Much to the delight of my bank, anyone I owe money to, and of course me, I got my biggest royalty check recently. January was a very good month for me! I've heard talk of that time of year being a big one for book sales, mostly because of all the new Kindle owners just itching to fill their devices with books. I choose to believe that it was a good month for me because word had spread about how wonderful my books are. (Please note that I am being silly! No way am I that conceited or deluded about my writing abilities!) Honestly, I believe that one of the reasons I did well during that month is because I had several free giveaways going on during that time. Also, I had a huge free promotion in December and it sparked some return free downloads the following month. February wasn't quite as successful as January. March was a little better but still nowhere close January.
Now it's a new month, my favorite month by the way, and I'm trying to decide if I should do another free promotion or just take a month off. It's only the 5th of the month and sales are moving, but I'd like to see more happening. 'A Week at the Beach' is by far my most popular book in the US (not so much in the UK...probably because of that awful 1 star review even though one of my goodreads.com friends graciously wrote a lovely 5 star review to balance it out)! Plus, it's starting to get warmer and plenty of people are busy dreaming of summer and a visit to the beach, so it seems to make sense to offer that one up for free. I can do a two-day free promo for this weekend, or I can wait until next week (when I automatically enroll in KDP Select again) and do an even longer duration.
Of course, I could be super generous and do both...what do you think?
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Hard lesson to learn
Last year, I was unfortunate enough to get the "blue screen of death" on my trust laptop. It was a very difficult time for me. I was petrified that I'd lost everything! Thankfully, I rushed my laptop to a local repair shop where my data was easily retrieved and loaded onto a brand new laptop. So, with the exception of the few hundred dollars I had to drop to get a new computer, all ended well. For a few months after that, I was very careful with my books. I would save them to the computer and then to a flash drive, just in case. Well, as you can guess, I got a little too comfortable with my new laptop. A false sense of security and a "surely that can't happen to me again" attitude convinced me to relax with the data backup.
A week or so ago, I got hit with a virus or some other awful thing. Unlike the last time, I wasn't worried because I figured my trusty computer repair shop could pull me out of the continuous windows startup repair loop that I was stuck in. More than a week later, I finally got my computer back and guess what...
I LOST SOME OF MY FILES!
AHHHHHH!!!!!!!
It's not that huge of a deal. I have most of the files for the books that I've already published. Of course, I lost two books that I'd started and not finished (including the one that I had abandoned a few months ago). Surprisingly, that doesn't upset me as much as you'd think. What really upsets me is the fact that I can't seem to open the file for one of my published books. I don't know what it bothers me, because that book is already published to KDP and is selling quite well. I suppose it bothers me because I somehow feel like I can't prove it's mine because I don't have the original document. That's ridiculous, right? No one will doubt my intellectual property rights based on the fact that I have a scrambled document, right? It just leaves me uncomfortable, I guess.
One thing I have learned from this is that I need to invest in some sort of file backup system that doesn't rely on me to remember to do it.
I hope that something like this never happens to anyone reading this. I also hope that this inspires you to do a quick backup of everything that is important to you on your computer!
A week or so ago, I got hit with a virus or some other awful thing. Unlike the last time, I wasn't worried because I figured my trusty computer repair shop could pull me out of the continuous windows startup repair loop that I was stuck in. More than a week later, I finally got my computer back and guess what...
I LOST SOME OF MY FILES!
AHHHHHH!!!!!!!
It's not that huge of a deal. I have most of the files for the books that I've already published. Of course, I lost two books that I'd started and not finished (including the one that I had abandoned a few months ago). Surprisingly, that doesn't upset me as much as you'd think. What really upsets me is the fact that I can't seem to open the file for one of my published books. I don't know what it bothers me, because that book is already published to KDP and is selling quite well. I suppose it bothers me because I somehow feel like I can't prove it's mine because I don't have the original document. That's ridiculous, right? No one will doubt my intellectual property rights based on the fact that I have a scrambled document, right? It just leaves me uncomfortable, I guess.
One thing I have learned from this is that I need to invest in some sort of file backup system that doesn't rely on me to remember to do it.
I hope that something like this never happens to anyone reading this. I also hope that this inspires you to do a quick backup of everything that is important to you on your computer!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
My not-so-secret identity
So, Virginia Jewel is not my real name. I think I've mentioned that before on this blog. I chose it because I wanted to take the risk of putting a piece of work out there without taking too much of a risk on a personal level. I am a teacher, something that I know I've mentioned on here before as well as on my twitter feed. As a teacher, everything that I do in and out of the classroom is scrutinized and judged. Being a romance novelist in my spare time may not be what some parents think is the best way for their child's teacher to spend her free time. While it is true that my books are not graphic and completely harmless, you just never know when someone might object to something. I'm telling you all of this because I've walked around in a bubble of anonymity for a long time, but unfortunately, that bubble has been burst.
When I did my first free book giveaway, I was so amazed by the results that I shared my secret with some of the people I work with. I wasn't worried because I trusted them and knew that they would be honest if they read my work. Because these people were either proud of my accomplishments or just trying to be helpful, word has started to spread around my work environment about my secret hobby. People that I never would have spoken to about my books are now reading them and stopping me in the halls to talk to me about them. Others who may not have a Kindle are searching for other avenues to access my books. All this is hard for me because I really have no desire to be the face of Virginia Jewel. I write because I enjoy it. I write because I like to read good stories so I try hard to write good stories for other readers.
Therefore, my secret identity has become the worst kept secret in town!
Now my problem is this:
Where do I go from here?
I chose a pen name for a reason. I wanted to stay behind the curtain. I didn't want my reality to mix with the crazy reality of being a self-published author. As long as most people didn't know who Virginia Jewel was, I could come home from a long day of work and escape into the world of my writing. As Virginia Jewel, I feel free to blog, post to Facebook, and tweet without worry of risking my reputation as a teacher. Again, it's not as if I am doing anything unsavory when I write as Virginia Jewel, but it's just the principle of the matter.
All that being said, I realize that I am not Clark Kent/Superman! My books aren't topping the NY Times Bestseller lists or anything amazing like that (though I certainly would be happy if that did happen!). My success is limited. My latest three-day free book giveaway topped 8,000 downloads between the US and Europe. That amount of exposure is not likely to land me on the cover of any newspapers or magazines. I recognize that. However, as Virginia Jewel, I'm much more exposed than I am as my real self. With this blog, my Facebook account, my twitter account, and my goodreads.com author account, I am more Virginia Jewel than me!
Why does this whole thing bother me, you ask. It's not because I'm embarrassed about my work or what I've written about. I haven't used real people to create my characters and now I'm afraid that they'll read it and find out. It's nothing like either of those things. My issue is simply this...I like being anonymous. I've always liked being the quiet one who sits in the corner. I'm a wallflower.
Unfortunately, Virginia Jewel is not.
When I did my first free book giveaway, I was so amazed by the results that I shared my secret with some of the people I work with. I wasn't worried because I trusted them and knew that they would be honest if they read my work. Because these people were either proud of my accomplishments or just trying to be helpful, word has started to spread around my work environment about my secret hobby. People that I never would have spoken to about my books are now reading them and stopping me in the halls to talk to me about them. Others who may not have a Kindle are searching for other avenues to access my books. All this is hard for me because I really have no desire to be the face of Virginia Jewel. I write because I enjoy it. I write because I like to read good stories so I try hard to write good stories for other readers.
Therefore, my secret identity has become the worst kept secret in town!
Now my problem is this:
Where do I go from here?
I chose a pen name for a reason. I wanted to stay behind the curtain. I didn't want my reality to mix with the crazy reality of being a self-published author. As long as most people didn't know who Virginia Jewel was, I could come home from a long day of work and escape into the world of my writing. As Virginia Jewel, I feel free to blog, post to Facebook, and tweet without worry of risking my reputation as a teacher. Again, it's not as if I am doing anything unsavory when I write as Virginia Jewel, but it's just the principle of the matter.
All that being said, I realize that I am not Clark Kent/Superman! My books aren't topping the NY Times Bestseller lists or anything amazing like that (though I certainly would be happy if that did happen!). My success is limited. My latest three-day free book giveaway topped 8,000 downloads between the US and Europe. That amount of exposure is not likely to land me on the cover of any newspapers or magazines. I recognize that. However, as Virginia Jewel, I'm much more exposed than I am as my real self. With this blog, my Facebook account, my twitter account, and my goodreads.com author account, I am more Virginia Jewel than me!
Why does this whole thing bother me, you ask. It's not because I'm embarrassed about my work or what I've written about. I haven't used real people to create my characters and now I'm afraid that they'll read it and find out. It's nothing like either of those things. My issue is simply this...I like being anonymous. I've always liked being the quiet one who sits in the corner. I'm a wallflower.
Unfortunately, Virginia Jewel is not.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Free book giveaway with the one that started it all...
It's hard for me to believe that it's only been 3 months since I started this crazy KDP Select journey! It was in December that I signed up for the program and selected 'Nuptials for Sale' as my first venture in the free book giveaway. Not knowing how it would all turn out, I decided to use up all 5 days for the promotion. 10,000 downloads later and my life was changed forever!
I know that 10,000 is not a huge number to a lot of people, but to me it's HUGE. Up to that point, I was excited if my overall monthly sales reached double digits. Since that first free promotion I've been blessed to see all my sales rise, I've been able to branch out and network with other authors and some of my readers, and I've received numerous reviews (even that bad one, which I've almost completely forgotten about). Yes, that free promotion made quite an impact on me and my career as a writer. Therefore, to celebrate the three-month anniversary of that promotion and how far I've come since then, I'm giving 'Nuptials for Sale' away for free again.
Mark your calendars and tell your friends, because March 14-16 'Nuptials for Sale' will be free for download to all Kindle readers!
I know that 10,000 is not a huge number to a lot of people, but to me it's HUGE. Up to that point, I was excited if my overall monthly sales reached double digits. Since that first free promotion I've been blessed to see all my sales rise, I've been able to branch out and network with other authors and some of my readers, and I've received numerous reviews (even that bad one, which I've almost completely forgotten about). Yes, that free promotion made quite an impact on me and my career as a writer. Therefore, to celebrate the three-month anniversary of that promotion and how far I've come since then, I'm giving 'Nuptials for Sale' away for free again.
Mark your calendars and tell your friends, because March 14-16 'Nuptials for Sale' will be free for download to all Kindle readers!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Writing Dry Spell
It's been over a month since I've written anything. It is driving me crazy that I've taken such a long break from writing. I didn't set out to take a break, it just sort of happened. I was busy with my latest book, and felt like things were moving along, but then I hit a bump. Something about what I was writing just didn't feel right, so I stopped. I had hoped that it would only be a break for a day or two then everything would work itself out.
It didn't.
Here it is, a month later, and I'm still not writing. Since I started writing a few years ago, I've never had such a long dry spell. I don't know what to do with myself. All of a sudden, I have a lot more free time. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to fill that time with. I'm bored and boredom does not breed creativity!
The strange thing about this dry spell, is that my mind is absolutely full of characters, dialogue, and scenes! I can't stop thinking about the characters of the current book and of future books! I've planned out whole chapters and conversations, yet I can't seem to get my fingers to type any of it. Seriously, what is wrong with me! I tried going back and reading some of my already published work, but even that hasn't helped. My next step is to try gaining inspiration from some great books written by others. Is there a new Jill Mansell book out?
It didn't.
Here it is, a month later, and I'm still not writing. Since I started writing a few years ago, I've never had such a long dry spell. I don't know what to do with myself. All of a sudden, I have a lot more free time. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to fill that time with. I'm bored and boredom does not breed creativity!
The strange thing about this dry spell, is that my mind is absolutely full of characters, dialogue, and scenes! I can't stop thinking about the characters of the current book and of future books! I've planned out whole chapters and conversations, yet I can't seem to get my fingers to type any of it. Seriously, what is wrong with me! I tried going back and reading some of my already published work, but even that hasn't helped. My next step is to try gaining inspiration from some great books written by others. Is there a new Jill Mansell book out?
Monday, February 13, 2012
Abandoning a project
*Sigh*
It pains me to admit this, but I am abandoning one of my books. I have it all planned out in my head, but I just can't seem to get it out! I've written about this particular book before, and I haven't really made any progress since then. I'd say the book is about 3/4 of the way done, but I'm just not feeling it. I want to finish it, and think that I will some day, but it's just not happening right now. Instead of forcing it and ending up with a final product that I don't like, I've decided to let it sit. I'm moving on.
Now, these new characters are having a field day with my brain right now. I'm excited about writing a female character who is nothing like any of the other leads I've written. I'm still working out all the details, but I think this one is going to be fun! I can't wait to really get into it and have some fun with the characters.
On another note, I've really been missing some of my old characters. I've been thinking about them lately. I guess I need to download the books and read them for myself!
It pains me to admit this, but I am abandoning one of my books. I have it all planned out in my head, but I just can't seem to get it out! I've written about this particular book before, and I haven't really made any progress since then. I'd say the book is about 3/4 of the way done, but I'm just not feeling it. I want to finish it, and think that I will some day, but it's just not happening right now. Instead of forcing it and ending up with a final product that I don't like, I've decided to let it sit. I'm moving on.
Now, these new characters are having a field day with my brain right now. I'm excited about writing a female character who is nothing like any of the other leads I've written. I'm still working out all the details, but I think this one is going to be fun! I can't wait to really get into it and have some fun with the characters.
On another note, I've really been missing some of my old characters. I've been thinking about them lately. I guess I need to download the books and read them for myself!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A punch in the gut
So, this happened recently...
"Im never really prone to writing reveiws but this was my second book on my new kindle. Lacked any imagination at all and was about one rich girl in the US and one poorer one. you could see the plot a mile off. Turn up to lovely house provided by stepfather... then find two young men there.. and yes, in their 20s tops off - all decide to stay there... i ended up just flicking page after page to see if the pair that they put together actually get there. So turned off the kindle and deleted it. Had no storyline at all. Really for airhead types. Had promise though, but after about one chapter i realised it wasnt going to be that interesting. I couldnt even read it on a beach it was that bad."
http://amzn.to/zjHx3L
Ouch!
Any artist can tell you that you can't please everyone, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when something like the above happens. I felt horrible about it for a full ten minutes, and then I decided to move on and focus on the other positive reviews.
And then I felt bad about it again.
Why is it so hard to get over criticism? I know that not everyone is going to like my books, and I'm okay with that. However, it's different when someone dislikes your work SO much that they feel compelled to write a nasty review (and even say that they don't normally write reviews)!
One reason why this stings me so much is because I try hard to take what my "fans" have said and apply it to my future work. A few people have left comments on my blog, or tweeted me, with some constructive criticism. I also read the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and use the comments to help make my work better. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to take from the review above.
Honestly, I feel better now that I've talked to you about it. I am resolved to move past this. I will not dwell on it. I will not dwell on it. I will not dwell on it.
Maybe if I keep repeating it to myself, I'll actually start living it.
"Im never really prone to writing reveiws but this was my second book on my new kindle. Lacked any imagination at all and was about one rich girl in the US and one poorer one. you could see the plot a mile off. Turn up to lovely house provided by stepfather... then find two young men there.. and yes, in their 20s tops off - all decide to stay there... i ended up just flicking page after page to see if the pair that they put together actually get there. So turned off the kindle and deleted it. Had no storyline at all. Really for airhead types. Had promise though, but after about one chapter i realised it wasnt going to be that interesting. I couldnt even read it on a beach it was that bad."
http://amzn.to/zjHx3L
Ouch!
Any artist can tell you that you can't please everyone, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when something like the above happens. I felt horrible about it for a full ten minutes, and then I decided to move on and focus on the other positive reviews.
And then I felt bad about it again.
Why is it so hard to get over criticism? I know that not everyone is going to like my books, and I'm okay with that. However, it's different when someone dislikes your work SO much that they feel compelled to write a nasty review (and even say that they don't normally write reviews)!
One reason why this stings me so much is because I try hard to take what my "fans" have said and apply it to my future work. A few people have left comments on my blog, or tweeted me, with some constructive criticism. I also read the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and use the comments to help make my work better. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to take from the review above.
Honestly, I feel better now that I've talked to you about it. I am resolved to move past this. I will not dwell on it. I will not dwell on it. I will not dwell on it.
Maybe if I keep repeating it to myself, I'll actually start living it.
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