First Line Friday #7: Witch Upon a Star

Now available from Midnight Ink, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and your local bookseller!

MARCH & APRIL RELEASES!

Check out these fantastic new releases!

Tattered Legacy

By: Shannon Baker 

A Nora Abbott Mystery #3 

Witch Upon a Star
By: Jennifer Harlow 
A Midnight Magic Mystery #3

“A great mystery and a romp into the fantasy world 

that is dark, frightening, and a whole lot of fun.”

—SUSPENSE MAGAZINE

Snake Pass

By: Colin Campbell 

A Resurrection Man Novel #4

“Crackerjack entertainment: taut, gritty 

and full of devilish twists.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS

Innocent Damage
By: Robert K. Lewis 
A Mark Mallen Novel #3

Saving Cecil
By: Lee Mims 
A Cleo Cooper Mystery #3

"A compelling mystery full of near-misses

 and scientific wisecracks."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

Q&A with Jennifer Harlow

This week, we sat down with Jennifer Harlow, whose third Midnight Magic Mystery, Witch Upon a Star, was released earlier this month.

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?

Jennifer Harlow: I’ve always been a storyteller in some capacity. When I was a child, I barely left my room because I was always playing with my Barbie dolls. I’d even fake sick far more than I should so I could stay home from school and continue their adventures. When I got too old for that, I moved from pen to paper. Once again school suffered as I’d write my stories in class instead of paying attention. I cut my teeth on screenplays, then when I was nineteen I decided to try writing a book. I haven’t stopped since.

MI: What influence have other authors had on your writing?

JH: Without question I learned from the masters: Janet Evanovitch, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Stan Lee. From Evanovitch I learned how to incorporate humor, mystery, and sexual tension while keeping a quick pace in the story. Hamilton showed the perfect was to combine two genres effectively, thriller and paranormal, and that a heroine doesn’t have to always be a sweet, perfect woman. She can have a hard edge and still be likable. From Stan Lee’s comics, especially X-Men, hidden in the action scenes and love triangles was a parable on prejudice and acceptance of self no matter how different you are from the crowd. I can only pray I do my idols justice with my own work.

MI: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

JH: Advice columnist. Everyone I know comes to me with their problems, and they all say I help them. It’d be wonderful to get paid for it.

MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s to do when you’re not writing or

working?

JH: In my old age I have basically become a teenage boy. I’ve gotten obsessed with video games. Lately I’ve been addicted to the Dragon Age games. They are like crack.

MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why?

JH: I can’t decide! That’s like choosing a favorite child. The list includes: Miss Marple, Stephanie Plum, Sydney Rye, Poirot, Harry Bosch, Jaine Austen, okay I’m stopping now. So many!

MI: What was your inspiration for the Midnight Magic Mysteries?

JH: I wanted to expand the F.R.E.A.K.S. world and also get a bit more romance in it. The F.R.E.A.K.S. is more action and mystery oriented, following the misadventures of Special Agent Beatrice Alexander. In the Midnight Magic series they’re stand alone, following one woman in her quest for understanding and love but with some action and mystery thrown in for flavor.

MI: How does Witch Upon A Star compare to your past works?

JH: This book begins decades before Bea ever joined the F.R.E.A.K.S., years before the super-natural co-op began, or before Vivian and Jason met. This is a prequel to all the books that came before. It’s also a very dark, twisty romance between two very lost souls that doesn’t end in a traditional way. 

MI: Tell us about Anna Olmstead.

JH: I introduced the character in the second F.R.E.A.K.S book, To Catch a Vampire. She’s a witch, a former FREAK who helped Beatrice with a case a murderous vampires, something she had a lot of experience with having been raised and then falling in love with a vampire named Asher.  She also has ties to the Goodnight Coven I introduced in What’s A Witch To Do?  Basically the events that occurred with her set in motion every event in both the F.R.E.A.K.S. and Midnight Magic series. The supernatural co-op, the events in the Eastern Pack, Oliver joining the F.R.E.A.K.S., it all stems from the adventures of Anna Olmstead Asher West.

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

JH: I have a six-month-old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier named Elsa Lanchester, after the actress who played the Bride of Frankenstein. Potty training has been a nightmare!

Elsa Lanchester

MI: What food could you live off of for the rest of your life?

JH: French fries. I cannot live without them.

MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?

JH: A White Russian. One shot Vodka, ¾ shot of Kahlua, half a cup of cream served over ice. Like drinking Starbucks coffee that gets you soused. Yum.

MI: What’s your favorite part about being an Inker?

JH: The community. Everyone is really there for each other when we have questions or concerns. We’re a lucky group.

Witch Upon a Star is available online and in bookstores now!

March 2015 Books Available Now!

Don't miss Midnight Ink's latest releases!

Now available from Midnight Ink, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and your local bookseller!

Onwards & Upwards

by Jennifer Harlow

First, let me say how much I appreciate each and every one of you who take time to visit this site and read our posts. I think I can speak for everyone who contributes to this blog that we're honored you care about what we have to say about the world of writing and publishing. That being said, it is with a heavy heart I must tell y'all this is my last regular post with Inkspot. It is also with a heavy heart, and a lot of Vodka in my system, that I must tell you that Midnight Ink has decided not to continue with the adventures of the FREAKS. I'm cool with it, I really am. I am so proud they published the first three, took a chance on them in the first place. I don't bare even a shred of ill will. Truly. I still have a contract for the second and third Midnight Magic books so they're not done with me yet. The second WEREWOLF SINGS THE BLUES comes out 2/14 and is available for pre-order now if you're so inclined.

So, what's next for this gal? Well, there are the Midnight Magic Mystery books, which I have been furiously editing for the past month.

But I love the FREAKS so much.  You ended with that damn cliffhanger! Will there be more? Yep. I'm 2/3 done writing the 4th and fully intend to indie publish it sometime next year. And there may be a fifth depending on how well the 4th does. I have no concrete date for it yet, but check my website www.jenniferharlowbooks.com on occasion (like once a month) under Harlow Gazette for news as it comes. And yes, it will be in physical book form as well as ebook form.

What else have you got for me? What else is in the pipeline? Well, since you asked...the second in the Galilee Falls Trilogy GALILEE RISING came out this weekend! It's more of a romance than the last one.

Love in the time of superheroes...

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” 

-Confucius 

The year since Galilee Falls lost its reigning superhero Justice has not been kind to Joanna Fallon. She's lost her best friend, her boyfriend, her badge, even her mind. The city of Galilee Falls hasn't fared much better with supervillain related crime skyrocketing to cataclysmic proportions. Deliverance for the city arrives in the guise of The Royal Triumvirate--King Tempest, Lady Liberty, and Lord Nightingale--who vow to be the heroes the city needs. Salvation for Joanna appears in the brilliant form of Dr. Jem Ambrose, another lost soul in need of saving. But salvation comes with a high price. When Emperor Cain, an old nemesis of The Triumvirate, decides he will stop at nothing to make sure there is no city left to defend, it is up to Joanna to rise not only for her city, for her new love, but for herself as well…

Buy it HERE

KINDLE

NOOK

KOBO

PHYSICAL BOOK FORMAT

Anything else before you say good-bye? Just that I really do appreciate everyone reading this. We wouldn't be here without you. And if you miss me horribly I still have my own blog Tales From the Darkside where I post about once a week. And I will be back. I promise.

Adios!

INKSPOT NEWS - December 7, 2013

We have one December release from Midnight Ink to announce, and it's a great read!

Secondhand Stiff by Sue Ann Jaffarian

"[A] real treat for chick-lit and mystery fans who like feisty women."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"I’d like to spend more time with Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia [Grey]."
—Publishers Weekly

Jennifer Harlow also has a new e-book out now, the second in her Galilee Falls Trilogy

Galilee Rising by Jennifer Harlow

It's available at all e-book retailers as well as in physical book form HERE.

Saying Good-bye to My Baby

by Jennifer Harlow

Writing an entire book is like running a marathon (not that I ever have or will run one) or finding out you're about to have a baby, where you start off fast and happy, hit a wall of fear, curse the gods for ever giving you the thought of pursuing this madness, but keep going until the end with renewed vigor, or as I like to think of it, "I made it this bloody far, I will not let anything stop me. I'll show them! Ha ha ha!" So you continue on toiling through the backaches, the sleepless nights trying to figure out what happens next, even through the bloating (though that could just be me) until you get to write those two wonderful words, "The End," and make yourself a large, stiff drink. You’ve earned it. And you’re gonna need it because your baby is finally here...and now comes the hard part.

After the first draft comes the first and second edits, each where you stare at every word trying to figure out if it’s the best choice, second guessing yourself a million times along the way, before you give it to your beta testers, who take their sweet time reading and editing. Then you take their suggestions, edit again, send it to your wonderful agent for her to edit, make the corrections she suggests, edit again, and finally it's ready to shop around. And if the publishing gods deign her worthy, the publisher will have you edit it at least twice more. So "The End" is simply the beginning of a grueling process, almost like raising a child, where you will curse your characters for ever entering your imagination or life in the first place at least once or twice. But you love her regardless, and you solider on to do your best to help her grow.

My baby has gone through so many changes I barely recognize her. She has gone through so many changes since I conceived her seven(!) years ago, I barely recognize her. The beginning chapter I started with is completely gone, characters names have changed, and I don't know how many paragraphs have been shortened or expanded. She (like all cars manuscripts are female) has grown from a seed in my mind to an infant as I did the first draft. All her parts were there, her personality, but she needed shaping to become a productive member of book society.

So through the years I did my best to trim her fat, improve her vocabulary, scream at her when she wouldn't listen to me, and make her the best she could be. (Those teenage years...shudder. I almost gave up on her when I was trying to sell her, but we soldiered through). Now, it's as if she is about to graduate college. She's standing on her own two feet, but still needs her Mommy for a few last bits of advice. That's what I'm doing now with the final edit. Never again will I be able to change words, add to characters, plug in narrative holes, etc. She will forever be out in the world as is for other people to judge, enjoy, or just plain hate. She is her own entity now. I just hope my baby will become President instead of a bum. Regardless, I have to let go. I've done all I can to get her to stand on her two feet, and I am proud of her...though I never want to see her again.

Now…onto her siblings.

***

And for all you F.R.E.A.K.S. fans, check out the e-short published last week featuring your favorite hipster teenage teleporter...

Only $1.99. Buy it HERE.

Lost on the Way to Fantasyland

by Jennifer Harlow

Reality bites. We all know it. We all spend thousands of dollars a year in booze, movies, books etc. in an attempt to escape it. But what if we can't? And worse, what if its your job to inhabit its antithesis, Fantasyland yet that bitch reality won't allow you to escape her clutches? Well, then you get the boogeyman of all us authors: Writer's Block.

I've been lucky in that I haven't suffered from it too badly through the years. There may have been a week or two where I couldn't figure out where a scene should go or how to fix a plot hole but mostly the words tend to flow. But these past few months, especially with the move to Georgia, I seem to have lost my passport to Fantasyland. I'm struggling even with this post, occasionally checking some website for what I need to get a Driver's Licence in GA or different types of health insurance. One thing leads to three others that I have to do. I'm being pulled in a thousand directions, most in uncharted waters with real consequences if the deadlines aren't met, so a frivolity like sitting in front of a computer and playing with my imaginary characters isn't a real priority. My life these past few months is like triage, the most crucial first.

I haven't written more than a page in over a month.

Yesterday, I had a few hours between work men and decided it was time to step back into Fantasyland. I have a book due January 1st, the third Midnight Magic, and have only about a chapter left. I should have been done in August but then the move popped up. Almost two months swallowed up. Fine. Things are settling down a tad--three whole hours to myself!--so I did what I tell every aspiring author to do: sat my butt in the chair and began to write. Ten minutes later, with thoughts of emissions tests and driver's licence requirements dancing through my head, I hadn't put a word down. Three hours later, when the locksmith returned as the lock he put in broke already, I had one page. One page. And it was completely unusable. I am creatively constipated.

I know things will get better. I do. They always do. I will finish this book. I will get the second Galilee Falls book up by December. I will put my butt in the chair every spare second I can find and just write. The words will flow. I will find my way out of reality's clutches and skip back into Fantasyland. Just after I get a new driver's licence which requires changing banks, locating my passport and birth certificate in my boxes, getting new auto insurance...ugh.

Reality bites.

Renaissance Woman

By Jennifer Harlow

Work grounds me. It centers me, at least when it's not the cause of all the hell in my life. This month said hell is at the courtesy of moving so amid being on hold for over an hours (Really Comcast?!?), packing, spending more on getting my shit down to ATL than my entire car is worth, setting up utilities, researching new car and health insurance, and a trillion other little things, I needed a day to find shelter from my self-imposed shit storm.

So I taught myself how to make an e-book.

We're talking writing, editing, formatting, converting, even the fraking cover. I went mental.

Ever since Justice I've been haunting the Kindleboards forum to learn the ins and outs of the e-book world. There people like Hugh Howey bestow their considerable knowledge to us plebeians. Everything's there from the best editors, writers helping others with blurbs, the best practices, all of it. I cannot recommend this place more, even if you're a traditional author vs. hybrid like me (a foot in both traditional and indie publishing as Kindleboards told me). However, as much as I love it, the boards can be a bit soul crushing. Not from the people, they're all lovely, but what some of them advise to make any money. Namely if you want to become a full time writer you need a ton of luck, only write romance/Erotica/New Adult, and publish a new book or novella once a month. Yeah, you read that right. A NEW BOOK A MONTH. This year I'll have FOUR full length books out, two traditional and two indie. I was so proud of myself. No one besides those with ghostwriters (Patterson/Evanovitch) accomplish that in the traditional world. But in the indie world, I'm a slacker. And if I haven't disillusioned y'all enough, it cost about $1000 to get Justice made and marketed. I've made about 20% of that back. The lovely, successful indies mantra is "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." Fair, but what if your shoes are falling apart and you're out of shape? What do you do then?

Anything you can.

On their advice, I'd been toying with releasing a "short," meaning a short story just to keep up The Galilee Falls visibility up because once a book has been released for 3 months, it falls off a "cliff" where it is basically banished to Siberia to make way for newer titles. And damned if when 3 months hit I went from about 60,000 (not terrible but not great, if my superheroes were into BDSM it'd probably be at a thousand, but there's always the next one) to currently 267,000 in the Kindle store. (Cue crying jag). Okay, I'm back from the land of self-pity where I am basically their queen.  Anyway, I needed to produce new material and apparently most of my FREAKS and Midnight Magic readers aren't into superheroes as the release of Death Takes a Holiday last month did nothing to raise sales. (Not a swipe at y'all, I swear. To each his own.) So something had to be done and that couldn't cost a thousand dollars. 

Enter the Kindleboards brigade, especially Joe Konrath's 8-hour challenge. Joe Konrath, for those who don't know, used to write the Jack Daniels mystery series, then went indie before it was cool and made a million dollars self-publishing his own stuff. He's a member of the "10 new things a year club" along with Lilianna Hart, Elle Casey, and Bella Andre. One night when Joe was drunk he decided to try and get something up on Amazon in under an hour. That included the content, formatting, and cover. That magnificent bastard succeeded. And he was surprised to find it sold a few copies in the first day even though he didn't publish it under his own name. So on his BLOG (another indie must read) he put out the challenge for us all to try it, but gave us 8 hours to do it all. I was in the throws of house crap so I didn't hear about this until after the contest was done (My timing always sucks!!!) but when I got crazed and needed an escape I decided to give it a try anyway. I sort of had the content in mind. A few blog posts I'd written for the blog tour, I could include the playlists, the first chapter of the next Galilee book, and a short story I'd written a million years ago then called "When Justin Met Joanna" (now entitled "Origins.") So, on content I was good. It was everything else where I was screwed.

But I had no fucking clue where to begin when it came to formatting and covers. I'd hired someone for those with Justice but couldn't in this case. So I had to learn these things, me who barely knows how to turn on a computer. Once again, hurrah for Kindleboards. People there led me to a program called Scrivener, which was not only a word processor a la Word but would also convert your stuff into EPUB and MOBI. I bought the sucker. Then spent my allotted eight hours screaming, crying, and smashing my computer in frustration when the converted files looked a hot mess. Formatting was either non-existent or cluttered. Whole portions were missing. But I am not a quitter. I am stubborn to a fault, I admit it, but in this case it paid off. I played around until finally it looked professional. Clean. I could now add "Knows how to format an e-book" to my list of not-that-useful skills for the real world. But I'd done it. And hopefully in the future I can repeat the process and save $200. Well see when I get around to Galilee Rising.

So, content? Check. Manuscript? Check. Now came the cover. Enter Photoshop. My mom wanted to make Memes last year so for Christmas Dad bought her the program. She was kind enough to let me install it on my computer and I began to learn it as well. Another 8 hours later (no this wasn't the same day, it was between all the moving bullshit) I had a basic understanding of filters, text, effects, etc. Then I started an account at Shutterstock. This is a site where you can get photos/illustrations/vectors (whatever those are) to use for your covers. There are literally millions to chose from. I found mine after a few more hours of searching, Photoshopped the hell out of it (another few hours) and added it to my MOBI file (another hour of trial and error), and up it went. 

Ta da! I give you...

So if you need a Galilee Falls fix, this should keep you until December. Only $.99. But in the end, this experiment may save me hundreds. I still might pay for covers but I can do the formatting myself. Now if I could only write ten books a year...

Anyway back to moving. Hope this post was helpful to all you newbies.

Music to Soothe the Savage Vampire

by Jennifer Harlow

I don’t do silence. I can’t. I grew up surrounded by chaos instrumented by three demons by the names of Ryan, Liam, and Trevor, my three younger brothers. These were not, and still aren’t, studious, well behaved darlings who liked nothing better than to sit down with a good book or play with her dolls like their angel big sister. No, these boys had enough energy and testosterone to supply an entire Starbucks and bodybuilding gym with some still left over to attempt to “kill” or “wrestle” their sister and each other. Screams, whining, and loud bangs on the television were staples of my youth. So when I moved out on my own, I soon discovered I needed the noise. There is always a television or radio on, even as I fall asleep. This is true when I’m writing as well. I can write pretty much anywhere (if you have a strong desire to stalk me, see the acknowledgments page of my books to see where I write), but the one thing that helps get my creative juices flowing the most is music. The right song can make or break my scene, even inspiring me on some occasions.

As I'm writing, I find that certain songs really helped pump up the visuals and mood. They help me get to a place where I needed to get inside my head to convey what was going on in my imagination and translate that to the page. Music just adds so much more to the experience. So I started compiling playlists for the books. Like the book, the soundtrack has a narrative flow in line with the story. You don’t have to like all the songs, I have eclectic taste, but at the very least if you sample them, you’ll get a feel for the book. So here it is, the soundtrack for the F.R.E.A.K.S.  latest adventure, Death Takes A Holiday:

Mercy-Duffy

U Want Me 2-Sarah McLachlan

Make Me Lose Control-Eric Carmen

Smalltown Boy-Bronski Beat

Somewhere That's Green-Ellen Greene from "Little Shop of Horrors"

Trouble is A Friend-Lenka

The Passenger-Siouxsie and The Banshees

No One is To Blame-Howard Jones

Emotion in Motion-Ric Ocasek

One Step Up-Bruce Springsteen

Wonderful Life-Black

Somewhere With You-Kenny Chesney

I Stand Alone-Theophilius London

Love Will Turn You Around-Kenny Rogers

Please download legally. All songs are available on iTunes. And if you want to see the other soundtracks to my other books, visit www.jenniferharlowbooks.com/The_Sountracks

INKSPOT NEWS - August 3, 2013

Here are the new releases from Midnight Ink for August, 2013. They're all terrific reads!

 Death Takes a Holiday by Jennifer Harlow

“Wildly fun and funny, Harlow offers treats for every paranormal lover to relish, with plenty of action, thrills, and laughter.”—Leanna Renee Hieber, author of the Strangely Beautiful series

Purgatory Key by Darrell James

“The fast-flowing story will engage readers. It’s nice to see a woman in control in the leading role.”—Kirkus Reviews

Poisoned Politics by Maggie Sefton

“Sefton has a sharp ear for dialog and knack for writing strong female characters.”—Library Journal

Readers and Authors, Together in Perfect Harmony

by Jennifer Harlow

**Okay, before I begin, I just want it known I in no way, shape, or form want you to think this is my way of asking you, my lovely readers, to do any of the below. If you decide to, more power to you. This is just for illumination purposes to let you know what goes on behind the scenes as a writer trying to market books.**

I've just published a book! Huzzah! Okay...now what? How the frak do I get people to discover the damn thing? 1,000 books a day are published. A DAY. That's a lot of people screaming for readers attention. You mean I have to become a marketer as well? Um...huh? Okay, I'll just Google it. What the hell are book bloggers, street teams, Amazon analytics, branding...my head hurts. I want my Mommy.

I am not a good salesperson. I hate asking people for help. It physically hurts when I do. That's just how my daddy raised me. "You really can't count on anyone but yourself. Don't expect someone to give you a fish, learn to bait a lure, baby doll." And let's face it, any type of rejection stings and there is no shortage of it in the publishing world. So marketing, and relying on other people to help spread the word about my book, does not come naturally to me. But I query book bloggers, I'm semi-active on social media, and I now know what a street team is. But with more and more people publishing than ever before, the marketing noise is louder and more grating on readers and bloggers. 

I recently read a thread on KBoards about this very problem. Please note though, I'd say about 96% of authors don't engage in the behavior below, but that 4% is ruining it for us all. Both writers and readers commented. The consensus was overzealous authors with their constant selling and begging for reviews was putting readers off from reviewing any books and not joining mailing lists or social media. Readers are tuning all authors out, even those who aren't guilty of the offense. I know I've Un-Followed about a dozen writers on Twitter for just this reason. But dear readers, we need you. We need you now more than ever, not just to read our books but also help spread the word of it's wonders. To be it's champion. I commented that if we just explained why reviews and word of mouth are important, and also spread word to authors how to stop alienating the lifeblood of the industry, maybe things can improve. So, let's give it a whirl:

To authors: Readers want to interact with us. They want to hear about our new works, our process. What they don't want is every damn Facebook/Twitter post ten times a day to be about it. You get a nice review? Awesome, share. Do it seventeen times a day? Not so much. They want to know you're more than a SPAMbot. Readers want to hear about your life. Your family. They want you to ask them questions, then respond. The ratio of selling vs. being a human being should be at most 1:4, if that, which means no asking for reviews or newsletter sign ups or anything where they have to do something for you. Show them you have a personality because if they like you, they'll be more inclined to read your book. I know I've bought books from people just because they seemed like a good, interesting egg, and I was never let down. And if these wonderful people do go above and beyond for you, do the same. If they post a review or join your street team, send them something exclusive like a magnet or new story you've written. Show your appreciation. 

As for book bloggers, more and more are refusing to review self-published books not only because of the quality but also the majority have received threats, literal threats to their lives, for not reviewing a book. Send the query, if they want it they'll ask for it. Don't inundate them with e-mails and damn well no threats. You're a professional now, act like it.

To readers: Okay, first off, you bought our book? You don't owe us authors a damn thing after that. Not a review, not even to buy our next book. Giving an author a chance is more than enough. Our transaction is complete. That being said,it's hard out here for a pimp. My four, soon to be six by the end of the year, girls are working the corner with two million others on Kindle alone, they need any leg up they can get. (No pun intended) My bitches and I don't have the full force of Random House advertising, hell it's really just me in my basement with what little is in my checking account. So, you liked my wares and you're willing to help an author out because you are a man/woman among men, what can you do? First, tell people. Tell your mother, your sister, your local bookseller. Recommend, recommend, recommend. If you're on Goodreads/Tumblr/KBoards regularly anyway, start a thread. It only takes one connector to start a massive viral wave (See 50 Shades or Grumpy Cat.) Then you can honestly say you liked it before it was cool. 

Next on the author's wish list is reviews and author page likes, especially on Amazon. This is very, very important. They have these complicated algorithms where if you reach a certain amount of reviews or likes, you'll get more visibility in the system, which once again can make a book. Then there's street teams. Until a few months ago I didn't know what this was. Basically it's a group of readers around the country who spread word and promotional materials to bookstores/libraries/people in their area that an author made and sent them. Not comfortable with any of the above? Just sign up for the author's newsletter so you know when they have a new book out. You can always unsubscribe. Every little bit helps.

A good start, no? Readers and authors,working together because, you know what, we need each other. The circle of life: without authors readers wouldn't get their supply, and without readers, authors wouldn't have any incentive to write. Let's be good to each other. 

So, what have I forgotten or you wish I'd included for either party? What is effective marketing for you? Sound off in the comments below.             

Also, if you haven't already picked up a copy of my new book Justice, you're in luck. From 7/24-7/26 this week on Amazon it'll be free! Pick up a copy! And as if I weren't busy enough, on Aug 1st the third F.R.E.A.K.S. book, Death Takes A Holiday come out. it's available for pre-order HERE now.  The beautiful covers are below...

This Idiot's Guide to Ebooks

by Jennifer Harlow

I'm lucky in that I have one foot in both publishing worlds. I was blessed with what many dream of, a book deal with an actual publisher. If you go into the mystery section of Barnes & Noble chances are you'll find a Jennifer Harlow there. Eventually six of them, at the very least. The first time I saw one, I almost burst into tears and had to flee. It was one of the best moments of my life. But with the slow seemingly “death” of brick and mortar bookstores (still miss you Borders), mergers of the big publishing houses, and boom of ebooks most authors may never get that experience. As of right now the ratio of physical vs. ebooks sold is 60/40 but just three years ago it was 90/10. We all knew what happened to the music industry when iTunes came around. (I can't remember the last time I bought an actual CD.) So times, they are a'changin. If that’s a good or bad thing is up for debate, but my gypsy soul wanted to give this new time a try.

At the bare minimum you need a manuscript, a cover, and a blurb, all of which you can slap together yourself. Might cost you nothing. Put it up on Amazon and congrats, you're an author. This is wonderful if you just want friends and family to read it or just for bragging rights. From my research, this seems to be the standard. 90% of ebooks only sell about 50 copies. This is the equivalent in the traditional publishing world of making a living as a writer, of which only about 5% of authors can. But since I want to reach more than my immediate circle, and I'll bet you would too, you have to be willing to spend some money and time on this. I spent a full week researching the ebook racket, comparing companies and prices, hitting blogs for the best formatters and cover designers, learning if I need an ISBN and LCCN, deciding if I want print copies too, if Kindle Select was worth it, how to promote, etc. My mind was awash with information. But it was fun. I hate studying but love to learn. And here is what I learned, with the help of my friends Alan Orloff and Emily Kimmelman:

1) Before you do anything, work on your manuscript. I've had A LOT of feedback from Beta readers, my agent, even publishers on how to fix my book. It's been edited about twelve times, so I decided with this one to skip a professional editor. But I DO NOT recommend this. For the next Galilee book I plan to hire one. Things like missing commas, slow pacing, clunky dialogue all separate you from the 90%. You want to be a professional, you need a professional presentation. That includes making sure you have a Title Page, Copyright page that includes the ISBN and LCCN (more on those later) among others, dedication, acknowledgements, and author biography. 

2) Manuscript in ship shape and professional looking? Good. Next comes possibly the most important part: the cover. Once again, this is what separates the wheat from the chaff. Think about the last ebook you took a chance on? What initially drew you to it? Yep, the cover. Covers make or break a book. It's the most important marketing tool in your arsenal. Besides the editing, this is where the majority of your money should go. I did the most research on this. I looked at contests, inside ebooks (the artist is usually listed) I liked, and went to their websites to view their samples. I had no idea what I wanted my cover to look like except it needed bold colors, was moody,  and had something superhero on it. Damonza won by a landslide. His prices range from $195-$395 for ebook only. He is the premier for a reason as witnessed by my cover which is a freaking work of art. Don't skimp on this one.

3) Now comes the business side of publishing. One of my big questions was, do I need an ISBN? An ISBN is how your book is cataloged and identified. This is kind of a gray area if you really need one for ebooks or even print self-published ones. Some sites said yes, others no. If you go through companies, or even Createspace as I did for my physical copies (see item 7 ) they'll give you one, but then they control the ISBN. But since I'm a professional who has a toddler's grasp of copyright law, I decided to err on the side of caution and get some. To do this, you go to Bowker and create an account. When you do this, congrats! You have your very own publishing imprint! I named mine Devil on the Left. When you've created this, then it's time to buy your imprint's ISBNs. One costs $100 but ten cost $250, and you need a separate ISBN for every version (ebook/print/audio etc.) so buy the ten. This way you 100% own the copyright of your books and you're technically a publisher. More bragging rights!

4) Okay you have your cover and manuscript including copyright page with your ISBN on it. Now to get the manuscript into digital form. Once again, I recommend going professional. I am not at all tech literate and there are a million rules for formatting. Seen ebooks with no indentations or entire blank pages? Want to read something else by them? Nope. Hire a formatter. Once again I went with Damonza and got a deal for doing both formatting and cover with him. I got both ePub and MOBI (you can do PDF yourself from the Word document). When it came time to put it on Kindle I just had to upload the MOBI file. Easy peasy.

5) Now the blurb. This is the product description for the book. The cover gets them to read this, which really sells the book. Spend time on it. My agent and I wrote this one to send around to publishers so I was covered, plus I've been writing blurbs for ten years, but if you haven't maybe contract this one out too. If not then just make sure you use concrete imagery, don't give too much away, and really focus on the first sentence. 

6) Okay, I got everything. Time to publish the sucker. This is the easy part. Just set up an account at KDP and follow the instructions. But there is a caveat. They'll ask you if you want to enroll in Kindle Select. Once again I've heard arguments for and against. If you chose it you cannot publish on Nook or anywhere else for at least three months. The truth is, if you can't make it on Amazon you ain't making it anywhere. Enroll. That way you can do the five day giveaway thing and potentially get ten thousand people to download it. Sure you don't make any money but they may buy the second or third in the series. Another important thing is keywords for searching. I used "superhero, epic sci fi, hard boiled, etc" so whenever someone searches those words mine will come up. Don't get too general or specific though.

7) You got your ebook up! Huzzah! Now ask yourself if you want to do print too. You should. If not to sell them then at least to have physical copies for reviewers. Some will only take physical copies like when you do a Goodreads giveaway or at libraries. I used Createspace. Make sure you have changed the ISBNs but you can use the same Word document you sent to the formatter. You upload it and their program formats it for you. Then you create a cover using their templates, send it for review and you have a book. You can sell it on Createspace, Amazon, and if you spend $25 you can even get it to book distributors who buy for real bookshops. And if you go a step further perhaps even libraries. To get into the Library of Congress you need an LCCN. They only accept print books where you have your own imprint and ISBN. You fill out their form and they'll review you stuff. It'll take from a day to a week. At least this way you have a chance to get your baby into libraries, but don't hold your breath.

So, in total I spent about $825 on Justice so far (not counting the blog tour and other publicity stuff yet to come.) The usual average is about $1250 with an editor. I need to sell about 420 books just to break even. (Slowly getting there.)

One of the big questions floating around is which is better, traditional or self publishing? I've done both and honestly I don't have a verdict yet as I've only been at the latter a short time. Both have strengths and weaknesses, but so does everything in life. I'm a total control freak, and love my freedom, so the fact I got to have complete control over the back cover copy, cover, the title, all of it was nice. And the fact I get 70% of every book sold (a little over $2) instead of 10% is great. The downside is I front all the money, take all the risk, and unlike an advance from a publisher, I'm guaranteed no money. Plus with traditional you reach a wider audience (not everyone has joined the revolution) and get to see your book in stores. I'm doing about the same amount of publicity work on the ebook as I did for the others. But from a logic perspective, if you can go traditional, do. I wouldn't be a member of Mystery Writers of America or Horror Writers Association without going traditional. Gain experience with the publishing world, a fan base and connections then maybe branch out on your own if your gypsy soul commands it. Remember, everyone and their mother can and is publishing on Amazon. You're one voice among two million, it's damn hard to be heard. Hope this post makes it that much easier. 

Do you have any tips for ebooks, either the product or the marketing? I still read more physical books than ebooks, do you? Why is there so much us vs. them mentality when it comes to this topic?