What a day!

Another amazing day for feedback...

My Author Interview with BollyDophie gets published and then she writes the most amazing Review for HYBRID!

I admit that tears sprang to my eyes.

My husband is always telling me that I should not care about what people think, but I do. It does affect me and it's such a great feeling to be acknowledged for something other than being my children's mum, wife, or general dogsbody!

I have been adamant to not give up on my trilogy, to keep plodding away (even when I should be writing), and finally it is paying off.

I read a tweet today by someone who said they had finished three books after 7 years, coming in at just over 150,000 words! Well, my trilogy and prequel amount to just under 350,000 words. Written over a period of about 2-3 years!

I think I have a lot to be proud of.

I gave up my teaching career to look after my kids and now I have to ration my time between my kids, housekeeping, tutoring (I still teach mathematics at home), a part-time lunchtime job, and volunteering at school and the local FOODBANK. Becoming a writer is the icing on the cake!

I LOVE IT and hope you all can see what motivates me and enjoy what I write.

In life, we all have to find something to keep us going, to make us have that space we call our own. I am so grateful I decided to unleash my thoughts in novel writing and thank Stephenie Meyer for her inspirational words back in 2010 on the DVD I watched!

I am blessed and lucky indeed.

Thank you to all,
Vanessa :)

Happy Two Year Anniversary, HYBRID

Two years ago, I published Hybrid on smashwords... and started blogging online via blogger.

It is amazing to think how much I have learnt and how much I have done since then. In celebration of the day, I have decided to recap the last two years... for all you budding authors out there wondering whether to self-publish!

27th March, 2012 - Published on smashwords!

My second ever blog post

"Well, I was going to wait some more... but then I thought "what's the point?" So I self published last night and I have sold 4 books already...so cool... Whoever you are, thank you...you made my day.  Let me know how you got on, did you like it?  Would you like to read more?  The sequel is written and in need of an edit... I guess I should get into that now.

For those of you who don't know me, a little sneak peak... I love to read paranormal romance and thrillers... so if you have any suggestions please let me know.

At the moment it looks like I'm about to sink my teeth into The Hunger Games...it might take the edge off my obsession with Twilight. (groan... I hear some of you say)  I will not apologise for this, if it have not been for an interview I saw of Stephenie Meyer I would never have started writing...I owe her one.  Since I started to escape into fiction I've been a happier person.  And I hope you like what I write as much as I enjoyed writing it...

Thanks for reading!"

So sweet and innocent... I had no idea what I had started!

Once I started on smashwords, I waited to try to get "Premium Status" ... eventually I did, but it is confusing if you are doing all the formatting yourself. I followed Mark Cokers' Style Guide to get it right.

I realised that selling on smashwords was not an easy task... SELF-PUBLISHING IS HARD!

I decided to branch out and joined the Beast => => => Amazon. I published there on May 8th, 2012.

It was at this point that I started to see the brutal side to selling books - FAKING REVIEWS!

It happens, there's no point lying about it - some people do rate a book without having read it, either to swap reviews with an author or to make the author look worse online - terrible, right?

If you look at my reviews, you will see that they are not extensive - I like to think they are genuine, from real readers. There are many books that have hundreds of reviews... I have no idea how they did this. The mainstream books will have them, because they sell thousands of books, but for the average author, I would estimate that for every 50-100 books sold, you might get 1 review if you are lucky.

Harry Potter in the UK has currently got 1554 reviews... think about how many thousands of books this has sold! In contrast, Fifty Shades of Grey (the masterpiece-NOT!) has 7049 reviews (2022 are one star!)... even though it was published only a few years ago. It is also in the top 100 of the charts - erotica (is this what these books are?) obviously sells. It's a shame I don't write it... I need to lower my standards!

For the record, I have sold several hundred books, and given away in the region of over 6000 books of Hybrid for FREE as an eBook and have 14 reviews on Amazon US, and 36 on Amazon UK! So, for FREE books the ratio is even lower, since most of the time they might not even get read!

I then joined GOODREADS in June, 2012. This is a great way for me to keep track of the books I read and occasionally I dip into discussions - the fun side of reading! :)

I decided to try out the Amazon KDP scheme, left smashwords, and worked with another author to run a joint promotion. amazing to think that in 2012 you could get 300 downloads in a day as an unknown author - this does not happen now to many of us without a paid promotion or excessive use of social media! I got over 400 downloads in a day for Hybrid, which rocked me up the charts last month - but that was because I was featured in a free magazine distributed in Gibraltar!

I then started blogging about other stuff... food, sports, personal stuff. I realised blogging was a great way to share photos with family. So I decided to start new blogs...

VANESSA WESTER, first blog started March 2012.

A READER'S PERSPECTIVE, April 2012. A place to vent about books I have read, or movies I have seen.

TIME TO ESCAPE, Oct 2012. Adult anthologies I have published for charity.

FESTIVAL OF WRITING, started Oct 2012. A one-off blog about my experience.

This one, THE EVOLUTION TRILOGY, started January 2013.

INTERVIEW OF AN AUTHOR,  links and some posts of the authors interviews I have done.

STORIES FOR ALL, June 2013. Anthologies that can be enjoyed by children & adults which I have published, raising money for charity.

A lot of my time over 2013 was taken up with the charity anthologies. This is a great thing to do in order to meet great authors, support a worthy cause, and to find an outlet to write about different genre's and try out new styles. I found the experience rewarding and even though it has raised some money for these worthy causes I have decided not to publish any more.

The reason for this is that it took too much time and I also felt a bit used. Most of the authors were fantastic to work with, but I found the process frustrating and made the decision to focus on my own projects. I will still promote them, and they do sell a few every now and again, but I think the market is saturated with these collections. I have seen a successful free one, where it is clear all the authors promote it since they have linked to the amazon page.

A great blog I wrote which has had over 700 views is HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK - MY JOURNEY! Worth a read, I think...

I blogged about editing (the pain of it all), negative reviews (the first one I got was weird!), publishing Complications (the stress involved), interviews, the first time I sold paperbacks via a Fair, skiing, Food, Chocolate Muffins, Easter fun with kids, pets, the completion of my trilogy - I did it!... and recently, I have started to interview authors I have read and enjoyed. I have set up a Facebook page to keep track of these a few weeks ago.

The world of blogging is immense.

Tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, FREE promotion sites, authors groups (like ASMSG), and Goodreads help you to create a profile and network with readers and authors (and family of course! Do not underestimate how helpful family & friends can be at spreading the word when you first start out).

You should also set up an author profile on the amazon sites, as recommended by Amazon when you publish via KDP or createspace. This also helps you to "fine tune" your book description.

Along this arduous road, I have learnt how to format an eBook and paperback, self-edit, create a cover, create a You Tube video (this was fun - I used windows movie-maker).

BUT, I have not gone alone... I did have help from friends & family who proof-read and suggested recommendations for all three books, and recently HYBRID underwent a thorough proofread & edit via Susan Buchanan.

Might I add, that since Hybrid has been free I am actually selling books - the fact the trilogy is complete has certainly helped & I got my first review for RETURN via Amazon US yesterday! Yippee... someone in Texas rated it as a 4 star and said they wanted another one - I could kiss them! :)

For my next project, I will know a lot more and I will actually try to get an agent (I think... on the fence about whether it's worth it!).

Truth, in order to sell paperbacks to the masses, I believe you need to have a mainstream publisher behind you. Also, to translate your work worldwide, it's easier to have help. If you are lucky enough to come up with a break-through idea the advertising that will go into it will make it big (regardless of quality, might I add!)

However, in the main unless you are known or famous, the chances of selling thousands of books are slim. So long as you accept this fact, you'll do great!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Hybrid, I hope you enjoyed reading my rambles.

All the best,
Vanessa

A HUGE thank you...

I have just written a melancholy blog post on my main Author blog called "Perseverance" - where I discuss (or talk to myself as I write) my dilemma for the year.

Mainly, the question I ask myself is "should I continue writing or get back to my "real" job?

I don't have the answer to this yet, time will tell... but, from what I know most writers lead a double life - they have their day job and then at night they write.

Either way, I am extremely grateful for the moderate success I have had to date. Since HYBRID has gone free (or permafree - what a word!), I have had sales for Complications and Return. I have not had any new reviews on Amazon though, which makes me think readers don't love or hate it, or just have not read it! But, tracking sales/ ratings is driving me to insanity... I keep thinking "Why does that one sell?" "Why does that one get downloaded all the time for free and mine slips down the ratings?"

I am convinced that publicity and promotion is key, but if I do this all the time when do I actually write?

So, I have made a decision to write - yay! And I will have to watch as my books slide down the charts again - easy come, easy go!

If you happen to enjoy my books, it would make my day if you leave a review - on this blog, amazon, anywhere...

To those of you who have - THANK YOU. You are the reason I have worked so hard over the past few years. I know a lot of you have had enjoyment from my writing and so I know I have some promise. To those of you who don't like my writing - you know what, I respect you for sticking your neck out and saying so. I can be pretty critical too, but find I have to bite my tongue recently or I'll get accused of "jealousy".

Anyway, to anyone who visits this site for the first time... I hope you forgive my rant. Being an "indie" author is really hard, not all of us can achieve the sales Amanda Hocking got - she is what I call a true indie success story. She inspired many of us to give it a go, but I am afraid the bubble is set to burst or perhaps just loose air and fizzle out.

If you are a new writer I suggest you try to get an agent first, they are still looking for new talent. In this current market, they have found their feet and will use their marketing knowledge to sell books in a way indie's will struggle to compete against. Not every book should be represented or published, not every book is a mass paperback, but there is certainly enough out there to know that your book might have a place amongst the big boys! Don't lose faith, persevere... and if nothing works, ask me for help. I might be able to give you a few pointers.

Publishing a book is no longer hard - getting noticed is.

All the best,
Vanessa :)

Latest Interview with Madeline Dyer

I was interviewed by Madeline Dyer this week!

Highlights:

"I started writing as a form of escapism. My brain needed an outlet! Since I decided to take writing more seriously it has taken over my life to an extent. In a good and bad way at times…"

"Write because you enjoy what you do, not to make money"

Please click on the link to read all about it!

http://madelinedyer.co.uk/author-interview-with-vanessa-wester/

Thanks for reading :)
Vanessa

A bit about Madeline Dyer...

About Madeline Dyer, fantasy and prehistoric fiction author.

Ever since I was little I have been a keen reader and have wanted to write my own book, that I can display proudly on a shelf in my kitchen. Wherever I am, I always seem to find inspiration, whether it be for a setting, plot or character. Now I try to always carry a notepad to jot down those ideas that come flying at me when I least expect it, (although the ‘notes’ application on my iPod is also very useful!).

The main genres I like to write are of the fantasy category, young adult fiction and prehistoric fiction. As a teenager I was very impressed with Auel’s ‘Earth’s Children’ series and even started planning my own prehistoric series – books which I still haven’t finished.

I am the co-owner of a miniature shetland pony stud, and the ponies are absolutely adorable. Each has their own personality, making them so individual – something that is important for characters in fiction too!

I am an EzineArticles.com expert author – here I write articles on a variety of topics from Pets to Article Marketing. Check out my articles!

Also don’t forget to have a look at My Blog right here on this website, I try very hard to update it regularly with all the latest writing news, new releases and recommended reads.

When I’m not writing or reading I like to do a spot of photography, drawing and anything to do with arts and crafts. Or of course watching Eastenders on iPlayer.

I get my inspiration for such writing from a variety of sources and places. The initial idea for a story may be sparked by going to an atmospheric place, reading folklore and mythology, listening to songs (with good and meaningful lyrics), seeing a very good t.v programme or reading other novels in similar genres to that that I’m interested in. Alternatively, I’ll just see something in real life and think about what could have cuased that to happen, expand on it, build a story behind and there it is – a story waiting to be written.

When I have an idea for a story that I’m really excited about I’ll try to ‘hold off’ writing it for as long as possible, so I can develop it in her mind and add new twists to the plot. And when it eventually comes to the actual writing stage I’ll write out a brief outline, add more detail, do research into the background of the story (where’s it is going to be set e.t.c) and then write the scenes that are the most exciting, usually the climax of the plot. And then it’s just the rest of the book to write that’s left. Easy!

On a recent ‘count-up’ I found I had over fifty different story lines written in great detail (both on paper and the computer) but I doubt that all of these will be novels that I finishe, and even less will be the ones that get published. This is mainly beacuse I loose interest in some of them, or think “I’ll do that one another time.”

Recently I’ve been thinking about maybe writing some non-fiction on animals and animal-narrative-fiction.

The Writer Within

I have been featured on Jill's blog

I am in awe of someone like Jill... her blog has had 127, 715 views to date! like OMG... WOW! (Did you hear my jaw hit the ground?)

This is her profile on BLOGGER...

Industry	Education
Occupation	Mystery Author
Location	Toronto, Canada
Links	Wishlist
Introduction	Sasha Jackson: think "Sex and the City" meets "Nancy Drew". Blood and Groom was published in Nov. 2009. Dead Light District was released in March 2011. The Lies Have It was released in November 2011. For more author/book info, please see www.jilledmondson.com or follow on Twitter @JillEdmondson
Interests	www.facebook.com/sashajacksonmysteries www.jilledmondson.com I love reading, writing, travel, good wine, good food and quick wit. On Twitter @JillEdmondson
Favourite Music	Classic rock, random one hit wonders, old gritty blues, cheesy top 40, Broadway showtunes...
Favourite Books	"BLOOD AND GROOM" "DEAD LIGHT DISTRICT" and "THE LIES HAVE IT" www.facebook.com/sashajacksonmysteries Any detective novel, crime fiction, whodunit. Love a number of classics, and funny authors - no matter what genre.

On her blog I talk about my writing journey and publishing endeavours...

Please take a look,

Thanks
Vanessa xx

You are my Sunshine Award...

I was nominated for the YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE AWARD by Madeline Dyer - follow her on Twitter @MadelineDyerUK


You Are My Sunshine Award

(There was no picture so I just made this one up...)

The rules are simple:

(1) Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.

- Thanks Madeline!

(2) Do the Q&A below.

(3) Pass on the award to 8-12 deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them & link to their blogs (I am using Twitter).

~~~

So, the questions...

Favorite Color: Sapphire (The deep, blue ocean kind ...)

Favorite Animal: Hmmm... I would say Shark, but that's a fish! So, it'll have to be a guinea pig (we just bought two - check out my blog post - Guinea Pigs  & Sharks)

Favorite Number: Two... My Birthday & I never wanted to be no. 1 anyway! LOL

Favorite Non-alcoholic drink: J2O (Raspberry & Apple)
Facebook or Twitter: Twitter. - I love the fact I get to chat to random people & read mixed posts every day, as well as make some real friendships with no strings attached! Brilliant! 

Your Passion: Writing & Teaching (Maths & Swimming)
Giving or getting presents: On the fence... I love to give, but I love to get surprised!
Favorite Day: Hmmmmm... no idea! Don't have one (honest)

Favorite Flowers: Freesias

~~~

And now the bloggers/writers who I’m nominating…

James Smith
Mike Lambson
Angela Kelman
Gary Henson
Ant - TaffWrites
Lydia Aswolf
Kaykay
Scarlett Flame
Carol Hedges

Hope some of you see the fun in this!
Vanessa :) xx

A game of TAG...

Tag! You're an Author and You're "IT"

You may know this game, but not played in quite this manner before. So, Tag you're the author who is now "IT". To play this game you have to share your Work in Progress (WIP) or it's a smacked bottom and straight to bed with no supper! Miss Scarlett Flame tagged me, and these are the rules

• Give credit (including URL/link) to the person or Blog that caught you and who made you "IT" I was caught fair and square whilst running away.
• Play by the rules - no pinching, kicking, spitting, Chinese burns, crying and definitely no tantrums! Which also means you must post the rules
• You must answer 10 questions about your current WIP, no matter the genre, because possibly we may like to get to know each other a little better (to be honest it's only 9 because  as the 10th question is really only the next step)
• List 5 other authors or Bloggers with their hiding places (URL/Links) so that they can be chased down and made "IT" so we can all go home now we've finished playing. Go in, eat supper, and check out THEIR books.

Q 1) What is the title (or working title) of you book?

RETURN (The Evolution Trilogy)

Q 2) What genre(s) does your book fall under?

Paranormal Romance & Suspense, New Adult, Science Fiction

Q 3) What actors would you choose to play the characters in the film version of your book?

I'll give this a stab... but I might suggest different ones tomorrow! LOL

Steven Thorn - David Boreanaz
Caitlin Chance - Emma Stone (with red hair as she looked in THE HELP movie!)
Ingrid Clausen - Katherine Heigl
Lucy Santos - Minnie Driver
Ian Roberts - Chris O'Donnell
Catherine Roberts - Nicole Kidman
Q 4) What is the main outline for your book?
It is the finale of The Evolution Trilogy...

Readers will find out what happens to Steven & Caitlin and whether their love is meant to be? It also wraps up the story of the Amazonian community to reveal the future of the new species...
Q 5) Will your book be Indie published, self published or represented by an agency and sold to a traditional publisher? 

Self published via Amazon, Createspace (paperbacks) & Smashwords
Q 6) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

Still in process obviously... I think it's likely to be a year.

Q 7) What other books in this genre would you compare yours to?

Twilight, The Hunger Games ... although it is more like a TV series like Heroes or Roswell
Q 8) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Stephenie Meyer... she was also a stay at home mum who choose to write in her spare time. The ideas come from all the different book & Scifi series I have watched over the years.
Q 9) What else about the book might pique the readers attention?

A new vampire theory to throw into the midst...
Q 10) Thank goodness!! Phew I've ran as fast as I can and these are the author's I've caught (and any who don't have a Blog of their own are welcome to have a sleepover at mine and post their answers here)

Now for my five victims... erm five other authors who will tell you about their WIP

Susan Buchanan
Terry Tyler
James Smith
Lydia Aswolf
Kaykay Obi

ENJOY GUYS... and if you can't take up the challenge then try and pass it on to another author that might be interested, thank you :) xx

Vanessa :) xx

A NEW LOOK for 2013...

This is going to sound really silly, but I only just discovered the option to have pages on Blogspot... major edits to the rest of my blogs coming up I think - lol... I do love to play!

I hope you all like the NEW fresh look for this blog and find it easier to navigate the Evolution Trilogy.

As a means of introduction, I was inspired to write after seeing an interview with Stephenie Meyer in February 2010... For years I had written down ideas and hidden my scraps in the recesses of my computer. I was embarrassed to admit I had ideas and wanted to write stories.

I lost a lot of confidence at school. Even though I did very well in English in the end I was convinced I was not good enough to be a writer (even though I used to write stories all the time from a young age - I wanted to become the next Agatha Christie).

Since I was good at Maths & Science I naturally followed that road, ended up doing a degree in Accounting & Law (which I found extremely challenging, boring & depressing), and then decided (in my wisdom) to train as a Chartered Accountant. Are you surprised to find out it was a mistake? Anyway, after less than a year I resigned, even though they all thought I was very good at my job! I decided to retrain as a Teacher of Maths (since I always liked helping people) and found my calling.

I worked  as a Teacher of Maths in a secondary school (which I sadistically loved) for a few years before I left on maternity leave. We then moved to Holland for a few years and child number two came along. I had traumatic deliveries and found it hard to find "peace."  When we moved to the Isle of Wight I finally felt at home for the first time in years. It is fair to say that I am not a "city" girl...

I was about to go back to work in 2008 when I discovered number three was on her way!

To keep my sanity over the years I have helped voluntary organisations by doing their accounts, organised fundraisers, tutored Maths, read a LOT of books, cooked & cleaned (way too much), done craft with my kids, met up with friends... I tried it all. BUT, there was something missing...

So, when I listened to that interview in February 2010 I decided to try to write a story - for FUN! And I did. I wrote a romantic chic flick story of 67,000 words and I was very proud mf myself (it was not well written but the story had promise). Either way, as far as I was concerned at the time that was a lot of words... I naively submitted it to agents after reading the Writers & Artists Handbook (how little did I know? ha ha) and of course got rejections - I keep them as momento's.

I got the idea for The Evolution Series (now a Trilogy) around May 2010 and started to write. The original story started with Steven the summer before he started university. It was different to what it is now. Before long, Hybrid was born.  It was only 75,000 words at first draft.  It took 2 years to get it to the 103,000 word stage it is now. Whilst I edited and changed Hybrid, I wrote Complications, which is why I managed to publish Complications at the end of 2012.

I have started Return, but ever since I started to actively promote my writing, time has been more precious.

I have had great advice and feedback along the way from online friends at www.thewordcloud.org , Twitter, and Booksie. I also had amazing support via friends and family. But, I have to stress that I have done the bulk of the editing, so any errors are my own. I also designed the covers.

Anyway, enough about me, enjoy the first two books of my Trilogy! I have put my heart and soul into them...

Thank you for having a look
Vanessa Wester :) xx