyroth.com
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Tags: about me, indie author, milestone, self-publishing, the raven books
