What do authors REALLY do on release day?

This is a FUN week for me!! My FIRST ever boxed set released on Tuesday! I teamed up with 7 other authors to put together a Christmas set of novellas (I chatted about that trend in my last post!)

Release days are an interesting thing! There is SO much hype and emphasis going up to the day -- but what happens on the ACTUAL day?!?

I thought for fun, I'd ask a few published authors how they typically spend their release days!

My question:

What does your release day look like? Do you have a party, do you sit around in your pajamas and eat chocolate all day as a reward? Do you go out to a special celebratory dinner? Or do you spend all day on Facebook/twitter???

Answers: 

Kristy Cambron - Author of The Butterfly and the Violin - 
I don't check sales rankings that closely on launch day. I monitor regularly, but don't spend too much time watching. First book, I had to work 12 hours at my other job, so kind of lost that day. LOL! With my second book, I had an awards luncheon and spent time with friends at a coffee shop. Next book... Not sure! Guess I'll be wherever God wants me that day. It's a blessing of a day for sure and I love we get each one!

Carol Moncado - Author of Hand-Me-Down Princess
I obsessively check the KDP Dashboard while sitting around in my PJs pretending to work on the next book. Unless I'm at work. Then I'm dressed in nice jeans and a nice shirt and check as often as I can.

Janice Thompson - Author of Every Bride Needs a Groom
What she (Carol) said ^^^

(pretty sure Janice didn't think I'd use her ditto comment --- but little did she know.... :-) :-))

Pepper Basham (RESIDENT ALLEYCAT!) - Author of The Thornbearer
I work on release days HOWEVER, I make sure I am taken to my fav restaurant for dinner so I can have my fav meal and dessert (mass amounts of chocolate). I don't check sales that day much because I'm usually at work, but I celebrate with my AlleyCats - who also help promote the release and make me feel special!

Reba Stanley - Author of A Promise Kept
I exhale....then breathe in the air of sweet relief. And when that fifteen minutes is over, I am busy scheduling and marketing. I'm always looking for new ways and places to market my books.

Jody Hedlund - Author of Luther and Katharina
Release day is always a special day! On a personal level, it's the culmination of a lot of hard work, and I enjoy being able to have the moment of celebrating the accomplishment. But on another level the release day is a way to officially launch the book to readers and start lots of buzz about the book. So, while I don't have a party in literal sense, I do try celebrate online with my readers. Every release is a little different but usually involves giveaways and chatting with readers on Facebook. For example last week with the release of Luther and Katharina I did a giveaway each day on FB and had trivia questions about Katharina and graphics with Martin Luther quotes that readers could share. (I may or may not eat extra chocolate cake to celebrate too!)

For me?

Let's see. I spent this release day on Facebook WAY too much. I splurged and went and got me some lunch instead of eating a sandwich at home. (I KNOW! WILD GIRL!) I may-or-may-not have sneaked a few pieces of candy out of the for-halloween-only candy stash. I stressed a little too much so ended up with a headache and so--- TOOK A NAP --- on release day. I think that was God's way of trying to get me to give it to him.

Which was fantastic because when I woke up this morning I was greeted with THIS!

Yup. That little ol' novella collection made #1 best seller of Christian fiction collections on Amazon -- and in the top 500's of the OVERALL Kindle-paid list! My FIRST book to get that coveted little orange flag under its reviews and to break top 1000 on Kindle!

No clue how long it will stay that way.

But I'm calling this release day a rousing success and giving ALL thanks to God!

I'd LOVE for you to go check out the collection if you get a chance! It's only 99 cents!!

Let's Chat!!

PUBBED authors -- I'd love for you to share how YOU spend your release days!!!
PREPUBBED authors -- Close your eyes and imagine your PERFECT release day. Come on. I KNOW you wanna dream about it. What does it look like??

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance, A Side of Faith and A Side of Hope. She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of Wordserve Literary.

The VALUE in VARIETY

When I started writing "seriously" back in 2007, I had this tunnel vision of what I expected to write.

I wanted to write full-length contemporary romance for one of the top-ten Christian publishers.

Nothing less. Nothing more.

Not picky, right?

It's amazing at how much the publishing landscape has changed in the last 8 years since I took that original leap at following my dream of being a published author.

There are SO many more choices and options than there were then, and more and more authors are seeing value in embracing the changing landscape and being on the frontline vs dragging behind, resistant to change.

And I'm not talking just about indie-publishing, even though that is a definite change.

Authors TODAY are looking at a lot more than just writing what they've already written.

Publishers are encouraging novella prequels or sequels to help promote their books and build readership. Authors are seeing value in indie-publishing their backlist or publishing those books-in-the-closet that would never see the light of day otherwise as they aren't considered marketable by traditional publishers. Some authors are choosing to be hybrids (raising my hand!) and others are ditching traditional publishing and going indie with both feet and not looking back. (and quite a few of them are making bank off that decision!) From short-stories to non-fiction to children or YA fiction, there are SO many more options available today.

A few example:

Jody Hedlund's novella Out of the Storm was a prequel published before her newest Lighthouse series was released. It's currently FREE on Kindle and includes a preview to the first book in the series, Love Unexpected.

Katie Ganshert has dipped her toe into indie publishing with her first YA novel, The Gifting!

Susan May Warren recently published 3 of her previously published novellas from her early days in a novella collection called Somewhere, My Love.

And a new trend over the last year that is quickly picking up traction are group novella collections! A great example is a team of indie-authors who published Splash! a collection of contemporary Christian romance novellas by 9 different authors - releasing June 23rd and available for pre-order now! They usually sell the collections for a small price of 99 cents, but the volume of sales on top of the exposure for marketing make this an interesting new idea! I myself am going to be a part of a Christmas collection come this holiday season!

There are so many other examples, but this was just a small sampling.

The point is -- your publishing experience doesn't have to be limited to one thing anymore. In fact, it is looking more and more like it SHOULDN'T be anymore too.

What about you? Have you thought about outside-the-box publishing options? 

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance, A Side of Faith, and A Side of Hope. She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of Wordserve Literary.

March Release Madness!!

It’s time to celebrate March Release Madness!!

Here at the Alley we love to read, write, eat, fellowship, and encourage other authors, so at the end of each month, we are going to feature a celebration of upcoming releases and news!!

Who doesn’t like a party, right?

So here are a few March releases that have popped up on The AlleyCats radars!

 Our very own Krista Phillips’ second novella is set to release in March. A Side of Hope.

Spy of Richmond by Jocelyn Green

A Horse for Kate by Miralee Ferrell

Jaded: A Novel – Varina Denman

Then Sings My Soul by Amy Sorrells

The Tomb by Stephanie Landsem – 3/17

Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd - 3/17

By Your Side by Candace Calvert

Dauntless by Dina Sleiman

After a Fashion by Jen  Turano

Stranded by Debby Giusti

An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund

If you’re looking for a new story to read, March has plenty of choices for you!

Reminders:

Carol Awards and Genesis entries end on 3/15, so send in your published

novel or polish up your prepublished manuscript before then.

THANKSGIVING--- Author Style!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from The Writer's Alley!

What are AUTHOR'S thankful for this year?

I set out on a quest to find out just that-- and here is what I got!

Jody Hedlund, author of Rebellious Heart

"I'm thankful for a bottomless pot of coffee, a laptop that didn't die this year, and for fun-sized candy bars that fuel my creativity."

Tamara Leigh, author of The Unveiling (Age of Faith)

"I am ever so thankful for the ability to self-publish books for which my publishers did not believe there was a market--and, of course, the readers who are proving there is."

Kristin Billerbeck, author of A Billion Reasons Why

"I'm thankful that I've got my writing mind back. It was such a stressful couple of years that I really wasn't able to have much creativity. I'm so grateful those dark years are past and that I feel the hope of future books in my system."

Lisa Bergren, author of Glittering Promises: A Novel (Grand Tour Series)

"I'm grateful for the chance to slow down a bit. I was edging close to burn-out! Rest is a good thing for the creative cycle."

Becky Wade, author of Undeniably Yours

"I'm so thankful for Dani Pettrey, my author friend and prayer partner. For two years she's prayed over my writing (and occasionally my family and my health) every single week. We've helped each other keep perspective on this sometimes thrilling sometimes discouraging work we've been called to do."

Patrick Carr, author of The Hero's Lot (The Staff and the Sword) 

"I'm thankful for finding out it's not just my immediate family who likes what I write."

Keli Gwyn, author of A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California

"I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had to encourage new writers this year."

Liz Johnson, author of SEAL Under Siege (Love Inspired Suspense)

This year I'm especially thankful for a critique partner who doesn't take it easy on me. Sometimes her red marks feel like a chainsaw, but then I realize they're more like sandpaper, polishing the rough edges I left on my manuscript. Every time I turn in a story after she's worked on it, I know I'm turning in a better project. Thanks, Michelle! "
 

Carla Laureano, author of Five Days in Skye: A Novel

"I'm thankful for the writing friends with whom I've shared the joys, tears, and glorious insanity of this publishing business. Without them, I wouldn't have made it this far!"

Melissa Tagg, author of Made to Last

"What I'm thankful for...oh wow, I could talk (write?) your ears off about that, but in a valiant act of brevity I'll simply say I'm SO thankful for all the people who made my very first book release so special. Family, friends, mentors, my awesome agent and fabulous editor...everyone! I love 'em all."

The Variety of In-the-world/not-of-the-world Writing Part 2

Last time I talked about various types of Christian books. You can read that post here.
Today I want to look at examples of these and I'd LOVE your helps to provide more.
Remember this table?

Let's look at some variety of published fiction out there: Books which show God's grace through fiction in various ways.

1.  – fewer subplots and less complex story line.

Simpler Story-Line
      Simpler does NOT mean less, it just means simpler.Harlequin, particularly LoveInspired, is known for their focused plotlines. These books usually do not have a lot of extra subplots and tend to be shorter in wordcount. Harlequin's books can be coupled with a variety of:
    a. subtle/overt christian themes
         Tina Radcliffe and Ruth Logan Herne probably keep with more subtle here and Missy Tippens might be more overt.
    b. PG/PG 13 themes and language
          LoveInspired definitely keeps to PG, many of the other Harlequin lines go beyond PG 
          Janice Thompson's books probably fall under the simpler storyline, though they are longer. It's a straight-forward and fun-filled romance, with the purity of the romance being the focal point of the story. though there are a few subplots, those are also simpler.

2.2. Complex Story-Line – more deeply and complex story line

             Many of our longer books in fiction have more complex storylines. These are books with varied and detailed subplots which carry through the main plot, enhancing it in subtle or overt ways. We can apply the same above standards with these too.

        a. subtle

              Mary Connealy writes Christian fiction with more complex plotlines but a more subtle Christian theme.

              Some of Laura Frantz's are like this too and definitely Siri Mitchell's.

              Denise Hunter would probably fit here too.

              Debbie Macomber books fall between simple and complex storylines with extremely subtle Christian themes.

             To go a little 'classic', Jane Eyre is subtle for our day, but was probably more 'overt' in Bronte's day. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings has definite Christian themes, though subtle - as does Austen.

b    b. overt

           Julie Lessman might be that in-between overt and subtle in her Christian themes, but there are some fantastic, very direct Christian themes. (Her Daughter's of Boston series would be considered PG-13, but her newest book, Love at Any Cost, would be rated at more of a PG level)

           Jody Hedlund's and Laurie Alice Eakes are also among this group. There are clear and direct 'come to Jesus' moments, a strong Christian struggle, and inner monologing which clearly sets up a Christian worldview.(These two would probably be rated more PG in their romantic tension)

           The Dance by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh fits here as well, though it can fall between simple and complex.

            Some classics?

            C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia is certainly an overt allegory, as well as something as dark and foreboding as Dracula (which would be considered more PG-13, btw). 

 So, can you add some more to this list? Can you break them down and tell us how they fit into this table? Remember, God uses all types of stories to bring about His story.

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      Pepper Basham writes Blue Ridge romance peppered with grace and humor. She's a mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and lover of chocolate. When she's not aggravating the wonderful AlleyCats, you can visit her at her personal blog, Words Seasoned With Salt. She's represented by Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency.

What's Up the Street Next Week?

It's a fabulous weekend in Iowa as the AlleyCats have their FIRST annual Alley Cat retreat!!


In celebration of our fun, we're offering another fabulous week of giveaways and guests for you.


Monday - Denise Hunter chats about Writing Heroes.


Tuesday - Laura Frantz gives us some tips on writing spell-binding heroines


Wednesday - Verses to encourage your writing - from various authors


Thursday - Melanie Dickerson brings us tips on how to write heroines.


Friday - We end with more Hero Talk from Jody Hedlund

Make sure to stop by for chances to win fabulous books and enjoy some healthy encouragement along the way!

Castle Lessons: Irresistible

Sherrinda and I were watching Castle together on Monday night. Me in Tennessee, she in Texas. The together part was via Twitter.

There is just something about a show about a writer doing his research on a level the rest of us writers could only dream of, coupled with mystery and a bit of romance, that makes it irresistable.

And that's the key, isn't it. A show, or for us novelists, our books, should be irresistable. SO much so that people want to tweet it, talk about it, come back next time (next chapter or next book) for more.

But what is irresistible to one reader could be drab and boring to others. I'm sure there are many that roll their eyes at Castle and turn the channel. (crazy people...)

At least to Sherrinda and I, some of their prime audience members, they have succeeded.

So who do WE write irresistable fiction?

Here's the thing: There is no magic formula!

No one can really predict for sure how well a book will do. That's why you hear stories of famous authors getting a billion and one rejections before some obscure agent takes them on and they go on to make millions when the book goes viral.

Even though no abracadabra exists, here are some elements (Castle-Style) that can help in your quest to put pizazz in your work in progress that will help keep readers glued to your book and giddy at the thought of your next new release.

Tight Tension - Tension is what keeps readers/watchers biting their nails and holding their breath. It's when Castle watches Kate's current boyfriend kiss her, or when a case seems to be spiraling out of control and every lead ends up in a dead end, and time is ticking before the killer strikes again. Gotta have some good tension!


Colossal Conflict - Regardless of you genre, you need a killer main conflict. A mamsy-pansy one will NOT do. I write contemporary romance... which many thing of as having tamer plots, but I still try to up the ante and put a little kick in my main conflict.

Subtle Subplots - Subplots swirl with their own sets of conflict that feed into the main conflict. Done right, they don't create unneeded rabbit trails but actually up the irresistible-factor and create depth. A good example is Castle's mother and daughter issues that are constantly going on. While they aren't vital to the main crime, make Castle realistic and ground him in reality. They help us know his background, his backstory, and make him a deeper character with roots.

Rugged Romance  - Some may disagree with me on this point. And really, it IS a bit of a preference (and in my genre, an obviously requirement.) But I have this saying that goes, "Romance makes every book a little bit better." While romance is a genre in itself, it is also able to be incorporated in all genres, even if it is just a hint. This doesn't have to be a main plot, but a little romantic tension is never a bad thing in a novel!

Murderous Mystery - Another genre of its own, I know. And Castle himself is a mystery writer, and crime shows and novels have an required mystery element. But all books can be enhanced by an element of keeping-your-reader/watcher-guessing. It's a comment complaint I hear among readers, is that they finish the first chapter and know exactly what's going to happen in the book. Keep a few cards in your back-pocket for later.

Discussion: Name an author (or more!) that you think writes irresistable fiction... and why!

I'll start:

The below is a list of my fav authors that I keep an eye out on their next new releases with eager anticipation. (this is not all inclusive... but just a few examples, as I have a LOT of favorite authors!)

• Tamera Leigh (I've teased her that I MIGHT camp out at the bookstore the night before her release day wearing my TAMERA LEIGH FAN CLUB T-shirt--I don't really have one of those but wish I did!)

• Deeanne Gist (Love on the Line is on my short-list to get next!) 

• Jody Hedlund (WRITE FASTER, Jody... this once a year thing is killing me... although you homeschool 5 kids, so I understand...)

• Jenny B Jones (Save the Date was one of my FAVORITE contemp romances of all time!) 

• Francine Rivers (who needs NO introduction!)