Month: April 2020

Submission Etiquette

So I usually do Poetry on Monday…but due to what I am doing otherwise this felt appropriate. I am trying to clean up files and do layout for a couple of books, including Fae Corps Through the Sunshine anthology. Now…I have to figure many editors are more organized than I am…but it is still courtesy when you do a submission to any anthology or call for submission to do a certain amount of information, unless the submission rules say otherwise.

Each submission should be in one of two fonts…either Times New Roman or Arial in a 12 pt size. It should have your name, any pen name, the title, and some means of contact (email or Phone). It should be labeled as to what you are submitting it to. In the email you should include a third person Bio and picture to save the editor from requesting this.

Most people honestly don’t realize how useful this is to have. Even if it is not going to be added to the piece in whatever publication, it gives the editor an idea of who you are. Some submission requests ask that this information not be included because it is done in a blind read…but you should see that before submitting your work.

It seems like many people ignore the information in the call for submissions though. You should always be aware of the place you are submitting to. If it is a magazine or literary blog, read through what they have published before. It really helps you to know whether you will be a good fit. Also it will help you to get an idea of whether they are newbie friendly or do they require someone who has experience?

This is important! If they work often with newbies, then they are likely able to help you figure out what you are doing. If they only work with those writers who are experienced…well then they are not likely to expect to have to explain the process. This makes it harder to figure out what you are ignorant of.

I am not trying to discourage…Merely to help others figure out what they are doing without the fumbling that I have done in the past.

Preorder Excitement

So I knuckled down and put the newest volume of my poetry yesterday. Usually formatting and publishing takes longer. Updates on my platform and the new computer made a world of difference.

So I proudly present the link to preorder Poetic Remimders, which includes two collaboration poems I have done with another talented poet. https://books2read.com/PoeticReminders

Please share and check it out!

Organization demons eating motivation

So I may have been mistaken. I was thinking that I would be a while before I could release another poetry volume… Except for the fact that I have been writing… I just had no organization. I have a few poems still out for other publication and I did not want to use them until I knew what they were going to do.

I have been writing and not putting the new stuff in folders. So when I told y’all I was not releasing soon… Well it felt like a failure. I don’t like that. So I started organization. I decided that I don’t want to release heart drops yet. That title and cover feel better for love poetry, which I don’t write often. So I will be releasing Poetic Reminder instead. More info later this week. Hopefully including a preorder link.

Submission Call

Saving to work with later.

allyaldridge's avatarWorld Indie Warriors

World Indie Warriors Brochure 3rd edition

Soon we will be launching the third edition of the WIW Brochure. If you want to help readers to discover your book this summer, keep reading.

To check out the previous edition, head over to the home page.

This brochure is exclusively for Indie Creatives and available to download and share from our home page.

Who are Indie Creatives:

  • Indie authors (and their self published books)
  • Indie creators/artists (and their products)
  • Indie business (selling services like coaching, marketing, editing, etc)

The next edition will be released at the end of June. It’s basically free marketing for you.

This post will cover how you can be part of it.

Indie Authors

Indie Books: Send us:

  • A picture of your novel
  • Genre
  • Blurb
  • Where to Buy

This is to enable potential readers to discover your book and be able to purchase it.

Meet the Author: Send…

View original post 699 more words

So you want to promo your book

Ok… You have a manuscript written and ready for publishing… Now what? Here comes what I think is the hardest part of it… You have to build up interest. If you are a introverted shut in like me, you don’t do well with face to face. Personal sales are always going to be better. People always find it harder to say no in person.

Still, it is not hopeless. Eye catching promotions with a good blurb, a good cover with a intriguing title…. These are essential for a online sales campaign. Setting up a preorder helps too. (I found that out the hard way. Impatience is a flaw… Lol)

So you start with the title and cover. You have a blurb (it is the description you wrote for the back cover). This is enough to start doing some promo images.

I have recommended Canva before, it is free to use. Premium only opens fonts and images that are locked. Having recently dealt with new authors learning about this, I think that the advice most need is to experiment. You want easy to read and pleasing to the eye.

The images above are examples of promo images. These were all done for Fae Corps Through the Sunshine anthology. Note that the text is eye-catching but readable. All include the story blurb, the cover, and the author picture and name. Each is a little bit unique with a common theme. You can do multiple images, that is ok. You should share to each of your social media outlets and try to get your friends to do the same.

Some of the marketing is understanding your ideal reader. Not everyone is your reader. If you try to please everyone you will fail. Like Serena… Her ideal reader for her books is generally one who enjoys a good dark side. Horror and dark fantasy that is blunt in how it deals with the story. One that doesn’t shy away from a little gore. The story in Through the Sunshine is a little lighter for her usual. My reader is usually children or those who love poetry.

You also want to consider the world stage. This affects the reader greatly. Right now people are clamoring for escaping from the mess of the real world.

So you have the reader in mind…make an image to appeal to that person. For example… For Serena’s The Death of Neverland I searched for bloody journal… Added the book cover, some text to invite curiosity, and the link to buy the book.

Note that the link is in red to make it more visible. Be careful with colors. You need for people who are color blind or visibly impaired to be able to read it without trouble. Brighter colors in fonts often hamper such. Also bright yellow and white background colors can be painful.

Hope that this helps. Do you have any questions on marketing? (Another thing to look for is blogs that are willing to post book promotions. I do on occasion. So does Functionally Fiction who also does book reviews.) Reviews are your biggest promotion. Many readers will base their choice on reviews.

Coffee House

I will have 4 poems in this!

Call For Submissions : Nightmare Whispers

FaeCorpsPub's avatarFae Corps Publishing

Looking for a place for your Horror fix? Nightmare Whispers is going to be the best of Horror we can find. The Image above will be the cover.

Requirements:

Short Story word count min/max: 3k/5k

Art/Photography: up to five must be printable quality

Poetry/Haiku: up to 5 each per topic

~~~~

Submissions email to Faecorpspublishing@gmail.com with a subject of Nightmare Whispers.

Due by August 31st, 2020:

Nightmare Whispers —

Horror theme. Short stories/Poetry/Art/Haiku/Photography.

This is a paid anthology. You will if you get in receive a portion of the royalties…however you will be expected to assist in the marketing of the anthology.

Editing is provided. If your story is in draft form it is still acceptable, however it must be readable. Gore is acceptable, however do keep it reasonable, no one wants to read gore for gore’s sake. We are here to showcase good indie authors, and are more…

View original post 17 more words

Call For Submissions : Fae Dreams

FaeCorpsPub's avatarFae Corps Publishing

Is your goal to reach the moon? or something that feels nearly as impossible? tell us about it, artistically. The above image is the Cover.

Requirements:

Art/Photography: Up to 5 each must be printable quality

Poetry/Haiku: up to 5 each

Flash Fiction: 600 max word count.

~~~~

Due by August 31st, 2020:

Fae Dreams — goals/dreams/plans are the theme.

~~~~

Submissions email to Faecorpspublishing@gmail.com with a subject of Fae Dreams.

Editing is provided. If your story is in draft form it is still acceptable, however it must be readable. We are here to showcase good indie authors, and are more than willing to help those just getting started.

This anthology reward is a free Ebook copy and the opportunity to order author copies of the printed version.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

View original post

Thursday Tea Party

Hello lovelies! Today is a coffee with lots of cinnamon creamer kinda day.

April has been exhausting. I tried to do the daily post thing, I really did. However things in the world at large have made life a bit harder on me then I expected it to. I am often a shut in. I only really go out to the grocery store. So initially I didn’t expect the stay at home order to really change things for me.

Then social distancing started making it to where stores were closing and the ones staying open were limiting hours. I usually go at night to avoid crowds. I don’t do well around mass amounts of people. People have noise and odors. They like to touch other people…all things that can cause me issues. So I have had to adjust. And it is exhausting.

I am not one that wants things to go back to where they were…not while the threat of pandemic lingers. I also however am not one who is comfortable with all of the liberties that the government is taking during this fear. I am just someone who is dealing with the changes, and the anxiety it is causing and saying that this is how it is affecting me.

Upcoming , on a better note, Fae Corps anthology Through the Sunshine should be available for preorder in two weeks. If you look over on the blog I have been posting the blurb promos that the authors have been making. We still have a couple of authors who have not done an image yet. We will post them as they are made. Coffee House Writer’s anthology is in the editing stage. I will let you know when I know more on it.

Did y’all catch Serena’s Interview on Chat and Spin Radio? It was last Saturday’s Episode part 3 (3B). I feel like it went really well. You can’t hear how nervous I was. Or at least I didn’t. lol. Anyway, the station is a decent internet radio station out of the UK. They do a lot of author interviews, and are quite fun. Go check them out.

I got the good news that Creatives Rising may be back up soon. The editors paused their magazine due to major life changes (Like a move) and posted that they are just about to start up again. I look forward to being a part of that again in the future.

With all that is going on in the world, I feel like I maybe should hold off on publishing new poetry volumes. I have been writing, but slowly. I normally do around three volumes a year…but I am thinking that I may only get one this year. We will have to see. I am also super busy with Fae corps this year as well. It makes a difference in the time I have to write. Also I have added Coffee House Writers. With all of the additional responsibilities, I think that promising more than I will publish when I have enough poems to fill a volume.

I am hoping to release Serena’s Kingdoms of Sin this year. I will release another Dylan story (Dylan and Zombie Hotel) this year. I am waiting for the Illustrator to be available. I do not know if Dylan will have any other books. He might. I like the character. \

I do not know how the world situation will affect my blogging, as my mental state affects how structured I can be, however I am going to try to keep my normal routine here.

Wordless Wednesday