ALEX CAVANAUGH, THE GHOST OF MARK TWAIN, AND ME!

http://www.alexjcavanaugh.com/

The ghost of Mark Twain is once again making the life of poor Alex interesting again 

by re-introducing the Borg Queen to him.

But don't worry.  

Alex will play the guitar much better 

with steel fingers.

Come with me to Alex's blog for TWO STEPS FROM HELL doing the soundtrack of my Steampunk novel, THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD ...

for me doing a "Don't You Hate Blog Book Tours?" blog post

  and SEX ... I kid you not.  

Hey, my novel is about a honeymoon on the first Air-Steamship after all!

Available from Createspace Store NOW
 https://www.createspace.com/6106702

From Amazon in just a few days!

HOW TO GET YOUR NEW BOOK TO SELL MORE

 All of us want our new book to sell well.  What can we do to maximize our chances?

COVER

THUMBNAIL -

Does it look intriguing in a thumbnail?  It doesn't matter if the full size image blows you away. If the small thumbnail doesn't grab a reader, it simply blows.


SCREAMS YOUR GENRE 

Look at my mock-up cover to THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD

 
A dirigible lifting a steamer above the ocean.  One look and you know it is Steampunk.  The title is catchy and stands out. 


The cover is your book's salesman.  Be sure it looks quality, for that will suggest to the reader that your prose within is quality, too.


BLURB

The blurb above teases beyond the sky adventure.  

The Blurb is the true seller of your book after you have gotten the reader interested with your cover.

Don't treat it as an afterthought. Remember the goal is never to describe your story but to intrigue your reader.

The above blurb gives you the promise of a unique story of a mystic bear against the might of Avalon.


LOOK INSIDE FEATURE 

Make sure your first 10 pages are riveting, for that is usually the number of pages Amazon gives the reader to make up her or his mind.

Read your first 10 pages thinking how they will impact the new reader trying to decide whether or not to buy your hard-won novel.


CHOOSE WISELY

Remember INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE and the ancient knight's warning?

In KDP you get two categories.  

In Createspace (Print) you only get ONE!  Choose wisely.  

Now, do I choose science fiction ... steampunk or do I choose fantasy ... alternate history?

I went to one of the most popular Steampunk novels, BONESHAKER, and found its statistics:

Even after 7 years:

• #161 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
• #342 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Alternate History

So I pick Science Fiction ... Steampunk


In KDP, you get 7 keywords.  In Createspace, you only get 5!  CHOOSE WISELY.

Looking at my book, I pick STEAMPUNK, ALTERNATE HISTORY, CIVIL WAR, ALIEN INVASION, ABRAHAM LINCOLN VILLAIN.
 

BOOK PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Many authors using Createspace lazily just use their back cover blurb.  Sigh.

This is your chance to sway the Amazon browser your way to buy your book.  Have advance reviews?  Use them.

Have riveting snatches of dialogue?  Use them.

Tease. Cajole. Amuse.  But get the reader interested enough to see what happens next.


MARKETING

Be innovative.  Be different.  Do a shop-worn thing in a new way as in my "Don't You Hate Book Tours?" Book Tour.

DON'T FORGET I'M AT CHRYS FEY'S BLOG!

http://writewithfey.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-shell-shocked-redemption-roland.html

SHARE AN ADVENTURE WITH CHRYS FEY & ME

http://writewithfey.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-shell-shocked-redemption-roland.html

On the deck of the Xanadu, Mark Twain to 11 year old Nikola Tesla:

"Son, don't you pay no mind to those jay-birds!  Of course, dreams are real. They're made up of more permanent stuff than things you can only touch."

Mark winks at the boy:

"Why, dreams are like the wind at your back -- invisible but they keep pushing you forward, don't you know?"

Mark smiles at little Nikola:

"Dreams sing to us at night in the voices of those hopes we only thought we'd lost.  In the day, dreams urge us on like the sight of distant blue mountains with their cool lakes and ice-cloaked shoulders."

Mark Twain slaps a hand on Nikola's shoulder. 

 "You dream your inventions, son, and then go on and invent those dreams.  I believe in you, boy. And that's all it takes -- one person believing in you.  Aw, don't you go a'hugging me now.  I got my reputation as a crank to uphold!"


Board the Xanadu, the Airship of Dreams, as I sail to Chrys Fey's blog.  What will you find?  Not what you expect.

  http://dencovey.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/greetings-from-dont-you-hate-book-tours.html
{Thanks to Denise Covey for the image of Chrys Fey}

THE GREATEST THING IN THIS WORLD IS ...

“You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, then you find out who they really are.”
- Joss Whedon

http://thewarriormuse.blogspot.com/2016/02/roland-stops-by-on-anti-blog-tour-links.html

Shannon Lawrence has let me slip aboard her blog for Wednesday. 



 She loves the Wild West (Samuel McCord tips his Stetson to her for that), cheesy horror comedies



(I have to ask her if she liked THE FINAL GIRLS as much as I did.)



and chocolate ... that puts her in the same boat with most of us!



 “The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” 
-  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I am moving in the direction of THE WARRIOR MUSE.  



Come along with me, and I will show you how to do an old thing in a new way.

SEE YOU THERE!

THE THING THAT TURNED ME

"Luke, you may not remember all the times you carried me on your shoulders.

You may not remember that time you dropped back to tell me it wasn't that much farther.

Or the time you waited at the crossroads to let me catch up with my gimp leg.

But I do.  And I tell you this: no matter what it takes, we ride home together tonight."
 - Loy

I am honored to be in the company of 29 great authors in the anthology, THE THING THAT TURNED ME.

The cover reveal for it will be May 1st.  

And the release date is May 31st.  

Mark your calendar!

Randi Lee Mailloux is the guiding light behind it.  

Give her a round of applause for all the hard work she is doing.  

Harper L. Jameson designed an amazing cover for the anthology.  I tip my Stetson to you.  :-)

Oh, my story in it?

"Wednesday's Child."

Lucanus, the mysterious Greek physician, is the narrator of Loy's story in the anthology.

Guess what? 

 Lucanus is also the ship's physician to the Xanadu, the 1st Air/Steamship in my 1867 Steampunk novel,  

THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD to be released this March.

Think of it as Cross-Pollination. 

 If readers like Lucanus in my novel, they might be tempted to see his adventure in THE THING THAT TURNED ME.  

And the reverse could be true as well.  Hey, bees get a lot done that way.  :-)

What do you think?

UNEXPECTED KINDNESSES

"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind."
 - Samuel McCord

My friends at CyPhaCon knew that Sundays always pound me to a pulp with blood runs,

 so they surprised me on Facebook and on their site: 

 “Showcasing our local guest is what we do best! 

Our pal, our friend and all around nice Guy Roland Yeomans will once again be attending CyPhaCon 2016! 

 If you have never met Roland, you might just want to say hi and get to know this local legend! 

CyPhaCon 2016 takes place April 8th-10th at the Lake Charles Civic Center.” 

 http://www.cyphacon.org/local-guests/


 “Good friends don’t let you do stupid things … alone.” 
 – Mark Twain 

http://dencovey.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/greetings-from-dont-you-hate-book-tours.html

Then, there is the lovely Denise Covey who is allowing me to take over her blog for a bit. 

 She would not let me do a stupid thing like yet another Book Tour alone without lending her support. 

Now, one Blogger acquaintance told me that her visits always slump when she hosts a book tour, so she respectfully declined my request. 

Please don’t let my good friend, Denise, suffer for being there for me! 

Visit her blog, and I promise you will laugh and even learn how to make your next novel even better. 

{If my guest post is not up, remember there is a time gap between America and Australia}

“A novelist is someone who leaps off a cliff and builds the plane on the way down.”
 – William Faulkner 

Together we can build my plane on the way down. 

 I promise to help you build your own plane the next time you jump off the cliff.

WHAT MAKES A BOOK TAKE OFF?

What makes a particular book seize the imagination of the general public


and propel its author from comfortable relative obscurity to superstardom?


You must touch on something core and essential in our psyches:


the combined ache of life, love and our own mortality.


 And you must do it with realism rather than over-sentimentality.  


But no one controls that all important WORD OF MOUTH ...


and that is what will propel our work up the sales rankings.


Make this your Mantra:

NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING.

How do I know that?


Because if the Big 5 Publishers or John Green or Stephen King knew it,


every book would skyrocket like THE FAULT IN OUR STARS or THE STAND.


DR. NO, FORREST GUMP, E.T., RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK,


were all rejected by the majors studios at least twice before being accepted.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1.) Write Something NEW


Do yourself a favor and choose to write a book with a totally new and unexpected hook.


This bakes marketing and word of mouth into the content and sets you up for a perennial seller.


Make your core story simple, spreadable, articulable idea to generate word of mouth.


If your core story is confusing or unclear, it makes it very difficult to market. 




2.) Write Something Well


 Professional editing is essential for self-published authors because it's the easiest way to separate the professionals from the amateurs.




3.) Package Your Book To Sell


You can't skimp on design!


Why would you spend all this time writing a book, and then get a shitty cover design?


Think: Will this cover catch the eye in an Amazon thumbnail?




4.) Title Your Book To Win


DON'T STOP NOW, YOU'RE KILLING ME!


was a great psychology text on the sado-masochistic tangoes human dance in their dealings with one another.


Come up with a title that will bring the roving eye of a browser to a stop.




5.) Launch Your Book Like A Three Stage Missile


Thinking short term and rushing your book to market prevents you from coordinating a good launch.


 Velocity is crucial when your book hits the market,


so you have to concentrate your sales push to the first week because this helps you get hit bestsellers lists


(not just the New York Times but on Amazon and Goodreads), which drives even more attention.


Just hitting #1 even for a moment on Amazon or Goodread allows you to put a banner on your cover


with the #1 marketing bestseller designation, giving your book even more social momentum.




6.) Create a Mythos For Yourself


Learn from the Texas Rangers. 


They encouraged tales to be told of them. 


The outlaws' perception of them was often the edge that kept them alive.


Build your brand.


Your bio and your Amazon page are like business cards.


 Brand yourself, reinvent yourself, whatever. Just don't waste the opportunity.


You will be shocked at how often these self-descriptions


are borrowed and repeated in the media until they become true.




7.) Price Yourself IN Their Reach


Remember as a struggling author discovery is your big hurdle.


 An eternity in obscurity is the fate for most authors.


Why should people give you their cash?


Why should they give you their time?


It's crucial that your pricing makes your book accessible, especially early on.


Do not discourage people from taking a chance on you.

I HOPE THIS HELPS YOUR NEXT BOOK SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE

or

LIKE THE XANADU!

DON'T FORGET TO VISIT

HEATHER!

http://www.heathermccorkle.com/2016/02/special-tour-guest-roland-yeomans.html

HEY! HAVE I GOT SOME NEWS FOR YOU!

 http://www.heathermccorkle.com/2016/02/special-tour-guest-roland-yeomans.html

Friends.

None of us make it through this world without them.  

They are the only true wealth we have in this world and the only treasure we can hope to find in the next.

“Words are easy, like the wind;
 Faithful friends are hard to find.”
 - William Shakespeare

Ah, I think he said that ... and if he didn't, he should have!

Heather McCorkle

has kindly let me sneak into her blog and take over for a time.

Don't let her visitor count plummet because she did me this favor.  

C'mon over there.

It will be a time of shared laughter and inside jokes about the perils of self-publishing and keeping sane at the same time!

It will be fun.  Trust me. 

Isn't that what Nixon said? 

Ah, pretend you didn't read that last sentence!  

Join the fun:
http://www.heathermccorkle.com/2016/02/special-tour-guest-roland-yeomans.html

WEP_VALENTINE'S DAY_LOVE AMONG THE RUINS_518 words

https://denisecovey.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/wepff-challenge-valentinesday-a-letter-my-flashfiction/

Love does not exist in a vacuum.  

The mortals who house it in their hearts find themselves in an imperfect world.

When the beloved acts according to her nature in ugliness, what do you do?

Excerpt from THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD to be out in paperback this March.

 {General Sherman is talking to his officers in a commandeered Atlanta mansion on the Eve of his March of Infernos through Georgia}

Sherman shrugged, “If we are condemned later, we will claim that the men got carried away.  If we are praised, we will keep the glory for ourselves. There is a class of people, men, women and children, who must be killed or banished before we can hope for peace and order.”

Faint clapping grew louder and louder.  I went chill.  Meilori slowly formed by the general, standing by his side, courtesy of her strange sciences.  The general started, lost for words not just by her sudden materialization but by her eerie appearance.

I have called Meilori beautiful, and those of you who have read that word think you know what it means.  “Beautiful” evokes paintings of the masters in your mind and perhaps some face of an attractive woman from your past.  

Meilori was of another time, another realm.  To see her was to believe in the stuff of magic, perhaps even to catch glimpses of fallen angels in the distance, to hear lost faes’ sad laments in the twilight.  

 To see her face would break your heart with longing and yet heal that heart at the self-same time.  And from that moment on, your heart would beat twice as strong as before.

What does love look like?  What is its color?  A white flash of fright.  A billowing wave of warmth, its reach beyond the microscope and further than the length of hope.  Is it a jewel sparkling in the night?  Or a whisper murmuring within the corridors of the heart?

Love is not a shy beast to be caught but a rare moment to be treasured.  It burns within each cell, a living seed of hope …its rays invisible to most, seen only by the searching heart. 

        

Even Sherman, calloused soul that he was, was struck dumb for a moment which Meilori captured as was her nature.

“You would make war on children?  How utterly noble of you.”

“Madame, this is war.”

“And you, sir, are a war criminal!”

Sherman gestured to his stunned officers.  Meilori gestured as well … but with more grace and to infinitely more deadly effect.  Ningyo’s were masters of all things fluid, and Meilori was their empress.   

The suddenly blue-faced officers clutched their chests and reeled like sacks of flour to the carpet with hardly a sound. 

To those she considered heartless, Meilori often forced all their blood into their hearts at once.  And then, they were heartless in truth.  She turned to me.  

 I merely sighed.  Her nature was her nature.  I did not cut pie wedges out of those for whom I cared.  I accepted all of them. 

Sherman hissed, “What kind of damn marriage do you two have?”

 

“The kind that will last, General.  It’s all about intention.  Meilori and I mean to see our marriage works.  It's about not losing yourself in each other. Being together, two pillars holding up the house and the roof, and being different, not having to agree on everything, learning how to deal with not agreeing. Everything's a choice."

I tugged on the brim of my Stetson and said, “I choose Meilori.”

***

I write with tunes in my head.  This tune was there when I wrote of the Xanadu, the 1st Air/Steamship rising to the skies to face a battle in the clouds.