Tag Archives: #bookpromotion

Riley – still chasing my pre-order target

Posted on September 25, 2022 | Leave a comment

And so began several hours of poses, standing, sitting, solo, and together. After nearly three hours, Riley needed a moment or two to herself. Without a word, she wandered down to the water’s edge, stopping just out of reach of the gentle waves that were lapping ashore. Her toe caught something, and she bent down to investigate what it was. It was a small perfectly formed conch shell with stunning mother of pearl markings. Carefully, she rinsed it off in the shallows then slipped it into her jacket pocket, a souvenir of the day.

“Perfect,” declared Neil, appearing beside her. “Totally relaxed shots. Thank you, beautiful lady.”

“Sneaky,” laughed Riley. “I never knew you were there.”

“That’s the whole idea,” replied the photographer. “Your band are being herded back onto the bus, by the way.”

“Thanks. Guess I better say goodbye to the ocean.”

“Well, you’re taking a little piece home in your pocket,” observed Neil, referencing the shell. “If you’ve sand in your pocket, you’re never far from the shore.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Once back on the bus, Riley sat up at the back on her own. She sifted through her large soft leather hobo bag until she found her lyrics journal, curled her feet up under her and began to scribble furiously. Every now and then she put her hand in her pocket and ran her fingers over the shell. Inspiration had struck when Neil said about taking a little piece of the beach home in her pocket.

Pre-order using the links below to ensure Riley is ready and waiting on your kindle on 18 Nov 2022

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9SWP6K3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B9SWP6K3/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_S6SCJ8PPM7NPDDHPNR8P

** note- this tale makes reference to self-harm**

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Want to hook up with a hot rock star this weekend?

Posted on September 23, 2022 | Leave a comment

His inbox was crammed full of unread mails – most of which were advertising junk. Before this infuriated him further, he tweaked his junk mail filters, then returned to his inbox. There was one email from Maddy that caught his attention. The subject heading was “Silver Lake album and merchandising artwork.” He opened the message, scanning the details about a band meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss the attachments. Jake opened the first of four attachments to reveal the three draft designs for the album cover, each significantly different. Instantly his eyes were drawn to the distinctive signature on the drawings. He opened the other three attachments and found a variety of other designs tagged as t-shirt proposals and miscellaneous. One proposed album design caught his eye – a dragon, with its wings spread out nestled inside an intricate Celtic knot. The twist of its tail reminded him of the Celtic trinity that was in the band’s logo. When had Lori found time to complete this portfolio? Why hadn’t she told him? Suddenly, he desperately wanted to talk to her, but it was four o’clock in the morning. Smiling for the first time since Monday, Jake reached for his phone and turned it on. A barrage of text alerts pinged through – he ignored them for now. Quickly he typed, “Love the designs. Love the Celtic dragon knot. Love you. J x”. He hit send.

(extract from Stronger Within, book 1 in the Silver Lake series)

If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today

Amazon.com links –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSQHG71

Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

Long Shadows – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RR1FGLG

Amazon.co.uk links  –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XSQHG71

Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

Long Shadows – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RR1FGLG

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Riley….have you pre-ordered your copy yet?

Posted on September 16, 2022 | Leave a comment

Around her the bedroom was lit by half a dozen candles, their shadows dancing on the walls. A delicate vanilla fragrance filled the room. The gothic palace lay silent. It was almost midnight. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the large four-poster bed, Riley sat staring down at the CD in her hands. Her CD. Her debut album that was due to be released worldwide on the stroke of midnight.

A box of CDs had been delivered that morning with a note from the record company saying simply, “Autograph these in time for the launch party on February 29th.” She’d signed her way through two silver Sharpie markers before all the CD inserts were autographed. At Garrett’s suggestion, she’d practiced her autograph on a few sheets of paper before deciding how she wanted to sign it. Initially it had been fun sitting at Garrett’s huge rosewood dining table signing the insert for each disc but after the first fifty or so the novelty swiftly wore off. Two hours later she had finished the chore. All of the discs had been signed -all bar one. The one she held in her trembling hands.

Pre-order using the links below to ensure Riley is ready and waiting on your kindle on 18 Nov 2022

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9SWP6K3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B9SWP6K3/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_S6SCJ8PPM7NPDDHPNR8P

** note- this tale makes reference to self-harm**

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Life’s busy….it’s all about Riley

Posted on August 31, 2022 | Leave a comment

There nearly wasn’t a blog post this week…. a certain diminutive green haired teenager has been taking up all my spare time. Yes, you guessed it- Riley!

Some of you might have noticed that I shared my pre-order links for the e-book edition of Riley a couple of weeks ago but I’ll let you in on a secret…. Riley still looks pretty much like the picture above. Yes…I’m still typing furiously to get it all done. There’s about 3000 words still to be typed so not too much.

I’m also in the thick of proofreading and editing. My wonderful Infamous Five have been reading and giving me their feedback for the past few weeks. I seriously couldn’t do it without the love and support of those guys. Things are on track though so all is well…so far.

I put the feelers out this week to some book bloggers to see if they would be interested in receiving an eARC copy mid-October and reviewing Riley for their own blogs/websites. So far so good on that front too. If you are a book blogger and are interested in reviewing Riley then please drop me a message in the comments below.

There is one aspect of this tale that I do want to be transparent about right from the start. This book differs slightly from my previous book babies. I’ve included a scene of self-harm. There is also a smattering of social media bullying woven into the tale. (Trying not give any spoilers here) I wholly appreciate that these are sensitive topics and could put some readers off but I didn’t want to hide them and accidentally cause anyone distress. That is not my intention here.

I hope once you get your copy of Riley safely downloaded to your kindle or the Amazon courier delivers your paperback copy that you fall in love with this young lady as much as I have. Sometimes as an author you create a character that steals a piece of your heart. Riley is one of those…well to me anyway. I’ll let you make your own minds up in due course.

I’ve set myself the realistic target of 25 ebook pre-orders. Sorry to those who prefer a physical copy, there’s no pre-order available. So far as I type this, I’m at 7. So, if you’d like to pre-order, the links are below.

I’ll love you and leave you here for now. Work to be done to ensure Riley looks like the photo below by 18 November 2022!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9SWP6K3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B9SWP6K3/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_S6SCJ8PPM7NPDDHPNR8P

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Michelle A. Bailey’s Black Friday Romance Book Fair… step inside and check it out

Posted on November 28, 2021 | Leave a comment

Want to show your support for Indie Authors? Yes? Then check out the books listed in Michelle’s Book Fair using the link below

https://michelle-a-bailey.com/bookfair

There’s romance novels in all genres of romance to choose from and you might spot a familiar name in there too 🙂

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Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?

Posted on January 23, 2021 | Leave a comment

🎉🎉 25 pre-orders placed. 🎉🎉
Let’s see if I can reach 30 pre-orders by launch day…….😉

Here’s the pre-order links – just in case you feel the urge

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RR1FGLG

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RR1FGLG

**Long Shadows will be released on 14 February 2021 **

And if you’ve missed the start of the series, don’t panic. Here’s the links to help you catch up

Amazon.com links –
Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXDSC1M
Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0GS30K
Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSQHG71
Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

Amazon.co.uk links –
Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VXDSC1M
Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C0GS30K
Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XSQHG71
Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

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Have you seen the Silver Lake dragon?…

Posted on July 16, 2020 | Leave a comment

blue dragon 3

His inbox was crammed full of unread mails – most of which were advertising junk. Before this infuriated him further, he tweaked his junk mail filters, then returned to his inbox. There was one email from Maddy that caught his attention. The subject heading was “Silver Lake album and merchandising artwork.” He opened the message, scanning the details about a band meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss the attachments. Jake opened the first of four attachments to reveal the three draft designs for the album cover, each significantly different. Instantly his eyes were drawn to the distinctive signature on the drawings. He opened the other three attachments and found a variety of other designs tagged as t-shirt proposals and miscellaneous. One proposed album design caught his eye – a dragon, with its wings spread out nestled inside an intricate Celtic knot. The twist of its tail reminded him of the Celtic trinity that was in the band’s logo. When had Lori found time to complete this portfolio? Why hadn’t she told him? Suddenly, he desperately wanted to talk to her, but it was four o’clock in the morning. Smiling for the first time since Monday, Jake reached for his phone and turned it on. A barrage of text alerts pinged through – he ignored them for now. Quickly he typed, “Love the designs. Love the Celtic dragon knot. Love you. J x”. He hit send.

 

(extract from Stronger Within, book 1 in the Silver Lake series)

 

If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today

 

Amazon.com links –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSQHG71

Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

 

 

Amazon.co.uk links  –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XSQHG71

Shattered Hearts – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

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Introducing Shattered Hearts…..it’s launch day

Posted on December 6, 2019 | 1 comment

Well, today is the day.

After months of writing, typing, spellchecking, proofreading and editing Book Baby 5 aka Shattered Hearts has finally been published.

If you’d told me a five years ago that I’d be publishing my first never mind my fifth novel I’d have told you that you were mad. This truly is a dream come true.

Writing the story is the easy bit. Pulling it all together is the hard bit and marketing it is the impossible bit! As ever, I couldn’t do this without the help of some wonderful people, my Infamous Five and my Cavalry. (You know who you are.) Thank you will never be enough for you guys.

Right, without further ado and before I get over emotional, allow me to introduce you to my fifth Book Baby, Shattered Hearts.

red broken heart

red broken heart on wooden background – dark and moody

 

Happy reading!

 

Amazon.com link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

Amazon.co.uk link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZY8ZSDM

 

You can drop into the all day launch event on my FB author page via the link below

https://www.facebook.com/coralmccallumauthor/

 

 

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Indie Author Seeking Shelf Space

Posted on January 22, 2019 | Leave a comment

bookstore3.jpg

 

As an indie author there are many “hats” you need to wear to get your “book babies” out into the world.

Over the past four years I’ve been through a steep learning curve in relation to getting my books babies written, typed, edited, formatted, cover designs created (Photoshop is evil), published, launched and subsequently marketed on a shoestring budget.

The marketing aspect is probably the toughest challenge an indie author faces.

Actually writing the book in the first place is the fun part!

Since KDP and other self-publishing platforms made books so relatively simple to self-publish the market has been flooded. There were circa 2 000 000 books published in 2017 alone. Competition is tough, VERY tough!

A quote from a Forbes.com article from 2013 sums up the challenges succinctly: “Here’s the problem with self-publishing: no one cares about your book. That’s it in a nutshell. There are somewhere between 600 000 and 1 000 000 books published every year in the US alone, depending on which stats you believe. Many of those – perhaps as many as half or even more- are self-published. On average they sell less than 250 copies each. Your book won’t stand out. Hillary Clinton’s will. Yours won’t.”

Harsh but honest words.

I’ve said many times if you’re writing a book to make money then you’re in for a hell of a shock!

To date, I’ve been extremely fortunate that no one has said my book babies are ugly, they’ve each earned 5* reviews and I’ve received a Royalties payment every month, even if it is only for pennies.

The majority that have been sold have been e-books but each of my book babies is also available as a “real” book too.

E-book marketing can be done through social media. “Real” book marketing, actually gaining shelf space, is far tougher. I’d love to see my books  on the shelves in bookstores but getting shelf space as an indie author is nigh on impossible. I managed it once with Stronger Within for a whole six copies. A major accomplishment that I remain very proud of.

img-20150804-wa0001

For me personally though I’d love to see my Silver Lake series on sale in the book stores in and around the town where the stories are set. That small town is somewhere I am passionate about. A lot of the feedback that I’ve received has been that folk want to visit Rehoboth Beach, De. (It’s not a big place but in my own quiet way from over 3000 miles away I’ve introduced my readers to this jewel on the Delaware Riviera.)

On more than one occasion, I’ve approached a “local” bookstore in an effort to open discussions about the possibility of them putting a few copies on their shelves. My polite approaches have been met with silence.

So I reverted to advertising on social media and added pages and groups linked to the locale to my list. I don’t over advertise on these- one post every few weeks on these “local” pages at most. To an “outsider” looking in on the group/page descriptions they look to be about promoting things linked to the area, including books, events, places etc about the area so the Silver Lake books meet the criteria….. or so I thought until recently. One well- meant post met with a brief but sharp barrage of complaints that I was routing shoppers to Amazon instead of local stores and was detracting from the town. I quickly deleted the post as that most definitely was not my intent. The comments stung. If local businesses supported indie authors, regardless of where they reside, who are writing about their town then local folks wouldn’t have to shop online….. marketing lesson #700….. I won’t be engaging with that group again.

Maybe Forbes.com was right “no one cares about your book.”

However, authors, including indie-authors, are storytellers at heart and, for as long as they have a story to share, they will find a way to publish or self-publish their work. I know I will.

As for marketing, well despite having been kicked back down that learning curve, I’ve picked myself up, dusted myself off and will start all over again.

Can I interest you in a book?……..

 

Amazon.com links –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSQHG71

 

Ellen – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYHKR44

  

 Amazon.co.uk links  –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XSQHG71

 

Ellen – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FYHKR44

 

 

 

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Ask Me Anything….. some unanswered questions

Posted on May 15, 2018 | Leave a comment

08-01-Ask-Me-Anything

One of the things as an indie author that you have to develop is a thick skin for accepting feedback.  I have been incredibly fortunate to date that the feedback and reviews I have received for my book babies have been kind., very kind. No one has said my book babies are ugly!

Another thing that you have to be prepared to do when writing and promoting is to bare your soul…eek!

Promoting and marketing can be a costly business and my creative efforts are done on a shoestring budget so I am always looking for “free” ways to promote my books.

A few months ago I stumbled upon www.AMAfeed.com (AMA standing for Ask Me Anything)

Was I brave enough to risk it?

Yes!

So, a little apprehensively I’ll admit, I created my profile-

https://authorsama.amafeed.com/user/34486

Then I created my first AMA-

https://authorsama.amafeed.com/authorama-i-am-an-indie-author-and-have-self-published-three-rock-star-romance-471964

It ran smoothly enough and I wasn’t asked anything too revealing or controversial so I risked a second AMA-

https://authorsama.amafeed.com/authorsama-ask-me-anything-or-perhaps-answer-me-anything-about-how-best-to-490104

Again, this ran smoothly and was well supported.

So, in the run up to thinking about promoting Book Baby 4 and conscious that the summer holiday season is almost upon us, I ran a third hoping to generate some sales for the first three books in the Silver Lake series.

https://authorsama.amafeed.com/authorsama-ask-me-anything-about-the-silver-lake-series-of-rock-star-romance-501163

Again, it all ran painlessly and there were some really great questions posed.

Then along came a wee frustration….. I saw from the email alerts on my phone earlier today that there were new questions waiting to be answered. A short while ago I sat down to answer them……the AMA had ended and I was unable to submit the answers.

Me being me, I felt guilty that I hadn’t displayed courtesy to these followers and answered their question. So, in the interests of fairness, I’ll answer them here:

Did you know that you would one day become a writer?

No for many years it was a dream. Ever since I was little girl I’ve loved writing stories and the dream was always to see my name on the cover of a book one day. I seriously thought that that thought would remain a dream until three years ago when Stronger Within, the first book in the Silver Lake series, was published. Dreams do come true.

I’ve always written but I think now, three books in, I can finally believe I’m an indie author.

 How many hours did you work as a freelance copywriter to establish yourself and earn good money?

I didn’t and I don’t.  My “real job” is working for a bank. My writing is done in my own free time and at present isn’t earning me anywhere near enough to consider cutting back the hours I the day job. If you’re hoping to earn good money from writing you need to sell a heck of a lot of books daily!

How do you manage all of your personal and business activities?

A lot of plate spinning and juggling! I work full time, I am married with a family and have a home to run and I have a life to live! I guess it’s very careful time management, a lot of multi-tasking and self-discipline and precious little time wasted watching TV!

I try to get the balance right but you’d need to ask my family and friends to get a valid answer!

As a business coach, what is your best piece of advice for an entrepreneur that is struggling?

Don’t lose heart.

A close friend posted a quote on their Facebook newsfeed a long time ago that I’ve always tried to bear in mind, especially when the motivation is flagging a bit – “dreams get you started; discipline keeps you going.”

What’s the most romantic scene that you have written so far?

Love this question!

Ok- SPOILER ALERT– if you’ve not read Stronger Within this will potentially tarnish your enjoyment of it. You have been warned!

By romantic I’m thinking romance (hearts and flowers) not sex scenes.  Probably the hottest one of those is in Impossible Depth, book two in the series, and I’ll let you find it yourself! 😉

To answer the question though, I have a real soft spot for the scene at the end of Stronger Within where Jake proposes to Lori. Setting the scene at the school Christmas dance, adding a light covering of snow, some fairy lights and a slow dance just added to the romance of it all. No need for sex….just true love. Read the books though and judge for yourself.

 

Well, that’s the last unanswered question answered and my conscience is clear….unless do you want to Ask Me Anything?

 

 

 

and in the interests of book promotion, here’s the links to those:

Amazon.com links –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XSQHG71

 

Amazon.co.uk links  –

Stronger Within – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VXDSC1M

Impossible Depths – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C0GS30K

Bonded Souls – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XSQHG71 

 

(image sourced via Google- credits to the owner0

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