Book Launch – Followed

Tags

book launch, free books, free gothic books, free novella, gothic book launch, gothic books, gothic novellas, historical fantasy books, indie authors, new books, new gothic books, new indie books, new novellas

Followed has officially been launched today! You can order a copy of my gothic novella on your Kindle now for only $1.99.

If you want to pick it up for free (And I’ll bet you do!) I am running a free promotion on Amazon starting tomorrow and it ends on Saturday.

Synopsis:

Adeline assumes that her life is on track when she befriends her spirited governess, Julia, followed by her ex-midshipman cousin, Gabriel. But when her great aunt passes away after revealing a terrible secret, she is torn away from Julia by her new guardians.

After their home in Bath is set aflame, Adeline and Gabriel flee to the woods. Separated from Gabriel after being chased down by a strange horseman, Adeline is then approached by a madman and is given an ultimatum to follow him – or to die alone in the forest.

My Novella – Launching Next Week!

Tags

book launch, Followed by Sara Kjeldsen, Followed novel, gothic novel book launch, horror novels, indie book launch, modern gothic fiction

Hello, my followers!

Guess what?

After that rather awkward false start last fall, my historical horror (gothic) novella, Followed, will be released early next week. It will be free for the first day and possibly the second day.

Special thanks to Frankie Sutton, my amazing and affordable editor and Najla Qamber, my talented and lovely cover illustrator.

Also, a huge thank you to my wonderful fellow author and friend, L.E. Waters. She was my beta reader!

Stay tuned!

Here is an excerpt from Chapter Four:

Mr. and Mrs. Mornington’s heated discussion brought Adeline out of the dark musings. She sighed and rested the back of her head against the cushioned seat, pretending to be asleep. Their personalities had come to life since Aunt Victoria’s passing.
“I hope we never go back there,” Gabriel muttered.
“Because of the ghosts?” asked Adeline.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Gabriel. “What I heard in the room was obviously just the wind.”
“You didn’t seem to think so when I saw you in the forest right after you heard them.”
Gabriel leaned close to Adeline.
“Well, they aren’t real,” he said.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Aren’t you a little too old to believe in ghosts?”
“I don’t know what I believe yet, but I do know that my aunt was horribly afraid of someone as she was dying. She was convinced that something was in the room to take her. I saw it in her eyes. She did see something.”
Adeline’s flesh was covered in goose bumps as she quietly related the story to her cousin while Mr. and Mrs. Mornington’s bickering continued.
Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly and he focused his attention back to the landscape outside his window.
“It still doesn’t mean there was something there.”
Adeline blinked back tears.
“Well, you weren’t there. I know what I saw. Besides, after knowing what I know about our great uncle, I don’t think I would ever want to go back there.”
Gabriel’s eyes returned to Adeline.
“How do you know about him?”
“Aunt Victoria told me,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. “She killed him after she caught him murdering a man that she knew.”
Gabriel’s brown eyes widened. Now she had his interest.
“I didn’t think she had it in her. Well, she did the right thing. Who knows how many lives she probably saved?”
“That is what I told her, but she felt so guilty. Do your parents know about it?”
“I don’t know. They don’t tell me much of anything. I didn’t tell you this before, but I went back into the room that night. I found some of Uncle Henry’s old journal entries. He was a madman. He recorded all ten of his murders and claimed that he heard voices ordering him to go about doing it.”
Adeline’s mouth dropped open.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Gabriel said. “I’m telling you that there was nothing in that room. I didn’t even hear them the last time I went in there.”
“Whatever you say. Did you read about all of the murders he wrote about?”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Not yet.”
The carriage stopped abruptly. They were already in front of Julia’s house.
Adeline felt her stomach knot.
“Take all the time you need, dear,” said Mrs. Mornington.
As Adeline stepped out of the buggy, a lump formed in her throat, and she tried in vain to swallow it away. She suddenly despised her aunt and uncle for making her leave one of her only friends behind.
Julia, with her unbound hair falling down to her waist in soft curls, stood on her porch smiling.

Not a novelist

Tags

Novella, novellaist, Novellas, Short stories, shorter stories

I think referring to myself as a “novella-ist” might be a more accurate way to describe myself. With the exception of my first YA novel (By the Sword), my other two books have ended up at novella length, even after much editing and “beefing up” of the plot line. I don’t know what it is, but writing tighter with fewer characters just works better for me.

I do envy the novelists, of course. But I don’t really think that is what I am. Perhaps one day I will write a 500 page novel to call my own, but right now, if my books turn out to be shorter than average, then why be concerned?

My opinion is that a writer has a story to tell. Period. Word count is irrelevant so long as the story and its characters are of excellent quality.

So, are any of you chronic novella writers? Do you know of any publishers that do accept novellas? I am curious.

An Interview On Publishing & My Newest Novel

Tags

author interview, By the Sword, Followed novel, indie authors

Corey M.P. interviewed me on her blog today. It covers why I chose self publishing and some more info on my new book, Followed.

Here it is!

An Interview with Author, Sara Flower.

Second Novel (An Update)

Tags

authors, book launch, Christian authors, female authors, horror authors, indie authors, self published authors, self publishing, thriller authors

I wanted to publish Followed, my second novel, in the worst way by the end of August. I had the cover designed in February! Then, I realized it was just silly to rush a book launch for a book that just isn’t quite ready.  Slow and steady is the way to go when you are an indie publisher.

I think it is well worth the wait to make sure that a novel has been thoroughly read by 2-3 beta readers before sending it off for that final edit. My peer editor has promised to have Followed read and commented on by the end of August, so I am predicting Followed’s book launch for early October to be on the safe side. I am so excited!

In the meantime, I’ve been dabbling in a few of my other writings – my third and fourth novels as well as another short story I’ve started on. It can be hard for me to focus on one project at a time sometimes. It’s fun to go back and forth.

Stay tuned for the cover reveal later this week.

On the topic of current projects, where are all of you at right now in your writing endeavors? Do tell, fellow bloggers.

Costs To Self Publish My Second Book

Tags

Ebooks, editors, indie publishing, indie writers, Sara Flower, self publishing, self publishing costs, self publishing expenses

I posted the spendings for my first novel, By the Sword, earlier this year to give you a rough idea of how affordable self publishing can be. I am happy to say that my second book Followed (Set to launch tentatively in September 2012!) cost much less.

Here’s the numbers, because sometimes it’s nice to see an actual breakdown of what it takes to publish your book.

Cover Design (Ebook and Print) by Najla Qambar – $75

Book Mark Designs – Free!

Editor – $100

Second Editor – $100 (Oops!*)

Ebook Formatting – $50

Beta Readers – Free! (A must!)

*Note: I had two edits, because I went ahead and got an editor a little too soon. I had two more beta reads after the first edit, which I am so happy I did. Phew! So, now, silly me jumping the gun too early, I need to have an editor go over Followed again. But this time, I know the book will be ready. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you have at least two other people read and critique your book before sending it to an editor.

On the topic of editors: Yes, there are some great ones that do not charge hundreds of dollars!

I am going to do a separate launch for the print book of Followed. For now, I am going to put all my energy into creating an ebook. It costs a little more to make a print book and, from what I have seen so far, ebooks are the money makers.

Oh, by the way, if you haven’t checked out my first novel, By the Sword, it is now only .99 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/By-the-Sword-ebook/dp/B007ED92SW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1342574748&sr=8-7&keywords=By+the+Sword

Thanks for stopping by!

Novellas

Tags

Creative Writing, Novella, Novellas, Publishing, Sara Flower, self publishing, Short stories, Story writing, Writing

Two years ago, I was horrified when the first draft of my third novel sat at a mere 24,000 words. That was back when my life’s dream was to get an agent. I thought at the time that all the energy I put into a story I really had written from the heart was all for nothing unless I added a whopping 50K or 60K more words. The thing is, the skeleton of the story was good the way it was. Sure, it needed some work. With some editing, I have added more depth to the story but it still only sits at just over the 30K mark.

Some stories are just meant to be novellas. With Amazon and smaller presses, it is far easier to publish a short story. I am comfortable that this third book will never be a full length novel.

Now the question is, how marketable/desirable are novellas these days? I have been thinking about this with every edit.

I came across an article about novellas whole doing a Google search. It’s two years old now, but it is an interesting take on the step child of books. Apparently, they are no longer considered the “ugly duckling of the literary world”. Woot!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/04/the-novella-is-making-a-comeback.html

A lot of people might enjoy a quick yet intense read. Others may feel cheated and wish there was more. Or, maybe some people that wouldn’t normally read might pick up a book if they noticed it wasn’t super thick.

I am curious to hear your opinion about novellas. Would you purchase one? Have you? Do you like reading shorter stories?

Your Summer Writing Goals

Tags

book writing, Creative Writing, editing, writers, Writing, writing goals

Right now I am working on the edit of my second novel done by my (very affordable – yay!) editor. After that I am having a good writing friend do a beta read for good measure. I plan to have it published in early-mid June. The title is called Followed.

After that, it is on to editing and re-working the third novel (Currently named Ice), which I hope to have out in November since it has a wintery theme.

I am curious to know about all of your writing (or publishing) goals for the summer. Do share!

Before ending this post, I thought it would be fun to share some neat writing quotes for inspiration and smiles:

“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schitzophrenia.” – E.L. Doctorow

“I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.” – Stephen King

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero, but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.” – G.K. Chesterton

“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists either of writing or thinking about writing.” - Eugene Ionesco

“Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.”  - E.L. Doctorow

Happy writing!

The Story Synopsis

Tags

book marketing, Books, indie writers, Publishing, query letter, self publishing, story summaries, story synopsis, synopsis, Writing, writing a synopsis

I don’t know why I dread writing a synopsis of my books so much. It’s sort of funny, because a lot of writers I follow through blogs and on Twitter also express their distate for the dreaded “s” word. It seems to be right up there with the query letter. *Cringes*

One agent in an article read a few years back said that she finds it amazing how people that can write a 60-100K manuscript struggle so much with writing a synopsis about it. I could almost hear her laughing at us. lol.

Truth is, it is harder to sum up a whole novel into a few paragraphs than it might seem. It isn’t just compressing the key parts of the story, you also have to know which parts to include and word it in such a way that will hook a potential reader. It can be a little stressful. Of course there are far worse things in life, but the summary on the back of your book cover or on your book’s Amazon page can literally make or break sales.

What I find helps is looking at the backs of other books in a simliar genre to get a feel of what others are writing. Plus, it’s kind of an inspiration for me to also write something as catching as something in a book store. Also try to ask yourself: If I was out shopping for a book, what would make me want to buy it rather than put it back on the shelf?

It is time to write a catchy summary of my second book. Literally after this blog post, that is what I will be working on. I find that this one might be especially tricky, because I have four main characters (oops) and there is a huge plot switch in the middle where it almost switches genres (Still under the horror umbrella, but just with a different setting). A complicated story, to say the least.

Let me know if you have any helpful tips or insights regarding writing a great summary.

Updated List of Publishing Expenses (And A New Cover)

Tags

book advertising, book covers, book promotion, book reviews, By the Sword, indie authors, indie books, indie publishing, Sara Flower, self publishing, self publishing costs

Roughly two months ago, I mentioned that I would tell of any further publishing expenses for advertising, print runs, etc. I did a post called The Cost of Self Publishing where I broke down all of my expenses which added up to $1590. Not bad, but I learned that I could have done it for a lot less than that. It was a great learning experience.

The proof of my first print book from Amazon was only $3.80.

Advertising was $25.00 via Full Moon Book Tours. Plus, you can ask book reviewers to do a review of your book on their blog for free! They do that as their hobby so most are more than happy to do it for you.

So, the overall cost to self publish was just over $1600.00. My goal for my next book is to keep it under $1,000.

If you would like to share your experiences with self publishing and how you kept costs down, that would be awesome!

Also, after some honest feedback on my book cover via the blog tour, I decided to change the print cover to something more simple (But still punchy). I kept the original design for the Ebook though, since I wasn’t ready to let it go yet.

You can check out the new design here.

Happy Wednesday!