Wednesday, May 7, 2014

IWSG - I'm BAAA-AAAACK!


It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for
Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

Wow, it’s been so long, and I’ve missed you all SO much during my rather lengthy hiatus, but it was unavoidable and proved to be very valuable time spent.  The biggest news to come out of my prolonged absence?  

I published my second novel!

Now, this was no easy feat. Once I signed with a small press for my first title, The Mistaken, I was excited to get started on the sequel. Unfortunately, the stars don’t often align and I was disappointed when my publisher closed to all submissions due to the tough economy. That sidetracked me on many levels. I had to take up ALL the slack on promoting my first book while trying to focus on finishing the second, another dark romantic thriller called Leverage. And since it’s a sequel, trying to sell it to another publisher seemed unlikely, so I jumped into the indie pool and self-published Leverage. 

Of course, that’s no easy task when you’re a novice with no extra money. At least, as an editor myself, I knew that aspect was pretty much under control, though I did have an editor friend of mine give it a once over. But I had to do all the formatting myself. Now, for the paperback, it was no problem, but the ebook was something else altogether. I didn’t want to just put my baby through a grinder. I wanted it properly indexed and validated across all venues, so doing all that code stuff was a tad daunting.

Next, the cover! I had commissioned original artwork, but the timing didn’t work out, so I went the stock photo route and prayed Carrie Butler at Forward Authority Design Services could help me out, and boy did she ever! Just look at this puppy! Obviously, this is the paperback cover. The ebook consists of the front portion only.

Isn't it Purty?!!



I seriously couldn’t be happier. Carrie Butler produced exactly what I asked for and in record time, which was important because, while I had said I would launch May 20th so it would coincide with my first blog tour, I needed to release on Amazon Kindle by May 1st if I wanted to enter Kindle Book Review’s 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards. And WHEW, I made it!

While I do have to spend some time this week listing it on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, I feel pretty good. The early reviews are outstanding and, so far, I have a perfect 5-star rating on Amazon.  Even The Mistaken still rates 4.6 stars on 115 reviews. I’m doing okay and look forward to my first tour in a few weeks. And hey, if you’re interested in joining the tour, Book Plug Promotions has prepared this Google Doc for sign-ups. I hope it’s still open, but I’m not entirely sure. I do have another coming up August, so if you’re interested in that one, contact Nazarea Andrews at Inkslinger PR

Okay, you might be wondering what my point is here. Well, as I’ve lamented here before, I find all this publishing stuff, especially the marketing, immensely intimidating, but, with the help of my, many of whom I’ve met here, I’ve more than just muddled through. I still have a long way to go, but, geez, if I can do it, anyone can!


21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Welcome back!!!!!
Your book has been out almost a week and you didn't tell anyone???
Will be happy to host you whenever. Will check the Google Doc.
Carrie did an outstanding job with the cover. That one does NOT look like a stock photo.
Awesome - will download your book tonight! Amazon only?

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats on your new book. And Carrie did a fantastic job with the cover. Glad you're back.

Murees Dupè said...

Congratulations! You did a great job. You should be really proud.

M.J. Fifield said...

Welcome back—and congratulations on your new release. The cover looks amazing!

F. Stone said...

Congratulations. Sometimes the hardest route to travel is the most rewarding. Good luck on the marketing road. I'm still trying to sort that one out. If you find a magic marketing pill, please let me know.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Congrats on the new book. I do book formatting and it can be tricky.

Samantha May said...

Welcome back!

I just came back from hiatus too, so I'm enjoying catching up with everyone.

Congrats on the new book! Mistaken was FANTASTIC so I can't wait to read this one. Carrie did great on the cover!

Sam

Writing Through College

Elizabeth Seckman said...

So glad you're back!

Carrie did an excellent job on your cover. Beautiful. She is so talented I just envy the heck out of her!

Good for you, self-pubbing. I love indies. They are the new pioneers. You go girl!

Best of luck, and remember, you need a blog spot, I'm happy to have you :)

Anonymous said...

Many congratulations to you! This economy has been rough but it sounds like you made it work for you rather than against you. So happy for you! Best of luck!

Elsie
co-host IWSG


Fundy Blue said...

Hi Nancy! I'm a new member of the IWSG, and I'm doing my best to visit 12 new blogs today. Everyone's blog and story is so interesting! Congratulations on the publication of your second book! How exciting! I love the "Be Your Own Hero" photo! Awesome! Happy writing!

Michael Abayomi said...

Welcome back, Nancy. And congrats on the new release. I'm glad to see you've been very productive during your time away. :)

Liza said...

Congratulations, Nancy. It's nice to see you again.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

A big congratulations, Nancy. has it been a year? It went by fast. Glad you're back. The cover is excellent. Wave when you're famous and on tv every other day.

emaginette said...

Congrats on the novel. :-)

Anna from Shout with Emaginette

Margo Kelly said...

Oh my gosh! I love the cover for LEVERAGE!! Congrats on that! :)

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Congrats on publishing your second book and not letting setbacks get you down Nancy.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! Awesome cover and congrats on kicking some more butt!!

Emily R. King said...

Congratulations Nancy! I can't wait to read LEVERAGE!

LD Masterson said...

So you took a little blog break and published a book. Okay, I guess that's an okay excuse.

Seriously, that's great. I love the cover. Best of luck on the release.

Donna K. Weaver said...

Congratulations and welcome back. And yeah, Carrie rocks.

Carrie Butler said...

Woohoo! Go Nancy! I'm so proud of you. :D

P.S. Thank you for the shout-out. *blush*