July 30, 2018
Guest Post: Alexandra Rivers on her experience with Kindle Scout
Once upon a time there, was a woman who loved stories. She lived in a high castle far away from the nearest village, and she spent her days weaving her stories. Each time she finished one, she opened the door and gently ushered it out to find its way in the world.
But between the castle and the village, there was a dark forest, so it was easy for a story to lose its way. Whenever that happened, a fairy godmother appeared, took the story’s little hand in her gloved one, and guided it out of the dangerous forest for all the villagers to see and welcome.
I bet that by now you recognize that for what it is: a fairytale. Still, it’s an alluring one. When a writer writes a story, she hopes that it will find its way out of the woods all alone while she’ll be able to concentrate on what she does best: write. And if that doesn’t happen ̶ it never does! ̶ the story will be guided by an agent, a publisher, a champion in shining armor who will fight for it as if it was his own. Well, that happens rarely nowadays, especially in the established publishing environment we experience, so if you have a champion fighting for you, cherish him/her/them!
When I read about Kindle Scout*, I thought: this is my champion! I was experiencing the “writing blues” after completing another story and thought what would be better than letting another help me? And not just “another”. This is Amazon’s marketing machine in all its glory! Ebooks, translations, audio books. The fairy godmother with all her family…Santa with the elves… you get the picture. You sit back, keep writing, and watch the game where the champion goes from one level to the next. (I need to hear from a writer who has published more than one book with Kindle Press to see if that chair is as comfortable as it looks.)
The advance was not a motive for me (for various, boring to mention reasons ̶ no, I’m not an heiress! I just don’t live in the USA, so taxes interfered) but the rest was. So I signed the agreement which I had read three times before I was absolutely certain that I’ll never understand it completely, and after a relatively easy procedure, my story Time Not Wasted appeared in the “Recently Added” category.
I had a professionally-designed cover; I had a professional editor who took care of the editing after my three betas (friends and family) had tried their best. I had confidence.
What I didn’t have was a network.
I didn’t have a blog or a newsletter.
I didn’t even have a webpage really (don’t roll your eyes, I can see you! The castle far away… remember?)
I had to start a FB account and an Amazon Author Page when I was prompted by the procedure. So when the Kindle Scout* team sent me the typical email “this is the time to inform your network”, I saw the little chance I had slipping away. Reality’s blow was hard and quick but if nothing else, I am a realist (a realist who weaves stories ̶ okay, I see the contradiction there.)
Time Not Wasted did not land in the “Hot and trending” category upon its arrival, as other stories did. I got the message. But still, around 700 people viewed my page the first day. The same on the second and the third. And then on the fourth day ̶ and after some shameless promoting to friends and readers ̶ my beta sent me a FB message that I had hit the famous “Hot and Trending” group.
The feeling? Elation!
(Now it would be a good time to insert confetti images, but instead I’ll share the print screen.)
Time Not Wasted is very loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast, so you see that I’m prone to fairytales. I had found my champion! My story would be discovered!
The elation was short-lived. To make a long story short, in the month of its nomination, Time Not Wasted spent 5 days in the category that leads to “what is this?” that leads to “let’s think about it” that leads to “we will publish your story”.
The statistics?
One of these five days was my doing (the harassed friends and family) and the rest was all Kindle Scout*. When a story appears in the first page categories, it gets its chance under the sun (my page was viewed a total of 6,724 times!) My novel got its chance ̶ especially the last few days ̶ but it wasn’t enough. There are stories out there which are “Hot and Trending” during the entire month of their nomination! (Beware: even that does not guarantee selection.)
My thoughts after my Kindle Scout* experience?
-If one’s goal is to get published, one needs to have an established readership. Using their words, this is a “reader-powered” publishing platform. You have to bring the first bunch of readers in for the recipe to work.
-A rejection is always a rejection, even when you expect it, even if you go there in full knowledge that it’ll come, even when you see it coming.
-If one resets one’s goals ̶ quickly ̶ then meeting new people is always a treat.
(Especially if one lives in a castle far away…)
I have new FB friends due to my Kindle Scout* nomination.
I interacted with at least three other writers from KS.
I have two eBooks to read (one out of a nomination that got selected and one because of a very generous writer.)
So overall, the verdict about Kindle Scout*
even though I didn’t have my happy ending:
Time Not Wasted!
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Bio: When Alexandra Rivers does not write, she reads. When she does not read, she makes a living as a graphic designer/illustrator. Unfortunately, not always in that order.
She likes coffee, dogs, cats (!!!) and other animals (people, too, but she’s selective in that department) and LOVES stories with solid characters and a good twist here and there – the ones you want to read again and again and again.
She lives with her significant other (and his endless patience) in Athens, Greece, so if something “sounds Greek to you”, it probably is! Yet, she writes only in English.
She has co-written the romantic comedy, The Falconer. You may find it on Amazon. Her sophomore solo effort Kepler’s Web (part of a Duology) is tentatively slated for release December 2018! And don’t forget Time Well Wasted is out now wherever eBooks are sold.
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Where to find Ms. Rivers:
Facebook
Website
Amazon
Goodreads
Instagram
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Editor’s Note: Unfortunately as of April 3rd, 2018 Amazon sadly decided to end the Kindle Scout program essentially leaving independent authors to work 100% by themselves on funding their work and growing their fan base.
July 10, 2018
Ebony Slumbers- Release Day Boost & Celebration
Title: Ebony Slumbers
Publisher: self-pubbed
Sub-genres: Paranormal, Retelling
Theme: Snow White
Release Date: July 10th, 2018
Forms: Currently just Kindle
BLURB
Neither beauty nor strength can ever match the power of love. Eight guardians will risk everything for Ebony… The Envy of All.
Ebony knows two things. Her guardians will protect her with their lives. She must escape from this house or she’ll go crazy.
She might be going crazy anyway.
The nightmares are getting worse, and the walls are closing in – not just the walls of the house, but the walls created by the holes in her memory. Ebony knows there is more at stake than just her life. If she could only remember… remember why someone wants to kill her. Why she had to go into hiding in the first place.
She trusts her guardians with her life, but she doesn’t trust them to let her live it. Ebony knows she should be grateful, but there is an itch in her bones, a call in the night, luring her outside the safety of their home.
Ebony knows one thing: she can’t resist it for much longer.
DISCLAIMER
Age recommendation: 18+
Excerpt
I folded another tee and stacked it on the pile. With eight of us in the house the washing was a never ending chore, and I was the dumb-ass in charge of it. At least it got me out of cooking. Rafe was so much better at that than me anyway.
I looked into the kitchen where he was stirring the pasta sauce, his focus purely on the food. He had bread baking in the oven and the yeasty smell made my mouth water. Rafe wasn’t so bad himself either, he had an apron on over his shirt and jeans, and his blond hair slicked back. I could see his arm muscles twitch as he stirred and stirred.
I loved watching him cook – which was why I folded the washing at the dining table. He wasn’t much for conversation but the view helped me get through the mundane task.
Sheehan was next door watching the news with the sound turned off.
It was an unspoken rule. Don’t let Ebony watch the news. Don’t expose Ebony to things that might trigger flashbacks.
Except that I didn’t really know what the trauma was. Didn’t know what to expect if something was triggered. There was a cone of silence around me, a bubble that kept out the real world, and it was built of men.
Hot, kind, loving men. But it was still a bubble and all bubbles had to pop eventually, right?
And if they didn’t pop it soon, I was going to. I couldn’t stand the not knowing. I looked out the window longingly to the world I couldn’t remember, the world I’d never know until this was all over.
“Earth to Ebony…” Rafe said.
“Huh?” I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to him. “What’s up?”
“Can you go and pick some parsley from the garden? You know which one that is right?” He gave me a mock serious look, but I could see the grin beneath it.
I finished folding the towel and put it on the right pile, then poked my tongue out at him as I headed to the kitchen door. He flicked the tea towel in my direction, catching me on the hip, my squeal forcing a laugh out of him.
That man…
Actually, all of those men.
I pushed through the door, wondering how I got so lucky. Whoever was after me almost killed me once before, and these guys were doing everything in their power to make sure that didn’t happen again.
I just wished they’d tell me more, or catch the bastard so I could have some semblance of a normal life.
Author Bio
Nova Blake is a romance author from New Zealand, and Ebony Slumbers is her debut release. She loves binging shows on Netflix with her husband, hanging out with her abundance of animals and kids, and enjoying life as best she can. If she’s not writing, or doing any of the above Blake’s probably sleeping because Lord knows she doesn’t get enough of that. While she tries very hard to spend more of her time writing than on social media, you can probably find out more at her website, Pinterest, or Facebook. Hey, with all her animals and children it’s no wonder she gets anything done!
Author Links
STREET TEAM NOVA’S BLAZING BOOKS
Giveaway Time
Because Nova is so awesome and I think everyone will love her book, I want to do a little a giveaway to help celebrate! I will randomly draw names out of a hat (I like the old school way cos it’s more fun) from all commenters who tell me something they learned from this post. This randomly selected person will win a copy of Ebony Slumbers!
Buy now & add it to your TBR
UPDATE UPDATE
Just wanted to pop back and update this post to share some awesome info.
Nova checked her first day sales and woman sold around 5147 copies!
Congrats Nova and Ebony!!!! Let’s celebrate!!!
As of 4:00 AM US East Coast time on July 12th, 2018, Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
- #12,592 Paid in Kindle Store
- #252 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales
- #293 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales
- #1006 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal
*dick pics= auto block, REQUESTS FOR ARCS/INTERVIEWS: approved at authors sole discretion
The Procrastinate Reader