Latera enjoyed the charmed life of a princess, first born and heir to her father’s kingdom. Her idyllic existence changed forever when she was spirited away from her home and became lost in the realm of Faerie. For six years, she lived in obscurity as a stable girl until Aeolmar, First Hunter of Parthalan, swept her away from her quiet village. He brought her to the court of Asherah, the Faerie Queen, who had struggled to keep demons out of her land for one thousand years. Latera learned to hunt demons, and her ferocity against her many foes earned her the name Demon-killer, along with the First Hunter’s unwavering devotion. Thrust into a war between the fare who became her family and marauding demon hordes, will she find the courage to meet her destiny?

For starters, could you tell me a little about your first published book?

My book is called Rise of the Deva’shi: A Chronicle of Parthalan. It follows a human girl named Latera who is kidnapped from her home and becomes lost in the faerie realm. She ends up in a land called Parthalan, and after spending many years as a stable hand her quiet existence is again shattered by the arrival of Aeolmar, First Hunter of Parthalan. He needs someone to tend to the horses while his hunters complete a training excercise and hires Latera, but during the exercise they are ambushed by demons. Aeolmar is rendered unconscious, and Latera, who had never before so much as touched a sword, takes up his and defends him against three demons.

The overriding theme in my book is belonging, and learning that home isn’t necessarily where you’re from, but where you end up. Latera struggles with her seperation from her family, but when she is returned to them she realizes that she no longer has a place in the mortal realm and finds a way back to Parthalan, and to Aeolmar.

How did you approach publication? Were you always planning to self-publish?

Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought that self publishing was just what was done with a first novel, and I have a friend who published her first with Author House. So I flipped over her book, went to Author House’s website, and away we went! Now, I am considerably more informed and I am seeking a traditional publisher for my next novel.

Having said that, I don’t think I had a bad experience with Author House. They were very upfront about their charges, and my book looks identical to other paperbacks on the shelves. All in all, they were good to me and I would recommend them to anyone looking to self-publish.

How long did the process take? What were the major milestones for you?

The story floated around in my head for years, and I scribbled it down a few times over the years. Once I finally buckled down and started writing seriously I was done in about three months. The biggest milestone occured when I had the entire plot sketched out, start to finish, and it made sense. That was the first time I felt like a real writer!

What did Authorhouse do for you that you couldn’t do yourself? Do you feel you got value for money?

I would say that I got value for that reason alone, however I do wonder if I overpaid for the basic production services. I have heard that other self-publishers charge considerably less, but then again I haven’t seen whaty kind of a product they turn out, nor do I know how their titles are distributed.

What kind of promotion have you done since publication? What do you feel has worked best?

I’ve done a few of the basics, and I’ve found that social media sites (Facebook, Goodreads, etc) give me the most bang for my buck. I can reach the widest audience, as opposed to a booksigning where you sit there and hope a potential reader wanders by. I also published Rise of the Deva’shi as an eBook to Kindle and Smashwords, and got 18 downloads in 2 weeks.

Who would you recommend Authorhouse to? Who would you suggest try and different avenue?

If someone had thoroughly researched self vs. traditional publishing and decided to do it themselves, I would absolutely recommend Authorhouse. The key factor is research and knowing your market – honestly, you have to be a marketing genius when you self publish. Luckily, I do have a business degree so I’m familiar with a greater amount marketing concepts than most, but I still have to work – hard – to get the word out about me and my work. Therefore, anyone not willing to act as their own publicist should aim for traditional publishing.

With your background, obviously self-publishing hasn’t been the trial it could have been. What made you decide against self-publishing future novels?

Self-publishing is tough. It took me days of cajoling to get my book into one Barnes & Noble, but a traditional publisher already has the relationships in place to get a book on hundreds if not thousands of shelves. You also run up against a great deal of prejudice – people seem to think that self-published equates with talentless hack. While I don’t claim to be the next Stephen King, I have received unbiased reviews from people who greatly enjoyed my work. I’ve also read self-published works that are abysmal. I believe that if I can somehow convince an agent to represent me to a traditional publisher, I’ll not only gain the credibility of a “real” author, but my work will be available to a larger audience.

I think that’s everything I wanted to ask. Did you have anything you wanted to add?

I will say that I do love hearing from my readers, and they can feel free to email me at jenniferaprovost@gmail.com, or look me up on Facebook.

Rise of the Deva’shi is available from Amazon, B&N and Smashwords (who are running a promotionfr $5.99 ebooks if you enter coupon code QY78N). Jennifer’s wesbite can be found here.

Publishing: AAR speak to Dorchester authors about the recent changes there. Some are sticking with them, some are self-publishing, some are looking for new publishers. Dorchester seem happy to let authors make their own decisions. The September releases are up, but a lot are listed as out of stock. You can’t even add them to a wishlist.

Interest Piquing: Philadelphia is sending to all bloggers with ads (or any other kind of potential revenue earner) on their blogs a notice for $50 a year or a one off payment of $300 for a business privilege licence. Even though many people receiving these demands have earned well under $50.

InsPiring: Paige Tyler’s Thursday Thirteen last week was for hot air balloons. The Thirteen is an awesome idea anyway, and who doesn’t love hot air balloons? As a kid, it was always a treat if I spotted one through the car window. Every now and then you’d spot more than one, and then you’d get over the ridge of the hill and realise it was a whole hot air balloon festival.

Procrasintation: The Dionaea House, and the Mystery Cave. Both are pretty old now (in ‘net terms) and both made for some pretty disturbed sleep! I prefer the Dionaea House, overall, but Mystery Cave was good too. Anyone got any similar recs?

(so far today I’ve watched ‘Snatch’, ‘Leon’, ‘The American in Paris’ and the 60s version of ‘The Time Machine’)

Leaving the Institute for the Homeless, Andiriel longs for excitement. Befriended by a knight of the illustrious Sovereign Order, she enters the Order’s auxiliary services and finds herself on a strange mission leading to a challenging future in a job she hardly expects. No magic swords or mighty rings, no orphans who are really kings, no elves or dwarfs or prophecies, no ghouls and vampires, if you please. A mercenary regiment, its men (and women), where it’s sent, its training, tactics, work and play; a growing threat (still far away): That’s Storm Approaching.

Can you tell me a little about your first published book?

In the late 90’s I published And Gladly Teach, a satirical novel about life at a (fictional) prep school, which has been well received by a discriminating (i.e. small) audience. And Gladly Teach is funny, sarcastic, light-hearted, serious, and more realistic than you might wish. It is also short and has a happy ending: ideal reading on long trips, at the beach, or at dull faculty meetings (as long as you sit way in back, so the Headmaster or Director of Studies can’t see you).

I began writing the Mercenaries [Storm Approaching, Gold and Glory, and  Resolution coming later this year!] books in 2001. I hoped for traditional publication and was lucky enough to get a fine agent, but even fine agents are not always successful: after being approved by the first reader at one well-known fantasy publisher, Storm Approaching languished on the chief editor’s desk (figuratively speaking) for almost three years (!) before my agent gave up. In response to my proposal to self-publish, advised me to go ahead, and to send him a copy.

Why did you self-publish, rather than try another agent or an e-publisher?

These answers relate to And Gladly Teach, which I wrote in 1999 and published in 2001; the  answers would be  somewhat different for Storm Approaching and Gold and Glory, which I published in 2009 and 2010 (and for which I used two different publishers).

I did not try more agents because (a) after 35 agents turned down my query my patience was at an end, (b) I was eager to see the book in print, and (c) I was ignorant of a lot of things relating to how publishing works, and of how very difficult it is for a self-published author to market his book. I was confident that And Gladly Teach was worthwhile, reasonably well-written, and funny—a belief that has been confirmed by many readers—so I decided to get it into print. (It has sold about 245 copies.)

I did not consider e-publishing because I did not think that e-published books would ever sell; also, I most definitely wanted a book, a physical object. I still do—I would not publish a book only in electronic form, although having one available in that form as well as in print is a good idea today.

How did you approach the process?

I simply looked up as many POD publishers as I could and picked one that seemed to have good services at reasonable prices. AuthorHouse—called First Books then—was a big name in the field and obviously had published a lot of books. Why not mine? They also did an extremely good job with my cover, which I submitted merely as a crude pen-and-ink sketch (for I cannot draw); they turned it into quite a striking cover, exactly what I wanted, and I don’t recall that the charge was very high (although I don’t remember now what I paid).

What differences did you find between publishers? What made you switch between books?

I went with AuthorHouse for Storm Approaching, the first volume in Mercenaries, because they had done a good job with And Gladly Teach nine years before. I sent them the book in October, 2008, and it came out in early May, 2009. The production team was very good–thoroughly professional and easy to deal with. The finished product is fine. However, AH was expensive–$2020 exclusive of buying copies of the book. Author Solutions is a very large company and there were many people to contact–the Design Consultant, the Marketing Consultant & Services Coordinator, the Promotions Assistant, the Book Sales Consultant, the Project Manager–and these people sometimes changed abruptly, since there is a good deal of turnover. AH does try to sell you many expensive things that I do not think are very likely to help (e.g. ads in newspapers, exposure at book fairs) none of which I bought, but less experienced authors can spend thousands on these things. They made a bizarre error at one point, charging me 690 pounds sterling instead of dollars (although I am in Minnesota and they in Indiana); they at once admitted the error, but it took a while to straighten out with my credit card company. I found dealing with so large an organization sometimes trying.

So, for Gold and Glory I looked around a bit and found (through a mention at Absolute Write), the Avid Readers Publishing Group. I think this is a one-man operation, but a very good one. They got the book in March 2010 and published it at the end of April (!) I paid less than half of what AH cost. The book, although much longer than the first one (445 pages/260pages) can sell for only a couple of dollars more. We exchanged e-mails about every other day, he was professional and very dedicated–in fact he sometimes moved almost faster than I wanted–and the finished product is fine. (Since both AH and ARPG use Lightning Source for the actual printing, this is not surprising.) I intend to ask ARPG to publish volume 3, Resolution, in a couple of months.

Why did you go for a publisher like AuthourHouse rather than do everything yourself? What did you feel they (and ARPG) could offer you that you couldn’t do yourself?

I have no wish to start a publishing company or incorporate myself, take full charge of formatting,* buy ISBNs, and fill all orders myself. I am not a businessman, or at least no more than I have to be. AuthorHouse and ARPG save me time and give me someone to help me. (I also expect that ARPG saves me money.)

I realize–mainly from reading a lot of comments at Absolute Write–that “true self-publishing” involves doing everything youself, and is mainly respectable, while using a subsidy/vanity publisher is (in the opinion of some) contemptible. I have never understood why. In both cases one is publishing the book without a “gatekeeper.” (But in the case of my Storm Approaching, the book did meet with the approval of a very prominent agent and the first reader of a major publisher).

The above represents my opinion based on what I know; but I realize that, especially in the rapidly-evolving publishing world we live in today, I may be ignorant of many things.

* I did publish two items with Lulu. The “fun” I had in downloading them, then ordering several copies (one after another) and correcting the formatting errors, was not something I’d ever try with a long novel.

Of the services offered by both publishers, which did you find most valuable?

Well… printing the book, I guess: formatting it, doing the cover, etc.

Beyond that… the color postcards and bookmarks are handy marketing tools.

Speaking of marketing, what kind of promotion have you done? What do you think has been working best for you?

I use my Facebook page; I ask web review sites if they’ll accept a copy of my book (many don’t want POD books at all; but I have received favorable reviews from some, although I have not figured out if these result in any sales); I have a blog devoted to humorous essays but also promoting my books; I send postcards to other authors and to some bookstores, and anyplace else that might help; I implore anyone who says he likes a book to tell other people about it any way possible. I entered the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards (and won an Honorable Mention for “Storm Approaching,” which, so far as I can tell, resulted in absolutely nothing good).

None of this works particularly well, yet. I have sold approx. 250 copies of “And Gladly Teach” in 10 years, 130 of “Storm Approaching” in 1 year; and 42 of “Gold and Glory” in 3 months. I doubt I have sold any books in the last six weeks. One must just keep trying.

This is often a somewhat discouraging subject because I know, from what reviews and objective comments I have received, that my books are well-written and would appeal to a large audience. You might check the latest entry on my blog.

Who would you recommend self-publishing to? Who would you suggest avoid it?

I’d recommend s-p if the following conditions apply:

1)  The author does not expect to make any money. (The author may, of course, hope to make something, but he should not expect to. S-p is, in other words, a hobby, not a profession.)

2)  The author has revised and edited the book very thoroughly.

3)  The author really feels that many people would enjoy the book.

4)  The author has given some thought on how to publicize the book, and is willing to spend some money (at least for sending out review copies), and a good deal of time, doing so. The more money the better, of course: this is advertising, and has nothing to do with the actual quality of the book.

Self-publishing is also a good idea for people who want to preserve their memories (or their prose, poetry, etc.) for their friends and families, and know in advance that very few people will be reading the book.

I think that about wraps up everything I had to ask. Is there anything you want to add?

I can’t think of anything else, except to thank you for the chance to give some information on my self-publishing experience; I hope some of what I said will be useful to others.

And Gladly Teach can be purchased from Amazon, Authorhouse, or via his website. For more information on his fantasy series Mercenaries check his site too.

At the same time, the subject of adverts in ebooks has reared its head again. I wouldn’t have a problem with well-targeted, unobtrusive adverts, but what are the odds of that?

Dorchester’s move to ebooks seems to be an attempt to man the lifeboats, but there’s not many people left to do the manning. They’ve fired all but one editor, they’re not getting books out, they’re struggling to pay authors… Not Good.

Interest-Piquing: On a lighter (and incredibly interesting) note: why books are the sizes they are. Medieval sheep!

InsPiring: Top 12 Urban Fantasy jobs, courtesy of tor.com. Now hiring: a people person with a strong stomach and a good alcohol tolerance.

Procrastination: As part of a giveaway SBTB asked its readers for real life ghost stories (to win a copy of the latest Jennifer Crusie). You know what I’m like about ghost stories, so you’ve probably figured out I’ve worked my way through the comments. You should too; well, only if you don’t mind sleeping with the lights on!

It’s just another job to police detective Karen Seagate and her partner Ryan Miner. Because Karen is the chief’s least favorite cop, she gets lots of lousy assignments and providing security to a couple of guys debating stem cell research is one of those. Listening to the two debaters go on about football for hours afterwards while she’s stuck drinking club sodas (and dying for a real drink) is the icing on the cake. But when one of the debaters, Arlen Hagerty is murdered that night, what had been a boring job becomes a high-profile case.

Working with her young partner, Seagate has to confront a host of her own issues, starting with a broken-down family and her own drinking. With the chief breathing down her neck, trying to push her in directions that bring him favorable publicity rather than moving the case forward only makes things worse. As Seagate moves forward with the case, her own life goes more deeply into crisis mode.

There are plenty of reasons why someone would want to kill Hagerty. His wife or mistress are obvious and had plenty of opportunity. Then there’s the man whom Hagerty pushed from his job as he clawed his way to the top. Or could it be the politician he’s been blackmailing or his fellow debater?

Author Mike Markel combines police procedure with an intriguing and sometimes disturbing character in Karen Seagate. Markel’s writing drew me into the story, made me care about Seagate even when she engaged in self-destructive behavior, and gave me convincing red herrings to chase after as the real killer threatened to slip away entirely. This is Markel’s first published novel (he’s published a number of non-fiction works) and it looks like the start of something very special.

Tell me a little about the first book you had published.

I’m happy to do so, but first I want to ask whether you mean literally the first book I published (a study of the English man of letters Hilaire Belloc) or my first novel.

I think for this probably the first novel, though my follow up questions is going to be “Did the way you published your academic works feed in to the way you approached publishing fiction?”

No, the standard arrangement is that she gets a cut only if a contract is reached with a publisher to whom she submitted it on the writer’s behalf.

Do you have any more books in the works? If so, would you go through your agent again, or straight to bookforabuck?

Yes, I’m working on the sequel. And no, I think my agent is my ex-agent (because she spent time–unproductively–trying to sell my book).

I feel lucky to be published, so I hope Rob at BooksForABuck will have me again. His choice will depend on how well–or poorly–Big Sick Heart does for him.

How did you feel about going with an epublisher rather than a print publisher? How did your expectations differ (if they differed)?

I had mixed feelings about going with an epublisher. On the one hand, my dream was to go with a well-known print publisher with a marketing budget, blah blah, but I also think we’re at the dawn of a new model for publishing, so that epublishing might turn out to smart in the long run for me.

About expectations: I try not to have any. Like they say, if you want to see God laugh, tell Him your plans.

How long was the process from submission to publication? What were the major milestones for you?

Interest-Piquing: Will ebooks eat the world? Is the printed book on the path to destruction? Has anyone in the industry noticed how physical forms of digital media haven’t disappeared in other industries, like film and music? No? Sorry, but the argument’s drive me up the wall sometimes ^_^ I don’t think printed books will disappear, but I think it’s going to be a toss up whether it’s the ‘collector’s item’ hardbacks survive or the ‘cheap and disposable’ paperbacks. People will still want a physical medium, but are they going to go for vinyl records or CDs?

I’m not the only one bored with the whole mobius strip aspect of the discussion: consider the ebook article drinking game.

InsPiring: Oh god, I thought this only happened in urban legends: a pea plant grows in a man’s lung. Funnily enough, it’s not on snopes yet.

Procrastination: What, Snopes wasn’t enough for you? Okay, how about Punch n Pie, and it’s forerunner, Queen of Wands.

Kerry Tolan’s latest release is Rogue Dancer:

The last time Mikial’s civilization turned on a savior, they were destroyed. Now Mikial is faced with repeating a disastrous history or defying it. Her people thought the humans had left for good. She believed otherwise. They were both wrong.

Not everyone is eager to embrace a leader with mixed blood who promises to reunite her divided race. To some, Mikial is a mistake that needs correcting. To others, she is the answer to a growing threat from beyond her world. Mikial must find a way to prove her legitimacy, even if it means resurrecting an ancient horror in lands laid to waste by a civil war she is desperate not to repeat. What she finds in the ruins of Min Saja will not be the salvation she expects.

Rogue Dancer continues the story of Mikial Haran, bringing with it all the traditions and strife of an alien people facing the challenges of first contact.

To start with, can you tell me a little about your first published book?

I’d be happy to give you the background behind “Blade Dancer” [to which Rogue Dancer is the sequel] as it typifies the e-book author’s struggle.

“Blade Dancer” took four years to be soundly ignored by New York back in the late nineties when, unbeknown to me, the publisher mid-list was collapsing.  I found a starter e-book publisher called “IPub” forming – it promised to circumvent the New York maze and was the brainchild of the Time Warner/AOL group.  Authors would vote on most likely candidates and moderators (editors) would choose the highest rated in each genre.  “Blade Dancer” (at that time it was “Qurl”) was chosen and went through the editorial process with Paul Whitcover who ran the SF group.  Two months before release, with the final galley in my hands, Time Warner killed IPub and tossed everyone to the winds, myself included.

Two years later I emerged from under a rock and submitted to Champagne Books on an impulse, having been with a writing group made up of IPub refugees. One of the members had signed a Romance with this Canadian publisher and now Champagne was openly soliciting for Science Fiction and Fantasy.  I was their first pure SF author, and the re-titled “Blade Dancer” went on to become a finalist in its category at the 2009 Eppie awards.

Blade Dancer is a combination coming-of-age story for a young alien lady, as well as my commentary on how poorly the Western world tends to treat cultures we consider inferior to our own.  This was long before Avatar was a twinkle in Cameron’s eye, of course.  Mikial Haran is a rare female member of a male-dominated species serving a race made up of four biologically specialized species.  She loves dancing over fighting, but her first battle ends up running into adversaries supplied with human weapons.  The death of a protector drives her to find who is behind the advanced guns, and in doing so Mikial ends up running afoul of her society’s strict isolationism.  She ends up discovering both herself, her destiny, and a history her people should not have turned their backs on.  Blade Dancer is the imprint and repercussions of our interfering with a culture we don’t even bother to understand.  It is also a struggle anyone can identify with despite the main character being alien – the angst-driven efforts of a girl emerging into the adult world.

I come from the Orson Scott Card school of characterization, by the way.  Mikial comes with friends and family, and she isn’t the only one who has to endure the wrenching changes.

What was it like, being part of an epress that went under? Were there any warning signs?

For us involved back then with IPub, the warning signs were there if you wanted to read them.  The largest was a growing political spat between the traditional publishing arm of Time Warner and the new folks from AOL who launched IPub.  One did not respect the other, and this was part of a culture that never melded when AOL was bought by Time Warner.  Other warning signs included wild promises on part of the AOL management regarding profitability that simply was not possible at the time.  Poorly written contracts added to the general uh-oh factor.

The actual day of judgment came as an email from senior editor Paul Whitcover who walked in that morning to find a pink slip waiting for everyone in the Ipub division.  It was over that fast.

Next came the scramble as folks tried to leverage contacts to find agents.  A few made it, such as E. E. Knight with his Vampire Earth series.  Most of us weren’t so lucky.  One particularly upset authoress went out and created her own publishing company – which eventually became Champagne Books.  (No, I didn’t know her at the time, but I knew Eric and critiqued his work).  The writer’s group I am with was founded by IPub alumni.

Based on what I have seen in the chat archives over at EPIC, publishers can fold abruptly but other small press publishers often jump in to pick up the orphaned authors.

As you say, the market’s pretty different today. Are there any differences between Champagne and IPub that reflect this?

IPub was still geared as a traditional publisher despite its (then) revolutionary way of bringing authors into the fold through e-books.  They had the cost of maintaining editors, staff, and the building necessary to house them.  IPub also had to meet corporate expectations for profit.  E-books could not fulfill those expectations and inevitably was behind the IPub demise as much as poor management and in-fighting.  Of course with all of these resources, including a marketing department, more weight can be brought to bear on both promoting and distributing their e-books.

Champagne follows the model of a “virtual” business.  There are no offices save for in someone’s home, staff can be scattered across the globe, and personal risk is minimal when compared to large houses.  Such businesses can thrive on lower margins and survive on e-book sales alone.  Of course, with a smaller staff who often hold down day jobs, the muscle for both promoting and distribution is somewhat lacking.  The small press also must fight the uphill battle of being locked out of most bookstores and trade magazines who are associated only with the New York publishers.

The big difference between these models (traditional vs e-pub) is that the traditional publishers can not make the kind of profit needed to sustain them once e-books come into the picture.  New York makes its margins off of hard covers, and releasing the e-book version of best sellers is seen as a threat to the bottom line.  Unfortunately for them, there is no “cure”.  Raise the e-book price to hard cover levels and you get pirated.  “Window” the e-book by delaying it and you will get your hard cover digitized and pirated anyway.  The small press rarely has this problem, and can easily sail below the $9.99 limit the traditional houses balk at.

What drew you to epublishing in the first place? What made you decide to go back to it after your experience with IPub?

Simple.  It was either that or never see my work published.  The NY mid list had crumbled and writers were not getting looked at.

Who would you recommend epublishing to? Are there any situations in which you’d suggest a writer avoid it?

E-publishing is an option to anyone who
(a) has a professionally publishable manuscript – reputable e-pubs have as high a rejection rate as their NY peers.
(b) can not get an agent or does not want to wait a considerable time to find one.  Agents want books with mass market appeal, and you may not be writing to the current fad.
(c) has a marketable book with an interested audience.

E-publishing is not an option for anyone who
(a) wants to see their book in bookstores.
(b) is not interested in promoting their work.
(c) wants a big advance (rarely are any advances given).

This is simple sounding, but there is a lot more behind it.  You need to comb through the e-publishers with care to insure that you don’t mistakenly end up with either a vanity press or author mill.  The publisher should be listed on Fictionwise unless you want to take chances on a start-up.  The publisher should be doing well with the genre you are writing for.  Check Preditors & Editors website and the Writer’s Water Cooler forums to further investigate your choice before you submit to them.

Follow the guidelines the publisher provides to the letter.  Often, this is the first way they screen out writers who exhibit traits of not being a team player.

Look at e-publishing (as it currently exists) as the Minor Leagues.  Play well, and you can build up a track record that might help you get into the Majors.  Keep in mind that the New York industry is still coming to grips with the digital age and conditions continue to change.  E-publishing remains a very viable alternative to being part of that big bucket of good writers trying to pour into a small thimble of NY publishers.

A word on self-publishing.  Unless you really know your market, and are prepared to promote yourself to the extreme, you will not be very successful and self-published authors will not usually have themselves or their books recognized as published.  Genre fiction is especially difficult for self-pubbers.

In terms of promotion, what has Champagne offered you, and what have you done yourself? What have you found most effective?

Promotion by Champagne has been great, relative to what you would expect from a small e-publisher.  They have a full-time promotion person who constantly is searching out new ways for authors to get themselves out on the web.  Like most small publishers, Champagne has a list of reviewers to which it sends books.  No guarantee you will get reviewed, and no guarantee that the review will be favorable.  Champagne Books also maintains a presence on both MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook from where it will announce new releases or favorable reviews.  My publisher also has their own reader forums, and conducts monthly chats both with other popular sites as well as its own.  Finally, Champagne Books strives to get novels out on as many profitable media sites as it can – and has recently added audio books to the fold.  When a new novel is published, a press release is also sent to several services.

For me, the pattern is about the same as my publisher.  I am present on the social sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and I actively participate in a number of forums.  I have my own website and domain – www.kmtolan.com.  Today I added to my personal blog “Alien Space”, and have recently participated on the author blog “Writer’s Vineyard”.  Yes, this takes my time, but I often have the time while at work to do the “promo circle” as I call it.

The most effective promotion for me is a split between SF conferences and announcements (not spam) on social sites and blogs.  I can also reap some reward from writer’ sites that are open to readers – they see my critiques and contributions and decide to check me out.  I track all visits to my website pages so I can further analyze if a particular promotional effort pays off or is a dud.

The most effective promotion outside of my own efforts is a favorable review.  All I have to do for that is write well (grin).

I think that about wraps it up for questions I wanted to ask. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Whew…I’m good!

Blade Dancer and its sequel, Rogue Dancer, are available to buy from Kerry’s website. The paperbacks are also available from Champagne Books directly, and the ebooks from omnilit.