All Authors Proudly Presents Ms. Harmony Kent

Harmony Kent

She’s All About Indie!

Ten things you should know:

1. She was born in 2013 (at least, the author in her was) … the rest of her is … err … just a LITTLE bit older than that.
2. She is really boring.
3. She has absolutely no sense of humour.  At all.
4. She reads.  A lot.
5. She writes.  Even more.
6. She’s completely sane (in).
7. She doesn’t have any children, but is surrounded by loads of cute gremlins who claim to be her nieces and nephews.  Stranger still: they seem to like her.
8. If you’ve read this far, you’re probably as sane as she is.
9. If you still want to hang around, and if you’re feeling brave …
10. She’s online …

Harmony Kent Online

At Twitter: @harmony_kent

At Facebook

On Goodreads

Email

At Koobug

Amazon Author Page

Indie Author Harmony Kent has written three books. The Battle for Brisingamen, her first novel, is a work of fantasy fiction and was approved by Awesome Indies within weeks of its release.

Her second book, The Glade shows her equally at home in the realms of mystery, suspense and thriller – with a dash of magical realism.  This book has also been approved for the Awesome Indie List. The cover was also featured in “All Authors Magazine” in their Awesome Covers feature in issue 3.

Her third book, Elemental Earth, is a Young Adult Fantasy Fiction novel, and will be released on May 31^st 2014. It has already received its first 5 star rating!

“You turned the god of gnomes into a garden ornament?”

Sarah looked closely, but couldn’t tell if her dad was annoyed or amused—perhaps he was both …

Whilst 15 year old Sarah may be struggling to regain her feet, after being ripped from her everyday mundane life and ending up in a whole new dimension, she still knows how to have a bit of fun along the way. The Earth Elemental isn’t the only one whose feathers she manages to ruffle, and it’s only been four days. Meanwhile, her best friend is missing, and big trouble is brewing. She soon has a lot more to worry about than what happened to her phone or iPod, or even how much of an idiot Caleb obviously thinks she is.

Elemental Earth is the first book in The Mysteries series, and is aimed at Young Adults. Even if you’ve already reached an age where the young ones might call you ‘old enough’, if you’re still young at heart then you’re bound to enjoy these books just as much as the next—err—younger adult.

Age aside, perhaps we should be more worried about what further havoc Sarah’s antics might be about to wreak on the universe as we know it? We’d probably all be sleeping a lot more soundly if she’d only stuck to applied maths and the odd pillow fight. But no, sadly the lure of the proverbial rabbit hole proved just a tad too much. And now she’s taken the plunge, there’s no turning back.

Available to pre-order now at a special discounted price until its release day: 

http://harmonykent.co.uk/harmonys-book-store/

Order your copy today and don’t miss out on this incredible deal.

With a fourth book on the way, Harmony is well on track to being a firmly established multi genre author.

As well as being an avid reader and writer, Harmony also offers editing, proof reading, manuscript appraisal and beta reading services (all at discounted rates, in an effort to assist her fellow indie authors). 

Harmony works hard to promote and protect high standards within the indie publishing arena.  She is always on the lookout for talent and excellence, and will freely promote any authors or books who she feels have these attributes. She also reviews and supports indie authors on her blog, Facebook and twitter. She is proud to be an approved reviewer for both Awesome Indies and The Review Board.

Harmony has her own column in the up and coming “All Authors Magazine”, entitled: “All About Indie”. Don’t miss her debut article in Issue 5!

Harmony is 41 years old, single, and currently lives in Cornwall, England. 

(I’m SURE she won’t mind me giving her True age away!)

Don’t be afraid to stop by and say “HI” … she promises she won’t bite! 

An Unbiased, Objective Look at Authorship

Hello and Good Day RWPP's,

Today All Authors P&P is taking an unbiased objective look at authorship. Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly.

There are so many aspects of being a published author--so many sides to the coin--those of which many of us prior to being published never even think about.

In today's world there are so many platforms that Indie authors can use to become a published author. Yet with traditional publishing it still remains the same--submit, submit, submit. What traditional publishers aren't telling you is that they are using the very same platforms indies are! The only difference is that traditional publishing firms have a whole slew of professionals on their side, so this makes it a little different.

In THIS DAY AND TIME, ANYONE--literally anyone--can call themselves a published author.

While the freedom is great, the facts can be depressing! Let's give it a look-see, shall we?

So what's the difference between Traditional vs. Indie/Self-Published?

Traditional Publishing:

This means that you have gone the old-school route of submitting your manuscript to publishers and if accepted have signed a contract to have them represent your book. This also means that you are only eligible for a portion of your royalties. If you are one of the very few to be accepted by The Big 5 then you'll have a whole teams of people marketing your book. BUT if you are accepted by one of the smaller companies, than chances are that you will be required to do a great amount of the marketing yourself. The benefit to this is having the validity of being "under the umbrella" if you will, of good quality reads and a lineage of professionals. 

Indie/Self-Published:

This means that you have opted to do everything yourself. That is, from writing, to editing, to making the book cover, to marketing and everything in between. You do not have an advocate or a group of professionals teaming up to help you. The benefit to this is that you get to keep all of the royalties and recognition of the work to yourself. No one can tamper with your work and/or change it.

Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get to the "real talk" aspect of today's topic.

Personally, I can care less about what publishing platform you've used (Indie/SP or Traditional). All I care about is the downward spiral that is now happening in the market in general.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Y. Correa President/Creator/Founder of All Authors P&P. I am also a published author, a literary advocate and a professional reviewer--doing reviews with The Review Board. Needless to say, I read A LOT! My life practically revolves around books. I do not discriminate genre or publishing platform--I'll read them all (well, maybe excluding the anti-bible).

In so doing I've seen a continuous drop in quality. This worries me greatly.

Let's talk about the Cons of Traditional Publishing:

• They can take your book idea and change it completely.
• There has been an increase in contracts that state that authors can be taken off of their own works.
• You don't always get what you think your getting.
• If you don't look out for yourself, you will get ripped off. 
• You're just a number--literally.
• There is no real interaction with your publishers.
• They get to tell you what they want to keep and what they want to take out of your book.
• Sometimes, if you're not careful, your book can get altered/abridged.
• Most importantly, they aim to "mainstream" you at any cost.

Let's talk about the Cons of Indie Publishing:

• Anyone can publish. While this is a benefit, it's also a downfall. Let me explain why; because people have been publishing low quality reads. So while, if you get props for having published a good book, you will also get fowl reviews if you happened to publish a bad one--and no authors wants to get bad reviews or become part of the "don't read his/her crap" list.
• You have to do EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, by yourself.
• Marketing isn't easy and indies always seem to get the cold shoulder.
• The vast majority frown upon Indie publishing.
• They don't have a very good reputation, especially because of those whom have published lackluster works.
• Not everyone is crafty enough to make cover art and/or format their books interiors.

So, no matter how you spin it, there are good and bad things with both markets. I should know. I am and have been both Indie & Traditional.

So, let's get to the nitty gritty, shall we?

My concern is in the downslide of the literary market.

I have been coming across books, Indie & Traditional alike whose quality have gotten worse and worse. From dreary plots, to excessive wordiness, to terrible syntax, to unoriginal story lines and so much more.

Why is this, you ask?

I think the answer is simple. Competition.

First you have the Indies' trying to prove themselves, then you have the Traditionals' trying to compete with the increase in Indie published authors. The problem is that everyone is focused on quantity, not quality.

And what happens? The grand divide, as I call it.

As integrated as our world has become in racial aspects, it has become more and more segregated in literary aspects. Everyone thinks they are right, and therefore cannot come to an agreement. Sam, wants to prove to Tony that he has what it takes to be an "author". Yet, Tony wants to prove to Sam that tradition is of grater value than independence.

Herein lies the tug of war...

HERE IS THE PROBLEM!

While one party competes with the other, the ones that pay the penalty are the readers!! WE, get stuck with low quality books that are impossible to enjoy!

LADIES, LADIES! YOU'RE ALL PRETTY!!

I believe that it's incredibly important to focus more on quality than quantity.

Here is how we can do that:

Analyze yourself.

• Are you really, truly able to write a book?
• Are you prepared?
• Do you have the skills and know how?
• Are you patient enough to ensure that your work is up to par, well done and exceptional?
• Do you think your book has the makings of an original and outstanding story/work?

Be precautions.

• Don't fall for everything your told.
• Read, and double read your contracts (for traditional authors), and contractors guidelines (for indie authors hiring people to do work for you). If you can't double check it, have someone that you trust do it for you.

But most of all, think of your audience!!!!! Put yourself in their shoes! Would YOU read your book if you were them?

AFTER ALL, A HAPPY READER EQUALS A SUCCESSFUL AUTHOR!

~~~~~~

Time for y'all to talk to me! Tell me your thoughts, share your input! Interact!

~~~~~

This is All Authors P&P

The good, the bad and the ugly in the world of books, article 1.

Creating A Funnel, A Guest Blog Post by A. Lopez Jr

Creating A Funnel

In the Indie world of writing there are many opportunities, new discoveries, and pitfalls. The learning process alone can be overwhelming if you are coming into it fresh, or off-the-street, if you will. And if you are writing under the Indie flag, then you already know that there is so much more to writing a book, than just writing. Editing, formatting, compiling, promoting, blogging, and resting (when we can find time) are just a few of the have-to’s in what we do.

I want to talk about the promoting aspect of writing. That comes during and after we have completed our work and are ready to put it out for the world to see. But more so, my post is based on the number of works rather than one piece of work. I am talking about a backlist of work (at least two, but three or more is better) that are currently up for sale. I call it promoting, but to be more specific it is more of a way to promote. It is a method I implemented in an attempt to gain a bigger audience. It’s called, Funneling.

Funneling

Funneling is not a new term in the writing world by no means, but it is a term that all writers should get familiar with. It is the idea of taking one of your products, in our case, books, and using that one thing to bring awareness to the rest of your titles. In other words, if someone likes that one book, they may go on to purchase a different one and so on. This is especially helpful if you are writing a series. This is a technique used in many different business models for selling goods.

In writing, if you have two or more books available, this means of promotion or strategy, can work well. If your content is good and solid, and well-liked, then there is a good chance you will see results via the funnel. I will give an example base on my plan and results.

The Foundation

There has to be a foundation to make this work. In my case, my first book, Purgatory was up for sale as I was writing my second, Night Dreams #1. Once I was done with that, I wrote my third, Floor Four. I made a decision at that point to put Floor Four up for free, based on the funnel philosophy. I have my books for sale on all platforms and in every store possible - print and ebook.

I sell my books on Amazon, but I do not use Amazon Select - a service that allows you to have your book up for free for a five-day period - but it makes it exclusive to them for ninety days. I bring up the free thing because that is the basis for my funnel. The idea is to generate interest through a free book, and if it is well-received or liked, it may create fans or spark interest in the rest of the books that you have for sale. Floor Four is a novella (around 30,000 words), and a good choice for me to offer as a freebie. It is a stand-alone and not connected to my series.

Results

Before I get to my results, I must admit that putting up my novella for free, a work that I spent a lot of time on to write, edit and re-edit, was a big decision - I know many of you have faced the same dilemma if you have something for free. But, with my plan in mind, I was ready to venture out and see what it would bring. Immediately, my title was downloaded, and I have learned that there are tons of readers who love free.

Floor Four has been free for a year and has been downloaded over 40,000 times which averages out to just over 100 downloads per day. That is a ton of exposure, even if some downloads were just because it was free. I have received over 170 reviews during this time. About two months into this process the sales on my other books, Purgatory and Night Dreams #1, went up by 20%. Now, a year into this project, my sales have increased by 85% and the trend is staying steady.

That is in one year, and I have to attribute those sales numbers to the mouth of the funnel…the freebie! Based on the majority of the reviews, it has been well-received, which, in my opinion, has translated to better sales and more fans. Since the free title was available, sign ups for my newsletter, The Project, have increased as well. Recently, I have released ND #2 & #3, and those began to sell right off, which correlates to the above-mentioned stats.

Observations

This blog post is not about how many books I’ve sold, but more to the fact that those sales are directly related to the method I chose to employ . . . The Funnel!

Of course, we write because we love to write, tell stories, and share them with the world. It’s just something we do and if I took a poll of writers, I am sure that nine out of ten or more would say they would still write, even if there was no financial windfall in the end. But the reality is that we put so much time and hard work into our books and stories and have achieved a major accomplishment, that when we put it up for sale it is nice to be rewarded in that secondary way.

  

In closing, I feel that risks must be taken if you want to test the stigma placed on indie authors. Some may not consider using a funnel or something similar, a risk, while others may never put out one of their works for free. There is no right or wrong answer, it's all a matter of style and taste. What may work of one person may not work for others, and selling a few books doesn’t define success in writing. To me, success is sitting down and writing the story you want to tell, and publishing it.

The best part of what the funnel has brought to me are the new fans of my writing, an audience, and I am now interacting with new readers who genuinely appreciate my style of writing, and in that, I get invaluable feedback, insight and a different perspective on how an outside pair of eyes sees my fictional world.

Good luck with whichever path you choose, but above all, KEEP WRITING!

To find out more about A. Lopez Jr and his writing, visit him at:

http://alopezjr.com/