Drama, Drama, Drama...

So, the indie author world loves drama. This is no secret. And social media is a hotbed of drama breeding. It seems to be a sort of viral thing. Something is said or done and BLAM! drama explosion! There is drama that is helpful; drama that is toxic; and drama that is just damn stupid.

Yes, I've seen drama be helpful. A well known indie author was hurt in a rather bizarre accident while traveling and the outpouring of support and help was a beautiful thing to see.

I've seen toxic drama... who hasn't? And oy, the stupid drama makes my head spin. Stupid drama is not helpful, it typically leads to toxic drama, and it is so unnecessary.

Recently an indie author opted to share a private argument she was having in such a way as to create concern for her health and well being. This, to my mind, was insanely stupid drama. I'd never heard of this person but was concerned after seeing numerous posts requesting prayers for her. However, after the truth surfaced, that author had destroyed any chance I would EVER read her work and had lost any potential respect I may have given. In one single Facebook post. Yes, it was that quick and that inflammatory.

Why? Why do such things? I don't know. Everyone's sales are shit. Everyone is struggling for reviews. Everyone is fighting the Amazonian/Goodreads and Facebook machines for fair treatment and visibility. Why do something that could potentially drive readers away? No blinking clue. I walked away, kind of annoyed at the antics of the other author and certain I'd never have the time of day for her or her books. It's sad really. She may be an amazing author, but I will never know because I won't read anything she writes.

I think I'll stay in my drama-free bubble and walk away from the drama - well, the toxic and stupid drama anyway.

#indieauthors #SHPrattRomanceAuthor #Facebook #Drama

Spicy in Spokane!

Yeah, we had some fun. ;)

This lovely lady WON all of the books in that bag! SCORE!! Even better? They were all signed. ♥

My lovely assistant for SiS. So glad to have finally gotten to meet her. ♥

I was really there. LOL

A new friend was made...

Another new friend who was also an old friend. Blogger, author, awesome lady... Gloria Herrmann ♥

Lisa Ladew and Gloria Herrmann

They are always fun. ♥

I had a great time at SiS 2017. It was a bit small, a bit quiet, and a bit rowdy (state championships so there were A LOT of teens running around - literally running LOL) but it was great for me since I don't handle too loud and too big. LOL Katie V. was an excellent assistant and we had fun in spite of the weather. ;) I got to meet authors and readers and actually TALK to them... which was so cool. And it's always fun hanging out with AJ Harmon. ♥

#Books #SHPrattRomanceAuthor #ContemporaryRomance #SpicyinSpokane #AJHarmon #BookLovers

Tip your servers, please... An author's life.

I get asked a lot why I am an independently published author. Well, because I do what I want… LOL not really. I’m an indie author because when push comes to shove I am leery and mistrustful. Why? Well, let’s start with the definition of independently published…

Independent: not subject to control by others; self-governing.

Publish: to produce or release for distribution; specifically: print.

Author: the writer of a literary work (such as a book); one that originates or creates something. ~Merriam-Webster

Now that we’ve determined the individual definitions, I’ll put it simply, indie authors are people who creates a literary work and produces it for distribution without being subject to control by others.

At first I attempted to become “traditionally published” but wow, Harlequin is extremely picky. To my amazement, I was told that my books were “too dark”. Wait, what? Yes, my books deal with the loss of loved ones. Guess what, Harlequin, its called LIFE! And there is no way you’re getting out of this life without dying. And wow, Harlequin hasn’t seen anything “dark” by comparison to what I write these days! Now “life” has become about other real life events aside from death… PTSD; rape; child abduction; murder; drugs… well, you get the idea. I write fiction about non-fiction.

Next, I went through a “small independent publisher” which shall remain nameless because I was taught if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. We’ll call this company SIP. Now I thought “Hey, they’ll help me and I’ll get published and all will be hunky-dorey.” This is me admitting to naiveté. SIP requested money up front for “publishing costs”. *should have been red flag #1* At every turn they had some new “offer” to entice me to believe that my books were off the chart special that all required that I give them more money up front. *should have been red flag #2* And while I think my books are off the charts, really, there are a lot of “off the charts” books out there. And to top it all off, they had difficulty getting my titles right. *oh, hello red flag #3*

Lessons learned, water under the bridge. By the time I wised up and fired SIP, I’d learned enough about independent publishing to know I just don’t trust other people to do what I can. Granted, I’m still learning, but hey, as long as I’m still learning then no one’s pushing me six feet under… right? So, because I have trust issues, I publish me and my books.

The next thing that I hear is almost always… “Oh, so can you make me a writer?” The short answer is no. I am not a teacher. I cannot force creativity out of you. Just because I publish my books does not make me your publisher. Can I mentor you? Yes. Can I give you advice? Yes. Can I show you the places to learn what you need to do? Yes. But I cannot do it for you.

First and foremost, I am an author, but I am also a business woman, therefore to ask me to do for you what I do for me and not expect payment is rude. Am I comfortable in that title? It’s growing on me but I still feel a bit like a liar. Why? Because I don’t have a degree in business. I don’t have a degree in accounting. I had to learn every single thing by trial and error and through the generosity of other indie authors mentoring me. Therefore, I constantly have to remind people that I am a business woman who just happens to do the bulk of my business on social media and I don’t work for free.

Wait… what? I don’t work for free? Nope. Neither does my eBook formatter, or the lady who does my editing, or even the beta readers who read through my stuff and critique it. What do the beta readers get in payment, you ask? Well, they read the books I write months, sometimes years before the public readers do. If that isn’t a sweet payment… nothing like having an in, right?

But what you may not realize is that “payment” for my books comes in more forms than monetary. Huh? But…? Yes, I make a percentage of every eBook and paperback sold on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes. Not a ton, but some. But the bigger payment is REVIEWS. Yep, you read that right. Reviews.

Why reviews? Because when a book has a high number of reviews and a positive average of said reviews, it is more visible and attractive to readers browsing through whichever platform they frequent, whether it’s Amazon or any of the others. Because with a higher number of reviews, those same platforms take notice of the book and are more likely to share that book with readers via the emails and other methods of marketing that they do. Because a reader is more likely to take a chance on new books or new authors if there are more reviews which in turn show the book is popular among other readers. Granted, positive reviews are better in the eyes of readers and the sales platforms but hey… any review is a great payment.

One other reason to pay in reviews… Amazon. That mysterious set of algorithms that they have. Everyone sort of knows about is and is kind of aware that there is a magic number in which prompts Amazon to help promote a book. Heaven only knows what that is or how the algorithm works… Amazon probably doesn’t even know… but there you go.

So, the next time you finish a book, think about what you liked and didn’t like about it. Then pay the author… not with money but with reviews… think of it as leaving a tip. Especially those authors who are independently published, because like all people in the service industry, we survive on the tips.

#Books #BookLovers #RomanceNovel #ContemporaryRomance #SHPrattRomanceAuthor