I have to ask…
…would it be a wise move to create audiobook versions of my Reaper Series and Shades of Grey Series?
Hmmmm………
Very tempting.
Especially since my boyfriend is an audio whiz…..
Any feedback would be appreciated!
*Reaper VIII and Shades of Grey IV in progress, approx. 75% done!*
Sincere regards & happy reading,
Amanda M. Holt
Procrastinator
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I just have to prep a cover & upload!
I’ll offer it free via Kindle Direct Publishing @ Amazon.com shortly!
Watch for that promotion!
Sincere regards & Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress
p.s. 61,800 words for this installment! A bit MORE than a novella… After Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, etc, I will offer it via Smashwords (who distributes to Apple, et al) and quite possibly in a paperback collection titled “Reaper V – VII: Lust Love Loss” via Lulu.com where I would do the max discount to consumers possible, just as i did with the paperback “Reaper I – V: Origin” (available through Lulu.com at the discounted rate, available through Amazon.com at approx $24, which I find kind of embarassing). Trying to make paperback versions of the series as affordable as possible, but self-publishing so totally hinders this!!!! Anyway, the above is my current plan…. but first off, gotta get Reaper VII uploaded to Amazon!!! Which I will do this morning! If it goes the way it usually does, it should be available in 48 hours or so!!!
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So…
…….my sincere apologies for my long and recent silence.
I really have no good excuses.
If I can find the time to facebook images of Tardar Sauce AKA Grumpy Cat, surely i could have found time to both edit my damned revisions and update my WordPress Blog?!?!?!?!
I feel like I have abandoned my small but loyal following.
For that, I make this heartfelt apology and this pledge!
For the past few days, I have been working near-relentlessly on my edit for Reaper VII: Soultalker.
In this most recent installment of my Reaper Series, bad things happen to Samantha Bennet. Good things happen, too.
But then, terrible things happen. A brush with certain death. Injuries beyond repair. A high-stakes gamble, in which she loses her way of life.
Heartbreak… Helplessness… A lonely path…
Then, new hope in a new ally… yet, the dark days of prophecy loom ever present on the horizon.
And I leave you with the introduction of a duo of ruthless characters who’ve seen their share of nightmares and who seem best suited to aid Reaper in sorting out some of the wetworks in hers.
Cannot guarantee WHEN this installment will be done, as 77 pages is now 164 (Word doc, single space) and 38k words have kind of blossomed into 60K….
As soon as I am finished with her, I will upload to Amazon for your reading pleasure!
Same goes for Reaper VII (Title, as yet, undecided).
A lot of adventures in store for Miss Samantha Bennet yet.
A lot of ups & downs.
Some of them in bed… 😉
Happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateaur Authoress, Full-Time Nurse, Loyal & Loving Girlfriend, Part-Time Dreamer…
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So…
…….here I am at age 32 going on my first overseas trip!
…Winnipeg, Vancouver, Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Thompson…
…going to be gone approximately two weeks, so I will not be putting out any titles during that time.
After I return to Canada, likely over the weekend of April 6 – April 8, 2012, I am going to be releasing Her Man (contemporary romance), Getting Lucky I: Pedro & Eddie (interracial erotica), and Shades of Grey: Prologue & Shades of Grey: Hear No Evil (paranormal/thriller/horror/adventure) at Smashwords.
Currently, they are only available as Kindle titles. I am uploading them to Smashwords so that they can be distributed to Kobo, etc., on multiple formats/platforms. I also have some titles that were previously available only at eXtasy Books (and I believe some from New Concepts Publishing) that I will be releasing at Smashwords and Amazon/Kindle in the near future.
New works are in development, but between my full time nursing career and the editing & re-release of Second Editions, I am finding it difficult to make/find time to give those projects the full attention they deserve.
Up next? Shades of Grey III: See No Evil, Reaper VI: Lust, and the first *brand new* novel in a series I am working on about things that go bump in the night here in Northern Canada…..that’s all i’m saying about that project, it’s very near and dear to my heart, and I am developing it with the kind of slow, cautious consideration and cossetting that one rations for their most worthy of hobbies…
I’m actually very shy about speaking about it, and when I do, I seem to use very reverent language in a sort of breathless incantation resembling whispers of awestruck self-delusion about genius approaching infamy…
Anyway — on to China!
Wish me luck!
Sincere regards & Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Neophyte Tourist and International Woman of Mystery (?)
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So…
…….I’m about 75% finished polishing, tweeking, steering and otherwise editing Reaper V: To Skins (which i am hereby re-naming Two Skins, because it makes so much more sense). With “To Skin” I was trying to imply that this practice involved something being adhered/writ literally “to the skin” or “to skins”. Two Skins (having two skins) is a so much more simple, beautiful, and self-explanatory concept.
I really hope that readers will enjoy this installment, which I hope to have out for by Leap Year (and as a Free read on Amazon somewhere around that time). I think that I will offer Reaper V: Two Skins for free for about a three day period (instead of five) and reserve the remaining two days for another block of time (a random weekend somewhere).
I’m still experimenting with trying to figure out if there’s a pattern of peaks and troughs where readers choose to download Free ebooks (some weekends seem busier than others, some weekdays have shown far more of a surge of interest than weekends).
Any-hoo, it’s Friday, which means payday in the real world —- and bills to pay.
Sincere regards, and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Full Time Tax Payer, Sometimes Chocolate Cake With Peanut Butter Icing Maker-And-Eater
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So…
……in a previous post, I stated that I only had about $650 in sales Dec – Jan.
I just looked up my sales on the Kindle Direct Publishing account website…approx $700 in sales in USD, $70 GBP, and $25 in Euros. I really must learn to understand the monetary systems a bit better!
I expect that the first week of February will result in approx $70USD in sales and European sales approx $15 in assorted monies.
Anotherwords, off to a slow start, but little progress is still progress, and at least I am building a readership with my $0.99USD priced books and free promotions (where the BIG download numbers occur, in the 10’s of thousands!)!!!
Yes, it would be nice to one day be able to write to support my writing, and write alone, but for now I have to keep my day job! lol It’s a day job I love, so it’s one that I will likely keep until, if, and when my writing income becomes the greater earning power, allowing me the luxury – and priviledge – of being to work primarily as an author whose success (or failure) is at the entire mercy of their reading audience.
That being said, I apologize for my previous inaccurate account of my Amazon sales. Since this Blog is written in part to chronicle the ups & downs of an amateur author, I was almost certain that someone would appreciate hearing the honest numbers involved in my endeavour (35% royalties for books priced under $2.99USD; 70% royalties for books priced over $2.99 USD through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing).
I am keeping my single installments of Reaper Series (paranormal/horror for adult audience), Shades of Grey (paranormal/horror for adults), and Getting Lucky (erotica series) priced at $0.99, so I am getting 35% of $0.99 or roughly $0.34 per sale there. Stand alone titles (such as Her Man [romance] and The Deal [erotica/paranormal]) will also likely remain at $0.99. I will offer larger collections in the future, which I expect to be priced at approx $3.99 for Reaper I – V and possibly $2.99 or $3.99 for the Shades of Grey I – V collection.
I am going to be selecting a charitable organization with each title, to whom I am going to give a portion of the royalites collected. I estimate this amount will be between 7% and 10% per royalty. I will calculate and distribute this amount at the end of every year.
With February/March being the income tax season here in Canada, I am of course concerned about making sure that I accurately report all of my income, expenses, etc. At the moment, my writing income is very small. My expenses have put me in a “loss” situation for 2011 (through the purchase of software, new laptop, printer, filing cabinet x 2, office supplies [i.e. printer cartridge, paper, pens, mouse, keyboard, flash drves, external HD, etc], and other incidentals).
I look forward to working with the very patient and knowledgable staff at H & R Block to help me figure out those receipts I need to keep track of, and those I don’t — etc. It’s all very…..complex. Capital losses and write offs and whatnot. But that’s what the Tax Literate are for. I fall into the category of Tax Illiterate. But i’m working on that!
Anyway, my self-assigned break is over, so it’s time to hit the floor and do a round.
Sincere regards and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Night Nurse and Taxation Neophyte
p.s. Reaper V due out on or around February 29! WIll try to promote FREE at that time! Are you excited? I’m excited! Number V already! Whoot-whoot!
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So…
…..there were 1017 copies of my Contemporary Romance novel HER MAN downloaded in the last twelve hours!!! That’s nearly 100 copies an hour! And it’s not just amazon.com! It’s amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.es and amazon.it !!! So exciting! I won’t make a dime off of these free copies, but the free advertisement and promotion is worth its weight in gold!
Sincere regards and Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
To download the book FREE (FREE until tomorrow): search for Amanda M. Holt at amazon.com or visit:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006K0LCO2
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So……………………………….
………………………………….Ellora’s Cave politely declined “Bound: A Post-Apocalyptic Lust Story” (featuring the warrioress Ana in her jungle home and the fertility researcher she encounters) on the grounds that they did not feel it was a good fit for their women’s interracial line of erotica.
Therefore, I submitted it to my publisher NCP (New Concepts Publishing, http://www.newconceptspublishing.com) to see if they would be interested in putting it to print.
ALSO……………….NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a very interesting commercial fiction agent reading the first book of my Reaper Series of novels….I DO SO HOPE SHE CHOOSES TO REPRESENT ME!!!!!!!!!!!! Cross your fingers, fans, cross your toes, cross whatever it takes to get the Reaper Series off the ground….There’s so much I want to do with that storyline, a little incentive would be just the thing to give me the peace of mind (that it is a good investment of time and energy at this point in my life/writing career).
ALSO…………………………
……………………………….I have three shifts left of my student Senior Practicum as a BN student, and then — PROVIDED I PASS — I have my BN degree!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAY FOR ME!!!!!
It’s been a LONG time coming!!!!!!
Then, there’s the CRNE exam in October, to become a registered nurse, and then if I pass that, I am a genuine freaking RN.
WOWSERS.
How time does fly when you’re having fun and keeping preoccupied.
Until next time, happy reading, and enjoy (what’s left of) the summer.
(we’ve had a great deal of rain here, and thunderstorms scheduled for tonight)
Sincere regards,
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress and Pending BN
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So………………….
…………………….I had a few days off of my nursing student practicum, and I spent it grocery shopping, visiting, studying (there seems to be no end to studying) apartment hunting, and bill paying.
Now, I am blogging, and then will be baking – a Gateau a la Orange!!!! (Yes, I am trying to learn French – Gateau a la Orange means orange cake).
I regret to inform you that I have not been writing much of late – in fact, I have neglected my laptop so long, I don’t even recall which project I was working on last! An unfortunate thing, oui oui. Last night I spent a sliver of time editing a tale for eXtasy Books – an adult romance featuring a hot-headed strong willed young woman trying to find her true calling, as well as the best sex that rural Manitoba has to offer! This spirited young woman doesn’t hold back, nor shy away from a challenge, and comes to find both men and women as suitable lovers. Believe it or not, despite the “tame” rural setting, she has many a wonderful adventure, finds love, loses love, and…well, whether or not she gets love back is for the reader to know!!!!
Expect the tale out around October 1st or 15th, as there are a number of Halloween themed chapters that my editor has agreed makes this an ideal Halloween read.
I will post excerpts as I make the last of the editing/alterations.
I hope that you find something delightful to read this summer!!!
Sincere regards,
Amanda M. Holt
P.S. If you like modern-day vampire erotica, you might like to try my short eBooks “In His Thrall” and “Of Crimson Blood and Ivory Skin” from New Concepts Publishing (www.newconceptspublishing.com). If you like vengeful vigilantes of the Nephalim (angel human hybrid) variety, try my Reaper Series at eXtasy Books (www.extasybooks.com). If you like stories about headstrong heiresses and the bodyguards assigned to them, try my tale “Guarding Miranda”, a full length romance novel from NCP.
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So……….
…………..There’s one little difference between a contracted work with Ellora’s Cave and that of other eBook publishers I have seen. At EC they appear to require a contract binding your project for the lifetime of the work. I assume that THAT is different from lifetime of the contract. Perhaps I misunderstand?
I would really like to send them my tale, BOUND: A POST-APOCALYPTIC LUST STORY (the title I decided on after much deliberation, for the tale of my jungle huntress Ana, and her first interracial adventure).
I am in the process of writing a shiny new synopsis for Ellora’s Cave to try and win their approval/capture and hold their attention…
…given that I have NO intention of having Ana’s interracial erotica/BDSM tale end after the first encounter with her hero, if EC is interested in publishing her, I will have to find a way to ensure that her background story as a fictional character is fair game in the next installment…
…Now is Ellora’s Cave going to be interested in my dear sweet Ana and her adventures in her jungle home? I am really looking forward to hearing their opinion on thist project…
Time will tell, I suppose.
Stay tuned for more on that.
I will be submitting BOUND to them this week.
Sincere regards,
Amanda M. Holt
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The Novels of Amanda M. Holt 