The Top 10 "Artist Unleashed" Posts of 2014 so far ...

So, it's that time of year again.

This will be my last post until Monday September 1st. Why so long, you ask?

Well ... next week I'm heading off to coordinate the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop.

When I get back I will be taking a much-needed 10-day vacation to a hotel by the sea so I can become a vegetable (not baked, must keep my white skin!)

Then I will be spending the rest of August getting in some quality writing time before I have to start the day job again.

But, don't disappear just yet. If you're in search of some interesting reading content, how about you take a gander through some of this year's The Artist Unleashed posts in which a variety of writers and artists share a wealth of information related to their creative field?

Need a starting point? Here are the Top 10 most viewed Artist Unleashed posts of 2014 so far:

1. THE 5 BIGGEST RISKS I’VE TAKEN AS AN AUTHOR by Rachel Thompson

2. A MAD MAN TRIED TO KILL ME, by Jeremiah Walton

3. THE 7 MYTHS OF VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS, by Pandora Poikilos

4. OUTLASTING YOUR DEMONS: HOW TO COPE WITH ANXIETY, by Monica Bhide

5. BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CO-AUTHOR RELATIONSHIP, by Angela Ackerman

6. USING FREE SAMPLES TO INCREASE SALES: FICTION AND NON-FICTION by Susan Kaye Quinn

7. WHY WORRY ABOUT DIALECT? by Jim Murdoch

8. WHY WRITERS NEED A THEME SONG, by Julia Tagliere

9. WRITING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (HOW DORIS LESSING HELPED ME WRITE IN ENGLISH) by Helena Halme

10. THE SECRET TO MATURING AS A WRITER by Julie Musil

Happy reading and have a wonderful summer!

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The Artist Unleashed: USING FREE SAMPLES TO INCREASE SALES: FICTION AND NON-FICTION by Susan Kaye Quinn

When you start talking about giving away your work for free, people tend to freak out.

Doesn't it devalue your work?

No.

Why would they buy something if they can get it for free?

Because the purchase has value.

But my work is worth paying for!

Of course. Using free samples will help you sell more.

No one will ever buy books again!

Sales of ebooks are up 38% over the last 2 years (AAP 2014).

All the questions above focus on a sort-of adversarial relationship with your reader. How can I get them to value my work? How can I force them to buy it? Instead, you need to look at ...

Sorry for the interruption, but The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment.

The Many Flavors of the Indie Experience, by Susan Kaye Quinn #Indiestructible

Susan Kaye Quinn

Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle is a great representation of what it means to be an indie author—there’s no single viewpoint, no absolutes, just a collection of stories that together show the many flavors of the indie experience.

You’ll find successes that inspire you, thoughts that challenge you, and comfort that you’re not alone. I’m proud to have an essay in this collection, 100% of the proceeds of which will be donated to BuildOn.org, “a movement which breaks the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.”

A fitting match for a book that represents the best of the indie author culture of sharing and support.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s a sample of the inspiring and truthful words you’ll find in Indiestructible:

“Indie publishing is not for the impatient … it’s for authors who want their fate to rest in their own hands.” —Jessica Bell, editor of Indiestructible

“The time factor is a logical fear. But once I finally made the decision to do this on my own, I realized that it wasn’t as daunting as it seemed.” —Jessica Bell, editor of Indiestructible  (quoted twice because she’s just that awesome)

“It’s when we let go of the safety net that we truly learn to fly.” —Susan Kaye Quinn

“Listen. A lot. Read. A lot. And stay flexible. Hold onto your little boat, and if you fall over, just keep swimming.” —Leigh Talbert Moore

“Nobody, it seems, is in the same boat as I am, but perhaps every author feels that way. We’re all kind of floating out in the middle of nowhere, doing our own thing.” —Michelle D. Argyle

(I just love the parallelism with the boat analogies!)

“Just because we love what we do doesn’t mean it’s always easy. In fact, there are times when writing is downright difficult, even painful.” —Kristie Cook

“Being an author means I write. It’s not that I get a big contract. It’s not that I find a legion of fans. It’s not the fame. It’s not the glory. It’s the writing.” —D. Robert Pease

“I’ve said once on my blog that the worst crime in history, in my opinion, is the destruction of the Library of Alexandria …when you deny the world your voice, it’s a similar but smaller crime in caparison, yet a calamity nonetheless.” —Michael Offutt

“Some days we’re hiking on a mountaintop in Switzerland with the bright sun on our face and a crisp wind rippling through our hair. Other days, we’re slogging through the mud pits, just hoping to miss the sinking sand.” —Laura Pauling

“The only thing that happens overnight in publishing is writer’s block.” —Rick Daley

That last quote is a great example of Rick’s ability to capture serious reality in humor, something I love about his writing as well. And it speaks to the patience that indie authors have to work hard at cultivating—success doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye, but in the daily work, the constant striving for improvement, the continual swimming forward. Indiestructible is a companion to take on the journey, and will help keep you moving in the right direction.

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Just $0.99 on Amazon

100% of proceeds will be donated to BUILDON.org, a movement which breaks the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE INDIESTRUCTIBLE 

Contributing authors:

Alex J. Cavanaugh <> Angela Brown <> Anne R. Allen <> Briane Pagel <> C.S. Lakin <> Ciara Knight <> Cindy M. Hogan <> D. Robert Pease <> Dawn Ius <> Emily White <> Greg Metcalf <> Jadie Jones <> Jessica Bell <> Karen Bass <> Karen Walker <> Kristie Cook <> Laura Diamond <> Laura Pauling <> Laurel Garver <> Leigh Talbert Moore <> Lori Robinson <> Melissa Foster <> Michael Offutt <> Michelle Davidson Argyle <> Rick Daley <> Roz Morris <> S.R. Johannes <> Stephen Tremp <> Susan Kaye Quinn

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About Susan Kaye Quinn:

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling young adult SF Mindjack Trilogy. The just-released Debt Collector series is her more grown-up SF, meant for ages 17+.

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What's a Serial and Why Would I Read One? by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of a new future-noir serial called The Debt Collector

Covers for Debt Collector, Episodes 1, 2, and 3

A serial is a series of episodes -- or short stories -- that are connected to tell a larger story.

Must Read TV 
Serials are actually a lot like a TV series, which themselves vary a lot in type. Series like Law&Order and House are more self-contained, with only a few character storylines carrying over from episode to episode. Series like Lost or Heroes would be difficult to watch out of order because the storylines carry more strongly, sometimes with cliffhangers, sometimes not. Some readers like the week-by-week suspense of Must Watch TV; others would rather wait until the season is done and get it from netflix so they can watch it back-to-back. Likewise, some readers enjoy the suspense of reading a serial episode-by-episode as they're released. Others would rather wait until the entire serial is complete and read it all at once. Either is fine!

Is a Serial a New Idea?
 Ebook serials are a new thing, because ebooks are a new thing - but serials have been around since Charles Dickens wrote and released Great Expectations (self-published through his own literary magazine!) in 6,000 word "installments" every week for nine months. Readers today aren't accustomed to reading in serial format because publishing serials was restricted to magazines, which didn't have wide circulation. Now with ebooks, the cost of transmission is low and the distribution is wide. Ebooks have revived the short story form! But for readers raised on novels, who crave longer works and more in-depth stories, serials are the next natural step.

Is a Serial a Novel Cut Into Pieces?
No. A serial is not a chopped up novel, just like a TV episode is not a chopped up movie. It's a different way of telling stories. In a way, it's more demanding to write than novels - you need to immediately draw the reader in, you have to reach some kind of reader-satisfaction-level by the end of the episode (even if you have a cliff-hanger), and you have to maintain that pace and storytelling arc over multiple episodes. But all that hard work on the part of the author makes it (potentially) more enjoyable for the reader.

Can You Name Some Successful Serials?
Yes!
Hugh Howey's Wool
RaShelle Workman's Blood and Snow
Platt &Wright's Yesterday's Gone These are all recent bestselling serials that drew audiences in and helped revitalize the serial form.

Why Would I Read a Serial?
Readers tell me that they're enjoying the short episodes - they can read them quickly over lunch or in an evening and get a full "story" worth of entertainment. The fast pacing means there's a lot of story packed into a short number of words. Readers also say they enjoy the anticipation of finding out "what will happen next" much like a TV series where you get invested in the characters. Think about how a favorite TV series will sometimes focus one episode on one character or another, diving into their backstory. As a writer, I like that I can go in-depth a little more in each "episode" than I could in a novel, giving a richness to the story and characters that might be more difficult to do in a novel format. All serials eventually come to an end, just like a "season" of your favorite TV series. Whether you enjoy reading serials as they release, or want to wait until the complete season is out so you can read the episodes back-to-back, serials are a fast-paced, exciting way to enjoy a story. As a writer, I find serials are the hardest writing I've ever loved.
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Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling YA SF Mindjack series. Her new Debt Collector serial is her more grown-up SF. Her steampunk fantasy romance is temporarily on hold while she madly writes episodes to keep Lirium (the titular Debt Collector) happy. Plus she needs to leave time to play on Facebook. Susan has a lot of degrees in engineering, which come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopias, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. Mostly she sits around in her pajamas in awe that she gets make stuff up full-time. You can find her at www.susankayequinn.com



What's your life worth on the open market? A debt collector can tell you precisely. Delirium (Debt Collector 1) is now available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords. See the Debt Collector website to check all the latest episode releases and goings on in the Debt Collector world.

Enter this giveaway to win a Kindle + Debt Collector 1-3 ebook! (US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Somebody give me a Xanax ...

Me and my crazy schedule:

• My novel BITTER LIKE ORANGE PEEL is being considered by an agent. So the impatient fretting must be factored in. You'd be surprised how much time I waste staring at the wall.

• I'm 2/3 of the way into another novel, called WHITE LADY. And loving it. Literary/Crime/Thriller? Really need to figure out its genre.

• I'm 1/3 into my second Writing in Nutshell Series craft book called, Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Perfectly Atrocious Adverbs, and Dull as Dishwater Clichés, into Gourmet Descriptions. You can see the first in the series HERE.

• I'm well on track organizing an anthology called, Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle, in which many fantastic authors are contributing such as Susan Kaye Quinn, Anne R. Allen, Leigh T. Moore, and many others!

• Critting the wonderful Matthew MacNish's manuscript, Running From Ruby Ridge. Whisper: It's really fabulous.

• I have a few interviews to get done ... whoops, I totally just remembered now.

• Bits and bobs of organizational stuff for the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop with literary agent Katharine Sands.

• Vine Leaves Literary Journal. Never ending. We just hired two more team members! Whoop! And have an awesome contest happening. 1,600 Euros worth in prizes! Bigger whoop!

With all that I have my other life. You know, the one that consists of a day job, that can sometimes be a bit stressful with its deadlines. Somewhere in this other life I also have my partner and dog to pay attention too. Most of the time I have no idea where they are. I should start looking in the cupboards. Or maybe it's me that's gone missing. :-P

What's on your plate at the moment?

Hope you all have a great weekend. See ya Monday!

Internet Book Fair!!! Extra, extra, read all about it!!!

Welcome to the Internet Book Fair! Just so you know, this was originally set up to promote your own books, but seeing as I've got this supah dupah blog tour for String Bridge set up next week, I decided to promote other authors' books.

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Okay, those who know me, know I don't really read YA. But you know what? I'm actually interested in reading this one by Susan Kaye Quinn. It seems like a real "mind-#*@!" so to speak. Excuse my language, it's totally unorthodox, but sorry, I love stuff that deals with psychological twists so I'm really looking forward to giving it a go ... Here's the blurb:

"Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where being forced to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her."

If you want to read more about the book and/or author, Susan Kaye Quinn, CLICK HERE.

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I don't read many anthologies of short fiction, but this one, edited by Jodi Cleghorn, looks TO DIE FOR. Who wouldn't be intrigued by a collection of short stories based on songs released in 1989? Interesting, huh? Here's the blurb:

"1989: a cusp between decades.
The year the Berlin Wall came down and Voyager went up. Ted Bundy and Emperor Hirohito died. The birth of the first Bush administration and computer virus.

In San Francisco and Newcastle the ground shook, in Chernobyl it melted. Tiananmen Square rocked the world and Tank Man imprinted on the international consciousness. Communism and Thatcherism began their decline, Islamic fundamentalism its rise.

It was the year Batman burst onto the big screen, we went back to the future (again) Indiana Jones made it a trifecta at the box office and Michael Damian told us to rock on.

Based on a play list of 26 songs released in 1989, Eighty Nine re-imagines the social, political, cultural and personal experiences at the end of the decade which gave the world mullets, crimped hair, neon-coloured clothing, acid-wash denim, keytars, the walkman, Live Aid, the first compact disc and MTV."

To check it out on Goodreads, CLICK HERE. They're actually having an Amazon Chart Rush for this book today, so it would be a great day to buy it! Also, first one to comment and say they want one will receive a free copy of this in eBook format! (PDF, mobi or epub)

All the stories will be live, and free for 48 hours beginning 9am Aussie time today. They all go up one every hour via the LMT official website http://literarymixtapes.com.

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I'm told that Judy Croome writes with a poetic flair so how could I resist giving this a shot? It sounds like my cup of tea. I've actually had this in my Kindle for MONTHS, but still haven't got around to reading it. I will soon! Here's an excerpt of the blurb:

"Boldly atmospheric, buoyed by touches of magical realism, this compelling story explores the sacrifices people make in the pursuit of a love that transcends everyday existence. Lulu’s quest, and that of Jamila and Zahra too, is to find the divine love that will fulfil their hopes and save their souls...if they can recognise the masks of those who seek to lead them astray."

Sounds beautiful, huh? Okay, to read more about this one on Goodreads, CLICK HERE.

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This blurb says it all:

"Haunted houses. Haunted hearts.
And a past that refuses to die.

Leap Books summoned best-selling paranormal and dreadfully talented debut authors to conjure up Spirited, a haunting collection of 13 tales guaranteed to keep you up all night.

Get entombed in stories of Egyptian treasures, shudder at tales of malevolent spirits, and dive in the adventures of witch-hunters, ghost seekers, and lost souls. From steampunk to cyberpunk, our collection of spirits from the past, present, and future will haunt you in these pages.

With this celebration of things that go bump in the night, Spirited authors hope to slay the truly frightening illiteracy statistics that plague our youth. All proceeds from Spirited will be donated to 826 National. 826 offers free after-school tutoring, workshops, and in-school programs because "strong writing skills are fundamental to future success."

Go ahead. Turn the page if you dare. We won’t tell if you sleep with the light on. Because after all, there’s no rest for the wicked."

Also, here is the blurb of one of the short stories you'll find in there, written by the brilliant Dawn Dalton: 

THREAD OF THE PAST: Letitia Hawke is used to feeling invisible and the only thing that makes her senior dance bearable is the location—one of the most haunted houses in the country. Then Tish makes an unexpected connection with Elijah, and it’s bye-bye wallflower, hello gothic rose. Too bad the Franklin House is a jealous host.

To read more about SPIRITED CLICK HERE!

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Now this book, Lyon's Legacy by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, I've just heard about and I'm wondering why I hadn't heard of it earlier! Guitar? Music? I'm already hooked. Here's the blurb:

"Joanna Lyon may have inherited musical talent from her famous ancestor, Sean Lyon, but her parents' bitter divorce and her Uncle Jack's attempts to remake her into another Sean have left her hostile toward her family and music. Her passion is for science, but since she has no access to the family funds, she struggles to earn enough credits for graduate school. Then her uncle sets up a business deal with her employer to make Joanna go on a mission for him: travel via the spaceship Sagan to an alternate TwenCen universe where Sean is still alive. Joanna must collect a DNA sample from Sean so her uncle can create a clone of him. She refuses at first, but finally agrees to go. Secretly, however, Joanna believes her uncle will exploit the clone, and she plans to sabotage the project to stop him. But when she falls in love with one of the scientists in the Sagan's genetics lab, clashes with other time travelers who fear she'll change how history develops on the alternative TwenCen Earth, and receives devastating personal news, Joanna will find herself pushed to her limit even before she comes face-to-face with her hated ancestor. Their encounter will leave her changed forever. Will she still be able to thwart her uncle's plan, and what will she have to sacrifice to do so?"

This story is available as an e-book for only $2.99 at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

If you'd like to discover some other books on the market, make sure you drop by the host of the Fair to access everyone's blog links. Thanks for reading!!!


PS: See yesterday's post as to why I won't be around again until next Monday.

On a mission to sell YOUR BOOKS. Want to join me?

In the name of offering some blog and author love, I've decided to take part in M.A Leslie's Internet Book Fair next Tuesday, the 25th October. But I'm not going to promote my own book, I'm going to promote YOUR books. I'll probably pick about three. And I think you should too. Just CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP. 

There are a couple of other bloggers/authors you may know that have signed up too, like Elle Strauss and Susan Kaye Quinn, so really, you'd be in great company. *wink wink*


Once you've signed up, do everyone a favor and spread the word, and let's get some authors some sales!!!

Please tweet or FB this post! It's easy as I have the little icons below :o)

Have a great weekend all!