Monday Marketing on a Tuesday

Because yesterday was a solemn holiday and I didn't do any marketing, here's my Monday Marketing post on a Tuesday.  Tada!  

This week, Early Grave is up for grabs.  We'll see if FB allows me to do much of anything this week or whether I'm going to need to rethink my marketing strategy.  Anyway...

Now through Friday, EARLY GRAVE is free! (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Grab your copy of this twisty suspense today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CGYBSST

Marketing Monday - Early Grave

Good morning!  It's time again for another Marketing Monday.  Today, we're doing Early Grave - the third book in the Serial Crimes Investigation Unit series.  It's a third book, but like all the SCIU books, it can be read without reading the others.  (Although reading the others does enrich the experience, imo.)

Starting today, EARLY GRAVE is free. Come along on this suspenseful hunt for serial killer before it's too late. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CGYBSST

Speaking of marketing and free books, I am actually ahead of the game and have set up freebies for the next three weeks.  This week, it's EG, next week will be Blink of an I, and then Natural Causes.  Enjoy.

Sunday Update 11/17/24

Whoa, this year is going fast.  It's hard to believe I've been post-employed for over 6 months now.  Woot.

Okay, so this past week... Well, the beginning of the week started okay pretty okay.  I did stuff.  Then the end of the week, I felt like crap and didn't do much of anything.  Still, you came here for an update and here it is:

No writing, but I did get 16 pages edited and I'm through 6 pages of edit notes now.  Yeah, none of that sounds like a lot, but it is.  I'm going to try to boost those numbers this week.  We'll see.

I did marketing every morning of the work-week. This moved 146 copies of Early Grave.  No residual stuff yet, but I have hope.  I think I'll take this coming week off of marketing and see what happens.  Probably nothing.  :shrug:  I can handle nothing, I guess.  I've handled it a lot over a long stretch of the past ten years. ;o)

I read some stuff.  You can go to yesterday's post to see that.  Except the ebook I started reading is a suspense with few reviews and I'm enjoying it.  Is it perfect?  Nope.  Still enjoying it, though.  Yay.  I should be able to leave a good review for this and help a fellow writer out.  

Last week, I made Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies, pizza, and a big vat of chili.  Yummers.  I picked up the stuff to make French bread pizza instead of regular pizza, so that's what we're having today.

On the activity front, like I said, I did stuff early in the week.  In fact, I did three days in a row throwing logs around in the woods... maybe that's why I got to feeling pooky... ya think?  Anyway, I feel better in general when I'm active, so I'm going to get back at it soon.  Weight: 175.0

What else... let's see... I'm back to being 'active' on Twitter... X... whatever.  I'm still weeding my feed, following new stuff, unfollowing crap stuff.  Posting interesting things when I can.  It probably won't be the most exiting place to follow, but follow me anyway.  @BE_Sanderson

Okay, I think that's it.  There may be other stuff, but it's lost to me right now.  Tra la la.  Have a great day and a great week, wherever you are.  Hasta la bye-bye.

Thursday This n That

I've been working in the woods these past few days.  It feels good to be back at it again.  Two years of not doing it means there is a LOT to clean up down in there.  Unfortunately, we lost several dogwood trees.  We have no clue what killed them.  Especially since there are live dogwood trees right near the dead ones.  Anyway, with all this deadfall, our firewood hoard is growing.  When we eventually get a woodstove, we're going to be golden.  Until then, though, it's just really good exercise.

Yes, I am sore from all the wood hauling - Hubs has been doing the cutting - but I'd rather be sore than turn into Jabba the Hut.  

I'm trying to make marketing images this morning, but the internet is killing me.

Mmm, cheese.

Right now, I'm reading a compendium of HG Wells' stories.  It starts off with War of the Worlds.  I'd read that once years ago and not since, so it's pretty interesting.  Nothing at all like the movie (the old one... I refuse to acknowledge that weird thing Tom Cruise did).  This whole volume could take me the rest of the year, but I think after WotW, I'll read an ebook or two before forging on.

I think I made a pretty good graphic this morning.  It might be too creepy, though.  What do you think?

Hey!  Blogger let my graphic load!  Yay!

Okay, I've gotta go get life started this morning.  Have a great day.

Insights and Other Fun Stuff

I know you're probably sick of listening to me talk about marketing.  I get sick of doing it, but it's a necessarily evil if you want to sell books.  Word of mouth can only get you so far, especially if you haven't published a new book in a while.  So here I am, posting marketing copy and images every morning - and sometimes night, if I can wedge one in there.  It is working.  I mean, if it wasn't I wouldn't still be beating my head on this particular rock, now would I?

Anyway, here's this morning's ranking snapshot for Early Grave:

Freaking photo wouldn't upload and I hate blogger sometimes. It's ranked at #9 in Serial Killers and #2963 overall in free books.

Not too shabby, eh?  And that's after moving only 82 copies.  Fingers crossed it turns into page reads and sales of the other books in the series.  

I have about 30 groups I post to now - more or less... some of them are genre specific.  And it usually takes me about 30 minutes for the posting.  The generation of new images every day?  Well, that takes a little longer.  Yep, a new image every day minus the one day I let the link provide the image for five days straight.  

Yes, you have to do the free thing for the whole five days.  If you do less days, you run the risk of the book not reaching the KU magic spot where it shows your book to its subscribers.  Go figger.

Now, this only works for freebies.  I've tried doing it for 99c books and I get :sad crickets chirping in the background:.  

An unfortunate side effect of this marketing is I am getting inundated with spammers and scammers.  They're only commenting and not messaging me much.  One of them emailed me.  It's all easy enough to ignore.  Plus, I get a chuckle out of some of the shit they try to pull.  A lot of them shower you with insincere praise and then ask you to message them.  ROFL  According to them, I am amazing, my covers are amazing, and my books are the best thing since the sun started rising every morning.  (Yeah, I'm that good.)

Anyway, that's the skinny on this marketing thing.  If you'd like to join me in this death by a thousand papercuts, and have any questions, let me know.  Otherwise, have a great day!

Monday Marketing

Hi there, Everyone.  It's Monday and that means Marketing.  Today, it's a freebie for EARLY GRAVE.  Sure, it's book three in the SCIU series, but those can be read standalone, so there ya go.

You're never too old to die.

EARLY GRAVE is free from now until Friday. (Always free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.) Get this fast-paced suspense today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CGYBSST

And if you're not all that familiar with the story...

Nurse’s aide Tess Harper finds great joy in helping the elderly. If helping them into their graves a tad early is any sort of help at all. She’s not doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Tess is no angel, only a predator. And she has the perfect prey. Old people die all the time.

Haunted by his own grandmother’s death, Agent Ned Washington finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a murderer. Dozens of old people have died but there was no kind and natural end for any of them. The hunt is on and Ned’s got a killer to stop before she sends more innocent victims to an early grave.

Personally, I think this book is awesome, but that's me.  It was fun to write, I like the characters, and the end sings to my sense of justice.  Bwa ha ha.

Promo Monday

The sale has started! Get all three Serial Crimes Investigation Unit books for less than $2 now through Friday night. DYING EMBERS is FREE. FERTILE GROUND and EARLY GRAVE are only 99c/99p each in the US and UK. Read them all!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078MQ9RX9

Merry Christmas Eve. Here's a Present.

Since my writing is really the only gift I have to give, starting today the book that started it all, DYING EMBERS, is free.  (And the other two SCIU books - FERTILE GROUND and EARLY GRAVE - are only 99c.)

DE is free through Saturday.  FG and EG are on sale through Monday night.  Grab one or grab them all.  If you already have them, thank you so much.  Your support means the world to me.  I wish I had a prezzie to give you, too.  :hugs:

Merry Christmas to you and all of your loved ones.  Here's to a Happy New Year for us all.

Sunday Update - Week 36

How did it get to be Sunday again already?  Arrgghh.

Let's not talk about writing, shall we?

I have another sale starting Tuesday with advertising going out Thursday.  Dying Embers will be the advertised sale at 99c/99p.  The other two books, Fertile Ground and Early Grave, will be $1.99 (or the UK equivalent) each.  Whether I get much chance to market these on FB will depend on our justice system and how long this jury thing lasts.

Did a fair amount of reading.  Finished 4, DNF'd 3. 

More granola bars were made. 

On the activity front, 6 out of 7 days.  More cleaning and walking.  One day of grocery shopping, which I counted this time around because... well... you try pushing a cart with a 24 pack of water, three big jugs of apple juice, two big jugs of orange juice, and a week's worth of other groceries around Wallyworld.  And the cart didn't want to make right turns.  Ugh.  If that wasn't burning calories, I don't know what would be.

No fishing.  With the holiday weekend, I didn't want to be anywhere near the lake.  And then it was too freakin' hot and I had stuffs to do in the mornings.  =o\

The fawns are losing their spots and growing.  A few are about 2/3 size of the does now.  The other day we had 10 does and 7 fawns in the yard.  It's a bumper crop.  Yay.

I got my files backed up.  If you haven't backed up lately, this might be a reminder.  :poke:

And that's it for me.  Not a whole lot going on in Sandersonville.  How about your ville?

Thursday This n That

I had something on my mind to type here but by the time I had opened the page for a new post and written the title, it was gone.  Such is my brain.

I finally got Early Grave done and sent off to AWE.  I have it on the calendar to start working on Sleeping Ugly as soon as EG went off, but I am so not ready to dive into that hot mess yet.  (Then again, I had it on the calendar to send EG to her on the 16th, which proves that the calendar is not set in stone.)

So, I got my oil changed yesterday at the local Kwik Lube.  While I was waiting, I noticed they were having a drawing for a big ol' smoker.  Like 8 interior racks big.  When my car was done, the guy comes in to tell me all about what they did to my car and to take my money.  As he's typing away on the computer, he slides a blank piece of paper toward me and invites me to enter the drawing.  I decline - because what the hell would the two of us do with a smoker that size?  I mean, it says clearly on the box it takes two people to lift it and I can't imagine how I'd even get the dang thing home.  After I decline, he says 'already have one?'  Umm, no.  Then he tells me if he brings another one home, his wife will kill him.  Already has three.  Had six but he left three behind when they moved to AR.  "Wow," says I, "You must really like your smoked meats."  We chat some more and then a lady comes out of a door I had been certain only lead to a storage room.  "They keep you locked up in that tiny room?" says I in a joking tone.  She laughs and says "There are two offices upstairs."  Coulda knocked me over with a pin.  I never dreamed there were stairs behind the door.  Guy leaves the rest of my paperwork to the gal and goes back into the garage.  She passes me a piece of paper and invites me to enter the drawing.  I decline.  She says "Already have too many?"  Apparently smoking meat is a big thing around here.  Who knew?

Living in the Ozarks can be interesting sometimes.   For the most part, because I live in a resort-type area, I run into people here who are from somewhere else.  And then there are the people who are Ozark born and bred.  They're the really fun ones.  Kinda remind me of the Yoopers - laid back and a bit quirky.  I love it.  You just have to watch out for the ones who are so far out and detached from society that they'd as happily shoot you for driving down their road as look at you.  When the sign says 'No trespassing', you'd better take it seriously.

I need to set a book here, but I can't think of how I'd make it work yet.  Maybe I just haven't run into the right inspiration.

Speaking of story ideas, I saw something yesterday on FB that told of a 'contest' where you submit your story ideas to this place (written or not, they don't care) and the people of Canada vote on the ideas and whoever's idea gets the most votes gets a publishing contract.  Hubs had a great idea "A writer who's worked for years in solitude, slaving away at his book, sends the idea off to a company in Canada having a contest.  They steal his idea and publish it without giving him any credit or money, so he drives to Canada and goes on a killing spree at the publishing company."  I think they'd love that concept, don't you?  ;o)

Hubs is a funny guy.  At least, I think he is.  And he thinks I'm funny, too.  I suspect few people outside this house would find us amusing, but we really don't care.  We're a hoot.

My flowers have finally shipped.  They should be here tomorrow.  Which means, I really need to pick up more dirt.  I have one bag, but that's probably not going to be enough.  And I still need more rocks.  I really should have the supply place deliver all of it.  My little stealth pickup can't handle the weight of everything I need.

Well, that ought to be enough this n that today.  What's on your radar?

Sunday Update - Week 3

Another week that went by way so fast I'm not even sure it was a week.

I didn't write anything this past week, but I did get some editing done.  I'm finished with the first read-through of the first draft of Early Grave.  I ended up with 16 pages of edit notes, which actually isn't too bad.  Of those, I've gotten four entered into the manuscript.  Six days to do the other 12.  Umm...  I can do it?  Of course I can.  Will I?  Time will tell.

I got a really awesome review for Fertile Ground this week.  And she advises that perhaps I should let readers know this book should not be started before bed because she did so, hoping to read a chapter or two.  She stayed up all night and finished it in one sitting.  YAY!... I mean, Sorry.  But yay.

I'm still chugging along on Shogun.  I'm up to around pg 280 (out of like 1200 pgs with tiny tiny font).  I'm enjoying the story so far.

It's been freakin' cold here and snowy.  I didn't even make it off the property for a week - waiting for the roads to be clear enough for safe passage.  I finally got out on Thursday.  It was cause for celebration.

Hubs and I are in the planning stages for a reforestation project in our woods.  Which means we're looking online at various tree-selling sites and trying to decide what we want to do.  We are pretty much decided on buying some red cedar saplings to try and fix what the previous owner did.  Some dogwoods would be nice.  And redbuds.  They have to be at least partial shade loving because it's the woods.

We're also in the middle of cleaning up the woods, but that had to be put on hold because snow.

And now I'm at the point where I can't remember what happened this past week and what may have happened the week before, so I'll just call it a day. 

Have an awesome week everybody!