Last Minute Rush
October 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category WritingI’m going to let you in on a secret. I haven’t released a new book since January 2018. Strange considering just a couple of years ago, I was feverishly or as some said, stupidly releasing a title a month.
This year, I had a plan and it went to, I won’t say hell, because that would mean I’d given up on those titles and I hadn’t. Those wonderful stories are either on my computer or in my head waiting to be born.
I have been talking about my forthcoming release A Southern Gentleman Vol 2 [ASGV2] for quite a while. The endless changes and pushed back release dates had me wondering if there was a subconscious reason why I was delaying sharing the next part of Jeremiah and Avery’s story.
I have been living with this couple for quite a while. I’m still in awe how a couple that were very minor guest stars in What My Friends Need To Know, have become my most popular couple to date. I have had more people tell me how much they love Jeremiah and how this story should be a movie. I’m flattered, but that’s not my goal. If such an offer were ever to be made, I think I might have to say no. I’ve seen some of my favorite books turned into movies and was very disappointed. I don’t think I’d be able to handle seeing my characters not as I conceived them. Everyone’s interpretation of art or your story is different. That’s one of the main reasons why I rarely use a face as the cover on my books. I give you just enough information for you to craft your version of that character.
Which leads to this month’s post. Last month I shared my release plan, which has taken a detour. I’ll share what I did next month.
Back to the subject at hand, the cover. So, I had a wonderful cover, I thought, then I went to the RAM Conference and had a come to Jesus moment. After a few hours at the conference my creative juices kicked in like twelve cans of Red Bull. My mind and fingers danced on the keyboard visiting stock photo sites. I found an image I loved. Unfortunately, it didn’t love my wallet. I could have bought a pair of shoes for the price of that image. There’s a reason why exclusive images cost so much, because they can and they’re beautiful. I did a very small test with the watermarked image and the response was amazing.
This would have been great to have because of the license freedoms. I could use the image on anything. Side note: Did you know some stock image sites only allow limited usage. And that one of the things not included are marketing materials [pens, buttons, bookmarks, postcards, etc.}
On to the second cover. I liked the image, but I needed to test it. I was going with abs or man chest. One image had a red sweater and abs. The other a black tuxedo jacket, and of course, abs. I was trying something new with my branding, a slightly sexier or sensual vibe. Ironically, I had originally considered the tuxedo image for book one, but went with the classic tight white shirt. I did a new test and the red sweater did well.
Fast forward a few months and the end of a major re-write to the end of the story and I started to feel the red sweater, didn’t feel right. It almost seemed too sweet. This story was more sensual making this image not right. However, I wasn’t going to make a change without doing a test. Did I forget to mention all of this happened just a few weeks ago. That’s right. About a month before my release date,I still hadn’t settled on a cover. Keep in mind, I have been sitting on this book over a year and here I was rethinking the cover.
I remembered a free image I used for marketing posts and thought it might be nice. His face wasn’t visible which was another plus. However, the man had tattoos and my character didn’t. A small one, I could skirt around like I did on book one [I have since removed it]. But these were big. One of his pecks and forearms were covered with tattoos. Other than those areas, the image was good.
I searched You Tube for Photoshop videos on how to get rid of tattoos. The tattoo on the forearm wasn’t an issue because of the shadow I put on the bottom of the image. Some more minor color adjusting, and I had an image I really liked.
I was ready to test again This time between the red sweater and the abs only chest. I hurriedly assembled a test group of readers and authors and was shocked at the results. Without knowing anything about the new ending, the red sweater lost…by a landslide. There were a couple of people who had read the revised book and agreed the abs was the best cover. What do you think? [Look below]
During this process, I was posting about the book and used a black placeholder cover. I placed the book on Pre-Order everywhere accept Amazon. I have mixed feelings about Pre-Orders on Amazon. I like that I can get early sales, but I don’t like the deadline. The pressure to make sure the file is up and complete is horrible. This time, I wanted to do a Pre-Order. Grateful for the early sales, but I made a mistake or misread the timeline details. I have a placeholder file up. More accurately, I have an ARC copy up. Now I am praying I can get it changed before the pre-orders are delivered. I believe everything will work out.
As I count down to release day, let me clarify, it’s not just a day, but a month. I’ve got a few things planned for the entire month for this release. Some of which, I have yet to put into play. I am currently finishing up Facebook and BookBub ad testing. Come Sunday, I’ll adjust the Facebook ads and book newsletter ads for the rest of the month. Instead of directing all of my ads for release day, I’m going to space them out over the course of the month to keep the momentum going. If this works, this may become my new ad strategy.
Here’s the selfless promo. I welcome any help in getting the word out about my new release. I’m available to post and come with gifts. If you allow me to post in your group or share with your newsletter, I’ll give a download to one of your readers. And when you release or have a book you want to promote, let me know. I’ll share it with my group and feature it in my newsletter.
Have a great weekend. Next month, I’ll update you on the release results.
Most thought this was a holiday story. Now I’m considering a holiday novella for 2020 with this image.
NEW RELEASE, NEW PLAN
September 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as Marketing, Marketing for Authors, Planning
Before I get into my post, I have to apologize for not posting last month. I completely forgot. I took a much-needed break and my mind was elsewhere. I think it must have been the 111 degree temperature I was sitting in. Here’s the funny part, I took my iPad and laptop on holiday with the intention of writing. I figured, with the few days away from everything, I’d write a novella. That never happened. I take that back. I did write a couple of pages, but can’t find them. No biggie. I had started this book a while back, but couldn’t find it. When I returned home, I dug deep into my hard drive and found the original pages. I was able to recall some of what I’d written on holiday and included it in the new book.
Now to this month’s post.
I mentioned in my last post that I was working on my upcoming release, A Southern Gentleman Vol 2. I was going to hire a publicist to help with the release, but changed my mind. I’m not saying I’ll never use a publicist, but right now isn’t the time. I paid a lot of money on a course to teach me to market my books and I need to make sure I’ve given it a fair chance to work. I tried the techniques twice. Once with some success and the second with very little success. I need to make sure I can do this before I can tell someone what I want them to do.
So, what’s my plan. PRAY. Smile. Okay, I need to do a little more. I’ve learned a lot about marketing since I released my first book five years ago. My very first release, consisted of me accidentally pushing the Publish Button and hoping. I didn’t know about Facebook or newsletter ads. I did book a blog tour, which earned me a few reviews, but few sales. I decided to go wide, so I burned or used a lot of ISBNs because I thought you needed one for every platform. I sold quite a few print copies to family and friends. Unfortunately, those are one-time sales, which I’m grateful. However, I need and want fans, avid readers and followers of my stories.
I have a plan. Now I sound like a politician. SMILE.
I am going to take what I learned in the course, plus what I’ve learned from the various Facebook groups, blog posts and authors I’ve met and formulate a strategy. Will it be my road map from here on out? Maybe, maybe not. Every book is different and what works for one book, may not work for another. Now I should a little confused. Let me clarify. I’m building a basic plan which I will tweak with each release as needed.
Here we go. I’ve given myself approximately 30 days in the Pre-Order period. During this time, I’ll send the book out to my ARC Readers and people in my various groups to read and post reviews on release day. Next, Take Overs. I’ve been doing a few of these for other authors with pretty good results. So now it’s my turn. ADS. I’ve made a list of sites and a posting schedule. Not only do I need ads for release day, I need them for afterwards as well. I’m considering doing ads prior to the release day for A Southern Gentleman Vol 1 in order to draw attention the duet with new readers.
Where it gets a little tricky is Facebook. FB ads can be tricky, so I’m going to start testing graphics a couple of weeks prior to release. I know I’m going to do BookBub Ads, I would love to do a feature ad, but I think I waited too late to apply for one. I am going to try for a paid new release ad, but it might be a little late for that one as well.
All of that will be moot if I don’t do one thing…select a cover. I hear you cringing now, but let me explain. I had a cover, then I went into rebranding mode and it didn’t work. I have two covers and have done a soft test. Before I commit to a cover, I need to do a little more testing. So far, the one I like is winning. However, I don’t need the cover to do pre-marketing, although it would help, a lot. Right now, I’m as busy as a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. [That statement reminds me of one of the characters in A Southern Gentleman Vol 2]. But it’s the truth. There’s quite a bit to do prior to release. Grant it, I could do nothing or the minimum and see what happens, but I want to make this my best release to date.
So here’s the plan:
- Book to ARC Readers
- Confirm cover
- Book Ads
- Book Takeover slots
- Get reviews
- Do tease or coming soon posts to social media week
- Push for Pre-Order Sales
- Reader Group Release Party
- Sell a lot of books
I almost forgot. I have a new release date, October 8th, which means I have a few days before the plan goes into play.
I’ll update you next month.
Happy end of summer. Tracy.
0 0 Read moreREBRAND: SURPRISE BOXSETS
July 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as boxsets, Marketing, rebranding, Tracy ReedHappy July
OMG! I almost forgot I needed to post. I was watching the Hallmark Channel and recouping from Fourth of July eating.
Before I start with this month’s topic, I want to share something with you that will be revealed in the next few days. If you’re in my facebook group, Tracy’s Reeders, then you’ve seen the revised cover for A Southern Gentleman Vol One. I love it and the test results were very favorable. I’m excited to see how it performs.
The new cover is bold, sexy and tells a different story. I was about to upload the cover and decided to change the blurb. The original blurb just didn’t work. This entire rebranding process is sort of like that stray thread you try to pull, but it unravels and causes more anxiety. I’m patient because I know this is all going to work out.
I pushed the release date back a month because I want to hire a publicist to help with the launch. She needs three weeks of prep and I just finished cleaning up the final draft.
So here’s the cover:
SURPRISE BOXSETS
Earlier this year, Skye Warren posted the Romance Author Roadmap on RWA earlier this year. When I finished reading it, I had a plan for the year. In creating the plan, I discovered, I had left a lot of money on the table in the form of boxsets.
I have one boxset, which is compilation of novellas centering around romance at different stages. It never occurred to me to create boxsets within my series. I started doing a little research and found quite a few authors had created boxsets out of some of their series. By that I mean, combining the first two or three books in a series.
When I finished, going through my books, I came up with four boxsets.
Boxsets:
Falling For Her Boss: The Good Girl Part One and Part Two
Loving Her: What MY Friends Need To Know and Love Notes
Real Love : Generational Curse and Intentional Curse
Secret Love: Girlfriends & Secrets and What My Friends Don’t Know
I think this new packaging will appeal to readers not connecting with the original titles. I’m very curious and excited to see how this works. I’m still working on the pricing. I have to be careful not to overcharge and work within the pricing allowed by Amazon.
I’m also not sure if I should release the boxsets all at once or one at a time. I do know initially they will only be in ebook format with print only available on my site, eventually.
Time will tell how these are received.
See you next month.
0 0 Read moreREBRAND: First Release Since Rebranding
June 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as rebranding, romance, Tracy Reed
Happy June
I hope you are enjoying the last days of spring and are excited about summer. I love both. I’m a little reticent in my excitement, because I am so behind. As I have mentioned in previous posts. I had no idea this rebrand would take so long.
I am finally about to release a new book, the first since first quarter of 2018. The book I’m about to release, A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN Vol Two [ASGV2], I finished in summer of 2018. I received it from my editor late September or early October. I don’t remember exactly when. I elected not to release it until after I returned from the RAM conference. I knew I’d learn some things I could use, but still release the book at my projected time of December 2018. This would have been the anniversary of volume one in the series. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, because underestimate of the rebrand.
I thought the rebrand would be simple. I’d change a few things on the website, hold the new covers until 2019 and update the cover on volume one. All of which I thought wouldn’t still allow me to stick to my scheduled release date. That didn’t happen.
I could have released the book without the rebranding being complete, but I decided not to. Looking back, I think I made the right choice. I went through several covers for ASGV1. I knew changing that cover was going to set the tone for volume two. What I didn’t count on was a change in the story.
Cliff Hangers
I like writing cliff hangers. However, some of my readers don’t. ASGV2, had a cliffhanger. I liked it. In fact, I thought it was a good way to sell books, but not in all cases. FOR ME, I think it works when the next book is ready. In my case, I knew the next book, was going to be at least eight to ten months out. I was in a Facebook seminar and had the chance to ask a bestselling author her thoughts on cliffhangers. She was not a fan and said most readers aren’t either. She said readers want a HEA. I was a little dejected.
What convinced me was my manicurist. She asked how the book was coming and we got into a discussion about cliffhangers. She told me she didn’t like them and most readers don’t unless the next book is available. I was deflated. Not satisfied with those answers, I did more research and was surprised how many agreed with them.
I went back to my book, deleted the cliffhanger and all the things associated with it. When I finished, I was left with a few wholes that needed to be filled. I really thought it would have been a piece of cake. Instead, it was almost a rewrite. When I finished, I had deleted A LOT, added two characters, revealed more of my protagonist personality and added approximately 5000 words. There is a cliffhanger, sort of with another character. She has a secret, but if I choose to give her a story, I have something to work with.
New Covers
Now that I’ve finished, I’m having second thoughts about the proposed cover. It doesn’t feel right. It’s missing something. So it’s back to looking at hundreds of shirtless men. I guess I have to take one for the team. [Smile]
So what did I learn from this step in my rebranding process? Don’t get attached to your story or cover. I liked the ending and the cover I selected for ASGV2. However, after making a few changes to the story, I like it better. I haven’t selected a new cover yet, but I’m sure it will be more reflective of the story.
Target release day for A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN Vol Two, July 30th. I’ll keep you posted.
Books by Tracy Reed
0 0 Read more
REBRAND: Website Reveal
May 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category WritingHappy May and Happy Mother’s Day to all who are mothers.
Let’s talk websites.
I mentioned this before how labor intensive and time consuming this rebranding process has been. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’d do it all over again.
When it came to redesigning my website, I knew I wanted it to be reflective of me. My old site was nice, but after having attended RAM {Romance Author Mastermind], I knew I needed to step up my look. I approached this sort of like a giant Pinterest Board. I studied bestselling author sites, sites I liked and sites from some of my also boughts. I made a list of the things I liked from each site and then went to work redesigning my site.
My new site has most of the information on the homepage. Each book has it’s own page as well as a playlist. I always create playlists when I write, but had kept them to myself. Sharing my playlists was something I saw on Laurelin Paige’s site. She shared playlist with some of her books.
I liked the giveaway Carly Phillips used for her new site launch. I enlisted the readers help checking for typos. She also hid a few intentional ones. This was such a great idea. For my site, I’ve set up a game asking the readers to “Find the Hot Guy”. It also includes a bonus entry for noticing the new cover. [I’m keeping A Southern Gentleman’s new cover a secret in this post until I share it with my list.]
I liked the printable book list from Brenda Novak. At RAM we learned about text messaging. I’ve added that feature. It’s an additional monthly expense, but I think it will come in handy with new releases.
This time around, I used free stock images I tweaked in Photoshop to match my color theme. I also added a new logo. I added a direct link to my reader group and cleaned up the store products. Basically, I added all of the information on the homepage keeping in mind, I had to grab the reader’s attention.
I also carried the graphics over to my email template. I wanted to establish my branding with the colors and the graphics.
Resources I used for the new website:
Shopify
I sell print books and reader boxes, so this is an excellent platform for me. It’s also easy to use. They offer 24/7 Customer Service. Another major feature is a POS app for my iPad and phone. I love using this at signings.
Photoshop
I use Photoshop to tweak my images before adding them to my website and the new logo font.
Unsplash Stock Photos
I found a series of images I felt best represented my brand. I could have used my covers, but they wouldn’t have given me the continuity I wanted. And the covers wouldn’t have stood out.
For the “Find the Hot Guy” giveaway, I used Depositphotos, Pexels, and Unsplash. And Google Docs for the form.
Spotify
I used Spotify to host my playlist. This one is a little tricky, because it’s not compatible with all web browsers.
EZ texting.com
I posted a question to one of my online groups about texting apps, and this one got rave reviews. I’m excited to see how this is going to work.
If you’d like to visit the site, click the image below or the link: https://bit.ly/2DOyvV1. I ask that you not share it yet, because I have a giveaway set up for the launch. If you have a problem with the link or have questions, email me [readtracyreed@me.com]
Featured Books
UPROOTED: THE JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE DURING WORLD WAR II
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, A Booklist Editor's Choice
More info →
QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE
Can a charismatic TV writer convince her brooding handyman to star in her show in time to save her career?
More info → 
