Pros and Cons of Giving Books out for Reviews

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about another marketing tool, giving out copies of your book in exchange for reviews. Although I've never done this myself, I have been given a few books in exchange for an honest review. It's good to drum up reviews when you need them, as many promotion sites won't advertise your book unless you have a certain number of reviews. 

Pros. 

More reviews. 

This is the obvious one. The more reviews your book has the better it looks to prospective readers. Not all of those reviews have to be positive either, having a few different reviews shows that it's not just your friends and family rating it. 

Advertising. 

You can use these reviews to advertise your book. As I said earlier, a few promotion sites won't even look at you without a specific number of reviews. Some even ask for 25+ with an average of 3.5 stars. Giving your book out can help you get some of those reviews. 

Getting a range of opinions.

Your book will look more professional to new readers when it has more reviews. Some readers buy books based on reviews alone, so having a range of them can help you. 

Extract of a review from entering the Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Cons. 

You may not be able to afford it. 

Especially giving out paperback copies. Ebooks are easier to give out than paperback, as you can just email it straight to the reviewer. With paperback you have to purchase an author copy and mail it to the reviewer all out of your own pocket. 

There's a chance you won't get a review. 

Despite giving the book out, the person may never read it. If they do, there's a chance they won't review it. Then you've given a book away for free and received nothing in return. 

Not all the reviews will be good. 

Asking people to give an honest review means what it says on the tin, honest. If they don't really read books in your genre or don't like of they are required to say so. Be prepared to get some reviews that not are glowing five stars. 

People who love freebies are more likely to be receiving books than regular readers. 

People who only seek free books are more likely to approach you for a free copy in exchange for a review. Just be careful as these people usually receive books in bulk and rate them lower due to the tiniest things. 

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped those who are considering giving books out for reviews. See you next week! 

Paperback Books for Indie Authors

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about indie authors printing paperback books. Is it necessary? Does it boost sales? 

I chose to print in paperback as I wanted to be able to hold my work in my hands, my years of hard work contained in one book. I also did it for my Grandfather, as he was desperate to read my book and show it off to his friends but doesn't have a Kindle.

First off, is it necessary? 

Short answer, no. You can publish a book without paperback and purely stick to ebook. Some authors choose to do this, some don't. 

Does it boost sales? 

I've found that although ebook pulls slightly ahead, a chunk of my sales are paperback. Some people, like my colleagues, prefer holding a book in their hands rather than reading it on a screen. Most of these sales have been friends and family, while readers I don't know tend to lean towards the ebook version. 

Do I need a separate cover for paperback? 

When I had Blood and Water designed, it was originally just ebook. Then a few months before publication I added it as paperback. You can still use the same cover, but you will have to go back to the designer to get the back matter and spine designed. For a paperback cover you will need the following information:

• Trim Size. 

• Page count (including front matter and back matter). 

• Interior colour. 

Mishka hijacking my paperback photo

Are paperbacks better for book signings? 

Although I haven't held a book signing yet, I can imagine that readers would prefer to get the physical copy of the book signed. 

Do I need to bulk buy a certain amount of copies?

I'm not sure about other publishing methods but with Amazon they use print on demand. That means they only print what's needed instead of printing off a certain number and making you buy them to resell.

Traditional authors have them, shouldn't indies too? 

Again, it's up to the author. Most traditional publishers will publish ebook and paperback, but I have noticed a few in the past just doing ebook for their debut authors. Only the author themselves can decide whether they want to do paperback. 

Is it worth it?

In my eyes, yes. I can reach a broader audience and it always makes me smile when I see a physical copy of Blood and Water and now, Venom and Earth. I am keeping a paperback copy of each of my books to put on my bookshelf. 

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

Pros and Cons of a Book Trailer

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about book trailers. A book trailer is kind of like a film trailer, except it showcases a book or a series of books. I don't have a book trailer myself, but I have looked into getting one. However, then I heard about how other authors got on with book trailers. 

Pros. 

Not many authors have them. 

There aren't many trailers around for books, so having one done could make you stand out. It can also drive more traffic to your YouTube channel if you post it there. 

It can get more clicks. 

Facebook especially favours video ads over picture ones. A video is more likely to catch someone's attention. Your video ad will get shown to potential readers more than picture ads. 

You can get more post reactions. 

Whether it be likes and shares on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, you can get more attention with a book trailer. If other people like or share it, it broadens your reach to new customers that might not have known your work before. 

It can drum up excitement.

Posting a book trailer for a new release can get readers excited. They may also share the trailer with their friends and family.

Cons. 

They don't convert. 

Although you might get more attention from a video ad, the likelihood of someone buying your book is a lot lower. A video catches people's attention, but it doesn't turn them into readers. 

It's costly. 

Unless you're good with making trailers already you will have to hire someone to do it for you. This can be an unnecessary extra cost, especially if you want the entire thing to be an animated scene or extract from the book. It may be better spent elsewhere. 

There's not a lot you can do with it. 

Apart from using it on YouTube, social media and Facebook ads, there's not really much else you can do with it. You can't easily show it at book events or signings, it would just be for advertising. 

It's better to just get your cover animated. 

An animated cover can be used for more than ads, you can post it all over your social media with links to your book or quotes. This is more likely to get sales than a trailer. 

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

Why Authors Need a Media Kit

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about something important that some authors may never have heard of. I'd never even heard of it until a few months ago when there was a Twitter thread about it, and I decided to create one myself.

I'm talking about an author media kit.

First off, what is a media kit?

A media kit is a collection of documents that you can send off when inquiring about interviews, TV appearances and other things. This can also be downloaded from your website directly if anyone happens to stumble across you.

What an author media kit contains:

- Bio.

- Author headshot.

- Website link.

- Social media links.

- Book info.

- Book blurb.

- Book cover.

- Book links.

- Extract from a review (by a reader).

- Mock interview questions and answers.

- Any awards you've won.

- Contact details.

I'm still putting mine together (and figuring out how to upload it to my website) but I've managed to do quite a bit already as you can see from the screenshot below:

Now onto the big question, why do authors need one?

It keeps everything in one place and organised.

Having it available in one document or a folder makes it easy for you to find and send to anyone you want. It also saves searching and time for anyone who would like to get hold of you.

It makes it easier for people to contact you.

If they want to invite you for some sort of interview or appearance then they can download everything they need in one place. They can then contact you easily instead of trawling to find what they need on your website or social media.

You can easily update it.

Once you have the template for one done, you can copy it over for another book. You can also just go in there and alter anything that is out of date.

It filters out spam.

Anyone can contact you through your website contact form, but only those that are really interested in getting to know you and invite you into things will download your media kit first. Then you can see who actually did their research and who didn't.

You can easily send it off.

Instead of having to write long emails to fight for a spot on radio or in a newspaper, you can attach your media kit and write an introductory email. It saves a lot of time.

In conclusion, a media kit is a necessity for any author, regardless of how you publish. I made one and it wasn't too difficult, just a bit time consuming. But now I have my template set up so I can just copy it for my other books.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week!

Entering my First Book Award

Hi all!

In November I entered Blood and Water in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and I thought I'd share how it got on!

The Wishing Shelf Book Awards is an award run by Billy Bob Buttons, a children's author. For each category a group of the target audience reads the books and rates them. I entered the teenage category, so my book was read by my target audience.

A few weeks ago the finalists were announced, but unfortunately I didn't get through. I did however get wonderful feedback from those who read my book and a four star review!

There was a surprise among my feedback, Blood and Water won a Red Ribbon Award! This means that although my book didn't get over 30/40 to be a finalist, (it got exactly 30/40), it was enjoyed very much by the readers, who gave it a Red Ribbon! I'm thinking of adding it on the back cover, so it doesn't draw from the front cover.

The Red Ribbon Award I will be adding to my book cover

For my first time entering an award I wasn't expecting to get through, but I'm very happy with the fact that I got an award out of it. I've entered another two different awards, so fingers crossed I'll win something there too!

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed. See you next week!

Venom and Earth Preorder Live

Hi all!

You may have seen my posts on social media this week, but if you haven’t; Elemental Dragons Book 2: Venom and Earth is available for preorder!

I can reveal that the publication date for both ebook and paperback is 14th April 2020.

If you would like to preorder the book I have linked the US and UK versions below, but is available internationally if you aren’t in either of these places:

UK Version

US Version

If you’ve already read the first book and are hungry for more, the sign up to my mailing list! In return you will receive a free enovella with four short stories from the Elemental Dragons universe. The only way to read them is by signing up, as they aren’t available anywhere else!

https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

Thank you to everyone who supported me through publishing Blood and Water, I’m so grateful that I now have the opportunity to publish a second book.

See you next week!

Why It's Okay That Your Partner Doesn't Read Your Writing

Hi all,

There was a thread on Twitter about significant others reading your writing a few weeks ago. The responses were mixed, but it's still bothering me so I wanted to offer my opinion on the situation. Some are saying that your partner absolutely must read all of your work, while others say it isn't necessary.

No, my boyfriend has not read my books.

Does it bother me?

It used to, as I thought that he had to read my work to support my writing career. After all, how could he support me if he had no idea what my writing was like? But now, I don't care.

I'm more into fiction books, whereas my boyfriend doesn't really read them. He prefers news articles and politics, which isn't really my thing. He has attempted to read my book, but hits a block a few chapters in. He says it's good, but he just can't get into it as it's not his genre, which is fine.

A lot of people were saying that your partner should read all of your work. I don't agree with this however, if it's not their thing you can't force them to read through it all. They won't enjoy the experience and will try to avoid reading it. Some people were going to the extreme by saying you should dump partners that don't read your work.

This shouldn't need saying, but don't do this.

There are other ways to support your writing apart from reading it. My boyfriend encourages me to keep writing and celebrates with me whenever I get a good review or feedback. He's also there when people didn't like it, assuring me that their opinion is subjective.

Support doesn't equal reading.

Everyone is different and they will show their support in different ways. Don't shame them for not reading your work. Also, just because you do something for them, doesn't mean they owe you reading a whole book in return. 

Especially don't take relationship advice from people on Twitter who have no idea what your relationship is like. Seriously.

There are other ways to support you instead of reading your writing:

Reviewing your books.

Sharing your book related posts.

Attending writing events with you.

Giving opinions on your cover.

Helping you pick your author photo. (Or taking it, in my case)

Holding your hand while you hit 'send' on a query or 'publish book' on Amazon.

Recommending your book to people.

Buying books for you.

Pushing you to keep going despite setbacks or rejection.

However, if your partner is critiquing unfairly, belittling or humiliating you, that is a different matter. That is not a healthy kind of support.

That's it for this week, see you next week!

Why Aqueous is a Black Dragon

Hi all!

You may have looked at the title to this post and thought: "What? Why does that matter?". But there is a reason why Aqueous, a dragon character from my Elemental Dragons series, has black scales. 

This was a deliberate design choice.

I didn't choose him to have black scales because of Toothless from the 'How to Train Your Dragon' series or because it was my favourite colour.

I chose it because black animals are the least likely to get adopted.

Aqueous - created by Stevcelazarevsk on Fiverr

In animal shelters, black and black and white cats are always the first to be put down. The same goes for dogs too. This is because they aren't seen as 'pretty' enough and their dark fur doesn't show up in pictures as well as animals with different coloured fur. It sickens me that people would choose to disregard an animal because it doesn't show up in their selfies, but unfortunately that's what people are like.

So, I decided that Aqueous would be a black dragon.

Why? So then people might think twice about adopting a black animal.

Rocky is black and white and Mishka is black. But despite how beautiful they are, if they were in a shelter they'd be looked over more.

By making the main character bond with a less 'desirable' dragon, I wanted to highlight the issues that shelters face. In Elemental Dragons, Aqueous is an extremely rare dragon - he's the first black common dragon to have bonded with someone. This makes him special, and throughout the books people make comments about his appearance as they've never seen one like him.

By making Aqueous special I'm hoping that it will encourage people to adopt black animals, so then they can have their own little 'Aqueous'. People need to see that there's nothing wrong with black animals, they just need to get the right lighting when taking pictures of them. This shouldn't be a factor when adopting, but unfortunately with the rise of smart phones and social media this has become more prevalent. So many people have spoken out about this issue and I wanted to incorporate it into my books somehow. 

When I told my boyfriend about this issue, he decided that he wanted to adopt a black cat instead of a tabby one. This is how we ended up with Mishka.

Mishka - as a black cat she would be less likely to get adopted in shelters.

My favourite advocates for this are Cole and Marmalade, who constantly share facts about black cats and gorgeous pictures of their cats. I've linked one of my favourite articles here if you want to check them out.

Do you have a black pet? Feel free to share pictures in the comments!

That's it for this week, I hope that I've educated a few people on this issue. If one person thinks twice about adopting a black cat after reading this, I know I've done something right.

See you next week!

My Writing Toolbox

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about my 'writing toolbox', the resources and websites I use to help me with my writing, editing and publishing. Before I start, I just want to point out that I'm merely discussing these resources, I'm not being sponsored to write about them.

Writing.

Lenovo Laptop.

I write and edit all my books on my laptop, which is currently a Lenovo. Although I now write more often on my phone, I still use it for short stories and editing.

Huawei Phone.

Because I can take this everywhere with me it's what I use to do most of my writing and jot down ideas. I also use it to put all my writing events in my calendar so I can keep track.

Microsoft Word.

All of my books are in Microsoft Word. This is an industry standard for most agents which I why I started using it in the first place. For me it's easy enough to use and it isn't much hassle.

Evernote.

I've downloaded this on my phone and kindle to jot down ideas on the go. Eventually I started using it to write for NaNoWriMo which gave me enough flexibility to write on my lunch break and while on my commute.

Storage.

OneDrive.

All of my books and resources are stored on my OneDrive. It's easy for me to link everything up and I can download it onto my kindle. I have everything separated into neat little folders which keeps everything organised.

Editing.

Findaproofreader.com.

This website was recommended to me by a fellow writer on Twitter. I used it to post an ad asking for an editor for my book and got plenty of replies. I eventually went with my editor, Nicola.

Root-and-branch-editing.com.

This is the website of my editor, Nicola. She's helped me out a lot and cares about my story. I hope to work with her again in the future.

Cover Design.

Derangeddoctordesign.com.

I discovered DDD through another author's blog and booked them right away. I have booked them to do all the covers in the Elemental Dragons series, the two I've got back so far have been gorgeous.

Fiverr.

I've used Fiverr to find someone to write a blurb, create posters for my books and design the cover for the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection. The people I've worked with so far have been lovely and I would love to work with them again!

Cover Animation.

@byMorganWright.

I recently asked Morgan to animate the cover for Blood and Water and the result is gorgeous! I'll be posting them more often on my Twitter.

Formatting.

Reedsy BookEditor.

I found this online tool while looking up ways to format my book. The best part is that it's completely free! The interface is easy to use and it takes no time at all to upload my books.

Website.

SquareSpace.

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, my website is created using SquareSpace. Despite not knowing what I was doing I managed to create my website quite easily, though I'm still learning and adding new features!

Mailing List.

MailerLite.

I use MailerLite to send emails and build my mailing list. I find it quite easy to design emails and create templates, which saves time when sending my newsletter out every month. You can sign up here: 

https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

Animals in my Writing

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about animals in my writing. There are animals in books that I'm currently writing now and also ones in future works I can't wait to write about.

Cats.

If you've read Blood and Water you'll already know about Normie, the Siamese cat that Hazel and Wes adopt. Cats are one of my favourite animals, and I usually include at least one in my books. I started off writing about my cat, Rocky, and his adventures and I'm not planning on keeping them out of my books now. In the Curse of Anubis series, which I have yet to write, the Egyptian goddess Bastet is one of the main characters. She is an Egyptian Mau cat in each book.

Rocky having a rest in the garden

Panthers.

In Celestial Plague one of the characters, Raya, can shift into a panther. The panther is called Damisa and is her inner voice, the other half of her that shares her mind. Of course as a cat lover I thought about making her a cat, but I decided that a panther is much more intimidating and more interesting to write.

Foxes.

As another one of my favourite animals I hope to include a fox in one of my stories. I haven't got any plans for one yet, but hopefully one day! The closest I've gotten to writing about one is a kitsune in a short story I wrote over a year ago.

Snow Leopards.

If you read my blog post about my author logo you'll know that I hope to write about snow leopard one day. The writing group I attend gave us an interesting prompt yesterday which I think I can squeeze a snow leopard into.

Wolves.

This animal will make its debut when I write one of my standalone books, Street Rats. I think wolves are beautiful creatures and I would like to give them the spotlight in one my books at some point.

Dragons.

The big one! My favourite mystical creature of all - dragons. The Elemental Dragons series is full of them and if you love them too I suggest you give Blood and Water a read.

Winter - a character from the Elemental Dragons series

I hope you enjoyed this week's post. I'm thinking of doing a sequel post to this one in the future about the monsters I'm planning on writing about. Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested!

See you next week.