Reviews, reviews, reviews...why are they important?

Tuesdays are usually reserved for a Top Ten list of some sort, but I haven't done one in a while, and I actually tried to make this topic into a top ten list.  I just couldn't do it.

With my next book coming out soon I've been thinking a lot about marketing.  I know a lot of authors don't pay attention to reviews, good or bad.  They don't want to see what people have to say.  They trust their editors and they'd rather keep doing what they do and loving it.  This is a hard business to be in and you definitely have to have thick skin.  I know that not everyone will like what I write, and I'm okay with that because for every person that doesn't there is a person that does.  That brings me to why you should leave a review if you enjoy indie authors or authors from smaller publishers...

1. Because I want you to...pretty simple, right?

2. Leaving a review on Amazon or Barnes & Nobles (or any other site for that matter) helps other readers find our books.

3. For every negative review there could be a positive review.  People are less likely to say the good things but people almost always share their negative thoughts.  Help change that...

4. I like to know what people think.  Other authors do too.

5. Good reviews can bump rankings higher on vendor's sites.

6. We can use reviews to improve.

7. It gives you a chance to express the journey you went through while reading.  You get to be the writer for once.

I almost made it to ten, but not quite.  Hey, I tried!  Leaving a review really does help us and we appreciate it.

The One and Only...Nina Jordan

Hey everyone!  My friend and fellow Rebel, Kate Roth, is dropping by with one of the characters from her debut novel, The Low Notes.  Nina Jordan is going to answer a few questions for us.  Thanks Kate and Nina! 

1.      So Nina, I understand you’re in high school.  What’s that like?  What grade are you in?

I’m a senior, finally free. High school has been okay but I’m definitely ready to spread my wings a little bit.

2.      Is there anything you are looking forward to this year?  Dances?  Football games?

The senior choir concert is the only major thing I’m looking forward to. It’ll be the first time I perform at school. I guess prom is on the list but I’m still not sure about it.

3.      Do you have any cute teachers?  When I was younger all my teachers were older ladies.

Um, yeah I guess. There’s one guy…I mean teacher. He’s sort of good looking.

4.      I understand you have a passion for music.  Tell me about that.  Who are some of your favorites?

Music is my life! I love to sing and play piano. I can play a little guitar too but I’m rusty. I love everything from old standard singers like Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone to Adele and Maroon 5. I can even get down with some 1980’s rock if I’m feeling fun.

5.      Is your family supportive of your love of music?

Sure, I think. My dad travels for work so he can’t always make it to performances but he’s always been willing to pay for lessons. He bought me the most beautiful piano for my twelfth birthday.

6.      Are you dating anyone?

No. Um, well…it’s complicated. I mean, no. No I’m not.

7.      What are your college plans?  Are you sticking around Wexley Falls?

The Big Apple is calling my name. I’m outta here…leaving it all behind.

8.      What’s the one thing in your wardrobe you can’t live without?

I have a pretty awesome dress collection that I’d be sad to lose. Most are fancy and impractical but I can’t resist a great dress.

9.      What do you think of all of these reality shows?  I know most girls your age are obsessed.

Not really my thing. I haven’t had a lot of time to watch TV lately. I guess I’m a little distracted…with school and all.

10.  Okay, last one.  We’ll make it a fun one.  What’s your go to snack?  The one thing that makes you feel better or just always sounds good.

It’s not so much a snack but I love breakfast foods. Pancakes are my favorite. So yummy!

Thanks again for stopping by!

To find out more about Kate Roth or to find out where to buy The Low Notes go to Kate's website.

Welcome Lila Munro...

I'd like to welcome the talented Lila Munro today.  She's here talking about planning and setting goals.  Something I'm sure we all could use some insight on.  I'm so excited she's stopped by to chat.  

Fail to Plan = Plan to Fail

Good morning everyone! And thank you, Britni, for having me over today. It’s a pleasure to be here. Although I’m not accustomed to hanging around the PG13 world, I do occasionally, and although a bit rusty at it, I’m going to give it a whirl. ;) Actually, it’s kind of nice to be able to write about something other than my genre choice (which is quite naughty) for a few minutes. While I love my genre choice, there’s so much more to writing than what I choose to write. In fact, I used to make it my life’s business to talk about all aspects of writing on my blog, but fell away from blogging so much on my own platform earlier this year as I went out into the world and guest posted more and more. Later this year I plan to make a return to writing on my own blog more and doing as I did before, offering a bit of advice each week to new and aspiring writers. I hope it’s good advice. I don’t consider myself an expert or anyone else for that matter because the market is so fluid and particularly in the e-book world there is never any concrete, tangible proof that any one single thing is the key to the magic kingdom, so to speak. One thing I do know, however, is if you fail to plan, you in essence plan to fail.

You absolutely, positively must have a plan. Without one, you’re the equivalent of a rudderless ship in choppy waters and your compass is broken. A recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

For some, the plan is as simple as they want to write a book and see it published. It’s a bucket list item and this would fulfill their goal. Write one book. See it published. Mission accomplished. Being as I’ve worked both sides of the fence in this industry, I’ve seen many people come and go on just this plan alone. They publish one work, they are happy, all is well in their world. This plan is quite simple. This percentage of writers isn’t concerned with sales, not concerned with marketing. They want one thing and one thing only, to see their name on Amazon. And that’s okay. Every writer has a different goal and therefore their plans will vary, be simpler or more complicated accordingly, but the need to plan still applies. And it’s when the goal becomes more complicated the plan should as well. Where we fail at times is in the actual forming of the plan and subsequent execution.

I’ve been at this a while now and as my definition of what my goal was became refined, so did my plan. I didn’t realize the importance of the plan at first, but once I did, my life as a writer became much easier. The first year, I knew one thing. I wanted published. Past that I had no idea what I wanted from this life. That first year was fairly simple…at least until I hit the six month mark and became discontent and realized my lack of planning was leading to failure. I was naïve in thinking all I wanted was to become published. I wanted more. I wanted fans and readers and more money and name recognition and a different publisher (no Rebel Ink Press wasn’t my first press). I wanted a lot more than I thought I did or had recognized at first. How did I get there? It’s at this point that most people’s sense of survival kicks in and the whole publishing industry becomes a dog eat dog world and things tend to get dirty. This is the point where the will to survive separates the bucket listers from the endurance club. Your goals sort of define where you fit in and who will talk to you and who’s willing to help you.
Year two my goals shifted from I merely wanted published to I wanted it all. While I still had no real sense of how to get there, I knew one thing, name recognition was imperative. Blogging and all the free advertising I could find. That was the plan. It wasn’t defined, it was rough, it wasn’t in writing. Just blog my butt (see  I can write it clean) off and get my cover art anywhere I could find a free or inexpensive slot to house it. Well, this sort of worked. It was at some point during the end of year two I discovered I had again failed to plan, or at least plan properly.

Year three…I planned to succeed. I realized I had to have a defined planned with specific ways of making the plan work. In other words, I had to get down to business and set down goals to paper with the steps I would have to take to get to the end of the rainbow. I needed a clear cut map, a GPS, and a boy scout tagging along for good measure. I had to plan! This fly by the seat of my pants gig wasn’t getting me where I wanted to be, which was another issue in and of itself. I wasn’t totally sure where I wanted to be. You see the cutthroat world of publishing is exhausting at times to say the least and I had discovered there were certain people, places, and things I just simply wanted no part of. So, I sat down and started my resolution to success. It wasn’t the new year officially, but it was my new year. By the way, new writers, this flailing about wondering where you’re going is not unusual. Don’t feel like if you take three years to get it together and define yourself and your goals you’ve failed. You’ve not. You’re just simply taking a while to figure out what you want and how to get there. This is common.

My new plan is on paper and even has a title: 2012 Goals and How to Get There. Yes, I got that anal. I do not under any circumstances want to fail. I want to succeed! The goal: Increase Readership, Increase Name Recognition, Decide What’s Next (as in…am I Big Six shopping?). It’s clear cut, it’s concise. It defines what I want to accomplish. Step one: Commit to blogging at least once a week on my own blog. Step two: Research the pros and cons of what’s next. Step three: Guest blog at a reputable site at least four times a month. Step four: Develop and maintain positive meaningful relationships with positive meaningful people. (This means network—know it and use it!) The list goes on with specific advertising strategies and an advertising budget—where and when, where I want to see a review of my work by year’s end, contests I will enter, etc. It’s on paper and outlined. It’s my business plan.

You see, we’re all running a business. Our writing is our business and we are the vehicle from which it either succeeds or fails. No good business flies by the seat of their pants. They have a clear cut plan. It defines the goal of the company and outlines how to get there.

Are you a bucket lister or a member of the endurance club? If you’re in this for the long haul you must define yourself and your direction, because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Thanks again, Britni, for having me by and letting me chatter away today.
~~Lila Munro

Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Destiny’s Fire, Salvation, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, and the Identity series. She’s a member in good standing of RWA and Passionate Ink. Currently she’s working on sequels to several series to be released throughout 2012. And has a brand new line scheduled for winter 2012-13. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted via her website http://realmanticmoments.blogspot.com Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Lila_MunroPinterest at https://pinterest.com/lilamunro/Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4200524.Lila_Munro  You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com

Thanks again for stopping by Lila!

My interview with the one and only Blake Allee...

I’m really excited for the interview I have for you today.  I have someone here today to talk about music.  I love music and it influences me in a lot of ways.  His name is Blake Allee and I do know him personally, but I can say his music is awesome and mean it.  He is a friend of my boyfriend’s, and I actually used to be his boss when we were about 19.  It’s crazy how far we’ve all come since then.

Blake is incredibly passionate about what he does.  He’s interesting and you can tell he doesn’t care what people think.  I respect that.  I also respect the fact that he does what he does because he loves it.  He does it independently (is everyone sensing a theme lately) and he definitely doesn’t do it for the money (you’ll see why I say that).

I have a special place in my heart for independent artists.  They put themselves out there purely to express themselves.  Whether they be musicians, writers, photographers, painters, or street dancers I think they all deserve to stand in the spotlight at some point.  Why should they be left out?

Without further ado here’s the one and only Blake Allee…

Tell us about yourself…
Hi, my name is Blake Allee, that is my real name and artist name. I
am a musician/artist and super cool dude from Indianapolis. I wear PF
Flyers and like silent horror movies. All I really do is music.

 What genre would you put yourself in?
If I had to pick one it would be Hip Hop since I rap. I just call it music.

 Have you had or do you have a mentor?
Not really, I was self taught how to play, produce, mix, master, and
do artwork on my own. Growing up some of my friends rapped, but more
for fun. I always took it more serious. It takes longer this way,
but you create your own style, not a style based off of ideas from
someone else.

Describe your style…
HHmmm, I am going to go with, Futuristic spoken word in another
dimension. It is not real and it is not fake.

Do you write all your own stuff?
On my last project "My Best Friends Are Machines" I recorded, wrote,
produced, sampled, mixed, mastered and did the artwork for the whole
project. I like to do as much as I can by myself. That way it feels
more like art than manufactured sound.

Do you have a process when it comes to your music? Any quirks
(lucky charms, must haves)?
I like to mix regular Mountain Dew, Code Red, Voltage, and White Out
and drink that when I produce. I like to think it gives me super
powers, it doesn't tho. I also like to produce alone in headphones
when possible.

What other artists influence you?
Anybody with a new vision! Kraftwerk, Bob Dylan, Nas, Ian Curtis, and
Ted Hughes off the top of my head.

Have you always wanted to be a musician?
Pretty much, when I was super little I wanted to be MC Hammer and
Vanilla Ice. I don't care what people say I still like those guys.

I know you've done lots of live performances, and some recently
have been in bigger venues, what's that like?
I love performing in larger venues. If I am the headliner it is
really cool but a lot of pressure to bring a crowd, which is tough in
Indianapolis. Opening up for larger national acts the crowd is much
bigger tho. The crowd is not there to see you, so basically, you have
to impress the hell out of them ha. I have had really great reactions
thus far.

Last but not least...

What do you think about being an indie musician? Is it difficult?
I give my music away free and do not make a ton of money on live
shows. I love that approach, just being like a nomad/renegade. The
major draw back is having to have a real job. Most indie musicians
are not making enough to live on the music. It is as difficult as you
want it to be. Music is really all I think about, ask anyone who
knows me. It can be difficult and frustrating at times, but without
music or art, life would seem somewhat pointless.

Where can people buy your music?
You can buy it on iTunes, Amazon, in Indianapolis record stores.
Do not do that tho, download it free at:
www.blakeallee.com
www.facebook.com/blakeallee
www.youtube.com/blakeallee
www.twitter.com/blakeallee

Thanks to Blake for stopping by!  I had a blast finding out more about him and I hope you all head over to any of his sites and check him out.

And…I think I found my new favorite quote… “It can be difficult and frustrating at times, but without music or art, life would seem somewhat pointless.” –Blake Allee

Fellow Rebel Kate Roth: A Little About The Low Notes

I'm so excited to welcome my best friend and fellow author today.  Her debut release, The Low Notes, is coming up on Thursday.  I hope you all read it. 

First of all thank you so much Britni for having me! 

I couldn’t be happier to share with everyone my labor of love, The Low Notes. It seemed for so long that this story might never be read by anyone but my close friends, but now it’s almost my release day and everyone will get to meet two very important people to me. Kevin and Nina are two characters that will always hold a special place in my heart not only because they are my first to be published but because they have been with me for a very long time. They have been taking over my days and nights for the past few years as I wrote and edited The Low Notes. But long before that they were seedlings of inspiration going back as far as high school.

I’m so thrilled to be sharing Kevin and Nina’s story with the world. Here’s a little about the book.

When a chance meeting between high school teacher Kevin Reed and singer Nina Jordan ignites an instant spark, they must decide if it's more important to follow your heart or follow the rules.

After caring for his dying father, Kevin Reed, returns to his hometown of Wexley Falls, bereaved, unemployed and exhausted at the thought of starting a new life. After a failed blind date, Kevin meets young singer Nina Jordan who takes his breath away with the sound of her voice. The connection is instantaneous and mutual on their first date, but both are crestfallen when they discover days later, to their horror, Nina is Kevin's student at the local high school.

Deciphering between notions of love and lust, fate and coincidence, Kevin and Nina find themselves unable to turn their backs on what they can't deny is a once in a lifetime feeling. Told from both perspectives, The Low Notes explores a love that feels right even though it seems wrong.

Follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/authorkateroth ) and Twitter (@KateRothWrites ) and find out more about me on my blog www.katerothwrites.blogspot.com

Kate Roth's first novel with be available May 17, 2012.  Stop by her blog or here for purchase links.

Thanks again for stopping  by Kate!