July 2015 in Review

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Nina Soden

July 2015 in Review

So, I have finally made the decision to really focus on marketing. Yes, as an indie author, I should have been doing this all along, but I didn’t feel like I had the time. However, recently I had the opportunity to talk with Shayla Lee Raquel, of Curiouser Author Network. We talked all bout why marketing is so important for indie authors and what I can do, with the little time I have available, to increase my visibility.

In order to keep myself motivated I have decided to post my monthly progress/stats here, for the world to see.

WRITING

Blog Posts – 6 (I’ll shoot for 7 this month. Since this is my first one in August – I better get to work.)
Fiction Writing – Completed the manuscript for SECTOR C ~ The Hunted, it is now officially in the editing process.

BOOKS

Reading:
- I need to find a new book to read. Anyone have a good suggestion?
Finished:
- by John Berendt
- by James Schannep
- by Colleen Hoover

GOODREADS & AMAZON STATS

FANS / FOLLOWERS

WordPress : 170
Facebook : 298
Twitter : 1,053
Instagram : 50

Quotes from some of my reviews:

“Loved it. Could not put it down. Finished it in 1 day. Gotta get the next book!” – Rockings03 (Amazon.com 5-star review of Awaken)

“The stakes are raised, the action is fierce, and the suspense KILLED ME. I nearly skipped several times just so I knew what happened! But of course I didn’t, because the story was so great. All the time. The romance is sweeter, and the plot twists twistier.” – Amazon Customer (Amazon.com 5-star review of Beginnings)

“The pace of this story was fast and steady throughout this story. Many twists and turns were presented that kept my curiosity piqued and when truths and secrets were revealed, I was simply shocked because I had no idea or inkling that these would occur. That in itself makes this a perfect story/ending for me.” – WisperingWillo (Amazon.com 5-star review of Revenge)

“Think of a recipe that has a dash of Hunger Games, a pinch of Mystic Falls and a splash of Divergent. Then mix it all thoroughly with Nina’s flair of the supernatural and you have a great novel” – Jonas Lee (Amazon.com 5-star review of The Chosen)

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

SECTOR C ~ The Hunted – Book 2 of the SECTOR C Series will be out later this year. It is currently with the editor, but I will post a blurb soon, so be watching.
YA FICTION NEWSLETTER – I have decided to start a Monthly (maybe quarterly – we will see how it goes) newsletter all about young adult fiction. It will include reading suggestions, reviews, author tips, etc. I hope you will sign up and join the mailing list (I WILL NOT SPAM) to check it out. I will also be doing Newsletter Subscriber Giveaways too. Sign up by clicking HERE .

I’ve linked to all of my social media sites throughout this post, so please come help my numbers grow in August!! Friend, Like, Subscribe, and as always please share my posts with your friends. Lastly, thank you to anyone who follows me and especially to those of you who have actually read through this entire post. I know it was long, but I think we all need a little accountability in our life. Putting everything out there, is how I hope to keep myself motivated to do all this marketing stuff everyone keeps telling me I need to do.

Where is Publishing Headed?

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Nina Soden

Ever wonder where publishing is headed in this ever-changing paperback vs. e-book world?

I have to say, as an indie author, John B. Thompson’s article, in the Huffington Post, gave me hope. Sure, things might be getting harder for the publishing houses, but they are also leveling the playing field of book marketing for those of us indie authors. On a day-to-day basis, we are fighting through the weeds, trying to figure out how to get our names out there. We’re attempting to find new and innovative ways to get our books in front of readers.

By the time the publishing houses figure out that they also need to focus more on the online social media platforms, maybe some of us indie authors will have a small advantage. Having worked for years, build our online communities or readers and other authors, we indie authors are developing a strong network. No, I might never be the next Stephen King (Oh but I wish I was), or the next J.K. Rowling (wouldn’t that be amazing), but that doesn’t mean as an indie author I can’t still make my place in the literary world.

[The section below is provided as an excerpt from Thompson’s article. Check out the full article here, written by John B. Thompson on the Huffington Post.]

Today, the publishing business is in turmoil. For 500 years, the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but today the industry finds itself faced with the greatest challenges since Gutenberg.

These challenges are the outcome of two processes. On the one hand, the publishing business has been transformed beyond recognition by a set of profound social and economic changes that have been underway since the 1960s, resulting in the publishing landscape we see around us today: a handful of large corporate publishers based in New York and London and owned by large multimedia conglomerates; an array of powerful agents who have become the unavoidable gateway into publishing for writers and would-be writers; and a retail landscape dominated by a dwindling number of retail chains, mass merchandisers and Amazon.

On the other hand, the technological upheaval associated with the digital revolution is now having a major impact on the book publishing business. After a decade of numerous false dawns, e-books have now arrived and they are here to stay. In 2006, e-book sales amounted to only around 0.1 percent of the overall revenue of large US trade publishers – an accounting irrelevance. Today this figure is around 20 percent, and for some kinds of books, like romance, science fiction and thrillers, the percentage can be 60 percent or more – a huge change in five years. The digital revolution is disrupting many of the traditional practices of the publishing industry, opening up new opportunities and at the same time threatening to dislodge some of the players who have shaped the business of book publishing for half a century or more.

So where is book publishing now headed? Will the traditional print-on-paper book become a relic of a bygone age, a collector’s item to be found only in second-hand bookstores and garage sales, much like the old vinyl LP? Will publishers – and perhaps agents too – be displaced by a flourishing of self-publishing and by powerful online retailers like Amazon who can offer to publish writers’ work on royalty terms that are much more favorable than those traditionally offered by publishing houses?

[The section above is provided as an excerpt. Check out the full article here, written by John B. Thompson on the Huffington Post.]

So, if you’re an author (traditionally published or indie) I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. Leave your comments below and let’s start a conversation on the future of the publishing world.

Social Media Marketing 101

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Nina Soden

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING 101

With 355 social media platforms available (see list here) it can be a little overwhelming for authors to figure out the ins and outs of social media marketing. As an indie author, I find marketing myself and my books to be the hardest part of the process, followed closely by editing. However, marketing is alway one of the most important jobs of an indie author. You can write a great book but if no one knows about it – no one will read it.

Like I said, there are 355 social media platforms out there, today. Tomorrow there may be more. Not all of these platforms are right for authors, but how are new authors supposed to figure out what platforms will work for them? Good question. I wish I had the answer, but I don’t. I’m learning by trial and error. The reason for this post is so that I can share my thoughts and experiences to maybe help you on your journey.

Below I have listed the top social media platforms that I am currently using, or trying to use. You may already be using these sites, but if you’re not and want to start this may just be the place to get your foot in the door with some new ideas.

PLUS… the are all FREE!

Top Social Media Sites all Indie Authors Should Be Using:

FACEBOOK PAGE

With Facebook’s ever-growing popularity, it would be crazy for an indie author not to have either an author page or a book page on Facebook. When I first started my page I decided to do a book page for my Blood Angel Series. I have since changed it to an author page. Why? Well, I published a book that wasn’t part of the Blood Angel Series, and I didn’t want to have to keep up with two pages. No, its not that much extra work, but when you add up all of the marketing an indie author has to do daily/weekly/monthly just to get their name and books out there, one extra Facebook page did seem a bit overwhelming.

My recommendation – DO NOT USE YOUR PERSONAL FACEBOOK PROFILE! Make a page that you control. As an author, I want to keep my personal life separate from my author life. Photos of my kids don’t belong on my author page. When I connect with other authors I don’t need to know what movie they just saw. I want to connect with them on an author-to-author or author-to-reader level and be informed about their coming book releases, writing tips, etc.

Join Facebook groups to reach your niche audience. Engage in group discussions, contribute helpful ideas and comment on posts. Make sure you check out blogs and twitter accounts of other group members and read and comment on their posts. Talk about your books, writing tips, what inspires you, etc. Be a part of the community so that the people in that community want to get to know you and your books. Word of mouth will help build your audience and grow your brand.

TWITTER

With only 140 characters to communicate your message, you must capture your audience quickly. Like they say, readers form their opinion about a book within the first two to three sentences, so Twitter is a great place to develop your writing skills.

According to Twitter, a tweet is “an expression of a moment or idea. It can contain text, photos, and videos. Millions of Tweets are shared in real time, every day.”

This is a place to get to know your readers, meet and share ideas with other writers, and find out what readers within your genre are interested in reading. DO NOT spam the twitter feeds with “buy my book” posts. Make sure you are engaging and share information that people want to read.

Make sure to include appropriate hashtags (no more than three for each post).

GOODREADS

I’m still getting to know Goodreads, but I love it so far. This is where authors post their books, connect to readers and authors, get ideas about what people in their genre like and are actively reading, post what you’re reading, write reviews, etc. Goodreads has a great author program dedicated to helping authors understand all the benefits of using their platform. You can even post giveaways, videos, blog posts, etc.

Join groups and participate in group discussions and reading challenges to get to know your potential readers.

Have questions that you want to ask other authors? Reach out to them here!

AMAZON AUTHOR PROFILE

Amazon gives authors the ability to create their own author profile which links to their books. This is where you can post your bio, photos, and even link to your blog, twitter, and other social media accounts. You can even have a reader/author question and answer section within your profile.

TUMBLR & INSTAGRAM

I am VERY NEW to both of these sites, but much like Twitter they are a snapshot moment in time that you can share with your friends, family, and followers. For those of you who write YA (Young Adult) Fiction, like me, this is the place to find our audience. Social media is all about the “now” and what is happening in real time. The youth of today are the primary drivers when it comes to social media, so if you have a book or books that are geared for YA – POST THEM HERE.

Use photos that relate to what you write about and to you as an author. Make sure to include appropriate hashtags (no more than three for each post).

LINKEDIN

LinkedIn is typically seen as a professional business community social media platform. However, there are a large number of networking groups on LinkedIn, especially for authors. By joining author groups and writing groups, you can share your books, share marketing ideas, collaborate on writing projects, and learn from your peers. I have learned so much from reading posts by other authors, editors, cover designers, etc. and I think you will too.

Next Steps:

The world of marketing is SCARY, but you aren’t alone. There are so many indie authors out there, just like you and me that are trying to find a way to get their foot in the door. So, don’t worry if you are feeling overwhelmed – I know I am. Just take it one step at a time. Set up your free accounts with each of the above sites and then start having fun and get to posting.

If you have suggestions on other social media sites to use, please list them below with how you use them and the benifits you’ve seen.

My Social Media Goals

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Nina Soden

I recently met with Shayla Lee Raquel of Curiouser Author Network and we talked all about MARKETING. For me, marketing is the BIG BAD. I am not a sales person and I have a hard time talking about myself. However, as an author, especially an indie author, it is very important to be able to sell yourself and your books.

Considering that I published my first novel, Awaken, in 2012, I should be much farther along in the marketing game. So, with the help of Shayla I have made myself some social media marketing goals. In order to keep myself on track and push myself to do better in the upcoming months and years I am going to post my monthly results here for the whole world to see. Call it my accountability system.

Below are the monthly goals I am setting in order to start off on this new social media marketing adventure. I do hope these will increase with time, but I’m aiming for ‘better than current’ right now. I will aim for the stars at a later date.

Monthly Goals:

Blog: Post at least once per week

Writing: Write at least 5,000 words per week (20,000 words per month)

This will change depending on where I am in the writing process. Currently I am finishing up the first draft of my next novel The Hunted (book 2 ~ the SECTOR C Series) When I get into editing the word count will go out the window and the goal will be based on editing revisions

Reading: Read at least 1 book per month and post a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and my blog if appropriate. These reviews will also be included in my new YA Newsletter – sign up to receive the newsletter HERE.

YA Newsletter: My new YA Newsletter will be sent to my mailing list once per month at the beginning of the month, starting in August. You can sign up to receive your copy HERE. This is also where I will hold subscriber only giveaways. Yes, GIVEAWAYS.

Facebook & Twitter: Post at least once weekly

Tumblr: Post daily as part of the Book Photo Challenge by Books & Cupcakes

Instagram: Goal not determined yet.

Google+: Goal not determined yet.

What I will post in my Monthly Updates:

Number of blog posts;
Written word count;
Books I’ve read and those I’m still reading;
Goodreads and Amazon Stats;
Number of followers on my blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.;
Review Quotes; and
What you can look forward to in the month(s) to come.

The Next Big Thing

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Nina Soden

A Marketing Opportunity for Us All

I want to thank Lois Stern for this neat marketing idea and pass it along to all of you. Here is a way to help market yourself while helping your fellow authors. The basic idea is to respond to ten questions about a book or story you just published or are about to publish.

Would you like to be featured on my AUTHORS’ HALL OF FAME?

If so, just follow the numbered directions toward the bottom of this screen.

MY AUTHORS’ HALL OF FAME

(More to come)

Meet Lois W. Stern

Books by Lois W. Stern

TTSC_cover_300

CLICK TO READ LOIS W. STERN’S INTERVIEW

Author Bio

After twenty years as an active educator, Lois W. Stern continued to pursue her love of writing, soon becoming co-editor of a popular Long Island web-zine. As she created and authored her column Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives, she solidified her special niche of investigative journalism and put those same talents to work while writing her first full length book, Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery. She followed up with her second book, Tick, Tock, Stop the Clock. – Getting Pretty on Your Lunch Hour to address many of the less invasive paths to beauty. Watch this candid interview with Lois on The Writers’ Dream Show to learn more about these books.

After completing her two books on aesthetics, Lois began writing what she calls ‘Inner Beauty’ stories – inspiring stories to touch the heart and soul. She initiated her Tales2Inspire™ “Authors Helping Authors” project/contest as a means of sharing inspirational messages written by authors from across the globe. One of her goals has been to help talented writers build solid author platforms while highlighting them in a variety of ways to further their paths to discovery.

To learn more Lois and this project: Visit her website at www.tales2inspire.com

See more at: http://tales2inspire.com/?p=1617#sthash.5PV51uFp.dpuf

Meet Nina Soden

Books by Nina Soden

CLICK TO READ NINA SODEN’S INTERVIEW

Author Bio

Nina has always been creative, be it art, theatre, film – anything but singing… she stresses that that is something you don’t want to hear! She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Theatre Arts with a minor in Military Science from Eastern Michigan University before heading off to Los Angeles like so many other starry-eyed actors in pursuit of fame and fortune in tinsel-town. While there, she worked to pay the bills but her love was always acting. She was actually able to achieve some level of success, mostly in commercials and independent films, but she considers those experiences as some of the best in her life.

After some major life changes, the publication of her first book entitle PRIVATE WORDS UNSPOKEN, a compilation of poetry, and a major cross-country move she moved from poetry to short stories and then to novels. Since then, her literary interests have grown and she would like to think her storytelling abilities have improved. She has done everything from office administration, to business development, to being the Director of a private preschool. She has jumped out of a C130 aircraft, fired an M16 machine gun, and given birth – TWICE! But no matter where she is in life, she always returns to her art.

Though she’ll forever be a Michigan girl at heart, she now lives in the South where she is married with two wonderful children. Is she isn’t working on her latest story you can find her lounging with a good book, playing with her kids, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to Starbucks coffee.

To learn more about Nina Soden and her books you can check out her blog, or follow her on one or all of the various internet/social media sites.

Blog: www.ninasoden.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BloodAngelSeries

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Nina_Soden

Hall of Fame Directions

Post your responses to the interview questions about your book on your own blog page. (See sample interview questions and answers)
Add my name, Nina Soden, my bio, book images and headshot to your blog page and link them back to this page.
After completing steps 1 and 2, above, send me the following:

The URL of your completed blog page
Attachment images of a) you, the author b) and your book images
Your author bio

4. Send this blog to five or more other writers.

5. Each time you forward this message to someone, start with: “I want to thank . . .” sentence as seen above, substituting my name, Nina Soden, for the one currently appearing in that first sentence.

6. Ask them to substitute your name for mine as they send out notices to their circle.

7. Tell them to post this same content on their website or blog, adding their images, URL links, bio and their answers to the same interview questions.

8. Ask the writers you invite to substitute your name in the “I want to thank” sentence at the beginning of this posting and include a link to your blog, before completing the interview questions.

9. They, in turn, link to five other writers, and the cycle continues.

I will add the first ten authors who complete my AUTHORS’ HALL OF FAME instructions above and e-mail me @ BloodAngelSeries@gmail.com with all the information listed in step 3 above – Please put “Author’s Hall Of Fame” in the subject line of your email.

Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing!

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Nina Soden

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE NEXT BIG THING

(When you post this interview on your blog, don’t forget to substitute your book image and answers for mine.)

* What is the title of your book(s) (or story/stories)?

My Blood Angel series books are titled: Awaken (book 1), Beginnings (book 2), and Revenge (book 3)

My SECTOR C Series books are titled: The Chosen (book 2) and The Hunted (book 2 – coming soon)

* Where did the idea come from for these books?

I have always loved the supernatural/paranormal stories. I’m a huge fan of horror films that include vampires, witches, shapeshifters, zombies, and anything out of the realm of normal possibilities. Because of that, my writing doesn’t sway too far from the supernatural and paranormal.

The Blood Angel Series takes place in Atlanta, Michigan, a small town in the northern part of the lower peninsula, where I spent most of my summers as a child. I have always had a very active imagination and spending so much time camping and being outdoors I think my childhood plays a big part in how I write.

* What genre do your books fall under?

Young Adult Supernatural/Paranormal Fiction

* What is the one to two-sentence synopsis of your book(s)?

Awaken: What if everything you thought you knew about yourself and the world turned out to be wrong?
Beginnings: Would you give up everything and everyone you knew in life, just to survive your destiny? What if you didn’t have a choice?
Revenge: Dying in her father’s arms only to awaken in a pool of blood, surrounded by the mutilated corpses of those she loved most, who could blame Alee for what she did next? Wouldn’t you seek REVENGE?
SECTOR C ~ The Chosen: When your only choices are vampirism, lycanthropy, breeder, blood donor, or banishment to the Wastelands, what choice do you really have?

* Will your book(s) be self-published or represented by an agency? I self-published all of my books through Create Space (paperbacks) and BookTango (eBooks).

I self-published all of my books through Create Space (paperbacks) and BookTango (eBooks).

* How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first book in the Blood Angel Series, Awaken, took about one and a half years from start to finish (published). The others came a bit more quickly, but I have published one book per year since 2012 when Awaken was published.

The first book in the SECTOR C Series, The Chosen, took one month to write the first draft, but from start to finish (published) it took five months. I am working on book 2, The Hunted, right now, and I am about 22 chapters in writing my first draft.

* What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

With the Blood Angel Series I would say; The Vampire Diaries, the House of Night Series, the Morganville Vampires Series, and other YA supernatural books.

With the SECTOR C Series I think a quote from one of the reviews I received says it best: “Think of a recipe that has a dash of Hunger Games, a pinch of Mystic Falls and a splash of Divergent. Then mix it all thoroughly with Nina’s flair of the supernatural and you have a great novel called Sector C.”

* Who or what inspired you to start writing?

I started writing poetry when I was pretty young. Then, as I got older (college and after) I started acting. The idea of becoming different characters, be it through theatre or film, helped to expand my writing from just poetry into screenplays. After I had left Los Angeles, I began writing short stories and then novels.

______________________________________________________________

Don’t forget to add at least five more authors to the network by linking to them on your blog.

You can contact me at BloodAngelSeries@gmail.com.

Good luck with your marketing!

I Just Published my Book. Now What?

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Nina Soden

Have you written a book? Did you publish it? Are you confused as to what you should do next?

Well, you are not alone.

Nicholas C. Rossis attacks those very issues in his post I Just Published my Book. Now What? Check it out and let me know what you think.

Nicholas C. Rossis

First of all, congratulations! You’re now a published author – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Second, you’d be amazed how often I hear that question in LinkedIn’s author groups. With some 3,000 new books published every day, I have serious doubts that you can just sit back and wait for readers to stumble on your book, or for word of mouth to work its magic. The chances of that happening are probably similar to that of winning the lottery, in which case you don’t even need the long hours and hard work that goes hand-in-hand with a career as an author (if you don’t believe me, you may want to check out this post by Pedro Barrento on Indies Unlimited).

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Do you use Grammarly? Here are my thoughts!

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Nina Soden

I was recently asked to give Grammarly a try.

“What’s Grammarly?” I asked.

THE ANSWER AMAZED ME!

Their website www.grammarly.com says that Grammarly is “the world’s most accurate grammar checker.” I decided that I should be the judge of that myself. The program allows you to either download or cut and paste your text into their online platform. Once the text is in the program, it scans for over 250 points of grammar. Now, I’m not going to list them all but some of the things it looks for are:

Contextual Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Sentence Structure
Style
Plagiarism

My Test Drive:

In order to test out “the world’s most accurate grammar checker” I decided to cut and paste, into their online platform, the latest chapter of the novel I’m writing:

(COMING SOON)

Just a little plug for me 🙂

WOW – OMG – SO COOL!!!

The program proceeded to mark grammar issues, words that were miss used, spelling errors, and even overused words – things that Microsoft Word doesn’t find. Things that I am sure my editor will love for me to have fixed before sending her my manuscript. Already, after only five minutes with the program, I was sold.

But wait, there’s more!

There is a FREE version!!!

Nope, that’s not all…

If you upgrade to the premium version, you can also download Grammarly to your computer and activate it in Microsoft Word. That means you don’t have to upload your manuscript to the internet or cut and paste it into the online platform. This made me feel so much safer. So, I gave it a shot.

Once the download was complete, I opened up my current work in progress. The 176-page document (34,632 words) only took a matter of minutes to be processed. When it was done, Grammarly had marked all of the “errors”. From the use of passive voice, squinting modifiers, incorrect use of commas, and so much more. No, I don’t like my “errors” to be thrown in my face, but trust me I am glad that there is a tool that will allow me to catch them now – before I send the completed document to the editor. PLUS – I can now use Grammarly as I type instead of going back and trying to catch the errors after the first draft is already completed.

Here’s a little more information

Grammarly’s free version checks for the most frequently made writing mistakes.

100 points of grammar
Contextual spellchecker
Punctuation checks
Works anywhere on the web. (Use the editor at Grammarly.com or use the free Chrome add-on)

Grammarly Premium eliminates both basic and advanced errors.

250+ points of grammar
Sentence structure
Style checks
Vocabulary enhancement
Plagiarism detection
Document type checker (business, academic, etc.)
Windows Microsoft Office add-in

My recommendation…

If you are a writer – GET Grammarly NOW!

Still not convinced? Check out the screenshots below to see more things you can do with Grammarly!

: Use Grammarly to help edit your emails to ensure the quality of writing.

: Choose your document type.

: Choose what types of errors you want Grammarly to find.

What are your thoughts? If you’ve used Grammarly or another program like it, please share your thoughts by commenting below.

Supernatural – Paranormal – Preternatural, OH MY!

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Nina Soden

As a YA Author of novels that contain vampires, shape-shifters, witches, fairies (not the Tinkerbell type), and so many other un-natural beings I have often been asked the following questions:

‘What is the difference between supernatural, paranormal, and preternatural?’ and ‘Which of these categories do you write in?’

Well the simple answer is this: They are pretty much interchangeable! OR ARE THEY?

Below are the “official” definitions – followed by some examples of character types I, as an author, would put into each category.

___________________________________________________________

Supernatural… Attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature

Super: above; over; beyond | natural: existing in, or caused by nature

* Angels * Vampires * Werewolves (and other were-animals) * Witches * Warlocks * Wizards *

___________________________________________________________

Paranormal… Denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding

Para: beyond | normal: usual; typical; standard

* Zombies * Vampires * Necromancers * Time travelers *

___________________________________________________________

Preternatural… Beyond what is normal or natural – existing outside of nature (very unusual in a way that doesn’t seem natural)

Preter: This is not a prefixe that I could find a definition for, but it seems it means: beyond | natural: existing in, or caused by nature

* Zombies * Werewolves (and other were-animals) * Vampires * Witches * Necromancers *

___________________________________________________________

OK, so maybe that didn’t help sort out the difference after all. A lot of the examples tend to fall into multiple categories, at least for me.

Click here to read a previous post I had re-blogged about a similar topic: Brass Tacks: Supernatural vs Paranormal; Vampire vs Zombie

So, what are your thoughts? Comment below and tell me what you think the differences are and what types of un–natural beings fall into each of the categories!

Sector C: The Chosen by Nina Soden

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Nina Soden

I was so excited when I read this review for my latest book SECTOR C ~ The Chosen. I just couldn’t help but re-blogging it! I hope you enjoy it and that it makes you smile as much as it did me… or that it makes you rush to http://amzn.com/0985885335 to get your copy today!

Jonas Lee

Rating Overview

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★ 1/2
Characters: ★★★★★
Cover: ★★★ 1/2

Overall: ★★★★★ (4.5)

This book was given to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Soden starts off on a brand new series and I think, out of the gate, it’s brilliant. I was asked to help look over her final rough draft and offer a review. In spirited fashion, I will hit all the usual points I make when rating an ARC, minus the grammar Nazi in me pointing anything critical out.

Sector C is a futuristic, supernatural take on what the world might be like if there were societies where you were brought up, trained and tested to fall into the category of vampire, lycanthrope, breeder, donor or castaway. The story follows the lead Heroine, A (because they are assigned alpha-numerics as names until they are worthy to choose their own name)…

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Ever wonder where publishing is headed in this ever-changing paperback vs. e-book world?

[The section below is provided as an excerpt from Thompson’s article. Check out the full article here, written by John B. Thompson on the Huffington Post.]

[The section above is provided as an excerpt. Check out the full article here, written by John B. Thompson on the Huffington Post.]

So, if you’re an author (traditionally published or indie) I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. Leave your comments below and let’s start a conversation on the future of the publishing world.

Share this:

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING 101

Top Social Media Sites all Indie Authors Should Be Using:

TUMBLR & INSTAGRAM

Next Steps:

Share this:

Monthly Goals:

What I will post in my Monthly Updates:

Share this:

A Marketing Opportunity for Us All

MY AUTHORS’ HALL OF FAME

Meet Lois W. Stern

Meet Nina Soden

Hall of Fame Directions

I will add the first ten authors who complete my AUTHORS’ HALL OF FAME instructions above and e-mail me @ BloodAngelSeries@gmail.com with all the information listed in step 3 above – Please put “Author’s Hall Of Fame” in the subject line of your email.

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Have you written a book? Did you publish it? Are you confused as to what you should do next?

Well, you are not alone.

Nicholas C. Rossis attacks those very issues in his post I Just Published my Book. Now What? Check it out and let me know what you think.

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I was recently asked to give Grammarly a try.

“What’s Grammarly?” I asked.

THE ANSWER AMAZED ME!

My Test Drive:

(COMING SOON)

But wait, there’s more!

There is a FREE version!!!

Nope, that’s not all…

Here’s a little more information

My recommendation…

If you are a writer – GET Grammarly NOW!

Still not convinced? Check out the screenshots below to see more things you can do with Grammarly!

What are your thoughts? If you’ve used Grammarly or another program like it, please share your thoughts by commenting below.

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As a YA Author of novels that contain vampires, shape-shifters, witches, fairies (not the Tinkerbell type), and so many other un-natural beings I have often been asked the following questions:

‘What is the difference between supernatural, paranormal, and preternatural?’ and ‘Which of these categories do you write in?’

Below are the “official” definitions – followed by some examples of character types I, as an author, would put into each category.

Supernatural… Attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature

Super: above; over; beyond | natural: existing in, or caused by nature

Paranormal… Denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding

Para: beyond | normal: usual; typical; standard

Preternatural… Beyond what is normal or natural – existing outside of nature (very unusual in a way that doesn’t seem natural)

Preter: This is not a prefixe that I could find a definition for, but it seems it means: beyond | natural: existing in, or caused by nature

OK, so maybe that didn’t help sort out the difference after all. A lot of the examples tend to fall into multiple categories, at least for me.

So, what are your thoughts? Comment below and tell me what you think the differences are and what types of un–natural beings fall into each of the categories!

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Rating Overview

Overall: ★★★★★ (4.5)

This book was given to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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