The Death of Kindle Worlds

If you haven't heard the news yet, Amazon is shutting down Kindle Worlds over the next few weeks. This comes after Amazon shut down all of its other programs for writers such as Write On and Kindle Scout. This was the last entity that writers still had an option to work with, and now that its shutting down, what is left for writers over at Amazon?

Although I currently have three Kindle Worlds titles, this news isn't the end of the world, so to speak. When Kindle Scout shut down, I knew that Worlds wouldn't be far behind, but I thought I would have at least until 2019 before they decided to close. I'm going to miss my $20-$25 a year in royalties from these titles. Even though it wasn't much, I recently had been looking into revamping my backlist to boost sales with new covers, better formatting, and a nice clean edit for each title. Now I have less titles to do that for, so that will save me a little time and effort.

I don't think that there's ever a good time for a book or a series of books to become obsolete, but this wasn't a great time for me to hear this. I was finally trying to get real plans in place to relocate, not just wishful thinking. A big part of that was getting my passive income streams up to par. I needed these novellas not so much for the direct royalties, but for the higher tiers on my Patreon page. My highest tier ($15) now looks a little silly, because the bulk of what patrons were paying for was digital copies of my entire backlist, which is going from five titles down to just two. No one in their right minds would join at the $15 level (even with access to all of the additional amazing lower-level perks) knowing they could pick up digital copies of my backlist for about six bucks. I'm trying my best to get more work out, but insert your favorite tired Rome-related cliche here.

The Legal Bit...

All hope is not lost because some rights do revert back to me upon the closing of Kindle Worlds. The problem is the Worlds Licensor (the author of the original series) also holds onto some rights because those who submitted a story, novella, or novel to a world was required to use characters and locations from the existing series. What it boils down to is that if I wanted to revive these novellas, I would have to have explicit permission from the author of the original series in order to do so, which isn't likely to happen.

Under the bubble of the Kindle Worlds label, the Worlds authors were getting royalties from someone else's work and probably a bit of promotion for their own work in a roundabout way without doing anything other than offering authors like me the ability to play with their characters. Without that bubble, offshoot works have the potential to dilute the power of their series, especially if you run into readers who don't understand the difference between the original series and the fan fiction titles. If I were on the other end of this, I could see why I wouldn't want former Kindle Worlds titles competing with my series.

I signed up for Kindle Worlds knowing full well I was tying up my hard work with copyright restrictions, but right now I have the feeling that it was all a waste of time. I'm sure that feeling will pass, eventually.

Titles Are Still Available... For Now

Amazon isn't pulling all of its Kindle Worlds titles until "on or around July 16th" so if you still want to check out my Melody of Love novella series, you can still get them. Unfortunately for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, they have already been removed from the program as of yesterday--the day the email was sent, so thanks for that heads up, Amazon. It's probably because they were promising proactive payment for borrows, even if the book hadn't met the reading threshold. Smart business move for them, I guess.

Melody of Love (#1)
Haunting Melody (#2)
Melody's Valentine (#3)

I also want to quickly thank those who have downloaded any of these titles since they first went live on Amazon. I do appreciate the support and the book reviews. Now I have to get back to work. Gotta build up that backlist again...

Some Literary Waves

Quite a lot has been going on in the indie publishing world as of late, with a couple of these things personally affecting my titles. First, the good news: Kindle Worlds is now making its titles available through Kindle Unlimited. Now if you are a KU subscriber, you can read Melody of Love and Haunting Melody for free! Just make sure to read at least 10% of the book so everyone gets paid. ;-)

Second, the not so good news: Inktera is temporarily suspending distribution of titles coming from Draft2Digital, so my books won't be listed there for awhile. Actually no one's books will--Inktera is revamping the whole brand, so until that's complete, their catalog is not available. Full disclosure: I never had any sales from this channel anyway, so it's not really going to affect my bottom line when it comes to royalties.

NaNoWriMo: If you're following my progress on the site, you know that it's kicking my butt this year, for real. I should be sailing closing to 30k right now, and I haven't even hit 20k. But I'm not giving up. I just have to pour some extra fuel on the fire and see how far it goes. No matter what, I'll still post an exclusive excerpt of the novel at the end of November on Patreon.

I hope your weekend will be filled with writing. I know mine will be!

Still on the NaNo Road

It's never a good thing when you can say that you are thousands of words behind in your writing. Especially during November. But don't worry. Even though the goal is to hit 15,000 words tomorrow and I'm stuck hovering around 7000, I'll be able to get back on track. After all, Thursday night is one of my TV-free nights--not because I force myself not to watch it. There's just nothing good on. And what better way to use that time than to write, write, write. Or agonize for two hours about how I still don't have a title. Which ever one of those options strikes my fancy.

Between freelancing work (still have plenty of spots available for my Fiverr gigs), NaNo, and revising Melody's Valentine, I've probably neglected doing all of the promotional work I should be doing. Let's get that back on track: remember, all of my books are available through Amazon and most of the major book/ebook retailers worldwide. You can check out the full list of titles to see what you may be interested in. Might I suggest my Melody of Love Kindle Worlds series books #1 and #2 so you can be ready to read #3 in January? And please, if you read it and like it, don't forget to review it!

If you are looking for a little more, you can still sign up to get exclusive content at Patreon. This week I'm releasing the cover for Melody's Valentine, and next week you can get the first look at an excerpt from Pieces, my poetry collection that's debuting on Wattpad in 2018.

Old Projects Have New Plans

Things have been going in a slow pace around here. I realized that it was because I had so many projects that didn't have a solid ending--not just the story itself, but what I wanted to do with them once they were done. Now, things have been reorganized and I have a clear path for many of these projects.

To sum it up:

• In Another Life is no longer going to be a trilogy. Instead, books 1 and 2 will be combined into a single story, and the third book will be the sequel.

• Another series (one that I haven't said much about) is being planned and the first story is going to be posted on Wattpad sometime before the end of the year. 

• I'm still working on a project for Channillo, and hopefully it will be accepted. 

• The third (and last) installment of the Melody of Love Kindle Worlds series will be completed by the end of the year. 

• Something (I still don't know what) will be on Kindle Scout--I just have to pick which of my projects will have the best chance at success.

When it comes to new projects and challenges, I'm looking into doing a massive reading project. Since I still have a number of reading obligations for March, it's not going to start just yet. When I get closer to launching myself on this new journey, I'll have more information. That, and I have to be very good at staying away from NetGalley and Penguin First to Read so that I don't continue to bog myself down with even more reading obligations.

What are your reading/writing plans for March?

Haunting Melody Now Available #newrelease

Great news! You can now get The Callaways: Haunting Melody (Melody of Love #2) from Amazon. Technically you could have purchased it yesterday--my schedule was a little heavy and this was the first chance I had to write a blog post. I hope if you've enjoyed Melody of the Love that you'll pick this one up as well. Book number 3 is in the works, and that will conclude Mel and Austin's story.

And that project I chose for October? It's going to be Verses and Vows, another one in the chick lit sphere. I'm reading over my first draft from a couple of NaNos ago, and I keep seeing one thing--I hurriedly write to get the story out, and it's always too short. I managed 30k (didn't win NaNo that year, did I?!). I seriously envy writers who can churn out 70k+ in their first drafts, then have to go in a cut. I always have to think of things to add.

Anyway, that's what I'm concentrating on. I've found a small press (more of an indie collective) that I would like to present this project to, so this one is getting all my attention for awhile. We'll see what happens...

Countdown to Release Day

Next week will be the official release for The Callaways: Haunting Melody. Who is excited?!

As usual, I'll be giving away a Kindle copy of the novella through good ol' Rafflecopter (contest starts 9/29, 12am). If you are interested in winning this copy, please feel free to complete one or all of the tasks to gain entries. And if you don't prefer receiving a copy directly through Amazon, a PDF copy can be made available for the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Oh, and if you haven't read the first installment The Callaways: Melody of Love yet, you still have plenty of time to pick up your copy--just $1.99 and its yours. 

I've also found my new project for October--more about that one next week. Happy writing!

Last Chance for Early Access! #freebook

It's getting closer! Just a little less than two weeks until Haunting Melody will drop on Amazon. I've already sent out the first round of early access copies of the novella, but if you still want to get in on the action, I've got a couple more copies to give out. All you have to do is fill out this form and I'll have them sent out by Friday evening.

Now it's time for me to figure out what to do next. I've focused hard on this upcoming release, but it's time to find the next project to finish. There are three options in the running--and since I want this project to have a draft ready for revisions by NaNoWriMo time, it's got to be solid.

And I've already picked out this year's NaNoWriMo project. It's going to be the one that I intended to write for the last Camp NaNo, but switched at the last minute. I'm going to have to work hard to get my writing time in during the morning hours this November because it's a ghost story. And ghost stories freak me out a little. Okay, more than a little, but I think it's a good story, so I have to see it through.

Happy Writing!

Now Accepting Requests for Early Reviewers

Are you interested in getting your hands on Haunting Melody a couple weeks early? If you can't wait to get your copy, you can join my Review Crew. For those who have already read Melody of Love and left a review, you have a spot waiting for you once you fill out the form (see below).

For those who haven't read it yet, don't worry! Even if you haven't read the first book in the miniseries, there are still spots available for you. For everyone that's accepted, you'll be receiving a PDF copy of the book, and I would love it if you leave your honest review within two weeks of the book's release, which should be the first week in October.

How do you get in on this great deal? Just fill out this form. I can't wait to share Haunting Melody with everyone!

The Cover Reveals You've Been Waiting For

Everything has been worked out with the covers for both Melody of Love and Haunting Melody, so let me introduce you to the new covers.

The Callaways: Melody of Love (Melody of Love #1)

The Callaways: Haunting Melody (Melody of Love #2) - COMING OCTOBER 2016

Are you ready for Mel's next adventure? Wednesday I'll have all the information for you to join my Review Crew and get early access to this book.

The Countdown to Haunting Melody (and an Oops)

Today we're starting the countdown to the release of Haunting Melody. Get excited, people!

To kick things off, here's the synopsis for Haunting Melody:

Pop star Melody is getting ready to work on her next album with the help of musician Sean Callaway at Ashbury Studios. She feels like she has it all: a great career, a fabulous love life with dancer Austin Eckhart and friends she can rely on. But strange things are happening at the studio—equipment failures, accidents and strange voices. Rumors start spreading that Ashbury Studios could be haunted. Will Mel be able to help her friends figure out what's going on before something bad happens?

Today was also going to be the day of the new cover reveal for Melody of Love. But here's where the oops comes in. I ended up submitting to Kindle Worlds a draft version of the cover that I wanted, rather than the final version I had in mind... and once submitted, you cannot make changes until they've approved the ones you sent. I received the email this morning that my changes were approved, so it's time to go back and change them again. If I'm quick enough, the draft cover may not show up on the book's Amazon page. Then again, I'm second guessing everything, so who knows. When the final draft revamped cover is live, I'll let you know. Out of the hundreds of things that could go wrong in this process, I'd be a lucky lady if this is the worst that happens.

It's been a busy August, but I thought I would check in to make sure that you know the next six weeks are going to be pretty awesome. As I gear up for the release of Haunting Melody in October, there's going to be plenty of fun leading up to it. Each week in September, you're going to be treated with cover releases, the synopsis, and much more. You can also be a part of the fun. If you've already read Melody of Love, I'll have a chance for you to get access to a pre-release copy of Haunting Melody (more details to come!). I may also give you a sneak peek on my next project, which I think many of you will enjoy.

Now... back my writerly juggling act!!

On the Agenda

August is going to be a super busy month. Since everyone's going back to school, I thought I might as well assign myself a bunch of homework. That's how self-employed adulting works, right?

First up: more chapters of In Another Life have been uploaded to Write On. If you want to dive into the suspenseful world of Natalie LeBeau and her adventures at the lodge, go for it. And be sure to leave some comments and tell me what you think.

Haunting Melody (Melody of Love #2) is in the middle of revisions. I'm also working on the cover, with a bonus redesigned cover for Melody of Love (Melody of Love #1). If you want to make sure you're all caught up on the adventures of Mel and Austin, make sure to pick up your copy of book #1 before October.

Draft2Digital has partnered with Books2Read, so now I have a handy-dandy link to all the places where Unfolding Life is sold (excluding Amazon and Kobo). I also wanted to make sure all of my German fans know that I've distributed Unfolding Life with Tolino. Because Tolino distributes to multiple storefronts, I don't have just one direct link, but you can find my book at Hugendubel and Thalia. And to put my college minor to good use:

Deutsche Freunde! Unfolding Life ist für den kauf bei Hugendubel und Thalia verfügbar.

I think that's close!

What's Left of June's Odds and Ends

This weekend I was getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo when I realized that, although the outline I picked as my project is sturdy and a story that I want to explore, there was another outline that I thought should be written first. So instead of a literary ghost story, I'm switching to a near-future political thriller. Yeah. I'm branching out a bit when it comes to genre.

I've also completed something for this blog that was always at the end of the to-do list, so it's been passed over day after day. But today, it's here. Check out my BOOKS section on the top navigation bar to see what I published, including contributions to collections and shorter works. I've had a version of this page before, but this one is organized.

To keep my busy this week (and when am I not busy?!) I'm working on a pilot script and the novella Haunting Melody. When it comes to scripts, I always thought I would see a feature script all the way through first, but the idea I have for a pilot just keeps nagging me, so I'm focusing on that first. Plus, even if no one bites for the pilot, I have something to show until I build up a few spec scripts. Anyway...

I can't wait to get to camp and see what damage I can do to that outline. Happy writing everyone!