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Hi all, This came to me from Cactus Shadows High School. Makayla is looking for an author to interview and is possibly wanting to join VOS after graduation as she has aspirations to be a romance novelists: Dear Valley of the Sun Romance Writers, Hi! My name is Jenny Jones. I’m the School to Work Specialist at Cactus High School. I work with a student named Makayla who is interested in journalism and possibly becoming a romance novelist. As a part of her Career Action Planning Class, she needs to complete an informational interview with a local author. Do you know of anyone who would be able to help out- it should only take 30 minutes and we can do things virtually, by phone, or in person. Makayla may also be interested in joining your group for mentoring and ideas. Thanks so much for your help and time. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Jenny Jones If you would be willing to be interviewed by Makayla, please let me know off loop by emailing me directly at: cathymcdavid@.... I told Ms. Jones that if more than one of our members was interested, Makayla could just pick who best fits the needs of her project. In your email to me, include either a link to your website or a bio so that Makayla has something to look at to help her make her selection. Best, Cathy Cathy McDavid http://www.cathymcdavid.com http://www.facebook.com/cathymcdavidbooks http://www.twitter.com/cathymcdavid http://www.tiktok.com/cathymcdavid

If you speak at conferences or want to, you might want to check this out. Thank you, Michele. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University <pipercenter.info@...> Date: Wed, Apr 2, 2025 at 12:33 PM Subject: Present a conference panel or teach a workshop + staff book launch April staff book recommendations Cities of Smoke and Starlight by Alli Earnest "The slowest of slow-burn romance set in a unique steampunk world." -Laurel S. Buy here The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward "Amanda will teach at our DNRS conference this year! This story highlights disparate realities between middle-class Americans and immigrant youth. It’s a lesson in desperation, determination, and heartache." -Christie S. Buy here Learn more and apply Sign up! Register here Three Wednesdays | April 2, 9, and 15 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm via Zoom The Only Way Out is Through: The Science and Art of Writing the Traumatic Virtual with Tamara MC Sign up HFR’s latest print issue has landed! Issue 75 features work by Eduardo Martínez-Leyva, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Aldo Amparán, Holly Zhou, DeeSoul Carson, Jordan E. Franklin, Justin Rigamonti, Noémi Scheiring-Oláh, Celia Cummiskey, Sana Wazwaz, and Sharon Dolin, among many others, as well as cover art by Adam Zanzucchi. Read or listen to selected pieces from the issue now in HFR’s Issue 75 web preview, featuring work read by the authors! To read the full issue, subscribe now, or order the issue for $12 plus shipping. For the first time, we’re also offering a digital issue for only $8! These will arrive within a few days of purchase. Read issue 75 Celebrate with us! Join us for the joint book launches of Piper staff members Sheila Black, Alberto Rios, and Sasha Hawkins. Getting a book published is no easy feat, so let's gather and celebrate their hard work. Each of the three authors will read an excerpt from their book, which will be available for purchase. Light food and beverage available. Date: April 17 Time: 5:00 pm Where: Piper Writers House April house tours Have you always wanted to see inside the Piper Writers House? Now is your chance! Come visit the second oldest building on ASU campus. Learn about our programs, study spaces offered, and history about the Gammage family that lived here. Dates: April 8 and April 22 @ 12:00 pm Or come on a virtual walk through history as Grady Gammage Jr recounts his time living in the historic Piper Writers House in the 1950s and 60s. Watch here. RSVP for FREE! Want more Piper? Stay up to date on job opportunities, events, and exciting news in real time by following us on social media! Follow us! Donate to the Piper Center Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences P.O. Box 872501, Tempe, AZ, 85287-2501, USA Tina McCright

I received an email today that started with, "To Our NaNoWriMo Community: We come to you today with sad news. After six years of struggling to sustain itself financially, NaNoWriMo (the nonprofit) will begin the process of shutting down. " Valley of the Sun started a writing challenge in October this year. We'll do the same without prizes this year for anyone who is interested. We'll let you know what it will look like when we near October. Tina McCright

Hello all, Are you coming to the June 20th-22nd retreat and planning on staying at the hotel? Here's the link you'll need to book a room using the VOS discount. https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/phxpves-vos-4418e261-44a9-45cc-a757-e4fef3594821/ Can't wait to see you there :) Cathy Cathy McDavid http://www.cathymcdavid.com http://www.facebook.com/cathymcdavidbooks http://www.twitter.com/cathymcdavid http://www.tiktok.com/cathymcdavid

I thought some of you might be interested in this info, ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Alex Newton <support@...> Date: Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 9:02 AM Subject: K-lytics: The #1 Mystery & Thriller Genre (by far!) - 2025 To: Tina <suspensebytina@...> Hi Tina, Do you have what it takes to captivate your readers with heart-pounding suspense that delves into the twists and turns of dark secrets, crimes, and mysteries? If you want to expand your horizons and take your writing to the next level, I have great news: Psychological thrillers continue to be the leading choice in the mystery, thriller, and suspense fiction market, and we're excited to announce the release of the K-lytics Psychological Thrillers Report 2025 (including "domestic thrillers," of course!). [more...] The numbers speak for themselves: The market share of psychological thrillers in 2025's Top-100 most-sold Kindle books thus far is 18% Thrillers ? Psychological is now the third highest-selling best-seller list among over 7,000 Kindle categories — and the #1 sub-category in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. Freida McFadden, the leading author in the genre, currently has 20 titles in the Psychological Thrillers Top 100 — an incredible feat! (It is time for the contenders to up the game!) Worldwide Google searches for "psychological thriller books" have nearly doubled over the last five years. Wow! Enough said to make the point that you should get your hands on our new report. The K-lytics Psychological Thrillers Report 2025 (+ Video) We've packed our new report with valuable insights and data-driven analysis to help you take your writing and marketing in this genre to the next level. You get all the data you need in a concise and easy-to-understand format: Sales development, competition, the best categories, KU/Non-KU performance, high-selling cover art, top authors, publishers, optimal price points, power words for titles, keyword ideas, book descriptions, and more. We also applied our text-mining approach to identify high-earning tropes, genre clichés, and characters. As always, I will take you through the research results in a video and give you my take on the numbers and research findings. Research less, write more! Be among the first to get your copy here: Psychological Thrillers Report 2025 (+1 hour Video Seminar) => GET ACCESS HERE Thanks a lot for your support. I hope to see you there. Best regards, Alex K-lytics.com _____ P.S. Promote & Earn: If you like to promote this report or use it to introduce others to K-lytics, use your personal affiliate link: https://k-lytics.com/dap/a/?a=10294&p=k-lytics.com/psychological-thrillers (There is no set-up required. Just copy/paste the link to social media, use it in mailings or on your website, and earn 50% commission on every sale.) ____________ -- Tina McCright

Hi Fellow Writers, The drawing for the 7 free VOS retreat registration was last week. The winners were emailed privately to congratulate them. If any of the winners for whatever reason can not attend our retreat June 20th-22nd 2025 at the Scottsdale/Phoenix Embassy Suites please email me at whiskey732@... or delorisnash67@.... Please email me as soon as possible so one of our fellow members can have a chance to win. Thanks, Deloris

Our Monday and Thursday write-ins will now start at noon. Hope to see you there. -- Tina McCright

Hi All, Some people have been asking about reserving a hotel room for our conference. Here's the lowdown: Rooms are around $99/night (plus taxes, fees, etc). So, $130-ish a night? For every additional person in the room, there will be an additional charge of $15. So, if you got a roomie, it would be $145-ish a night. There's also a sofa bed if you wanted to do three in a room. To make the reservation, you need to call Embassy Suites at: 602-765-5800 amd reqest the group rate for "Valley of the Sun Romance Writrs Retreat". Remember, our retreat is June 20-22nd at the Embassy Suites 4415 E Paradise Vlg Pkwy S, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Cathy McDavid

I'm forwarding Amy Atwell's newsletter with important info on meeting EU requirements for selling books. As I have mentioned before, she is a great source of information and if you are not currently subscribing to her newsletter, you should consider it. Her website is https://www.authorems.com/ ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Amy Atwell via groups.io <amy@...> Date: Sat, Mar 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM Subject: [authoremsnews] Special Edition: GPSR in the EU To: AEMS News <[email protected]> Hey all, I wanted to post this as its own post, because it’s … well, it’s a lot. Thanks to Betty who asked a few questions that launched me down a rabbit hole. So, this is the General Product Safety Regulation that went into effect in the EU in mid-December 2024. It affects print books (as they are “general products”) and it affects—among others—online retailers/traders who use online sites to market goods to residents of the EU. If you really want a full refresher, here’s where you can find a PDF of the entire regulation in English. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32023R0988 Here’s my take, based on all the reading I’ve done. Disclosure: not an attorney, don’t live in the EU, and I haven’t read every single word of this lengthy document, but… If you are traditionally published, you should be covered by your publisher. If you are the average self-pubbed author using the major distributors/retailers to print/distribute your books, you should be, mostly, covered. But these regulations also protect consumer mental health, so skip to the read on… Here are what the major print distributors are doing: Ingram has already complied with these regulations as a “manufacturer” and “distributor.” But if you are using Ingram Share & Sell links on your author site, check out this page for Declaration of Conformity language — and keep reading through the “if you have your own online store” section. https://www.ingramcontent.com/pod-product-compliance Amazon/KDP is complying as the “manufacturer” and as an “economic operator” and as the “online marketplace.” Each of these entities must fulfill various requirements. At least, I’m believing this person’s post on FB. https://www.facebook.com/groups/701257786590119/posts/8730972850285199/ D2D has already complied because, to the best of my knowledge, they get their books printed and distributed via Ingram. But they have info in their knowledge base. Click the below link, and type GPSR into the Search box. Info is at the end of the Print section. https://www.draft2digital.com/knowledge-base/ Bookvault UK is complying — and this is super important if you’re using them for direct sales. They comply is the “manufacturer” and the “importer.” They have partnered with EAS Project in Estonia as their EU “authorized representative.” https://help.bookvault.app/what-is-gpsr-how-will-it-affect-me Lulu also seems to be complying, but I don’t have a lot of info on that. B&N Press isn’t affected by this, as they only sell in the U.S. What do you need to do? If you don’t have your own online store, then you probably don’t have to do anything for the physical packaging requirements. You do not sell your product directly. Nor do you manufacture your print book — that’s done by the printer. And you don’t import it into the EU. So, the big name entities have you covered. If you have your own online store, you may have additional requirements if you sell print books. If Bookvault or Lulu are printing and providing your EU fulfillment, then they will handle all of the labeling or packaging requirements of the physical books imported into the EU. But, as the seller of your goods, you may have requirements that you need to incorporate in your online store design. Even if you don’t use Bookvault for fulfillment, here’s this link again, because they cover what types of info should be on your webstore. If you are using Bookvault, they give you the exact details to add. https://help.bookvault.app/what-is-gpsr-how-will-it-affect-me Or, go to Section 2, Article 19 of the EU law, which spells o

We have Mesa's Mobile Crime Lab coming to our meeting this Saturday! I saw them at a conference and they are awesome! They pass around items for you to get an up close look at the tools they use. If you are into essential oils, you'll want to attend for a chance to win the fantastic wooden box and hundreds of dollars worth of oils I am raffling off. MARCH 2025 NEWSLETTERGENERAL MEETING on Saturday, Mar 15th - In Person This month we are meeting in-person! Get out and network with your fellow VOS members and subscribers. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, filling your writing well and learning something new. Location: Embassy Suites (dining room), 4415 E Paradise Village Parkway S, Phoenix, AZ. Time: 12 noon to 2:30 p.m (ish) As usual, the board will be meeting at 11:00 a.m. in the bar area. Everyone is welcome to attend. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our awesome presenters this month are Rebecca Winger and Robyn Travisano – Get Up Close and Personal with a Mobile Crime Scene Unit. This is an absolute must see presentation that will wow you with a first-hand look at how evidence is collected and processed at a crime scene. Bring your questions. Rebecca Winger- Crime Scene Unit Shift Supervisor with Mesa Police Department Born and raised in Arizona, Rebecca spent twenty-seven years at Fry’s grocery stores, where she excelled as a cake decorator and later transitioned into training management and mentoring new decorators. At the age of 38, she pursued her passion for forensic science, completing coursework related to the field at Arizona State University. For the past thirteen years, she’s brought her expertise to the Mesa Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit, processing crime scenes and assisting in investigations. Beyond work, Rebecca cherishes time with her daughter and two grandchildren, savoring family moments. Any spare time Rebecca can carve out shes like to spend with a good mystery novel. Robyn Travisano- Crime Scene Unit Shift Supervisor with Mesa Police Department Originally from Hellertown, Pennsylvania, Robyn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Mansfield University and later pursued a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from Argosy University. Balancing a busy family life with her spouse and our four young children, Robyn has dedicated the past decade to serving with the Mesa Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit. She has a passion for teaching and mentoring newly hired crime scene specialists, sharing her expertise to ensure thorough investigations and justice. When not at work, Robyn enjoys family time and cherishes every moment with her loved ones. LUNCH MENU Note: there is an increase in the cost of lunch from $22 to $25 due to a cost hike at the hotel. This is still a substantial discount as the actual cost per person is closer to $37. VOS supplements the difference in order to make the lunch more affordable. For the general meeting lunch, send your $25 payment via Paypal to: vostreasurer@... In addition, add your drink and meal selections to the notes section of your payment or email those to: vostreasurer@.... Beverage Selection: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Iced Tea, Water, Coffee, Decaf Coffee, Hot Tea _____ House Garden Salad ___________ADD Grilled Chicken Market Greens, Chef’s Seasonal Vegetables, Croutons _____ Chicken Ceasar Wrap Fresh Romaine Lettuce, Croutons, Cherry Tomatoes, Parmesan Cheese, Caesar Dressing, Served with Fries _____ Tatum’s Cheeseburger _______Substitute Impossible Burger (Vegetarian) Grilled 100% Beef Patty, Cheddar Cheese, Brioche Bun, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Pickle, Severed with Fries _____ Cubano Ciabatta Sandwich Pork Carnitas, Sliced Ham, Swiss Cheese, Dill Pickle, Spicy Mustard, Served with Fries _____ Roasted Mushroom & Poblano Raja Quesadilla Flour Tortillas, Oaxaca Cheese, Avocado Crema, Salsa Verde VOS RETREAT UPDATE Whoo-hoo, great news! Our summer retreat is coming together and is open now for registration! The dates are confirmed for June 20-22nd, Friday afternoon through Sunday 5:00

If you didn't recieve our newsletter in your email inbox, click on the link below to view. We have an awesome program this month and exciting updates on the summer retreat. Check it out! Valley of the Sun - March 2025 Meeting Announcement Valley of the Sun - March 2025 Meeting Announcement Cathy Cathy McDavid http://www.cathymcdavid.com http://www.facebook.com/cathymcdavidbooks http://www.twitter.com/cathymcdavid http://www.tiktok.com/cathymcdavid

Hi all, I'm working on the March newsletter. Do you have any writing news to share? A new release or contract? An award or achievement? A signing or workshop presentation? Email me a one line announcement at: cathymcdavid@... Cathy Cathy McDavid http://www.cathymcdavid.com http://www.facebook.com/cathymcdavidbooks http://www.twitter.com/cathymcdavid http://www.tiktok.com/cathymcdavid

Passing this info on as a curtesy to our fellow chapter. Cathy McDavid http://www.cathymcdavid.com http://www.facebook.com/cathymcdavidbooks http://www.twitter.com/cathymcdavid http://www.tiktok.com/cathymcdavid ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Maggie Chair <maggiechair@...> Date: Sat, Feb 22, 2025 at 3:42 PM Subject: 2025 Maggie Award for Excellence To: <valleyofthesunromancewriters@...> Hey guys, I'm Debbie Kaufman, Georgia Romance Writers Director of Awards. I'm hoping you can help me get information out to your membership so that those who are interested hear about the Maggie Awards. Our deadlines are fast approaching. Here is the basic information. The Maggie Award for Excellence is in its 42nd year and is easily recognized by editors and agents. Our published category is judged by librarians, booksellers, and other industry professionals. Published authors category deadline for entry is April 6th. Here is the link with more information: https://www.garomancewriters.org/published-maggies The Maggie Awards are one of the few contests that still have a category for unpublished authors. We pride ourselves on mentoring writers on their publication journey. Prepublished authors who enter will receive two critiques from published authors and finalists will have their manuscript go before an editor or agent for evaluation. Our website lists this year's final editor/agent judges: Prepublished author category deadline is April 25th. https://www.garomancewriters.org/unpublished-maggies Anyone interested or needing more information may contact me at maggiechair@... Again, if you can help me get the word out, it would be greatly appreciated! Many Thanks, Debbie Kaufman 2025 GRW Director of Awards, Maggie Chair twitter.com/MaggieAwards Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggieawards

I'm in the middle of getting my storefront set up, and I feel like I'm missing something. I plan to start with ebooks first then branch out to audio and print as I have things in stock. I don't have all my books up yet, but can someone (or everyone) click on the link, go browse around and tell me any issues / suggestions you might have? https://melissa-stevens-shop.fourthwall.com/ Thanks so much!! -- Melissa Stevens http://melissastevens.us

Here is info on Inkers Con June 7th virtual conference. Michele has attended a few times and says the sessions are good. It costs $199 or two payments of $100 each. ____ We have big news! We are so excited to share with you our Inkers Con 2025 conference agenda. This year will be 100% online and we are working hard to ensure that it is bigger and better than ever! Our presentation lineup is listed below. We will launch Inkers Con on June 7th and will hold live events from June 7 - 20th. During this period, we'll have Q&As with bestselling authors, live demos and workshops, craft deep dives, attendee-led roundtable discussions, networking events, sprinting sessions, and more! We'll also unlock 20+ full-length presentations (list below!). Keep an eye out as we are adding more classes to the agenda. The best part? You have access to everything for six years. Watch and re-watch classes as your career and needs grow. Save your seat now! 2025 Inkers Con Agenda ? BUSINESS CLASSES ? From Manuscript to Movie by Maggie Marr Learn how to pitch your book to film agents, what producers are looking for, the most common mistakes that authors make, and the finances behind a Hollywood deal. Taught by an entertainment attorney who specializes in book adaptations and rights. Win This Author Game by Becca Syme One of the most important mindset shifts present in successful authors is the ability to take risks. But how can we take risks when the stakes are so high? Learn how to succeed using gamification while avoiding the pitfalls that tank most authors’ attempts. Increasing Your Profits Through Print Sales by Willow Winters Ebook income often dominates an author’s royalty reports, but there’s so much untapped potential in your print formats. Learn how you can double-dip on books with special editions, direct sales, Kickstarter campaigns, and more. An Authorpreneur Crash Course by Lisa Montanaro It’s time to treat your business with the respect it deserves, so grab your notebook, because this class will deliver an MBA worth of information in just an hour! Learn how to protect your books from a legal standpoint, account for your income and expenses properly, and how to plan strategically for success. Behind the Doors of a 7-Figure Author Business by Steff Green Go behind the scenes and learn the key strategies, team structure, and mindset shifts that allow for scalable growth. This session dives deep with real-life case studies, strategic questions, and actionable tips. You’ll be able to finish this class with a personalized roadmap to boost your own income and success. Breaking That 6-Figure Ceiling (and Staying There) by Lisa Lang Blakeney Learn strategies to move from 5 to 6 figures (and have more $20k months) by using a low-stress, multiple-streams-of-income approach. This is a 90-minute deep dive and will highlight the concepts using real-life examples and strategies that you can put into place for yourself. Passive Income with Patreon (PANEL) Kenya Wright, Krista Richie, Casualfarmer, and Aven Ellis With the unknowns of creative muses and release potentials, imagine the security of a solid and reliable monthly income stream, one that develops your readers into superfans. This will be an informative and honest session from a panel of authors who each earn 4 to 5 figures each month through a subscription platform. ? ADVERTISING ? Intro to Amazon Ads by Bonnie Paulson Amazon AMS Ads can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re doing. This class will provide everything you need to know to set up your first group of ad campaigns (the right way) and evaluate and gauge their success. Facebook Ad Building Blocks by Malorie Cooper Learn how to maximize your ad reach and conversion through different aspects of your ad. Understand how to appeal to readers through a variety of ad images, headlines, audio, copy, buttons, and more. The Technical Creation of a Facebook Ad (Introductory Presentation) Learn how to set up your campaigns, ad sets, ads, audiences, and budget. This step-by-step walkthrough will take you through the process, clear up confu

Don't forget we have a Zoom speaker tomorrow at noon. See you then, Tina ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Valley of the Sun Romance Writers <info@...> Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM Subject: Valley of the Sun - Feb 2025 Meeting Announcement To: <suspensebytina@...> View in browser FEBRUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER GENERAL MEETING on Saturday February 15th at 12:00 p.m. Phoenix time Reminder - This is a ZOOM meeting and free to guests. Be sure to spread the word and share the below link. Click Here to Join Zoom Meeting We are pleased to have Debbie Santos Goncalves speaking on: Show And Tell – Part 1: Show, Don’t Tell Have you ever been so engrossed in a book you can’t put it down? Do you experience their attraction to the point where your heart just melts? Do you hold your breath at every suspenseful turn and exhale in relief when all is well? Do you know why you experience these emotions when reading? Because the author engaged you by putting you in the story vicariously through showing. Keep your readers turning the page with anticipation by showing them and not telling them. Debbie's Bio: Debbie has always had a passion for books. As a little girl, she dreamed of having stacks of Little Golden Books piled up like columns. By the time she turned eleven, she dreamed of collecting Nancy Drew books. And as a young adult, she fell in love with the romance genre and wanted to have shelves lined with romance books. She still does, only now, she wants those shelves to be filled with romance books autographed by authors she knows personally. She loves words. She loves playing with grammar. And she loves reading and creating stories. She put these passions together to offer her services as an editor for fiction, especially in the romance genre. As a writer and avid reader, when Debbie edits, she can see the work from both the writer’s perspective and the reader’s perspective. She knows she needs to stay true to the writer’s voice while ensuring the readers will interpret what the author is conveying without any confusion. And to ensure a job well done—or just for fun—Debbie continuously brushes up on grammar and writing craft. She really is a book nerd and grammar geek. When not reading, writing, or editing, Debbie spends her time with her loving husband, beautiful twin girls, and Cookie, their little half-Shih Tzu, half-Havanese four-legged child who thinks he’s in charge and refuses to put his toys away. You can connect with Debbie at: Debbie Santos Goncalves DSG Editing 813-943-9677 dsgediting@... dsgediting.com Exciting news! Debbie is offering two great giveaways for meeting attendees. See below: MEMBER NEWS Tina Wheeler's Love Inspired Suspense, AMBUSH ON THE RANCH, was a Publishers Weekly Bestseller for three consecutive weeks. On February 19th, Cathy McDavid will be speaking at the Knight Foundation's Storytelling Event in Miami, Florida. ANNOUNCEMENTS Reminder - 2025 dues are due! If you haven't done so already, please remit payment as soon as possible. Members: pay $25. RWA has changed the process for remitting dues. Use the link https://rwa.memberclicks.net/vos to go to their website where you can elect to join VOS for another year. RWA will then notify VOS who will issue you a PayPal invoice. Subscribers: pay $50 via PayPal to: vostreasurer@... Be sure to include your name as it appears on the VOS roster (sometimes names in PayPal are different). Scam Alert: Unsolicited Publishing Offers Be on the lookout for phone scams targeting self-published authors with unrealistic offers. The scammers often pose as representatives of legitimate organizations such as the Authors Guild and offer suspiciously large publishing deals from major publishers for previously self-published books. We've received reports of fake offers ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 using the name “Jesse Glare” and the phone number 888-733-0563, though the scammers could use different names and numbers with the same tactics. Remember: legitimate publishers and agents don’t cold call authors offering six-figure deals for books that are already se

Interesting info for writers thinking of selling direct on their website. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Dave at Kindlepreneur <dave@...> Date: Thu, Feb 13, 2025 at 9:17 AM Subject: Direct book sales are bogus? To: Tina <suspensebytina@...> Hey Tina, Every year it feels like more authors are sticking it to Amazon and choosing to sell their books direct. It makes sense... You can cut out the middlemen (looking at you, Bezos) and keep your royalties, keep your customer data, and keep your independence, right? But let’s be honest… Does this actually work? Or is selling books direct one of those “sounds great in theory” ideas that falls apart the second you try it? I wanted to know. So late last year, my team at Kindlepreneur surveyed hundreds of authors selling direct... (547 of them to be exact) The results? Eye-opening... it wasn't what we were thinking, and it's different from years past. To see our findings, you can check out the new results and their explanation. Read the Full Study Digging through the data, we uncovered several interesting insights, including: Authors with 10+ books earn 5X more than authors with 2-4 books Selling direct is still NEW for most authors, with over half beginning within the past 2 years and a whopping 31% beginning in the past year Almost a quarter of authors selling direct don’t use email marketing (and their revenue is considerably less than those who do) Shopify is no longer the most popular ecommerce platform for authors (WordPress + WooCommerce took the top prize) The most popular genre for authors who sell direct wasn’t romance, fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or any other type of fiction — it was non-fiction Click here to read the full report: https://kindlepreneur.com/the-truth-on-selling-books-direct-insights-from-authors/ Ticket Window for Author Nation 2025 is Open Exciting news... This year, I'll be attending Author Nation 2025 — a huge writing conference where "indie authors discover their tribe and unlock their potential." I wasn't able to attend last year's conference and apparently I missed out... the feedback from attendees was AMAZING — I'm also a little jelly. It was so amazing, a whopping 40% of the attendees have already secured tickets for 2025. The 2025 conference is still months away (November 3-7, 2025, in Las Vegas), but if you're interested, you can purchase tickets at early-bird pricing using my special partnership link: https://kindlepreneur.com/click/author-nation-2025 Cheers, Dave Chesson The Kindlepreneur PS: I want to give a major THANK YOU to everyone who took the selling books direct survey — all 547 of you. You're amazing and the entire Kindlepreneur community will benefit from your efforts! Have questions? Hit reply to this email and we'll help out! 1603 Capitol Ave. Suite 310 A174, Cheyenne, WY 82001 Unsubscribe · Preferences -- Tina McCright

If you are a member of RWA and planning to attend this summer's conference in Niagara Falls Ontario, the early bird pricing ends February 14th. They do have a way to pay in installments. -- Tina McCright/Wheeler

Saturday June 15th at 12:00 noon (Phoenix time) Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83495501989?pwd=TjJEcmZKT1h2VlU5dVJXd3owd0tGUT09#success We are pleased to have Debbie Santos Goncalves speaking on: Show And Tell – Part 1: Show, Don’t Tell Have you ever been so engrossed in a book you can’t put it down? Do you experience their attraction to the point where your heart just melts? Do you hold your breath at every suspenseful turn and exhale in relief when all is well? Do you know why you experience these emotions when reading? Because the author engaged you by putting you in the story vicariously through showing. Keep your readers turning the page with anticipation by showing them and not telling them. Debbie's Bio: Debbie has always had a passion for books. As a little girl, she dreamed of having stacks of Little Golden Books piled up like columns. By the time she turned eleven, she dreamed of collecting Nancy Drew books. And as a young adult, she fell in love with the romance genre and wanted to have shelves lined with romance books. She still does, only now, she wants those shelves to be filled with romance books autographed by authors she knows personally. She loves words. She loves playing with grammar. And she loves reading and creating stories. She put these passions together to offer her services as an editor for fiction, especially in the romance genre. As a writer and avid reader, when Debbie edits, she can see the work from both the writer’s perspective and the reader’s perspective. She knows she needs to stay true to the writer’s voice while ensuring the readers will interpret what the author is conveying without any confusion. And to ensure a job well done—or just for fun—Debbie continuously brushes up on grammar and writing craft. She really is a book nerd and grammar geek. When not reading, writing, or editing, Debbie spends her time with her loving husband, beautiful twin girls, and Cookie, their little half-Shih Tzu, half-Havanese four-legged child who thinks he’s in charge and refuses to put his toys away. You can connect with Debbie at: Debbie Santos Goncalves DSG Editing 813-943-9677 dsgediting@... dsgediting.com

Interesting email on Draft2Digital. Near the bottom is a link to their YouTube channel where they go over several topics and will continue to do so. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Draft2Digital <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Feb 11, 2025 at 11:10 AM Subject: Indie Advantage - Tools & Tips to Maximize Your Publishing Potential To: suspensebytina@... <suspensebytina@...> Issue #4, Talking about D2D promotions Web Version The Indie Advantage Tools & Tips to Maximize Your Publishing Potential Welcome to issue #4 of The Indie Advantage, D2D’s monthly newsletter designed to help you reach more readers by showing you all the awesome publishing, distribution, and promotion tools available at D2D! IN THIS ISSUE: D2D Promotions: Did you know D2D has a promotions team whose mission is to help your books get more visibility at bookstores and libraries? We’ll tell you how to work with them. Upcoming Events: A schedule of dates and events, like the upcoming Smashwords Read An Ebook Week sale, you need to know about. Indie Bestseller Lists: January 2025's top 10 lists for Fiction and Nonfiction in ebook and paperback. D2D Promotions The Draft2Digital team attends a lot of author conferences and webinars, presenting a ton of educational content every year. At each event, we’re invariably asked a question that goes something like this: “I know D2D can help me publish my book and get it distributed to online bookstores, but do you do anything to help me promote my book?” Why, yes! Yes, we do! Read on to learn how we can help your books gain visibility on the virtual shelves of our retail and library partners, as well as on the shelves of the Smashwords store. The Draft2Digital Promotions Form The D2D promotions form is your ticket into the cool kids club. If you’ve ever wondered how books get spotlighted on the shelves and apps of online retailers or library systems, the D2D promotions form can get you one step closer. Here’s how it works: Make sure you're logged into your Draft2Digital account. Go to https://draft2digital.com/forms/draft2digital-promotions-form/ Fill out the form! The promo form captures two types of information: Registering to be added to our promotions distribution list You proactively telling us about your unique promos or book releases that you have coming up If you answer “yes” to being added to our promo distribution list, we’ll notify you with the participation requirements whenever there is a retail or library opportunity suitable to your genre. Our promo team maintains relationships with the merchandising managers (i.e., the folks in charge of promos) at our retail and library partners, so we often know about upcoming promotions weeks or months in advance. When we learn of a new opportunity that could be a fit for your book(s), we’ll send you an email with all the particulars. Helpful hints: Read the email with all the particulars very carefully. Different retail and library outlets have different requirements. Missing a minor detail can be the difference in your inclusion or not. If you're asked for additional information, please provide it in a timely manner. Pay attention to deadlines! Does the promo distribution list work? In a word, yes! Apple Books, the world’s 2nd largest ebook retailer behind Amazon, frequently runs promotional banners on their homepage that carry D2D authors’ books. At the Kobo bookstore, our partnership enables exclusive opportunities for D2D authors and we've secured more Kobo Plus promos. Hoopla and Overdrive, two leading providers of digital library services, also frequently include D2D books, which is wonderful because libraries are powerful discovery engines for indie authors. Here’s a breakdown of the volume of emails sent to D2D authors on the promo distribution list and the results in 2024: 153,902 = Number of emails sent to D2D authors registered for promo distribution list. 13,462 = Number of entries received from D2D authors wishing to participate in promos 5,835 = Number of books accepted from our retail and library partners. 57 = Number of promotion