Jumping off the Amazon Train

October 29, 2017 by Nicole Leave a Comment

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but given the gorgeous image above, and the new tab on the menu on the top of this site (Book Store) you might be able to guess why *grin*

Over two months ago I made the decision to create my own store on my site. Why? Because as Amazon grows, the greater its rules and control over its shelves grows. Which is fine, but something I no longer want to be a part of. When I decided to be an indie author, I didn’t do it with the intention to be inexplicably tied to the ever growing Amazon empire.

At heart, I’m just a scrappy little kiwi, who wants a space of her own in this world 😉

I am still selling my books via Draft2Digital, who distribute them to Apple/Kobo/Nook and a bunch of other small platforms, but as none of those platforms are attempting to narrow my business options, I’ll happily keep my books on them. With my new store, I have the best of both worlds, as well as the security if I do decide to remove them from those stores too.

Part of this new “life” will soon include a second, and a third new tab in my menu. One for my jewellery store, and one for a Reader/Writer geek chic sort of store, if I can sort out suppliers. I love the idea of a wee store with bits and pieces that I know you guys will love (cause I know I love them!).

So plenty of side projects going on at the moment, along with nearing the final round of formatting for the new look paperbacks which I can’t wait to see in real life – actual hardbacks too for those that want them!!

Now, back to the ever growing drawing board!

Take care

I’m BACK! Finally ;p

September 14, 2017 by Nicole 5 Comments

Hi everyone!

Yes, it’s been a while and I have been very, very busy, but finally life is beginning to slow down again—and I really appreciate it. As I mentioned on my books’ Facebook page (if you follow that) I had my biggest month for work last month. It was reporting season, and if any of you know Finance you’ll understand that there is a heap of reporting going on in August, so that was a new challenge and I really enjoyed it.

Now I am getting back into everything, trying to balance my life a bit more, and exploring some new ideas. I decided to start learning how to wire wrap jewellery, as a way to de-stress in the evenings. I’m one of those people who can’t just sit still and watch TV, it drives me nuts. I have to be doing something with my hands. For a while there it was literally just folding plastic bags into neat little triangles, that a friend showed me how to do. I find as a convenient way to carry plastic bags when I walk the dog, to clean up her mess. Not surprisingly, that got a bit boring. Then I saw on Pinterest some really lovely jewellery, that mixed wire and crystals and looked fairly simple. I had to give it a shot.

It isn’t quite as simple as I thought, but that’s okay. It’s a really good challenge, and its creative, and you can produce something in a fairly short amount of time. I like the ability to be able to create something beautiful while watching an hour show. Unlike writing a novel, which takes a little bit longer… But as I say that, I am here testing out my dictaphone recorder, so that I can train my Dragon that bit further. Yes, I am still working on training my Dragon. Procrastination and all that. Have any of you worked on training your dragon, or do any of you use Dragon? It’s a great product, and I’m seeing the improvements every time I make myself sit down and work, it’s just that sitting down and working part that’s hard. The part you have to do, that I’ve only realised is so vitally important, is reading your own work to it, and at the end editing the work using Dragon: only using Dragon. You have to use all the VoiceCommands, and you have to wait while Dragon thinks it through, and makes the notes, and my God I end up wanting to throw my laptop out of the window. That said, I’ve gone from 8 to 6 edits per page to about one. Which is a decent difference. If I can pace myself, and force myself to do this, I can see this being a logical way to genuinely get somewhere with my writing. Which is great, given that I have got nowhere so far this year other than editing book one of the trilogy again, so that I can release it into paperback. And below is the beautiful cover spread, of the way it will look. But more on that in another blog post.

I hope you’re all well, I hope you are getting through the hurricane season, and the earthquakes, and floods safely. If you have read any fantastic books lately, do let me know, and I will be trying to get back into regular blog posts. Forcing myself to do this dictation thing. Training my Dragon… ;p

Have a great week everyone, Nic

Email servers and culling the “Cold” subscribers

June 2, 2017 by Nicole Leave a Comment

Last year I made the decision to switch from Mail Chimp to ConvertKit. I’d hit that point where I would have to start paying for Mail Chimp, but I found myself unimpressed with the convoluted methods required to do anything on it.

Then, via Mark Dawson and Nick Stephenson’s blogs/podcasts, I came across ConvertKit.

From the moment you take your first tour of ConvertKit you can instantly see it was created by a blogger, for bloggers.

It is SO damn intuitive.

It’s also kinda pricy… which is what made me hesitate until the very last moment. Currently my subscriber count is 3850+ which puts me in the 3 to 5 thousand range and costs (NZD) $115.00 a month. But the beautiful sequences, and forms, and dead easy broadcasts make it SO worth it!

At the moment I’m enjoying culling emails.

This may strike some of you as odd, until you consider that each subscriber who ignores my emails is costing me. So ConvertKit has a wonderful option for you to easily view subscribers who haven’t given your emails any attention for the last 90 days.

Ninety days is the perfect amount of time to get a clear idea of who is, and who isn’t interested in your mail outs.

I utilise this by sending out an email at the start of each month to those on the list, asking if they want to get emails from me. The message is simple and straightforward:

Hi there,

I want to make sure that I’m only sending emails to my readers who are getting a lot of value from them. So I’m removing everyone who isn’t engaged from my list. My stats show that you fall into that category… Is that true?

If so, no action is required. You’ll get removed sometime next week.

But if you’re freaking out right now, thinking “Wait! I love your emails!” Then just click the link below to stay on my list.

Don’t delete me!

Have a great day 🙂

Nic

Then I wait patiently for a week before deleting all those who haven’t clicked the offered link. Just like that I clear out my list, making way for valued readers.

The one concern writer buddies of mine have is: are you just losing more and more each month?

Well, it’s been several months and I can happily say the number of cold subscribers is steadily reducing. Here are the numbers.

March 2017 = 528

April 2017 = 470

May 2017 = 457

June 2017 = 338

As you can see, the numbers are dwindling away. And by doing this I am creating a tighter, more responsive email list, which at the end of the day is FAR more valuable than simply masses of email addresses for people who aren’t interested.

Have a great weekend!

Working towards a new look

May 23, 2017 by Nicole Leave a Comment

I’m very excited to be able to show you all my brand new map of Gar’nyse! This beautiful map (based on my hand-drawn sketch) will feature in the new look paperbacks, and in the next update of the ebooks. You can also find it on its own special page on this site, under the books tab.

The spruced up version was created by Robert Altbauer, a talented individual whose site I stumbled across a couple of years ago (been waiting for the free dosh to afford this *lol*). If, like me, you appreciate a beautiful map you should zip over to Robert’s site www.fantasy-map.net , or his DeviantART page www.sapiento.deviantart.com to peruse his stunning collections.

Back to the drawing board! Those paperbacks won’t format themselves (*wistfulsigh* dreams are free…)

Have a great week

Slowing down in the Writing Rat Race

May 2, 2017 by Nicole 3 Comments

Life, if you haven’t seen the updates on my social media pages, has been a bit chaotic for me since the end of December. I made the decision to apply for a role that was a major change from my front-desk reception role. Given that my entire work experience revolves around customer service, and admin work, this was an abrupt change in direction. But only if you view my “normal” work. Instead, the focus became almost solely on my novel writing. My “hobby” is what synched me this new role. Every novelist dreams that their writing will bring them the big bucks to continue writing. This new role has done so, in a manner of speaking. The bucks aren’t huge compared to coasting the bestseller lists, but they are stable, AND, most importantly, the role is entirely about writing. Just non-fiction instead of fiction *grin*.

Finally, for the first time in my life, I have a job I love. A job I utterly yearned for from the moment of its hinted inception (receptionists listen – always remember that!). But it is taking up more of the most precious commodity we all have.

Time.

I’m not one to write well under anxiety, and the application process took close to two months. Plus the constant voices in my head, swinging from assertively positive, to pragmatically negative, meant that inspiration for novel writing completely evaded me. And that in turn has made me rethink my writing.

I love to write. I love creating worlds and characters that take me away to foreign worlds/times.

I DON’T love feeling as if anything I do is never enough. I really don’t like feeling that I’m part of an intense never-ending marathon run at a sprint. It’s just not sustainable.

I had intended to write and release the Bound by Blood trilogy this year. Now, however, I’m adjusting that goal. I have every intention to write and release Pandora’s Curse, book one of the Bound by Blood trilogy. But the other two books, well they may take me a couple of years.

And that’s okay.

Sometimes, when you get so involved in a Community that seems to have such a tunnel vision of an end goal (bestseller list, bestseller list, bestseller list), you forget what your original goal was.

To write.

To enjoy writing.

Promised Land – The Kickstarter Success is available NOW!

February 16, 2017 by Nicole 6 Comments

Quite a while ago now a Facebook friend (and real life one, when we happen to bump into each other *lol*) started a Kickstarter project. A project with a difference. Chaz Harris and Adam Reynolds wrote a children’s book, with two male leads who fall in love. It also includes a Queen named Elena (popular name *grin*) who happens to be pretty darn awesome with a sword. With this story in mind, and the Kickstarter project growing rapidly, Chris and Adam were able to begin work on the book. Now, that project is complete, and the end result is bloody stunning. Below is the media release, giving a little more background, and of course links! I’ve already bought my e-copy, I’m just waiting for payday so I can go grab a physical copy 🙂 Go grab your e-copy today, let’s encourage diversity!

NEW CHILDREN’S FAIRYTALE ‘PROMISED LAND’ PROVES LOVE IS LOVE

Authors Encourage LGBTQ Acceptance With Illustrated Children’s Book

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 14 February 2017 ~ Wellington-based authors Adam Reynolds & Chaz Harris have released their first children’s book Promised Land after a crowdfunding campaign that gained global media attention last April.

In Promised Land, a young Prince and a farm boy meet in the forest and a growing friendship between them blossoms into love. However, when the Queen re-marries, her sinister new husband seeks control of the enchanted forest and the land the farm boy’s family are responsible for protecting.

In a Kingdom where all are considered equal, regardless of what they look like or who they love, Promised Land is a new fairytale about friendship, responsibility, adventure and love. Written by Adam Reynolds & Chaz Harris, the book features 32 stunning illustrations by Christine Luiten & Bo Moore which are sure to delight kids young and old.

When asked what motivated him to work on the project, co-author Adam Reynolds said, “I wanted to create the kind of story I wish I’d had growing up, one where the sexuality of the characters was not the defining focus, or a reason for any conflict.”

On the importance of positive media portrayals of LGBTQ characters, co-author Chaz Harris replied, “If you don’t see yourself in stories, you don’t see yourself in the world. I grew up without any stories to show me that ‘happily ever after’ could even exist if I was gay. That makes coming to terms with your sexuality a very isolating and traumatic experience for many young people. With everything happening in the world right now, we need to change the message of fear and intolerance towards anyone who is different.”

In addition to the handling of its gay lead characters, the book has also attracted praise for being about an interracial relationship and subverting the traditional gender roles of female characters.

The eBook version of Promised Land is available on Amazon and iBooks in English, Spanish, Spanish for Latin America and Brazilian Portuguese, with further languages to follow. The authors have also released eBooks and an Audiobook on their online store. The audiobook is narrated by award-winning actress Geraldine Brophy and features a vibrant soundtrack from award-winning composer Tane Upjohn-Beatson.

More information and copies of the book can be found at www.promisedlandstore.com

As you can see, the artwork in the book is utterly breathtaking, this is a book that you NEED a hard-copy of too, to truly appreciate it. I can see this book taking the charts by storm, and I’m so excited about that. Go check-out the book site Promised Land have a look for yourself and please SHARE this post everywhere! We need books with diversity, and the only way we get them is by encouraging people to create them. By sharing, and showing others that these sorts of books are SO sought after, we’ll encourage more of it! After-all, my trilogy started because I got sick of all the damsels/damaged women in fantasy worlds. Create the world you want to see, share the love by making it public, and change the world.

Have a fantastic week!