Join #MFRWAuthor @KimHeadlee at NRCC Comic-Con and Preorder THE BUSINESS OF WRITING!

The final personal appearance for me this month will occur at the New River Community College Comic-Con, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday 10/29/16 in Dublin, Virginia. 

I will be presenting my Business of Writing workshop in addition to signing & selling my books.
I hope to see you there! 

Preorder The Business of Writing:
Practical Insights for Independent, Hybrid,
and Traditionally Published Authors
by Kim Iverson Headlee today!

Now I interrupt this regularly scheduled installment of Raging Sea to bring you the following very special announcement:

The Business of Writing is available for

preorder on Kindle!

Description:

Have you written a book but don’t know how to go about getting it published?

Have you published a book but need advice distributing it to more sales channels?

Are you hunting for more ways to improve your bottom line?

The Business of Writing: Practical Insights for Independent, Hybrid, and Traditionally Published Authors is aimed at everyone wishing to start—or jump-start—their writing careers.

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, discover the answers to such questions as:

• Do I really need to incorporate, what “flavor” of company should I set up, and how do I take the plunge?
• How do I manage my writing expenses and taxes?
• What is an ISBN, where do I get one, and how many will I need?
• What is an imprint and how do I establish one for my books?
• What decisions must I face in the prepublication phase?
• Do I need to register my book’s copyright and how do I accomplish it? What about using other copyrighted materials?
• How on earth do I condense my 100K-word book to a 300-word description, let alone a 20-word tagline?
• How do I select the best keywords for my book?
• What makes for a great cover and how can I get one?
• What do I need to know about book formatting—print as well as digital?
• How can I turn my book into an audiobook?
• How do I develop and refine my author brand?
• How can I land invitations to speak at conferences and conventions?
• I use several pseudonymns. How do I manage them all?
• What’s an ARC? A media kit? A book trailer? A blog tour?
• Do I really need to start a blog? Send out a newsletter? Dive into social media? Give away my books?
• How do I price my book? Should I pick one price or vary it? Where are the best places to advertise my sale events?
• How much is all of this going to cost me??

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the publication and promotion process, let award-winning, critically acclaimed author Kim Iverson Headlee give you the practical wisdom you need to stay on task and perhaps even come out ahead.

Preorder The Business of Writing today!

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2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
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Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

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To enter, click HERE.

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Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing by @KimHeadlee: Book Reviews #MFRWOrg #ASMSG

ANNOUNCEMENT: I am >< that close to getting my Business of Writing book coded and uploaded to e-tailer channels such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

I'll be sharing its cover and preorder information in a future blog post. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this article about requesting and responding to book reviews.

Review meme (c)2015 by Kim Headlee.
Sunset photo (c)2008 by Alexstar, Dreamstime ID 10088688.

The importance of book reviews.
If you have even one title in a retail catalog, then more than likely you have noticed the fluctuation in sales in response to receiving a new review. Instinctively we authors know that reviews are important, but longtime author Gail Z Martin offers an interesting perspective about why in her guest blog post on No Wasted Ink.


Reacting to reviews.
The first review I ever got, for the first edition of Dawnflight in 1999, the reviewer sent me a copy via email. I think I must have stared at the subject line for at least an hour, terrified to open it! But I'm glad I did, for it was a glowing one.

Since then my books have received dozens of reviews, falling at all points across the starry spectrum, and for numerous reasons.

You know how to handle the 5- and 4-star reviews, right? Since chances are I'm old enough to be your mom, I will do my "Mom Thing" and make sure you know: be gracious and humble. And then tweet/pin/share the bejezus out of them! :D

I've found 3-star reviews of my books to be a mixed bag of anything from ripping my book a new one to containing far more praise than the star rating would seem to indicate. Sometimes I find tweetable tidbits in these reviews, and sometimes not. Either way, I read them and then go about my day.

But how should one react to the 2- and 1-star wonders?

Indie Author News gives an excellent list of tips in 10 Ways for Authors to Respond to Bad Reviews. Don't have time to click the link? I will give you my #1 tip, which is their #2: Never interact with reviewers in a public forum regardless of the review's content or star rating. Ever. Period.

The only exception to this is to post a "thank you," even in response to a low-star-rating review if it contains constructive criticism that you find useful for improving your work. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Tip #8 from the Indie Author News list is Don't rush to your favorite social media site to rant. You would be well advised to take that one to heart too. Whenever I see that behavior by an author online, it ensures that I will never download, even for free, anything from that author. Ever. Period.

Writing reviews of other authors' books.
An excellent blog post about writing reviews for Amazon, especially given their propensity to weed out "fake" reviews, may be viewed on A Word With Traci blog.

As a professional reviewer—and by that I mean that I have been paid cash for my content by the review site, never directly by publishers or authors—I take a dim view of "review swapping." This along with the ethically challenged practice of purchasing reviews have done more to undermine the value of reviews than coercing your family and friends to leave good reviews ever will.

Requesting reviews.
Done correctly, this can be a tedious and time-consuming process. I used to employ an assistant to work on this project for a few hours per month. I started her with the Indie Reviewers List maintained by The Indie View e-zine and identified the genres wherein each of my books fits. She conducted the querying, submitting, and follow up. The guidelines I gave her, which will work for you too:

1. Pay attention to what the blogger prefers to read. Don't waste his/her time—or yours—by submitting your book anyway, unless the blogger specifically states that exceptions are made for exceptional works. When in doubt...
2. Read a few posted reviews, especially the negative ones. You may decide that you don't like the reviewer's style, and that could save you and the blogger some time.
3. Follow the reviewer's stated submission guidelines to the letter. If s/he does not want your book's file right away, for God's sake do not send it. That's the fastest way of getting it dumped—and potentially getting yourself labeled as an Author Who Does Not Read. This goes double for responding to sites that state they are closed to submissions.
4. If the site is open to submissions but no guidelines exist, write a brief but courteous email giving your book's title, genre(s), and tagline, which ideally describes your book in twenty words or fewer. Don't waste his/her time (or yours) by including a twenty-page synopsis, a ten-page author bio, and your manuscript in its entirety.

When following up with potential reviewers after you have submitted your book:

1. Heed their stated follow-up policies to the letter. If s/he specifies "do not contact us" and you go ahead and contact them anyway, then you run the risk of being labeled as an Author Who Does Not Read.
2. Add at least one month to any stated follow-up period, if follow-ups are permitted.
3. If no follow-up guidelines or review-posting turnaround times are stated, and the site has not posted a "do not contact" policy, wait at least three months before following up with the blogger. Reviewer-bloggers are busy people too, and they do not need to be hounded by anyone.

Less tedious and time-consuming is the blog tour. In a properly coordinated tour, potential reviewers might be incentivized to participate via the chance to win a gift card in a bloggers-only giveaway, but they are not compensated financially for writing the review itself, because they are never under any obligation to write it. To protect authors, the usual stipulation is that if they dislike the book and cannot rate it more than two stars, the tour coordinator asks that the review not be posted until after the tour is over.

Of course "less tedious and time-consuming" equals greater cost, but all of my books have benefited from being featured in blog tours, and I feel that they are marketing dollars well spent.

*** Another announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

Coastal Erosion by Rachelle Paige (@rpaigebooks) and #RomanticTravel to Jekyll Island, Georgia

With Hurricane Matthew still fresh in my memory because my daughter elected to weather the storm in Myrtle Beach, SC to care for her disabled roommate, Coastal Erosion by new-to-The-Maze author Rachelle Paige is a timely spotlight for the final installment of the #RomanticTravel excerpt exchange.

Book 2 in Rachelle Paige's Golden Shores series, Coastal Erosion, takes place on Georgia's Golden Isles—and I hope those residents didn't suffer too much coastal erosion and other damage from the hurricane either. I haven't visited Jekyll Island in half a century (to compete in a swim meet as a child), and Rachelle offers a much fresher perspective!

In Rachelle's words:

I love Georgia’s Golden Isles, the setting for this book series. Jekyll Island is an especially romantic place with beautiful stretches of sandy beach begging for a lover’s stroll, bike paths galore perfect for bicycles built for two, and lodging at the Jekyll Island Club built by the millionaires of the Victorian Era.

Coastal Erosion
by Rachelle Paige
Genre: Contemporary romance

Synopsis:
Civil engineer Kim Meyers has built a solid career on establishing order in the midst of construction chaos. Living off the coast of Georgia as a Midwest transplant, she’s made a life for herself amidst the waves, tourists, and palm trees of the Golden Isles. Keeping her focus on her work and her community, she hasn’t had time to stop and consider how much she’s already lost. Until her former flame, Landon Beau IV, swoops in and snatches up her next project.

Excerpt:

Clack clack clack, the head council member’s gavel slapped against the folding table bringing order back to the room. The hum of murmured conversations shared between the locals dimmed. Planning commissions meetings had grown into increasingly crowded affairs as development of St. Simons Island exploded.

Suddenly, a familiar set of aqua eyes caught her attention.

What on earth was he doing here?

A spark electrified her, shooting down her back and through her limbs. No one could instantly make her crackle with awareness like Landon Beau could. For some reason the sizzle had lasted for more than ten years.

Kim didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or scream or cry.

But today she couldn’t let him distract her from her mission. She understood what she had to do. She needed to help the Society of Coastal Living, aka SCL, to save the stretch of land on the north end of the island near her grandmother’s house. She wouldn’t rest until the island had no more room for development.

Control. Order. Efficiency.

She had to stay focused.

The council member cleared his throat to address the crowded room. “We will be moving forward with LB Holdings, granting a preliminary rezoning permit for a subdivision. They have proposed a development that meets all the necessary specifications and requirements, and this committee feels will be a benefit to the island.”

Her chest seized as the words reached her. She had failed. An even worse, she’d let down her Grandma Rose.

Her vision blurred. She didn’t see the council members conclude the meeting or her fellow volunteers from the SCL get up and leave. The scrape of metal folding chairs being dragged against the floor echoed in her ears drowning out all other sounds.

LB Holdings would be tearing apart the land just down the street from Grandma Rose. Her quality of life would be destroyed. The rumble of trucks and crash of machinery would become a constant soundtrack for the next year on Grandma Rose’s wraparound porch, blocking out the sounds of the marsh. And the reward at the end would be a congested nightmare to get to and from her grandmother’s home. How could she have let her best friend down?

Why hadn’t she pushed harder? Why hadn’t she gone door to door to get support? Why hadn’t she done more?

Questions and regrets circled in her mind, keeping her gaze hazy and unfocused until a warm palm on her shoulder suddenly made her flinch. She jerked her hands up to a defensive position, palms out in front of her face, and then froze.

Standing before her, he was impossibly handsome with his chiseled features and sandy blonde hair styled without a strand out of place. His piercing blue eyes locked onto hers. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Her gaze drifted to his lips, transfixed by the easy smile that made his mouth off-center.

Buy links: Kindle US ~


About the Author:
Rachelle stumbled into the world of romance novels in college; as a way to help speed up reading through Art History textbooks. After years in the professional world writing dry grant proposals and auction descriptions, she started writing the contemporary romance stories she wanted to read. Setting her books in some of her favorite destinations was her inspired way to require plenty of research trips every year with her family.

Follow Rachelle via: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon |

*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

Join #MFRWAuthor @KimHeadlee at @RisingStarCon plus read Ch 14/sc 3c of RAGING SEA

October is a busy month for me. On Friday evening 10/21/16 and all day Saturday 10/22/16, I will be signing my books at the…

Rising Star 25 Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention,
Othello Harris-Jefferson Student Center, Bluefield State College,
219 Rock St, Bluefield, West Virginia.

I'll have copies of my books available for purchase, and I am scheduled to be on two panels in addition to presenting my Business of Writing workshop. Convention hours are 6 – 11 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. Saturday. I hope to see you there!

And because tomorrow is Saturday and I'll be up to my eyeballs in con goings on, here is yet another installment of Raging Sea for your enjoyment.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings

 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1a |  Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 3c

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

Arthur dispatched a soldier to find the Comitissa Britanniam and ordered the rest of First Ala to dismount and lead their horses to the staging area’s picket lines while he wheeled Macsen about to join his family’s litter.

The cavalry troop obeyed but hadn’t advanced more than a few paces when Alayna appeared, mounted, from through the gate and cantered straight up to the Pendragon.

“What is he doing here?” Angusel had never heard his mother sound so furious, and the pit in his gut confirmed that he was the “he” she had meant. He kept his gaze trained forward as he clenched Stonn’s reins, though mindful not to drag on them and hurt his horse’s mouth. The heat in his cheeks and the sweat trickling down his back he could do nothing about. “What gives you the right to violate Caledonach customs with such blatant disregard?” she demanded in Caledonaiche.

Arthur gave her a long, cool appraisal. “My soldiers are here upon my orders,” he answered her, with an improved Caledonaiche accent. “All of them. If you have a quarrel, it is with me and no one else. We can settle this quarrel, you and me, in the nearest combat ring and to the death, if that is your wish.”

“My wish! You don’t give a bloody damn about what I wish. I’ll wager you don’t even know what I wish!”

“That you had never underestimated me at Abar-Gleann?”

Angusel heard the undercurrent of humor in the Pendragon’s voice and pursed his lips to contain the urge to smirk.

*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

#RomanticTravel to Quebec and spotlight on Rogue's Hostage by Linda McLaughlin (@LyndiLamont)

Today please put your hands together for longtime Maze contributor Linda McLaughlin, who offers her thoughts about traveling to Quebec and whose novel Rogue's Hostage features 1750s Quebec.

In Linda's words:

Quebec church - Depositphotos ID 55886955

Quebec is one of the most romantic cities in North America, seeming more European than North American. It’s also one of the settings I used in my French & Indian War-set historical romance, Rogue’s Hostage. When I was writing the book, my husband and I took a vacation to Quebec Province so I could do some research. We started in Montreal, where I managed to figure out how to navigate the Metro using my college French.

After a few days exploring Montreal, we took the train to Quebec, and I fell in love with the charming old city, though I had to keep reminding myself that the setting in my book was the previous city, the one that was destroyed by the British shelling. I was particularly interested in visiting Notre Dame des Victoires, the small church in Lower Town which was destroyed in the shelling, but later rebuilt in the same style. In the book, Mara seeks comfort inside this lovely little church.

Since I wanted to stay in the old part of the city, I booked us a room at Chateau Frontenac, the venerable Canadian Railway hotel. Picturesque setting, but we were pretty sure they gave us the smallest room in the place! Instead of a view looking out toward the river, our window looked down onto an alley. Ah, well, we didn't spend much time in the room anyway. We were far more interested in wandering the winding streets, taking pictures of the old houses and the fort and battlefield.

On the last day we took a boat ride on the St. Lawrence for spectacular views of the city and countryside. What a beautiful area! I'd love to go back some day.

Rogue's Hostage
by Linda McLaughlin
Genre: Historical romance

Synopsis:
His hostage...  
In 1758 the Pennsylvania frontier is wild, primitive and dangerous, where safety often lies at the end of a gun. Mara Dupré's life crumbles when a French and Indian war party attacks her cabin, kills her husband, and takes her captive. Marching through the wilderness strengthens her resolve to flee, but she doesn't count on her captor teaching her the meaning of courage and the tempting call of desire.

Her destiny...

French lieutenant Jacques Corbeau's desire for his captive threatens what little honor he has left.  But when Mara desperately offers herself to him in exchange for her freedom, he finds the strength to refuse and reclaims his lost self-respect. As the shadows of his past catch up to him, Jacques realizes that Mara, despite the odds, is the one true key to reclaiming his soul and banishing his past misdeeds forever.


Excerpt:

Quebec, Canada, April 1759

The journey was almost over.

Eyes narrowed against the glare off the water, Jacques stared at the approaching skyline of Quebec as the bateau rushed downriver. Perched on the north side of the Saint Lawrence River, the city’s walls and fortifications guarded the way into the interior of New France. Though the British had tried twice, the city had never fallen. But Jacques knew that sooner or later they would try again.

He glanced at Mara, who sat beside him, huddled in her shawl, shivering slightly. When he put an arm around her and pulled her closer, she burrowed against him. Guilt and regret stirred inside him. She was the reason he had requested a transfer back to Quebec. Since leaving Fort Duquesne, she had been a different woman—quiet, submissive, and obedient.

To his surprise, he missed her sharp tongue and pointed opinions. All through the long Canadian winter, he had watched and waited for her to revert to her normal self, but it was as if she were a different woman. On occasion, Jacques had been tempted to bait her, but his guilt kept him from doing so. Her state of mind was his fault, after all.

In the last four months, she had followed him over a route seen by few white men, much less a woman. Together they had traveled by bateau, canoe, sled, and snowshoe. Mara had witnessed the mighty power of Niagara Falls, traversed Lake Ontario, and braved the Lachine Rapids—all without complaining. But also without any sense of wonder or enthusiasm for the places she’d seen, just a wistful remark about how much Emile would have liked to see the falls.

It had been an arduous journey, and now she deserved some comfort.

A raw wind off the river threw pellets of rain in his face, and he pulled up the woolen muffler Mara had knitted for him. That was all she had done at Niagara, her needles clicking incessantly until he had thought he would go mad. But something about the rhythmic nature of the task seemed to comfort her, so he’d said nothing.

Another blast of wind reminded him of how long and severe Canadian winters could be. In this northern country, rivers and lakes froze over completely. There was a wild beauty in it that he used to find exhilarating. Until an equally impervious chill took up residence around his heart.

The bateau docked at the part of the city called Lower Town, below the cliffs of Cap Diamant. Above them towered the ramparts guarding the government and church buildings that comprised Upper Town. Jacques helped Mara onto the dock and led her down a street lined with warehouses and taverns. He stopped in front of a sign picturing a leering devil with a forked tail.

“Le Diable? What are we doing here?” she asked, a surprised look on her face.“This is home, madame. Welcome to my humble establishment.”


Buy links: Kindle US ~ B&N ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ Goodreads ~ ARe ~


About the Author:
Linda McLaughlin grew up with a love of books and history, so it's only natural she prefers writing historical romance. She loves transporting her readers into the past where her characters learn that, in the journey of life, love is the sweetest reward. Linda also writes steamy to erotic romance under the name Lyndi Lamont, and is one half of the writing team of Lyn O'Farrell.

Follow Linda via: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @LyndiLamont |

*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing by @KimHeadlee: Promoting Your Books Online and #giveaway!

Woman behind veil
(c)2008 Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes
Dreamstime ID 4932489

Last week on The Maze I introduced the concept of the Promotion Plan for authors of all stripes in the publishing spectrum.

Online promotion is an entire topic in and of itself that I have chosen to address with you this week.

I selected the "Woman behind veil" image for today's post because for many authors, online promotion is a lot like this young lady: we peep out from behind our veils just long enough to interact a little bit with our audiences now and then.

Here are some ways to lower the veil even further:

Blogging. When I first took the plunge to actively expand my social network, everyone said I needed to start a blog. Which I did. And it got very few views, something on the order of maybe a couple dozen a day. To be honest, that was a couple dozen more than I was expecting, since I had (foolishly, I admit) neglected the "care and feeding" of my readership and could host my entire fan base in my living room. To increase blog reach, I took the following steps:

• I joined Facebook and, eventually, Twitter and now share blog posts to those platforms on a regular basis. Some aspects of social media still send me screaming off into the night, but I have embraced its usefulness in spreading the word about my books.
• I set up automatic cross-posting of my blog to my author profiles on About.me, Goodreads, and Amazon, and posts get automatically shared to my Google+ profile by Blogger.
• I started scheduling promo posts for other authors in exchange for their posting of my book spotlights on their blogs.
• I engaged the services of auto-tweeting and auto-retweeting apps, both of which have long since been squashed by the TwitRNazis, but these were instrumental in boosting my Twitter following up over the 5K mark last year. Now I'm over 18K and growing daily, thanks to judicious tweeting and retweeting via Hootsuite. I recently upgraded to its pro version to take advantage of its bulk message scheduling feature.
• I started scheduling virtual book tours, which have spread the word even farther into the blogosphere. Whenever possible, I visit the promo pages and thank the bloggers for hosting (and sometimes reviewing) my books, and I answer other visitors' questions too.
• I began posting a version of my monthly newsletter, The Dawnflier. BTW, if you would like to receive the lovely MailChimp edition, please CLICK HERE, thanks! :)
• I set up contests (usually via Rafflecopter) in conjunction with my blog tours, and I run a monthly contest on my blog (please scroll down for details).
• I joined Triberr (a post-sharing service for bloggers, of which the free service is just fine for my needs) and became a member of 50+ tribes there. Now my potential Twitter reach is over 22M thanks to the sharing of posts by my 1K+ tribemates. This has been the single biggest factor in jumping my blog's page views, the all-time number of which is displayed in the right sidebar (500K+ as of this writing).

Other potentially useful post-sharing software that I haven't used yet includes Roundteam and Tweet Jukebox. If you have used either of these services, or any others, please let me know what you think of them!

And of course there are other social media platforms I haven't mentioned, mainly because I don't keep a presence on them, or I use them strictly for professional rather than promotional reasons (e.g., LinkedIn). I do recommend that you claim your name on those platforms, however, in case you change your mind and decide to participate at a future date.

Content. Whether it's a blog, a Pinterest board, or profiles on Facebook or Twitter or some other platform, when I visit another author's page, I am instantly turned off when the content is exclusively about his or her own books. Think about it, people: it's like tuning to a shopping channel! At least, that's how I imagine it would be like if I actually ever did tune to a shopping channel. :D

Posting news about your books is essential for spreading the word, but balancing that content with other items will keep your readers coming back for more. I achieve balance by:

• Scheduling spotlights of my friends' books on my blog.
• Participating as a book tour host.
• Cross-posting my Pinterest pins to my Twitter account and, on occasion, to my personal Facebook profile.
• Sharing an excerpt each week--along with a writing tip or other non-writing introduction--from my current work-in-progress, Raging Sea.
• Posting an article about the business issues related to writing each week, of which this post is an example.
• Occasionally posting an article on my blog about a non-writing or non-book topic that interests me, such as this post about my having met one of the last living Pearl Harbor survivors in 2014.
• Using my Facebook personal profile mainly to interact with my family and friends. Here I post fun slice-of-life snippets, humor, and links to non-writing articles I enjoy, and I hope others do too!
• Automatically cross-posting my Facebook posts to Twitter. If I want the Facebook post to look as if it originated on Twitter, I keep it less than 140 characters and don't include a link. 
• Using my Facebook fan pages to post research-related articles, as well as updates about my books.
• Sharing other authors' Facebook posts about their books.
• Visiting the Twitter profile of each person who follows me every day. I will perhaps retweet a thing or three, and I follow back as many accounts as possible within the bounds of my conscience. If you discover that I have blocked your account, it means that I found your content utterly objectionable. Among the accounts that I don't block but don't follow back are those that advertise selling followers, those whose content is mildly objectionable and/or is not provided in English, and those wherein the profile and/or cover pics look stalker-y.
  
  BTW, if you're one of these authors out on an ego trip to amass what appears to be a huge fan base by following me, and then unfollowing within a nanosecond of my following you, be aware that I check my Crowdfire numbers daily and will unfollow you. I respectfully advise that you instead get your ego stroking from your book sales and reviews.
• Scheduling my book-related tweets no more frequently than once an hour. If you ever happen to see more frequency than that from me, it's because I'm doing a one-time tweet of a blog tour page or something along those lines.
• Scheduling the sharing of other bloggers' posts that appear in my Triberr stream every day.

What are you doing to achieve balance in your online promotion, and how is it working for you?

*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!

Join #MFRWAuthor @KimHeadlee at the @ctfaire plus read Ch 14/Sc 3b of RAGING SEA #amwriting

It's been years since I've attended a renaissance fair, and on Sunday 10/16/2016 I will be signing my books at the...

Connecticut Renaissance Faire,
290 Washington Ave, North Haven, CT.
Faire hours: 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Author signing: 1 – 3 p.m.

I'll have copies of most of my books available for purchase, and I plan to perform a dramatic reading—in costume—from King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court. I hope to see you there!

And because today is Saturday and I love y'all so much, here is the next installment in Raging Sea.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings

 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1a |  Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 3b

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

Angusel straightened in the saddle, submerging his resentment. Whatever might happen, he would comport himself as one of Arthur’s soldiers, stoic and reserved.

That plan worked just fine, in fact, until the troop got to within hailing distance of Senaudon’s gate tower.

His mother chanced to be standing on the battlements, talking with the guard captain. As Centurion Cato identified the troop, Alayna’s face looked progressively more displeased. She still had to resent the Breatanach occupation force—swelled tenfold once again by the presence of the troops being staged for action against the Angalaranaich—but it seemed to Angusel that her scowl darkened even further when she made eye contact with him.

Angusel squared his shoulders and shifted his gaze to look straight ahead as he’d been drilled countless times to do, thankful for the military protocol to mask the wound within his heart.

*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:

1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.
Please enter often, and good luck!