JANAURY RECAP
January 5, 2023 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed, Writing tagged as Marketing, publishing, Tracy Reed, writing, Year in review
Happy New Year…Bonne Année…
Let’s get right into it. It’s that time of year when people make a lot of empty promises to themselves in the form of resolutions. Then they berate themselves when they come up short around the three month mark. The other thing they do in January is recap.
I refuse to allow myself to feel guilty about not completing all of my goals. I take pleasure in the unexpected things that occurred.
So what did I set out to do last year?
Get my letters -Didn’t happen
Triple my income – Didn’t happen. In fact, I finished the year less than 2021
Triple my mailing list – Didn’t happen. I gained about a 600, taking my list to 4000. However, not all of them want to receive email.
Master Facebook Ads – This is one of those ongoing things because Facebook or Meta is always changing. I did learn that I need to upscale for better results.
Update covers – Still working on this one.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb – I’m going to take the easy way out and farm this out. I found a service I like. I’ll still work on getting better, but I’ve learned it’s okay to ask for help
Use Ingram Spark – I loaded one book.
Direct Distribution – Still loading books. Last month I set up my first ebook direct sale from website and Book Funnel.
Increase BookBub US followers to 1000 – I’m 400+ away from my magic number.
Increase my prices -Did this.
Release Three books – Did this. In fact, I also participated in two anthologies and started one of my books for 2023.
I came up short a few times, but I also did some things not on the list I’m proud of.
My first Google sale
My first Eden Books sale
Wrote my first rom con for an anthology for February
Increased the followers on my Facebook passion page.
(I’m shocked about this it’s at 2800+ followers in less than a year)
Wrote my biggest book, so far (107k words)
Started creating large print books
Hired a PA and she’s got me on a regular email schedule
Wrote 300k+ words
Completed NANO
I had one BookBub Featured Deal
(It landed me in the 100 free in the Amazon store. (This was huge.))
So what’s on tap for this year? Everything I didn’t do last year. SMILE. I’m serious. I put those things on my goal list because I had every intention of getting them done. I could easily blame my lack of goal completion on a lot of things, but I’m not. Although, having COVID and searching for a new editor are very legitimate reasons for a schedule interruption. Truth is, I could have put forth a little more effort, but I didn’t.
I’ve already started working on my list and it’s only the fifth day of the month. I really want to get my mailing list to 10k and my BookBub to 1000 US followers. To do so, I joined about five Book Funnel Newsletter promotions. So far, I’ve gained 110 followers. I’ve also joined a BookSweeps BookBub promotion for February. I tried one of these last year and gained a hundred plus new followers.
To sum up, 2022 may not have been the year I planned, but it was a very good year of firsts. There’s a scripture I like that says your latter days will be better. I’m counting on that to come true in 2023.
See you next month.
NANO RECAP
December 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as finishing the book, Nano, Tracy Reed
I’m going to make this very short, because I’m preparing for two releases at the end of the month.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in NANO. Whether you finished or not, isn’t the point. What matters is that you made the effort. I successfully finished NANO. I completed it with 50K+ words, however that wasn’t my number one goal.
My main goal was to complete my book, which I didn’t. The book I selected for NANO was the fifth book in my Alex series. The books in that series are 90k+ words. I’m preparing to release book four in the series on December 29th. It’s over 100k words. When I completed book four, I knew there was going to be a book five. I figured, while the characters were still fresh in my mind, it was the best time to write book five.
In order for me to complete book five, I would need to write approximately 3k+ words per day. I started the month well and then I hit a road block. Somewhere around the middle of the month, I realized I wasn’t going to finish the book. Instead of kicking myself, I focused on the NANO goal of 50k words. I finished NANO on the last day with my story at the mid point and 50k+ words.
This year for NANO, I did something I never do, make a writing plan. Unlike previous years, I periodically referred to my plan. Although I had notes, I still stuck to my pantser style. I knew I was going to introduce a new character. In my notes, she had at least three other names and a slightly different physical look. I sketched her out, but when it came time to introduce her, the only thing she had from my notes was her profession and her original fashion style.
I would love to finish this book by the end of December, but I’m not going to pressure myself. Instead, I’m giving myself until the middle of January to complete the book. This book caught me off guard. I’m still not sure if it’s going to be book five or if it will be a spin off stand alone. Right now, it could go either way. Only my writing muse knows what will happen.
How was your NANO season?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Let’s Get Ready To NANO by Tracy Reed
November 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Tracy Reed, writing
Welcome to November. Or more commonly known to writers as NANO month. I’m doing NANO for the fourth year in a row. Actually, I think it might be the fifth, because I didn’t keep track via the website one year. Doing NANO probably wasn’t a wise move for me this year, considering everything I have going on. In my defense, my schedule wasn’t supposed to be so packed at this time of the year, but a couple of family medical issues popped up and pushed me a little behind.
So what’s on my plate for this month? Two anthology contributions…my first holiday novella (18k+ words), a short story (10k+ words), my first attempt at a romantic comedy and a very large book (100k+ words). Out of all the projects, I think the book was the easiest project. The romantic comedy was the most difficult and also the first project due…November 6th.
I felt doing NANO this year was the best way to assure I’d write the next book in the Alex series. I had another project in mind, but this book kept calling out to me.
I am a proud panther, but for this book I made some notes, because there were a few points and new characters I wanted to include.
When I decided to use the fifth book in the Alex series for NANO I was banking on using some of the unused chapters from the other books in the series. As of this writing, it’s NANO Day three and so far, I’ve only used a couple hundred orphaned words.
Another first for me is a writing schedule. I sort of just wing it. However, I didn’t realize the books in this series were so big. Books two and three are 90k+ words each and book four is over 100k+ words. In order to keep in line with the series, part of my NANO plan is to write six days a week at 3500 words. I set such a high word count schedule because I really want to complete the book by the end of the month. The last time I set a similar plan, I ended up completing the book a month later.
I like writing during NANO and I’m sure I’ll do better this year. However, I won’t be surprised if I finish the month with an incomplete book. I won’t be discouraged, but getting half way on a 100k word book isn’t too bad.
Last month, an amazing thing happened. I got my fourth BookBub Featured Ad. It happened so quickly, my head started spinning. I applied for a featured deal at nine-thirty in the morning and three hours later, I got an approval email. I was so shocked. After I stopped doing a happy dance and praising God, I went to work on a plan.
The other times I had BookBubs, I ran additional newsletter ads. I didn’t have that opportunity this time. However, I did run a regular BookBub ad for book two in the Alex series. I figured it would be a good lead in for the upcoming Alex Four release. I’d had a featured deal for book two in the series with very good downloads. This time, I didn’t get the downloads I got the first time I had a featured deal. However, I hit the top 100 Free Books in the Amazon store and Apple. Plus, the book stayed in the number one spot in one of its categories while it was free. I was shouting louder this time than when I got the featured deal.
Besides the high ranking, I also earned some preorders on book four, additional BookBub followers and sell-through on my backlist. Overall, it was a surprise with significant benefits.
Happy NANO month.
Tracy’s Books
(Hover over the cover for buy links. Click the cover for more information.)
Rewrite Retreat
September 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed
Happy September and Happy Labor Day.
Last month I did something I have never done before…a writing retreat. I did this because I needed to rewrite my November release. I wrote this series several years ago, when I was just starting my writing career. My writing style changed and the characters needed to be seasoned.
Most of the characters I write are Christian and are figuring out life while loving God. However, this series needed a lot of work. The story sounded a little preachy and that’s not what I wanted.
I had a 100K plus word book that was horribly written and incomplete. When I put this book on my production schedule for this year. I thought it just needed to be cleaned up. I had no idea it needed to be rewritten.
I took a break from my last project before starting on this one. Once I started reading to refresh my memory. I realized I was going to need more time to complete it. I pushed the release date out as fas as I could…November 29th. I’m not exactly pleased with the release date, but I’ve got no choice. I’m releasing a non-holiday romance during the holiday season.
How did I do with my writing retreat? I ended the week a few words short of 40K. I missed my goal of 60-65K words, but I was pleased with what I accomplished.
So here I am at the midnight hour trying to finish my book. The original book had some good parts which I was able to use. Let me clarify. Although the original book in its entirety wasn’t good, I still wanted to use the core story. When I made the decision, to do a major rewrite, it opened the door to a new ending and the possibility of another book. Or maybe a spin off for one of the characters.
The other thing I’m doing I probably shouldn’t is add to the series without reading the previous books. I know this isn’t very wise, but I was able to get away with it, because the book isn’t really a continuation, but more of a connected book. Not reading the other books in the series may not seem like the smartest thing to do, but only time will tell.
I was a little concerned about the word count because I’m close to 100K words. Then I checked the other books and was reminded they are 90K+, which made me feel a lot better about the word count.
As of this post, I am 3300+ words away from the end. I set a goal of today to complete the book and begin the first round of edits. Let’s see what happens.
Some of Tracy’s Books
Who’s On Your Team?
August 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as PAs, personal assistants, promotion, team
Hi, please forgive my post replay. I’m in the middle of edits. I selected this post because I’m beefing up my PA’s duties. I have come to the realization I need a little more help. Happy June.
Happy August. It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of summer. I’ll keep it brief.
I did something a little presumptive or not very smart. The past two years have been a lot different. Most of us probably didn’t stick to our writing schedules. In an attempt to get back on track this year, I set up three preorders. What was I thinking? Since I’m being transparent, I changed the release date on all three preorders.
I could expound on the many things that contributed to the changes, but I won’t. However, the reasons and changes opened my eyes to something…I needed help…a team.
I’ve been doing well with my intimate production team.…a proof reader (my mom) and an editor. After my last release, my editor and I amended our arrangement. This new arrangement left me in a lurch…she wasn’t exactly on board with the new tone of my books. I like working with her. She understood my stories and she spoke French, which I needed for my series,The Good Girl. However, now she stated she would prefer to only edit sweet, non-sexual content books. Occasionally, I write sweet books and will keep her for those projects.
I freaked out about having to replace my editor. After all, she was half of my team. After my last release, I reached out to a friend who helped me find another editor who is on board with my writing style.
The other thing I realized was I was writing up to the deadline and trying to fit marketing in between craft and graphic design. I booked a few Facebook and BookBub ads. I also booked some newsletter swaps. However, I knew I could do more.
The past several years, I’ve heard other writers talk about their PAs. I longed for a PA, but figured that wasn’t in my budget just yet. But during lockdown, it seemed like more and more writers were talking about their PAs and how helpful they were. Pre-lockdown I reached out to a few PAs and felt as amazing as it sounded to have one, at that time it wasn’t an expense I was ready to take on.
Fast forward to lockdown and an author business workshop and a business book…”We Should All Be Millionaires”…by Rachel Rodgers, I realized not having help was costing me money.
I reached out and asked what an author PA did. I was ignorant. I thought all PAs did was schedule FB parties, newsletter swaps, send out prizes and organize ARC teams. I apologize to every PA out there because I was unaware of the value a good PA offers. I also think one of the issues I had with using a PA was control. I like to or rather I’m use to doing pretty much everything myself. I do my own covers, promotional graphics and ad graphics. I write my own newsletters and social media posts. I have an editor, a proof reader and a couple of beta readers.
If I was going to do this, I needed to know what a PA could do for me. Imagine my shock when I saw the list of things a PA could do that weren’t even on my list…book formatting, managing my social media and GoodReads page, update mailing list, arrange promotions and giveaways. I was intrigued.
I reached out to one of my FB groups for feedback and referrals. However, my friend A.M. Roark hit me up and recommended her PA…Praise Ikeme. We chatted and about an hour later, I knew she would be a good fit for me. I told Praise I wanted to take things slow and once I’ve come to grips with letting go of a few tasks, I’ll hand them off to her.
My dip into the PA water has been very good. I have my PA working with me on newsletter swaps. Within the first twenty-four hours of our arrangement, she had my first two months of swaps scheduled. I like that she sends me reminders, verifies the links on my site for the books I’m swapping. She proofs my newsletter and sends me reminders at the beginning of Newsletter Week.
I have to admit, I wasn’t very consistent when it came to sending out my newsletter. Since hiring my PA, I have a newsletter schedule…twice a month…which I’ve been sticking to. I also use the newsletter copy as blog copy. Thanks to my PA, I’m blogging again…something I hadn’t done in quite a while.
Now my team consists of three people…a proof reader, an editor and a PA. I’m excited and look forward to expanding my team when the time comes.
If you’re looking for a PA, I recommend Praise Ikeme (praiseikeme@gmail.com).
Who’s on your team?
Next month I’ll do a goals update.
Enjoy your summer and happy writing and reading.
Tracy
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