a Rafflecopter giveaway
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Now on Tour: Die Portal-Chroniken - Portal
Die Tour: 10. September 2012 - 10. Oktober 2012
.jpg)
STOPS: 45
Montag - 10.09.2012
Books more than passion
Schmoeker-Welt
Dienstag - 11.09.2012
Bookaholics For Life
Alicia’s Wonder world of books
Mittwoch - 12.09.2012
Schlüsselreiz
Freitag - 14.09.2012
Miss. PQ
Sonnabend - 15.09.2012
Lesegluck
Cinema in my Head
Sonntag - 16.09.2012
Mandy’s Bücher- & Hbbyecke
Montag - 17.09.2012
Crazy-Julia
Dienstag - 18.09.2012
Steffis Bücherblog
Hanna’s Lovelybooks
Mittwoch - 19.09.2012
Schnuffelchens Bücher und Co
Angel’s Books
Donnerstag - 20.09.2012
Filos Bücheruniversum
MeyLus Buchgeflüster
Freitag - 21.09.2012
Bines Bücherparadies
Lesen und Mehr
Sonnabend - 22.09.2012
FANTASTICBOOKS
Montag - 24.09.2012
Monis Buchblog
Dienstag - 25.09.2012
L Wielesen
Stories. Dreams. Books. by Cityrella
Mittwoch - 26.09.2012
Memories
MoiMee
Donnerstag - 27.09.2012
Bella’s Wonderworld
Partir avec un livre
Freitag - 28.09.2012
The emotional life of books
Sonnabend - 29.09.2012
Nici’s Books
Angel s Blog
Sonntag - 30.09.2012
HEARTBOOKS
Buchmonster
Montag - 1.10.2012
Katrinheartsbooks
TVSC’s kleine Welt
Dienstag - 2.10.2012
Magische Welten
Mittwoch - 3.10.2012
Angels Bücherecke
Books’ Dream
Donnerstag - 4.10.2012
Book-Challenges
Freitag - 5.10.2012
Tintenhain
Xallaya
Sonntag - 7.10.2012
Let’s Talk About All + Nothing…
MERLINUNDPAULAS BüCHERWELT
Montag - 8.10.2012
Flyingwords
Dienstag -9.10.2012
Deborahs Bücherhimmel
KaDis kleine Bücherwelt
Mittwoch - 10.10.2012
Melanie Stoll // Volturi Blog
TOUR GIVEAWAY
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Getting the Most from Beta Readers (Guest Post by BigAl)
What is the biggest difference between a book produced by an Indie author and one produced via traditional publishing?
As a reader, I think the answer should be, “no difference.” At least not a difference I’d detect from reading the book unless it is something I’d perceive as a positive, like being in a favorite genre underserved by traditional publishing.
An author would probably define the biggest difference as having to deal with everything that comes after writing the book through a combination of doing it himself or herself, hiring professionals, and recruiting volunteers to help. These steps include cover design, marketing, and several editing and proofing steps. Many authors, especially Indies, use beta readers as part of this process.
Defining what a beta reader does is problematic, because different authors use them in different ways and at different places in the process. A definition that fits most is that a beta reader is someone, typically an unpaid volunteer, who agrees to read a book at some point during the process of editing and polishing, and give the author feedback from the perspective of a reader. This feedback can be high level (“I hate the protagonist” or “I didn’t believe the premise of the story”), low level (“you’ve got a typo here” or “I don’t understand what you’re saying in this sentence”) or somewhere in between (this scene didn’t work for me or I felt like there was something missing in this part of the story). Ideally, an author will have multiple betas so that they’ll receive feedback from readers with different tastes and skills. In his Seven Tips for Writers, K.D. Rush mentions several areas where his beta readers have helped him.
I’ve been a beta reader for several authors who each use their beta reader teams in different ways. Imogen Rose, the author of two successful indie-published young adult paranormal series, has built a process that’s the best I’ve seen. The process begins with steps that are close to what you might see from a traditional publisher. Content editing (by a former editor for a New York publishing house), followed by copy-editing and multiple proofreads (also done by hired professionals). Last, a team of beta readers review the book and it receives a final round of proofreads. Rose says, “Putting my books through an intense scrutiny like that makes me feel confident that I am putting out a product I can be proud of.”
With the exception of the numerous rounds of proofreading, this process might sound like what many of you do. However, Rose adds two significant improvements to this basic template. The first is that her process is iterative. When a change is made later in the process, it goes back to the people who performed earlier roles for review. The skills and points of view of those with different roles (beta reader, author, and editor) mean that each are focused on different things. The iterative process insures that any changes seem correct based on each person’s focus.
The other difference is that, rather than working in isolation, Rose sets up a private Facebook group with herself, editors, proofreaders, beta readers, and others as members. This group serves several purposes. First, status updates on the process keep everyone informed and builds anticipation among the rest of the team. Second, by interacting with others involved rather than working in isolation, it gives everyone a sense of being part of a team, with all the positives of that. (If you don’t know what those positives are, thousands of business management books explain them in excruciating detail.) Last, and possibly most important, it gives a vehicle to discuss things someone isn’t sure about. If one of the beta readers feels a particular scene doesn’t work, but the author isn’t sure whether to change it or if the change she’s considering will do the trick, she’ll throw it out to the group for input. If a beta reader is unsure about a particular section, but can’t decide if it is “just her” or she is having difficulty articulating her concerns, she can ask the group what they think. Often someone else will respond, “I wondered about that too, but didn’t mention it.” Then everyone can discuss the section and together determine why it wasn’t working for them. Allirea Brumley, one of Rose’s long-time beta readers, feels this helps make “a better book, and makes the process a whole lot more fun … Imogen has this talent to make her team feel special. I think that makes the team want to do great work for her.”
Traditional publishers have to use a process that is clearly defined, generic, and that will work with multiple books in the pipeline at once. Indie authors can gain a competitive advantage by building and improving on the basic process. Innovative uses of beta readers are one of those improvements.
A version of this article first appeared on Indies Unlimited on 9/05/12. It is used here with the permission of the author, BigAl.
About BigAl
BigAl (who insists he only has one name, like Cher and Madonna) spends his days writing computer programs that are full of typos, homonym errors, and incorrect verb usage. During his evenings, he writes reviews of indie books for BigAl’s Books and Pals and has recently taken over The IndieView, a website founded by indie author Simon Royle as a resource for indie authors, indie reviewers, and those who read either.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Die Portal-Chroniken GOODREADS Giveaway
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Die Portal-Chroniken — Portal
by Imogen Rose
Giveaway ends October 04, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
INTEGRATION Bewitching Book Tour and Kindle Fire Giveaway
Now on Tour Integration by Imogen Rose
August 15 Guest blog and review
Urban Fantasy Investigations
August 15 Interview
A Bibliophile's Reverie Blog
August 16 Interview and review
What's Hot?
August 16
Lena Sledge
August 17 Interview and review
Tana Rae Reads
August 17 Review
Freda's Voice:
August 19 Promo
Flutey Words
August 19 Guest blog
Lisa’s World of Books
August 20 Promo
Awesomesauce Book club
August 20 Review
Romancing the Book
Aug 20 review
Intoxicated by Books
August 23 Guest blog and review
Snowdrop Dreams of Books
August 23 Review
August 24 Guest blog
Simply Infatuated
August 25 Guest blog and review
Sara In Bookland
August 26 Promo and review
Bookmaven623
August 27 Promo and review
Captivated Reading
August 28 Interview and review
August 28 Guest blog
Ex Libris –
August 29 Interview
Romance Book Junkies
August 30 Interview and Review
The Seraphine Muse:
August 31 Promo
Book Reviews and more from a Book Hoarder
September 1 Promo
Butterfly-o-Meter Books
September 3 Guest blog and review
September 3 Promo and review
A Dream Within A Dream
September 4 Promo and review
A Bibliophile's Thoughts on Books
September 4 Review
bajan rosa books
September 5 Guest blog and review
My Guilty Obsession
September 5 Review
September 6 Guest blog
Behind A Million And One Pages
September 7 Guest blog
Suz @ A Soul Unsung
September 7 Promo and review
Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's
September 8 Promo
JeanzBookReadNReview
September 9 Guest blog
September 10 review
Fictional Candy
September 10 Review
Bornean Bookworm Reads
September 10 review
September 11 Review
Letters Inside Out –
September 11 Review
September 12 Interview and review
Doctor's Notes
September 12 Promo and review
Starry night book reviews
Bonfire Book 2
By Imogen Rose
Second Haiku warning:
A boyfriend missing
A lover must pay in blood
A princess must die
Welcome back to Bonfire Academy.
Book Trailer
A Teaser Excerpt
Broken. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe it. I felt as if I’d been torn to bits, maybe even shredded. I was suffocating, surrounded by a wet tightness of skin and flesh all crusted together. My body was home to excruciating stabs of pain searing about randomly before a final thrust of sheer agony. I couldn’t tell if the source of the pain was within me or if I was being repeatedly sliced open with a knife. Did it matter? I felt as though it was only a matter of seconds before my thoughts would end.
“Cordelia!”
My name. I flinched as the same voice repeated my name again and again. Why? Who was it? It—he—sounded familiar. I heaved as the voice triggered the memory of his face. Then, not being able to stop the bile from traveling up my throat, I gagged and purged, emptying my stomach completely. The next time he muttered my name, his voice was laced with disgust. But his revulsion couldn’t compete with my utter repugnance and disbelief at what he’d done. Him. Someone I had trusted with my life, even though the rule was clear:
Trust No One.
About the Authorgen Rose is the author of the bestselling series, Portal Chronicles, which has attained cult status within indie literature and become a favorite among tee
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Trust No One Giveaway
INTEGRATION goes on tour starting on Wednesday with a Kindle Fire giveaway. In the meantime, here is a t-shirt (female/male versions available) giveaway:
 |
| Winner will be announced here |
TO ENTER: Leave a comment (and your email address). Winner will be announced on 8/20/2012
WINNER: IRIS (emailed) Congratulations. THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Integration Playlist
A selection of music—some of them relevant to the plot and some that inspired me to write.
1. Celtic Requiem (Elliot Simons)
2. Demons (Imagine Dragons)
3. If We Fall (She Said Save Me Ft. Mary Cassidy)
4. Too Close (Alex Clare)
5. The Underestimation of Denial (The Nick Tree Band)
6. Bottom of the River (Delta Rae)
7. My Fault (Imagine Dragons)
8. Naive (The Kooks)
9.Good to You (Mariana's Trench Ft. Jessica Lee)
10. The Man who Sold the World (Nirvana)
11. A White Demon Love Song (The Killers)
12. We Might as well be Strangers (Keane)
13. November Rain (David Garrett)
15. Requiem for a Dream (Kate Chruscicka)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Q&A with Imogen Rose
Questions and answers from the Facebook group “Imogen Rose Fanatics,” hosted by Alli Potter
Ruthi Knight: My question to Imogen would be... How has your life
changed since being published? Is it everything you thought it would be? Or one
of the many misconceptions about being a published author? I'm thinking about
going the self-publishing route for my own work and I would love a real view on
what it's like to be published. :) Btw, HUGE FAN!!! Just finished Integration
and absolutely loved it!! Can't wait to see more of Cordelia and Jagger!!
Imogen: Hi, Ruthie! This one made me stop and think a bit. I
guess the way publishing my books has most changed me is that I’ve turned into
a businesswoman, which is something I never aimed to be. Indie publishing (for
me) is 10% writing and 90% marketing. It's been quite a challenge, but a fun
one. I have met so many amazing people along the way. So although writing
itself is a lonely endeavor, the rest of the publishing business has allowed me
to meet, experience, and appreciate the people who help me make it all happen.
All the best with your book. Let me know when you publish it!
Ruthi: Thank you so much for your answer! I am now
scared, but determined, lol. I am not a businesswoman either so that part is so
very scary! But you're right about meeting so many amazing people! I've gotten
to know a lot of Indie authors lately and I must say, they have all been so
nice and helpful and just all around awesome!
Imogen I couldn't have done it without help and
inspiration from the authors on Kindleboards.
Ruthi: When you write, do you listen to music? If so, what
group/artist has been your biggest inspiration?
Imogen: I tend not to listen to music while I write, but I
do get inspired to write while I am listening to music. I will be posting my Integration
playlist soon.
Carmel Beaudry: What do you do when you get writer's block?
Imogen: The only time I experienced writers block was when I
sat down to try to plan my latest book (Integration). It lasted a
few minutes and was a frightening experience. It was as if all my characters
suddenly went into hiding. I generally find it easy to just let them take over,
which they always do, except for that one time.
Carmel: What do you hope readers get out of your Bonfire
Academy series?
Imogen: I don't write stories with messages. There are no
morals or other lessons to be had from them. I write to entertain.
Anne-Marie Monlezun: Which book is your favorite and why?
Imogen: My latest book is always my favorite because I
always stop at a point where I am desperate to start again. The characters are
so strong in my imagination that I live and breathe them. Just a few days ago,
I was shocked by what happens next for Cordelia and can’t wait to find out
more. Having said that, I have a very special place in my heart for the Portal
Chronicles, as that story is very close to me and who I am.
Anne-Marie : What are you usually doing (as in daily activity)
when you come up with the most story plots and twists? I mean, is there usually
a situation or activity that stimulates your imagination more than others?
Imogen: Yes... it’s either when I am in a semi-sleep, just
about to get up in the mornings, or when I am in the shower.
Anne-Marie: I know that your daughter Lauren is your greatest
inspiration in your writing. Are there others that peak your creative juices?
Imogen: I always giggle a little when I write the bit on my
copyright page that claims that all resemblance to living characters is purely
coincidental. Of course the resemblances are coincidental, but my characters are
also HUGELY inspired by people around me who touch my imagination.
Anne-Marie: So that one cartoon that says “Caution! Writer at
work, anything you say or do may be written into my story” is really true?
Imogen: Absolutely :D
Anne-Marie: How much of your real life do you draw
into when you write your stories?
Imogen: Less and less with each story that I write. My first
book has a lot of "me" in it. :)
Linda McKinney: So are you saying Olivia is you? (Character in
the Portal Chronicles)
Imogen: Huge bits of her are, as are pieces of Arizona, but
just in book one. Olivia is who I
was after my mother died. It was a life-changing moment for me, one that made
me yearn for a portal.
Linda: I completely understand that!
Imogen: After my mom's death, I constantly dreamed about
people and situations in my past. And it all morphed into odd dreams that
really only started to make sense when I wrote them down.
Linda: Thank you for sharing this, Imogen. I know this
must be a personal memory for you. :)
Imogen: In a way, writing Portal was my personal therapy.
It allowed me to analyze my life through a character, and it helped me make
some hard but necessary real life decisions.
Linda: Are you done with Fusion yet? (Portal Chronicles
Book 5)
Imogen: I’m working on it now. Cordelia is being a monkey
and is still very dominant in my imagination, wanting me to get on and continue
with her story. So I am occasionally forced to type little bits of Faustine
2 just so she'll leave me alone so I can get back into Arizona
world. I am on schedule and will have it done this Christmas.
Allirea Hartless
Brumley: Name your favorite minor
character in Integration. :)
Imogen: I can't remember any minor characters from
Integration. They are all major in my head.
Allirea: Fine, then who is the most annoying character???
Rea is excluded!!!!
Imogen: The most annoying? Hmm… I’d have to say Frau Smelt.
And that’s because she is so very mysterious and has not revealed herself to me
yet. I find some of her actions hard to understand, but I’m sure there are
reasons behind them. There must be. I don’t like waiting to find out,
though. :D
Christina
Baker Irelan: I was recently
introduced to your work through blog tours. I have read Initiation and will be
reading Integration this week! I am also working on my own novel. What
advice do you have to offer about publishing?
Imogen: A few years ago when Amazon made indie publishing
available to everyone, a marketing revolution occurred within the publishing
arena. It’s made the market fluid and in a state of constant flux. The changes
are so frequent that what worked in terms of marketing an indie book a year ago
may not work today. So my advice is to be completely flexible, try
everything, and don’t burn any bridges. Keep up with what’s happening within
the publishing industry by reading Publishers Weekly and the Passive
Guy blog. Sometimes acting on information from these and similar sites will
give you a leg-up as to what your next move should be. Treat it like
a game of chess. Be prepared that perhaps only 10% of what you try will give
you results, but when you see results, celebrate! As far as the book itself
goes, I consider editing and a professional-looking cover as must-dos. Good
luck with your book!
Christina: Thank you!
Alli Potter: What has been your most challenging book to write?
Imogen: So far, it’s been Integration. As you
know, I don’t plan my stories, but I knew that I had to bridge the gap between Initiation and Faustine in this story. For the first time, I sat down to try to plan it, but
gave up after a couple of minutes of my mind being totally blank. Then, I just
started typing, not knowing if it was going to be at all doable. It
basically wrote itself after that. I was hugely relieved!
Samantha Gray Elliott: how long does it take for a character to appear on a
page? Like do you think/dream and immediately write about them or do they kinda
hang out in your head until they are needed in a story? —Sorry that's kind of a
weird question.
Imogen : They simmer, I guess somewhat unconsciously, and
then suddenly appear as I’m typing. It’s difficult to describe. I really just
don’t know what happens from page to page, or who will appear.
Al Kunz: What kind of tree would you be?
Imogen Rose: A broccoli tree.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)