Beautiful Feedback!

Since I put my book up for a free promotion, almost 400 people downloaded it. Exciting! It was very interesting to see the numbers change for those 5 days and now I wait for people to write reviews. That is the most important thing for a writer. It is the ugly baby syndrome. You can think that what you created it the most beautiful baby in the world, but if it is truly ugly, then it is.

Now don't get me wrong. I am definitely victim to this syndrome also. I see my book as something that I wrote and do not see the flaws as easily. However, something amazing happened yesterday. I received a call from a friend of mine (you know who you are). His mother had read my book and had some very constructive criticism about it. At first it was hard to hear, but I swallowed my pride and took it for what it was. Honest feedback.

The main comment was the first half of the book. I tried something different, which was writing from two perspectives and pull them together into the story. What resulted was a lot of repeating and can be very annoying to the reader. Ok, this was a fail. It happens. Now I can learn from it and move on. As was stated about the second half of the book, it was much easier to read. The story was compelling and flowed nicely (not my words). There was one other comment toward the end that I need to look at expanding on, which is helpful too.

As a writer, it is hard to get feedback sometimes. Your pride feels a little wounded at first, but once you get past your own ego and accept it, you realize that you have an opportunity. Someone has just given you insight on success. They told you specifically what it is you can change to make a better book. How can I let my ego get in the way of that?

To all of those that have downloaded the book, THANK YOU. As a dedicated writer, I believe in listening to my readers. I will be revisiting the book in the next month or two and release an update. Please be patient with me as I do this and any additional feedback is more than welcome. These are exciting times and I look forward to growing as a writer!

Free for two more days!

Love Condemned is free for two more days. Get your copy while you can!

So far, 250 people have downloaded the book. I can't wait to see the reviews when they start to come in. Download the book at Amazon: HERE!

Get a copy of Love Condemned FREE!

Starting tomorrow, April 4th Love Condemned will be offered for free on Amazon. If you would like a copy, the promotion will last for 5 days. Just click on the link below and download. The only thing that I ask in return in open and honest feedback. Please do not bash. Let's try to keep it constructive.

Without futher delay, here is the link: Love Condemned: Beginnings

My book is released......now what?

I released my first book a month ago and my sales are a staggering one copy. Yes, you read that correctly. ONE. While this is slightly disappointing, I am not discouraged. I have moved on to writing the sequel and two other projects. I am a writer at heart and I will continue to write. It is difficult not to be a little disappointed at the lack of sales, however, this is a marathon not a sprint.

The days of having a big book release are long gone. The only person that really cares when your book is released is yourself. That is a realization that I have come to accept and it has made it easier.

My plan is to update my blog, update the book, possible change the cover, push to find different ways to reach readers, and to write more. I hope that I am able to reach some readers. I will be considering different ways to do this, so if anyone has ideas please let me know. The next thing on the list is to put the book up for free as a promotion. That should drive some readers at least, even if I do not make money.

Guest Post - T.R. Roach

I am pleased to have a friend of mine and fellow writer T.R. Roach join us for a guest post today. He is working on several things at once including short stories and a novel. In support of my writing, he has helped review and comment on my books as I am writing them. He is here to talk about his blog and what he is currently working on.

Here he is:

First, I would like to say thank you to Stephanie and the opportunity to join as a guest. I am glad to see that she has finally made her blog after much encouraging. I am proud to see she has released her first book, more of a prequel to the rest of the stories. I have seen them in draft and I have to say that they are interesting.

Even so, I am here to talk about what I am working on. Just like Stephanie, I have a strong creative side that longs to be put on paper. I have spent a long time expressing my ideas in a number of ways. I have worked on books, short stories, game design, and 3d art. My passion has always been with the written word. There is nothing stronger than the imagination of the human mind. Being able to help people realize that imagination through words is very exciting.

Currently, I am working on world building for a fantasy novel. The Kingdom of Amleer has an extensive background with a lot of history that has shaped its culture. This process has given me the opportunity to divert some of my attention to drawing a map. What is better than a map for a fantasy reader? I am a dork and that is the kind of thing that gets me excited.

In addition to this, I am also releasing a short story on my blog. This will be set in the world I am creating and will give the readers a taste of my writing style. I believe it is important to share with the readers, not just release content. This is an exciting time. If you have some time, stop by my blog at http://trroach.blogspot.com/. I would love to hear some feedback on my writing and learn more about others.

In the future, I hope to help other indie writers by starting a book review and marketing guidance. However, just like most self publishing authors, I am new at this too. Hope to see you soon.

-T.R. Roach

Upcoming Release Dates

Love Condemned was always meant to be a four part series. Even though it is a shorter book, the series deals with distinct stories surrounding Adrian and Miranda. I will not tell you how the first story ended, but you can see where the second book will pick up from.

I am excited to announce the remaining books and estimated release dates:

Book 2: Second Chances (May 2014)

Book 3: Betrayal (August 2014)

Book 4: End Game (October 2014)

Updates

Just with any new book, you continue to find errors and mistakes. Thank you to the wonderful readers who are providing feedback. It is helping me tweak the book and make it better.

With that in mind, an updated version has been uploaded to Amazon. It takes up to 12 hours to post. Be sure to get the updated file when it comes out!