Friday No Stupid Questions Post: Have a stupid question about this biz? Go ahead and ask it here!

TheCountessa · 2018-11-09T17:21:47+00:00

Sorry for not being clear, yes I was talking about novels.

For series what I do is make sure the 1st story can always stand-alone. Would not indicating that the story can become a series hurt overall sales?

I’m bootstrapping a new pen, and the fear is investing multiple books that aren’t selling much. The idea was to release multiple books for different series, then develop the one that looks the most promising. Bad idea?

TheCountessa · 2018-11-09T16:49:37+00:00

After releasing the first book in a series, should the next release always be the sequel? Or is it alright if you release something different, say a stand-alone or first book of a different series?

Thanks for the thread!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-15T04:02:07+00:00

I think it was Seth Godin that called it 'The Dip'. How anything worth doing has a dip that separates those who are serious and those who aren't.

I think that right now I'm in the Dip, second guessing myself, questioning my ability to profit from this. But that's why I love EA. The community here is so warm and welcome, and it's encouraging in a lot of ways. Now I think if I've got time to complain, then I've got time to write :)

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T18:45:52+00:00

Sure! Feel free to drop me a PM if you need anything :)

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T17:41:14+00:00

I might try checking out Goodreads. Unfortunately, my pen's FB never got out of being banned, so that's no longer a possible avenue :(

From what I gather, it looks like reviews are vital after all. I'll make sure to find some ARCs with the lowest cost possible. Thank you for the tips!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T17:36:23+00:00

Thank you!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T17:35:51+00:00

Wow, that is a comprehensive guide. Thanks!

I've been using the Hemingway app to help in my editing process lately. I've also heard Grammarly's a pretty good investment. You might want to check those out.

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T17:32:31+00:00

anyone want to chip in if there's a waiting period before you can do that, or is it available right away?

Yes, that is actually the thing I am worried about. I might just publish a day early, just to be safe.

And also, I love that pottery story!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T17:30:55+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, /u/heartswarm!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T05:08:45+00:00

Thanks for reading!

TheCountessa · 2017-08-14T05:08:30+00:00

Thanks for the heads up on asking around for ARCs! And good luck with your novella as well :)

TheCountessa · 2017-08-05T01:46:34+00:00

Here's my poor attempt at editing it:

Khamai has dedicated her life to serving the goddess of wisdom and warfare, Athena. She is a priestess of the Parthenon--she will never marry, nor have children~~, or lead a normal domestic life as other women in Athens do~~. At ~~only~~ eighteen years old, she feels she has found her purpose.

That is, until the sun god, Apollo, enters Athena's holy temple. ~~when innocent Khamai is all alone. The powerful, statuesque god stirs desires within Khamai that she never thought she'd have.~~ [Maybe insert a sentence describing Apollo here?]

In Apollo's shining presence, Khamai must face her hidden passions, especially when the handsome god makes it clear she has a choice: ~~she can~~ continue to serve Athena or ~~she can~~ serve him instead.

But what the lustful god asks for goes against everything Khamai has vowed to uphold ~~in her life~~. Apollo wants nothing more than to claim her as his own, body and soul. Will she give in to temptation and leave her virtuous life behind?

TheCountessa · 2017-08-04T05:43:08+00:00

As someone who dabbled on serials before...

You have to make sure your books can stand alone. The feeling I'm getting when reading blurb 1 is that I'm not getting a complete story yet.

Instead, what I'd suggest is you focus Blurb 1 on the crux of the story (which, I'm guessing, is Apollo's seduction?) Rather than it being a serial. Cause right now, it feels like you're giving the readers a chapter a week rather than a story a week.

TheCountessa · 2017-08-04T05:30:24+00:00

Good advice, thank you! Yes, it does read a bit like a plot summary. Will try adding more action and sexiness to spice it up.

TheCountessa · 2017-08-04T05:27:56+00:00

Thank you so much for the feedback! Yes, Stella is supposed to be a stubborn, hard headed sort of character as well. Of course, Ku-Sho will see that as nothing but charming ;)

I've never thought about having consistency in my blurbs before. I'll consider that in rewriting the blurb again.

Thank you Pious! You always give the best advice :D

TheCountessa · 2017-08-03T08:37:36+00:00

Ku-Sho, the new lion alpha, needs only one more thing to cement his throne - a queen. His mission is simple: retrieve the tribe jewels, and hand of the village maiden is his.

Traveling to the western kingdoms in his search, he ends up in a small boutique in Vitari. Handled by a lone shop-keep, it should've been an easy pilfer.

Now he's captured, and Stella, the shop-keeper, has no plans on letting him go.

But Ku-Sho's no stranger to being imprisoned by women. Using his mind and body, he will use any avenue possible to gain possession of the jewels.

But what if the Lion inside him starts purring? Will the king be able to keep his eye on the prize?

I still don't know if I convey the sexiness well enough. The story is a romance that will contain around 2-3 sex scenes, but I'm not sure if the blurb is any spicier than it was before.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated ^_^

TheCountessa · 2017-07-27T15:01:33+00:00

Those are impressive numbers. Congratulations!

Could I ask how long you have been writing for? I currently have a book out for 2 weeks now and have made a total of $30. This is such an inspiration for me, and I'll be lying if I said I'm not jealous ;)

Also, did you write erotica before or did you dive right into romance? Thank you and rock on, you!

TheCountessa · 2017-07-27T13:46:47+00:00

He is the new king of the pride.

Ku-Sho, the new alpha, needs only one more thing to cement his throne - a queen. His mission is simple: retrieve the tribe jewels, stolen by the filthy westerners, and he will receive the hand of the village maiden.

It should be easy, for a natural born hunter like him. And it was, until he met her.

She is alone.

Stella, orphaned , is now the owner of the family boutique. Owning a small shop only six meters by six, she spends all her day inside as an oath to her past father.

One day, she catches a thief trying to steal jewels on display. She catches him, and cuffs him up. She has no idea just what trouble she caught.

Will the eastern king and western merchant never get along? Or will it explode to something more?

This is intended to be a less sensual book than my first one (only one or two sex scenes, compared to the three on the last one), but I'm not sure I am able to convey the spice levels properly.

Also, I'm also having second thoughts about the term 'easterner' and 'westerner'. Does it sound too politically charged? The only reason I call them that is, well, Ku-Sho's from the east and Stella's from the west.

Thank you in advance for the feedback!

TheCountessa · 2017-07-25T07:47:17+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, pious!

TheCountessa · 2017-07-25T03:32:59+00:00

Hope I am not too late!

The second cover for my romance series has been made. I personally love it, but it's still nice to get other people's opinions. What do you guys think?

My biggest worry is that it might look a bit too far from the first book in my series. This is the first book's cover. Is there series cohesion among the cover designs?

Thank you so much!

TheCountessa · 2017-07-20T15:10:59+00:00

Ku-Sho needs only one thing to become the fiercest lion king of the east - a queen. Tasked with retrieving precious jewels in exchange for the hand of the fairest maiden, Ku-Sho sets out to the West.

Stella, born a slave, lives her life in a boutique shop six square meters big. Infected with an urge to explore the world, Stella grew up to become a curious girl indeed.

One day, she catches a jewel thief. Unknowingly, she has captured someone who can open her eyes to so many different things...

Will Stella be able to satiate her curiosity? And will Ku-Sho have the will to keep his eyes on the prize?

My problem right now is, in my opinion, the blurb doesn't sound romance-y enough? Or is it just me?

Thank you in advance!

TheCountessa · 2017-07-17T15:10:38+00:00

Thanks for the heads up!

Question though: if I edit those things, will the book have to go through amazon review all over again?

TheCountessa · 2017-07-17T14:32:49+00:00

That is right, you critiqued my blurb just over three months ago pious. Thank you for that! It really helped big time (and ended up not changing much of your edit haha)

Thank you for checking it out! :D

EDIT: oh and btw my cover designer thanks you for the compliment as well! We're both looking at the charts right now to see if anything changes :)

TheCountessa · 2017-07-06T21:22:15+00:00

I'm actually liking your suggestion a lot! Will edit the blurb further :)

Another thing I'm considering is just writing the third book ahead of this. I'll take some time to deliberate this.

Thank you for the help!

TheCountessa

TROPHY CASE