P.D. Workman's Blog, page 148

Bookmarked for Death, By Lorna Barrett

Amazon Summary: A New York Times Bestseller — To celebrate her bookstore’s anniversary, Tricia Miles hosts a book signing for bestselling author Zoë Carter. But the event takes a terrible turn when the author is found dead in the washroom. Before long, both police and reporters are demanding the real story. So far, Carter’s obnoxious assistant/niece is the only suspect. With a sheriff who provides more obstacles than answers, Tricia will have to take matters into her own hands — and read between the lines.

 

I listened to this one as an audiobook while running, and unfortunately there are some issues with the recording.  The reader often runs dialogue together, so that you can’t tell where one person finishes speaking and the next one starts.  She doesn’t always use different voices for the different characters, so without enough “Tricia said” markers, you can lose track of who it is that is speaking.

Aside from that, this was a pleasant read.  It is the second book in the “Booktown Mystery” series, and I have not read the first, but may go back and read it  later.

 

Dying to Get Published, By Judy Fitzwater

Amazon summary: INTRODUCING JENNIFER MARSH

What does it take to get a book contract? That’s the lament of every unpublished author–including aspiring murder-mystery novelist Jennifer Marsh.

After submitting eight diligently crafted manuscripts to every prominent publisher in New York, Jennifer has collected enough rejection letters to wallpaper a room. But that doesn’t stop her from concocting one killer of a scheme for her next novel.

And suddenly Jennifer’s lifelong love affair with crime fiction brings her face to face with real-life murder. . . .

 

At the same time as I was listening to “Bookmarked for Death”, I was also reading “Dying to Get Published”.  It was an interesting experience reading two mysteries set around the book publishing industry, at the same time as reading multiple books on publishing and marketing, while I work toward getting my books published.  Led to some very interesting dreams.

“Dying to Get Published” is the first book of a new “Jennifer Marsh” series.  It is an easy read, but I did not find Jennifer Marsh to be a character that I could identify with.  Her decisions were not logical and her motivation fuzzy.  She, and the plot, are a little… beyond belief.  I don’t want to say too much and spoil the plot for anyone.  But be prepared to suspend belief and just enjoy the plot twists.

 

I would classify both books as “Cozy Mysteries”.  Good clean fun.  Easy, fluffy reads.  A welcome change from the Dystopian fiction that I have been reading lately.  I am reading a couple more mysteries, and will post about them soon!

The working title for my first book to be published, “Paranoia”, is not going to work for the published book. Too many other “Paranoia” and “Paranoid” works out there. So I have thought of some alternatives. Please vote for your favorite or suggest another name!

Read the book summary before you vote:

Just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you. A victim of late-onset paranoid schizophrenia, Abe is losing his family as well as his mind. What no one realizes is that he has unwittingly gotten on the wrong side of the mastermind of one of the largest successful jewel heists in history, and he will not rest easily until Abe is dead.

Click here to vote now!

I’ve been reading a lot of materials lately about self-publishing and marketing.  Tell me you’re surprised!  Three outstanding books that have really helped me to get started on the pathway to self-publishing to Kindle.

 

The Self Publishing Toolkit, by Daphne Dangerlove

Summary from Amazon:

Self Publishing, Simplified!

Tired of slogging through multiple books while trying to figure out the best way to publish and promote your book on Amazon?

Help is here.

The Self Publishing Toolkit has everything you need to self publish your ebook on Amazon.

You’ll learn:

- what you must do before you hit publish.

- how to master social media and still have time to write.

- critical pre-publication tasks will help you get your book in front of the right readers.

- practical strategies for selling your books (no complicated or ‘black hat’ strategies here!)

- why an email list is critical to your success and what to with it once you have it.

 

This book was excellent, and comes with a pdf workbook and resource guide. Very detailed instructions on how to set up your website, Twitter accounts, how to market and use your KDP free days, etc. I did a lot of highlighting!

How to Publish a Best Seller on Amazon.com, by Nicolas Black

Summary from Amazon:

This is the ultimate How to book for publishing and launching a successful ebook on Amazon, maximizing your downloads, and generating a consistent income from your ebook. You’ve put all the effort into writing it, now it’s time to see some of the rewards. This book follows, “How to Write a Fiction Novel in 30 Days or Less!” Amazon is the biggest marketplace in the world.

This how to book describes the steps you need to take to maximize your visibility not just on Amazon, but also on Google. Let Amazon and Google work as a team to build velocity behind your books, catapulting your ebook downloads into the best seller lists.

The problem for most people is, they don’t fully understand the KDP program, and all of the wonderful benefits that it offers to publishers and authors. In fact, most people who don’t own a Kindle, don’t understand what the Kindle and other Amazon ebook reading products really offer in terms of the opportunity to writers and publishers of ebooks.

 

This was a great book as well, and after reading it I had to also read another of Nicolas Black’s books:

How to Write a Fiction Novel in 30 days or less

Summary from Amazon:

This is the ultimate How to book for publishing and launching a successful ebook on Amazon, maximizing your downloads, and generating a consistent income from your ebook. You’ve put all the effort into writing it, now it’s time to see some of the rewards. This book follows, “How to Write a Fiction Novel in 30 Days or Less!” Amazon is the biggest marketplace in the world.

This how to book describes the steps you need to take to maximize your visibility not just on Amazon, but also on Google. Let Amazon and Google work as a team to build velocity behind your books, catapulting your ebook downloads into the best seller lists.

The problem for most people is, they don’t fully understand the KDP program, and all of the wonderful benefits that it offers to publishers and authors. In fact, most people who don’t own a Kindle, don’t understand what the Kindle and other Amazon ebook reading products really offer in terms of the opportunity to writers and publishers of ebooks.

 

Why would I want to read this book when I’ve already written a truckload of novels?  And have already figured out that I can easily write a novel in 30 days, thanks to NaNoWriMo?  I found lots of gems of writing advice that I could use, and lots of information on preparing your book for publishing and beginning marketing.  Certainly a worthwhile read.

 

Justine Bywater is a rebellious young skateboarder. She hates her life and her mother, and has just recently lost her best friend in a boarding accident. Justine seeks escape by pretending to be someone else, and by squatting in abandoned houses, fighting recurrent nightmares of abandonment. She is convinced that she doesn’t belong in her family, and eventually runs away, determined to find out what “really happened” to her as a baby. Her journey of self-discovery leads to new acquaintances and experiences, and eventually, to the truth. She meets her father, and Officer Frank Sylvan, who can finally give her the answers she’s looking for.

93,000 words, YA Fiction

Status: Just finished the first draft for July 2013 Camp Nano. It was a challenge to keep up with my word quota while on a family holiday, but I succeeded.  Currently back-filling some scenes, doing some editing, and letting it season a bit.