The Importance of Pre-Orders for the Indie Author

My new book, She Lights Up the Dark (November Snow Book 2) will be released on April 19th and is available for pre-order on Amazon!  If you have any intention of reading the sequel to She Dies at the End, I beg of thee, go ahead and pre-order your copy today.  If any of your friends read it along with you, please take a moment to let them know about pre-ordering Book 2.

Why does this matter?  Becoming visible as an independent writer is exceedingly difficult.  There are just so many books out there.  The wonderful thing about pre-orders is that those sales get posted all at once on the day of release.  This can help the book soar, at least temporarily, to the top of the new release and bestseller lists on Amazon.  And that, in turn, can help new readers to discover and take a chance on a writer they've never heard of, like yours truly.

So, if you enjoyed She Dies at the End, pre-ordering the sequel is one of the best things you can do to help other readers discover the series and to help me continue to be able to write.  Besides, you don't want to be the last to read it and get spoiled by everyone else wanting to discuss all the twists and turns, do you?  I thought not.  ;-)

Reviews, reviews, my kingdom for reviews

Indie authors live and die by Amazon (and Goodreads) reviews. No one wants to read a book nobody loves written by a person nobody has ever heard of. You need reviews to get readers, and you need readers to get reviews. It's a conundrum.

Then there's the validation that a good review supplies to the independent author. We don't tend to have a huge number of readers, so those few positive reviews can be the only encouragement we get in the midst of our desperate and lonely struggles with the written word.

So, I humbly beg of you, if you read a book and enjoy it, take a minute to leave a review. It doesn't have to be long or eloquent to have a positive impact on a struggling artist.

Here are some snippets from reviews people have left on Amazon for my book, She Dies at the End. I have such gratitude for the people who have taken the time to write these kind words. I was so terrified when I published my debut novel that everyone would hate it. Imagine my relief that it is at least enjoyable!

Some of the tightest pacing from a breakout novel I've seen in a long time. I ended up staying up far too late two nights in a row, needing to see what happened next.

There are so many successful elements here: masterful foreshadowing, maintaining of tension and suspense, dialogue, character building, even romance. More than that, though, it's just a great story.

I have to give Manay credit for making vampires sexy again.

Well-written, superbly paced, and full of interesting characters. A great piece of writing and a great story. I'm looking forward to the next November Snow book! Heartily recommended.

By the end of the first chapter, I was in love with November, the main character. By the middle of the second chapter, I couldn't put the book down.

I finished the book two days ago, and I still think of the characters as if they will show up in front of me, just to give me an update. To me, that is the mark of an excellent book. I crave book two.

I thought I didn't care for fantasy/sci fi. As I read this book, I thought of the way I connected with Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and I finally understood. I LOVE a good fantasy novel, as long as it is well written. This one is superb. 

I LOVED these characters. I miss them already. I need that sequel.

It was easily one of the most memorable books I've read this year, if not THE most memorable.

At one point near the end I idly found myself thinking, "I can't wait until the movie comes out," before I checked myself to remember that this is a first novel of a new author and probably film rights have not yet been considered. I still think it would make a good movie!

It's 1 AM. I've been up reading yet another novel. I regret nothing. This novel is AMAZING. I do not use ALLCAPS lightly.

Really great books teach, and this one does. However, don't let that fool you. It's about as sexy as any story I've read lately. I can't even adequately describe it's level of awesome.

This is a wonderfully written paranormal story! It captures the reader from beginning to end. I could barely put it down to go to sleep!

I loved it! I dreamt of the characters for a few days afterwards!

What I really loved about this novel was the emotional maturity of the characters. So unlike the annoying teen angst typical of the vampire genre, this novel is full of thoughtful consideration, compassion, and a refreshing self-awareness.

The plot is complex, but concise in its storytelling. With each turn, Manay easily sets the scene with exquisite imagery, allowing readers to see, touch, taste and hear everything that the heroine experiences.

I recommend you download the book and stay up late to read it. One of the best things I've read lately.

Be somebody's hero: review a book today!

Paperbacks tips for the indie author

I waited to do the paperback version of She Dies at the End until after I'd released the ebook on Kindle via Kindle Direct Publishing.  I wanted to gauge the level of interest before I put in the time.  I was surprised to find out that a lot of people, even young people, still prefer a physical copy and asked me when one might be available.  Having a two month gap also allowed me to correct some editing issues that came to light after I published the Kindle edition.

I used CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary, to create my paperback.  Here are just a few tips I figured out along the way.

When you upload your text, CreateSpace lets you know the dimensions your cover needs to be based on your pagecount and the size book you choose (6" by 9", for example).  The dimensions include the front and back covers, the spine, and a little extra for bleed.  You can then either use their cover creator or upload a pdf that matches the required dimensions.

I chose to use Canva to design my cover, since that's what I used to do the ebook and I wanted the two to match pretty closely.  Canva lets you do custom dimensions, and I had no problem creating my cover.  Do remember to leave room for the barcode on the back, and make sure the writing on the spine is centered and oriented properly.

I love Canva.  It is free if you use your own images, and the price for their images is quite reasonable.  It is quite versatile, and they have some lovely fonts.  You can hire a cover designer, of course, but if you have to or want to do it yourself, Canva.com is a good choice.

When you upload your book's docx file to Createspace, it converts your document to the new size and can generate a new docx file for you to download with the proper page dimensions and margins.  You then want to save that file so you can add page numbers, tweak spacing and font, etc.  Remember that you need to choose different odd and even pages under page numbers due to the way books are bound.  (You might need bottom right on odd pages and bottom left on even pages, for example.)  Once you have perfected your work, you upload the new file and submit your cover and interior files for approval.

Once your files are approved and you think the digital proof looks right, get a hard copy proof before you approve your files for publishing.  I cannot stress this enough.  It looks so much different in your hands than on the screen.

Good luck, and happy writing!