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Social media strategies and decisions.

Starting a small business (self publishing) is like any other business. We have to be smart. Make wise decisions: Where to spend money? How to spend our work time? What products are we going to offer?

I’d like to say I wrote a business plan, a production plan, and marketing plan and never wavered. But it seems like some of those plans are in a constant state of flux. Yes, I have them. Not as detailed as some I’ve seen but they work for me.

Why am I restrategizing?

I’ll be honest. I’m in the middle of a social media crisis. I’m completely rethinking my strategies and feeling the desire to streamline and be more effective. Not just in blogging.

A few things kind of hit me over the head as to why I decided this.

First, recently, I did a cover reveal for a friend, but at the top of it I added a bit of a writing tip that I’d stumbled upon. I just wanted to add something personal to the post. You can probably guess what happened. That post skyrocketed and got a zillion more hits and retweets than usual.

Second, lately on Twitter, all I see are links or rants. No conversation. It’s changed. I’ll admit it. I do enjoy the #chats because people are interacting for real. More of my conversations happen in DMing and email.

Third, I jumped on my Google Reader to catch up on blogs and comment. I do this once a week. This time it was later in the week and I expected to have a ton of blogs to go through.

Guess what? My feed, which at one point would be out of control if I waited a few hours into the day–I made it through in about ten minutes. And hardly any of the posts were personal. Business. Cover reveals. Promotion. That’s fine. I’m contributing. But I miss the personal connection. I read all of them, but I only comment on ones where I have something to say.

Or maybe it’s always been this way and it’s me that’s changing, wanting something different from social media.

So I’m going past the marketing plan and truly writing a social media plan. For me, that’s different than marketing, especially for authors of fiction.

Have you changed your strategies at all? Or rethought them?

Hop on over to the Indelible blog where I’m posting about satisfaction and keeping your eyes on your own paper.

 

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Kissing + blogfest = fun promotion! Sign up today!

I scroll through Twitter for interesting posts to click. I sigh and yawn. Titles flash by that I’ve seen recycled in the past year. Whether it be about marketing or self publishing or the top five things you have to do to keep a pet hair-free house or have an elephant for a pet. Weighty topics like that.

Yawn.

I’ll skim marketing posts and feel so overwhelmed at the way some professionals describe what must be done, it’s a wonder anyone tries to publish a book, either traditionally or on their own. I usually say I don’t do much of any marketing, but really that’s not true.

I choose to participate in marketing and promotional events that require the least amount of effort and that will be long lasting. Like cross promotion. Like a free short story or a companion novella. Like wearing a cardboard sign with my book cover on it and walking around my local mall.

Of course, I make smaller efforts when it’s appealing to me. Like if there happened to be a blogfest that had to do with kissing. I mean what  a great idea with Valentine’s Day coming up.

Oh, wait. There is one like that! (Like how I snuck that in there?)

 

Join us for an INDIE-kissing blogfest!

Who can join?       Absolutely anyone!

When is it?     February 14th!

Head on over to the Indelible blog to sign up with the linky link.

 

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Amazing samplers and 4 chances to win!

Four amazing samplers! FREE!

Best-selling books. Best-selling authors.

ContemporaryScience-fictionHistoricalFantasy.

But this isn’t all about us.
This is about you, the reader, finding books you love to read.

Four winners will choose one ebook from any sampler.

1. Download your FREE samplers today and enjoy the experience. Click on the pictures to go to Amazon.

2. Fill out the rafflecopter form for a chance to win!

3. If the book is already free, you’ll receive the second book in the series!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just click on the pictures for your free download!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enter now!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Next Big Thing

Yeah, I’m a little late.

Weeks ago, before Christmas, Susan Kaye Quinn tagged me in the Next Big Thing Meme. As many of you know, Susan is the author of the fantastic Mindjack Trilogy. She’s also a friend.

What is the title of your next book?

Nothing is ever certain with me until the very end. But I’m almost positive the next book will be the third book in Circle of Spies Series and will be called: SECRETS OF AN ASSASSIN.

Where did the idea come from for this book?

To be honest, I struggled a bit with this one. I’d plot and then give up. Plot and then delete the whole thing. At one point, I changed the ending of book 2 so it provided more of a closed story–but left an opening–in case I didn’t write book 3. It was not until after Christmas that when I was least expecting it, the plot came together.

What genre does the book fall under?

Contemporary young adult. But it also falls under mystery and espionage. Some of my favorite stories. For me, it’s not the genre, but the heart of the story. This one continues the story of Savvy and Malcolm.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition.

This is a tough one that I’m going to leave alone. I never look to find actors, or daydream about who would play certain characters. That has never inspired me. Sorry. J

What is the one sentence synopsis?

Malcolm and Savvy are in hiding after their escape from Greece, but when Savvy stumbles upon Will’s phone and a series of text messages, she must choose between everything she’d fought for and breaking away to discover Will’s secrets and make amends with her past decisions.

Definitely still in the first draft phase, so the phrasing will change.

Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?

Self published. That’s an easy one.

How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Since I’m still writing I’ll refer to my production schedule. **checks schedule and returns** It should take me less than two months to finish the first draft.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’d compare this series to Ally Carter’s Gallagher series, except different? Mine isn’t set in a prep school, my characters are older, and Savvy never started out as an official spy with training.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

How about this series? When I started writing A SPY LIKE ME, I planned on querying agents. I decided to try my hand at contemporary and I heard the advice to write something you’d love to read. So I wrote down words like: spies, adventure, humor, love, Paris…etc. The rest is history. J

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

If someone doesn’t love to read about teen spies, I’d say they’d enjoy the heart of the series, which is a girl coming to terms with her changing family and trying to find her place in a world that has been turned upside down.

***

I’d love to tag a few writer friends. Here they are:

Ansha Kotyk
Laura Diamond
Stina Lindenblatt

 

 

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The Live-Action Mindjack Book Trailer Reveal!

The Live-Action Mindjack Book Trailer Reveal
(from the bestselling Mindjack series by Susan Kaye Quinn)

With the help of over 20 cast and crew members, award-winning director Beth Spitalny has brought the concept of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy to life on the screen.

When everyone reads minds,
a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Please share!

Ways you can share the trailer:

1) Watch the trailer on YouTube (or here)!
(more views=higher visibility)

2) Post it to Facebook (copy & paste below)

Check out the live-action Mindjack Book Trailer (from the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy by Susan Kaye Quinn): When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. http://bit.ly/MindjackBookTrailer

3) Post it to Twitter (copy & paste below)

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. Watch the live-action Mindjack Book Trailer http://bit.ly/MindjackBookTrailer

4) Share to Google+, Tumbler, Pinterest, and more
Go to the trailer on YouTube and click the “share” button. Click the arrow to expand and see all the options. Easy peasy. (While you’re there, click “like” on YouTube, or leave a comment!)

5) Post the trailer on your blog
Grab the embed code from YouTube or email me for a copy of the HTML for a complete post announcing the trailer and ways to share!

Thanks so much for sharing!

To celebrate the release of the trailer,
I’m putting Open Minds on sale!
$2.99 now $0.99
for one week only
$9.99 now $7.99
for one week only
THANK YOU to everyone who is sharing the trailer today!

An EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to
everyone involved in making the trailer a reality, including Director Beth Spitalny, Producer Angel Acevedo, Director of Photography Lance Kaplan, lead actor Nikki Flemming (Kira) and the many fine actors, crew members, and post-production staff who donated their time and talent to the project.

For the making-of the trailer, see the Mindjack Trilogy website.

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Series, which includes three novels, three novellas, and a trailer. She’s currently writing a steampunk fantasy romance, just for kicks. When that’s out of her system, she has ambitious plans to embark on a series about the Singularity (the time when computers become more intelligent than humans) that should appeal to fans of the Mindjack novels. Or possibly play on Facebook all day. Could go either way.

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