FREE FREE FREE!

Being an Indie writer is a funny old business.  Every day teaches new lessons and delivers fresh highs or worrying lows.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the peaks and troughs in sales - us Indies discuss it at great length and we never come up with a logical theory.  We slog our guts out and celebrate each other's successes and offer tea and sympathy on the bad days.

One thing I think most of us have learned along the way is that regular freebie promotions dramatically boost the sales of your other books.  As I've said in the past, once upon a time I would have baulked at the prospect of giving away my babies - after all, they took me months to produce.  Surely I deserve to get paid for my work?!

But every promo I've done has delivered tenfold in actual sales so I'm now of the mindset that each time a new reader downloads one of my works as a freebie, the hope is that they enjoy it and then go on to part with hard earned cash to buy my other books and also spread the word to friends.

I guess it's a bit like pyramid selling - one becomes two, becomes four ... ad infinitum.

So on that note, for the next few days I'm giving you the opportunity to either discover my writing for the first time or add to your growing collection if this is one that you've not yet read.

'LOTTIE'S LUCK' is free to download for Kindle at Amazon NOW!  In the UK and .com

Here's the blurb:

I’m Lottie Truman and this is my story.
My life was simply tickety-boo until a neighbour’s prediction seemed to coincide with my luck running out.
Join me on the path I needed to take to get me to where I am now.
But don’t judge me.
Because sometimes you have to make a few diversions to allow fate to push you in the right direction.

Dilemma!

An early blog post this week as I need some thoughts and advice.

'Lottie's Luck' has been out for just under a month now and I have never seen a book (of mine) sell so many so quickly.  OK, it doesn't mean everyone will love it (I only have 13 reviews so far) but it's certainly flying off the virtual shelves.

Why?  Why is this?  Is it the blurb, the cover, the fact that my status on Amazon is gaining momentum?  Or is it just a short flurry of activity before my bubble bursts?  Yes, I am a glass half empty kinda gal!

Now I have my own theory on the madness of my sales this month and, if it's true, it leaves me with a bit of a dilemma.

'Lottie's Luck' is the youngest, most formulaic chicklit novel of mine to date.  The Mummy Misfit diaries are hugely popular with Mums, Misfits and people who like a giggle.  'Completing the Puzzle'  is a more middle-aged tale of love, family and friendship.  'Stilettos & Stubble' is a romcom but, being set in a drag club, not your usual read.

Is this why 'Lottie's Luck' is selling?  Is the traditional market, who know what they want from their chicklit and like it to do everything it says on the tin, finally discovering me?

Because if that's the case - I need to have a rethink.

You see, The Misfit readers have been begging me for a third instalment and that was going to be my December release - yes, it's a work in progress that I'd been keeping to myself!  But now I'm wondering if it's the right direction to go in.  I know I should write what I'm happy with but, let's face it, sales are important - they keep the roof over my head.

So now I'm in a quandary. To Misfit or not?  To light, fluffy chicklit or not?  My poor, frazzled brain is finding it hard to settle to anything at the moment so I'm going to quietly work on editing my Christmas novella and let my thoughts gel - again.

In the meantime, if any of you gorgeous readers have any opinions or feel you can help me throw a light on the subject, please contact me here, on Twitter, Facebook or email me.

Yours,
Confused Misfit!

The Outlook's Sunny!

It’s been a good week in the Misfit house - and I mean a really good week.

I wouldn’t say it’s been a lazy one, because I don’t ‘do’ lazy, but it has been a little more laid back than usual and it’s given me time to come to terms with decisions I’ve made and let them gel.

My December release is flying along but my next big job is to get started on the editing of my Christmas novella which will be out in October - never a dull moment here.

So what else did my week bring?  Aside from seeing my son leave his much-loved school, we had SUNSHINE!  Don’t you just love it?  Unlike the yummy mummies who holiday (at least) thrice yearly, I haven’t set foot out of this country for 15 years so when the sun comes to me I jump for joy - OK, with the temperatures we've been having in London, it’s a bit of a lethargic jump, but I still do it.

Of course I dream of heading off to sunnier, more exotic climes but every penny I earn goes to our mortgage and I also need to be here to care for my mother so that’s not possible right now.

But as a writer, I’m lucky enough to be able to set up the office in the garden and enjoy the concept of a holiday while still working - it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?  There aren’t many jobs that allow you to do that!  And apologies if I’ve made any of you green with envy.

With the arrival of the glorious weather, we entertained some close friends with a meal in the garden on Saturday night and took part in music wars with some neighbours who were having a family barbeque a few doors down - their reggae trounced our Dean Martin hands down but we accepted defeat graciously and had a giggle with them about it the next day.  The evil mozzies also had to back down from battle as I’d managed to find a very effective insect repellent and, although we all stunk and could well have gone up in a puff of smoke with one ignition of a lighter, we all remained bite-free.

I also featured on two blogs.  Here and here. And my friend Jamie Dougan moved his blog to a new web location so if you haven’t caught up on the piece I did on ‘My Writing Essentials’ check it out here.  He’s also doing a free promo of his short story ‘Grande Plage’ from Thursday and I'll be interviewing him here at the end of the week.

But the BEST thing this week has been my book sales.  Good grief!  If I could have more weeks like that, I would be one happy Misfit Bunny.  Paperback sales at Lulu have been great and I’ve also been hovering around the two to three thousand chart rating on Amazon (which, when you consider that there are over two million Kindle books in the UK Amazon store, isn’t too shabby a position for an Indie). Then on Sunday I was over the moon to see that I was at #4 in paid Chicklit (released in the last 30 days with 5* reviews)  How cool is that?

Apart from that, the teen is applying for jobs and not hearing back from anyone - probably something to do with his hair colour (!) and I bought a pair of size 12 jeans (not bad for a fatty!)

AMENDED on 10th July - the week just keeps getting better.  Sales have gone mad and we also received a letter telling us that our son has been given an award at school.  We'll attend the drinks reception and ceremony on 17th September.  We're such proud commoners parents! 

2nd amendment - added 7.50pm on 10th July!  I have also been quoted on the Daily Mail webpage, ranting about the vile Ms. Hopkins!

So … life’s good.  Who needs fancy holidays when you have a laptop in the sunshine?  Putney suits me just fine.  Oh, and the cats quite like it too.

 Check out my books here - everyone needs a light read in the sun. All under £2!