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May Featured Author: Neetu Malik

Neetu Malik’s poetry is an expression of life’s rhythms and the beat of the human spirit. She draws upon diverse multicultural experiences and observations across three continents in which she has lived. She has contributed to The Australia Times Poetry Magazine, October Hill Magazine, Prachya Review, among others. Her poems have appeared in The Poetic Bond Anthology V and VI published by Willowdown Books, UK, NY Literary Magazine’s Tears Anthology and Poetic Imagination Anthology (Canada).

Her poem, “Soaring Flames”, was awarded First-Place by the NY Literary Magazine (2017). She has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2019 for her poem “Sacred Figs” published by Kallisto Gaia Press in their Ocotillo Review in May, 2018.

Neetu lives in Pennsylvania, USA.

You can find Neetu’s poetry in these volumes.

Hover on the cover for buy links. Click on the cover for more information.

Pennsylvania Bards’ Eastern PA Poetry Review 2023

THE POETIC BOND X

THE OCOTILLO REVIEW SUMMER 2018 VOL 2.2

THE POETIC BOND V

THE POETIC BOND VI

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Release Month…What Happened?

May 5, 2021 by Tracy Reed in category Writing

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers.

I just finished the first release month for The Good Girl Part Trois. That statement brings to mind a good question…how long is the new release period for a book? I haven’t got a clue. I saw some blogs hinted at one to three months. Here’s the thing, depending on the supplemental formats of your book, your new release period can last a few months.

Check out this timeline:
eBook Pre-order: 30+ days
eBook Release Day: 1 day
eBook Release Month: 30 days
Paperback Release Period: 30 days
Audio Release Period: 30 days
Hardcover Release Period: 30 days

If you used this proposed plan, your new release would last 5+ months. This seems like a long time and it doesn’t count the amount of time required to write the book.

Here’s what I mean. If I’m focused, I can write a book in a month. Then add in another week for a couple rounds of edits before sending it to my editor. While waiting to get my book back, I deal with the other aspects…cover design, social graphics, ads and setting up a launch strategy. Those things can add another month to the timeline. Don’t forget edit review. When you combine those tasks with the release schedule, you will have been with your book almost a year. In your mind, your book is no longer new, because you’ve moved on to the next book.

How did it go? I had a forty percent increase over the first month. Let me clarify the first month was only a couple of days, thirty day pre-order and a couple of free giveaway events.

What were the results of my efforts?

Ads…

BookBub…not too good. This is unusual for me to admit, I gave up. I tried four different ads and none worked for book three. However, they did well for the other two books in the series, but I attribute that to those books being free.

Facebook…good. I haven’t done a thorough assessment, but it appears the ads are paying for themselves. Again, the ad I’m running (I turned off the ones that weren’t producing) is doing well, but I’m about to tweak the copy to reflect that only one book is free.

AMS…I turned them off the second half of the month. Risky move, but it saved me money. I picked up sales from the Facebook ads.

Newsletter…I really don’t remember how these did.

Promotions…

These did exactly what I wanted. The free giveaways led to pre-orders and sales of book three. Plus I added 1000+ new additions to my mailing list.

Reviews…

This one really pleased me. Reviews help drive sales of a series. I had a few reviews on the first two books in The Good Girl series and was going to book a spot with a review service. However, I waited too late to get reviews before my release. Upside as a result of the free promo I got about the same number of reviews I was going to pay for. Plus I got reviews for my new release. Here are the review numbers for the series as of this post.

The Good Girl Part One 47
The Good Girl Part Deux 28
The Good Girl Part Trois 12

If I’d booked a review service I was going to have to give the first two books away as well. By participating in two free giveaways, I got more than I asked for. I was in the number one spot in a couple of categories on several of the Amazon stores for quite a while.

If I had gone with the service, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get eyes on me. Making the books free for a month across all platform, helped me get noticed and sell some backlist books.

So where am I in the release timeline? I’m still pushing the ebook and prepping for the print book release. I just received my print proofs from Ingram Spark. OMG!!! I have found my print book soulmate. I love the way these books turned out. I have a couple of things to fix which were my fault. I’ll talk about my experience with Ingram later. I also used the Vellum print book tool. I really liked the template I was using…thank you Kitty Bucholtz, but I was so overwhelmed with work, I needed a quick fix. I’ll share about my experience with this tool later.

The other thing I’ve decided to do, is make The Good Girl Part One permafree. I want to see how the series does with book one free and pushed with Facebook ads.

Happy May. See you next month.

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Characterization by E. J. Williams

May 3, 2021 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Starting a Novel Series with a Partner by E. J. Williams tagged as first in a new series, writing, writing craft, writing partners

Starting a Novel Series with a Partner
Characterization

by E.J. Williams

(Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger)

My husband, Will Zeilinger, and I co-write the thrillers of INTERNATIONAL MYSTERY SERIES, as E. J. Williams. Our tales transport the reader from 1962 southern California to various international locales. In the first new book of the series, STONE PUB, we find ourselves in County Cork, Ireland.

The first book sets the tone and is the foundation of all future books in a series. The main characters will appear over and over again. They have to be strong and memorable. The character must be able to grow and change through several books while remaining exciting and unpredictable. Keep in mind that you, too, will be living with them for some time, so you, as the author, must like them also.

As a couple, we often think back to people we’ve met or know, then we kick it up a little…or a lot. At first, it wasn’t easy to choose. We had so many. Then we realized we didn’t have to choose…we could combine, which made for powerful, strong, funny, and capable characters that can sustain the reader’s interest over the course of the series.

Supporting each other and valuing the ideas we each bring to the table make for great characters. Remember, the crucial thing is to write a good story. So stay tuned. There is more to come.

STONE PUB is the first in the series, and yes…we are still married!

Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn

Website: Will Zeilinger

Janet”s and Will’s
Skylar Drake Series

(Hover over the covers for buy links. Click on the cover for more information.)

SLICK DEAL

GAME TOWN

STRANGE MARKINGS

SLIVERS OF GLASS

DESERT ICE

STONE PUB: An Exercise in Deception

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Author Judy Duarte talks about her Rancho Esperanza Series

May 2, 2021 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as contemporary romance, Judy Duarte

USA Today bestselling author Judy Duarte has written more than sixty books and novellas for Harlequin Special Edition and Kensington, earned two Rita® finals, won two Maggies and received a National Reader’s Choice Award. She lives in Southern California with her personal hero.

When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, Judy enjoys traveling with her husband and spending quality time with her grandchildren who refer to her as Memaw because she reminds them of Young Sheldon Cooper’s spunky grandma.

I have the pleasure today to be speaking with multi-published author Judy Duarte. Her romance novels always leave the reader wanting more!

**Jann: What does romance mean to you? Has it changed since Cowboy Courage, your first book, was published in 2002 by Silhouette Special Edition.**

Judy: The industry has certainly changed, and so has technology, but romance is eternal. And so is a happy ever after. Life can be rough and painful, and I believe a lot of readers want to be reminded that there’s always hope, that the night is always darkest before the dawn.

Jann: You have published over 60 novels. Does it get easier?

Judy: Yes, it gets easier, especially when you have an acquiring editor working with you to make a book stronger and more marketable. But I’m always open to learn more about the craft and to apply what I’ve learned to my books.

Jann: Your books focus on families, second chances, true love and have lots of babies J. How important is the setting, theme and plot in your stories?

Judy: They’re all important to me. I grew up in a small town, where yards were big enough to have horses and pets, and where people tend to know each other. So I tend to gravitate to those settings. And I like creating real-life characters who could be your best friend or your neighbor. Take, for instance, a single mom or a single dad. Raising a child on one’s own implies that there’s been some grief of stress in the past. And who else deserves to fall in love and be happy?

Jann: What inspired you to write your latest series, Rancho Esperanza?

Judy: Two years ago, my husband and I vacationed in Big Fork, Montana. We’d barely gotten into a rental car in Kalispell, and I was already swept away by the beautiful, big sky country. And I knew the setting of my next books. So I created the town of Fairbrook, Montana.

Jann: Book One, A Secret Between Us, with main characters Callie Jamison and Ramon Cruz, and Book Two, Their Night to Remember, with characters Alana Perez and Clay Hastings, in the Rancho Esperanza series have received great reviews. Would you share with us how you develop your characters?

Judy: I create a flawed character. Then I ask myself, given that character’s fears and flaws, who would be the worst possible person for them to fall in love with. The built-in conflict will help both characters learn and grow—and earn their happy-ever-after.

**Jann: Starting Over with the Sheriff, Book Three in the series makes its debut on May 25^th. What is the premise of this novel?**

Judy: A woman running from her entangled past finds herself attracted to a single father of twins, but when the by-the-book-lawman learns the truth about her, she fears their romance will be doomed before it ever begins.

Jann: What do you hope readers will take away from this series?

Judy: That everyone deserves a second chance and that love is worth fighting for.

Jann: Will there be a Book Four or will you be starting a new series?

Judy: Yes, I’m working on book 4 now, and book 5 is simmering in my mind.

Jann: I see that you were included in the Harlequin Special Edition March 2021 Box Set 2 of 2 with Marie Ferrarella and Christy Jeffries. What was that like?

Judy: As an author, I can’t imagine a greater thrill than to be matched with Marie Ferrarella, the queen of Harlequin romances, and my very own daughter, Christy Jeffries!

Jann: Do you have any writing rituals? Schedule?

Judy: I write or edit every day, even if it’s just a few pages. At the end of a writing day, I print out the scene/s I wrote and set them in the kitchen, next to the coffee pot. The next morning, I make a cup of coffee then pick up a red pen and edit those pages. Next, I sit down at the computer and input my changes. That’s usually all it takes to jump back into the story and write the next scene. I’ve also learned not to end my writing day at the end of a scene. I always push on and write a couple of paragraphs of the next one. That usually gives my muse a jumpstart.

Jann: Are there any words of inspiration on your computer, in your office or in your mind when you write?

Judy: My daughter, Christy Jeffries, gave me a plaque that sits next to my computer. It says: Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were written in a book! – Job 19:23

Jann: What are you working on now? Can you tell us about your next project?

Judy: I’m writing the third book in the 2022 Fortunes of Texas series. I love working on continuities, especially this one. It’s the third romance in the series and will be released in March of 2022.

Jann: Where can we get your books?

Judy: My books are available at online in print or e-format. You can find them at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the Harlequin website.

Jann: Do you have a website, blog, twitter where fans might read more about you and your books?

Website

Facebook

Thank you for spending time with us her on A Slice of Orange. Your novels have inspired so many readers. Good luck with the debut of Starting Over with the Sheriff on the 25^th of this month!!