The Takedown of LendInk: Who Won?

This week marks the demise of LendInk and the end of owner Dale Porter’s American Dream. It’s a sad, yet fascinating, case of ethical business practices. (Disclaimer: Content has been changed to correct erroneous information.)

LendInk: (Previously stated that LendInk did not have a FAQs page, which was incorrect.) LendInk did have a FAQ page asserting the validity and legality of their site.  Although the site is no longer live, you can read some of that content at Indie Author. LendInk appears to have done everything right, so why did they become the target of an indie author outrage mob? Read: What Happened to LendInk? The owner responds.

Authors: Aside from not doing their due diligence to understand the site, they failed to resolve their conflict (real or perceived) in an ethical manner. I’m sure LendInk did get numerous contacts from confused authors but those concerns should have been easy to arbitrate considering that LendInk was legally and ethically in the right. Instead, authors waged a very public campaign complete with virtual pitchforks and fueled by ignorance. Regardless of whether the authors were in the right or the wrong, they made a sizeable mistake: Reaction instead of Ethical Action. Which has led to some ugly backlash and retaliation against certain indie authors. Read: LendInk taken down by A**hole Indie Authors.

It’s a bit ironic that many self-published authors call themselves indie to break away from the ignorant, vanity press stigma and, subsequently, the term indie has grown in negative connotations. Which begs the question, is “Indie” the new “Self-Published?” (Please Lord, I hope not. I hope we are aspiring to do better!)

The point for me is not to lay blame, but to ask: Is there anything worth learning from The Tragic Tale of LendInk that will make me a better human being and a better business person?

No matter what you call your author-self, the basic principles of business ethics are important.  Let’s look to the US Better Business Bureau, whose motto is Start With Trust, for guidance:

What complaints do we handle?

Disagreements between businesses and their customers. However, we reserve the right to reject complaints that use abusive or foul language.

 How do we handle your complaint?

Everything you submit will be forwarded to the business within two business days. The business will be asked to respond within 14 days, and if a response is not received, a second request will be made. You will be notified of the business’s response when we receive it (or notified that we received no response). Complaints are usually closed within 30 business days.

It’s useful to note that the first thing the BBB does is to facilitate communication between the customer and the business to rectify the perceived wrong. How can we as self-published authors/small business owners reapply this best-in-class practice?

Do your research. Reach out privately, business to business. Ask for a response within 14 days. If you do not get satisfaction within the requested period, escalate privately using MUSO or legal representation.

Before you wage (or join) a public crusade, ask yourself:

·        Do I know what I’m talking about—have I done my research?

·         What if I were the person on the opposite end? How would I want to be treated?

·        Have I tried to arbitrate privately?

·        Could this damage my reputation?

·        Is this something I want on the internet FOREVER?

·        And finally: What would I advise my child or a relative’s child to do? Is this responsible advice?

Always keep top of mind: A few books sales lost to piracy are not worth the loss of your professional reputation.

Carey

(Who may, or may not, work in the Marketing & Sales division of a global, publicly traded Fortune 500 company which happens to be the largest consumer packaged goods company in the world.) www.careycorp.com

Self-published = Salesperson, That’s Crazy Talk!

Hi All,

I’ve been in deep lurk mode as I work on the sequel to THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE KEEPER (sequel to THE GUARDIAN). But as indie-related business articles or posts catch my eye, I’ll try to pass them on.

Back in March, Courtney Milan did an interesting blog post about review ethics and specifically The Ask.

 

“But I have seen a handful of self-published books, where at the end of the book, there is a brief note that says something like this: If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com.” Read post here. (Be sure to peruse the comments.)

As I started to comment, I realized I had a post worthy of sharing. So here are my thoughts:

My indie books do have a gentle ask at the end. Honest reviews are critical to an indie's credibility, brand building, and self-owned business. As self-published authors, we are entrepreneurs/small-business owners. And we have to act accordingly. In this brave, new publishing world, not only do authors have to think and act like marketers, they have to be savvy salespeople.

If you think about it from a sales perspective, books = products, readers = consumers. So what do we know about the average consumer and their product experiences?

Sales: Studies show that dissatisfied customers will tell more people (8-10) about their experience with a product than happy customers (2-3 people). Read more here and here (or just Google “dissatisfied customers”).

“About13 percent of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people.” (White House Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, DC) eCommerce is a game of statistics and the global potential for disgruntled readers to rant is exponential. The first place they go—you guessed it—on line. Here’s a great article from MediaSpace to illustrate the point.

Even more compelling, perhaps, is the data that comes from science:

Science: Psychologically and physiologically, human beings are hardwired to focus on the negative (NY Times article: Praise is Fleeting, but Brick Bats We Recall). "Bad is Stronger than Good."

 

This data has 2 primary implications: 1) readers are more likely to review books that have made some sort of negative impact on them, and 2) prospective readers are likely to weigh negative reviews stronger than positive ones.

That brings us to The Ask:

“If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com.” 

The Ask helps level the playing field. It equates a positive reader/consumer experience with a call to action in a very non-threatening way. Genuine, positive reviews build product confidence for potential readers. Think about it for a second…Have you ever looked at the reviews for a product you were considering on Amazon prior to purchasing? Have the rating/reviews ever swayed your decision to buy or not buy? Have you ever looked at reviews for a book that you were considering? What are people saying about this? is a question most consumers are curious to answer, and the greater the risk, the more we want reassurance before a purchase commitment. So why wouldn’t you, as an indie author, do everything within the boundaries of your principles and ethics to get the reviews needed to grow your business?*

It is my theory that so many authors are uncomfortable with The Ask for the same reason they would never consider a career in sales. They lack the constitution/principles/desire needed to succeed as a salesperson. I get that (really, I do). But just about every successful business on the planet has a sales department—even the big six publishers. So who is the sales force behind the self-published author?  * pause for dramatic emphasis* That’s right. I am/you are. So don’t neglect your sales plan. 

It’s like I always tell my kids: “How am I supposed to know if you don't (respectfully) tell me what you need? After all, I’m not a mind reader”—and neither are my potential consumers. 

Happy sales!

Carey

(Who may, or may not, work in the Marketing & Sales division of a global, publicly traded Fortune 500 company which happens to be the largest consumer packaged goods company in the world.) www.careycorp.com

*To clarify, I’m not suggesting that if you have sketchy ethics that it’s okay to solicit false or overly positive reviews from friends and family. Reviews do need to be authentic and honest.  I am merely suggesting there are a broad spectrum of principles and ethics in the field of sales that may govern what you are, or are not, willing to do. Don’t confuse this with comfort level. Think of how uncomfortable marketing can be—but we all agree it has value and needs to be done.

 Difference between ethics and comfort zone: 

Example 1: Is asking for reviews from readers at the end of my book out of my comfort zone? Yes. But is it unethical? No. Does is make sense from a sales perspective? Yes.

Example 2: Is asking Aunt Nancy and her friends to go online anonymously and give glowing, 5–star reviews of my book outside my comfort zone? Maybe not… Everybody does it. Is it unethical? Abso-FREAKIN’-lutely! Does is make sense from a sales perspective? No way!!! If Aunt Nancy and friends are discovered, my credibility will suffer. And the amount of negative comments produced by public outrage will tank my career (as it should).

Example 3: Is my cousin’s unsolicited review, with acquaintance disclaimer, of my book that she purchased with her own money out of my comfort zone? Perhaps… (Family and friends are always tricky business.) But is it unethical? No. Does is make sense from a sales perspective? Perhaps… It’s an honest review from a paying customer. However, widely publicized relationship abuse between authors and their friends/family to promote books dishonestly tends to make this a risky practice. Although it’s not wrong, the more strategic choice might be to ask my cousin to use word of mouth power and remove the review.  

(Hey wait, is this an example where the negative connotations are more prevalent in society than the positive? For every author that engages in sketch reviews practices, there are probably a thousand or more that don’t.)

Bottom Line: This is your career and your business. Don’t lie to your consumers; don’t devalue them. Be honest. Apply discipline and operate with integrity. Which sounds suspiciously like The Golden Rule.

YOUR TURN: Have you ever noticed **If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com** at the end of a book? How often have you noticed The Ask? How did you feel when you saw it?

The Experimental Girl, part 2: More Experimentation

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on promoted prices vs. every day available price. I am taking THE HALO CHRONICLES THE GUARDIAN off sale and back to $2.99.

I decided to let the .99¢ sale go through MLK Day, so I requested the pricing change ($2.99 , 70% royalty) for  on Tuesday. As usual Amazon is taking their sweet time to make the change.

It will be interesting to compare velocity at the higher price with THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER continuing as a free promo vehicle.

As of this morning, here are my January 2012 sales results:

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN ($.99): 123 128 (as of 1/19 8:30pm)

THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER (FREE): 4903 5056 (as of 1/19 8:30pm)

1/30 Results:

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN ($.99): 203 (and back up to $2.99)

THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER (FREE): 8007 (in 1 month!)

The Experimental Girl

December was an experimental month for me. In November, I published a dystopian short story, THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER, at $.99. At the end I included the first chapter of THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN. Then I dropped THE GUARDIAN from $2.99 to $.99 to participate in a holiday promotion called Book Lovers Buffet.

For the purposes of this analysis, I am going to use my Amazon sales.

December 1-24 results:

THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER $.99: 4

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN $.99: 66

I decided to make THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER free to promote THE GUARDIAN. It went into effect just after Christmas.

December 26-31 results:

THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER $.00: 617

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN $.99: 53

January 1-4 results:

THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER $.00: 767

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN $.99: 27

 The results are so phenomenal that I am going to keep THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER free.

Now my dilemma, the promotion for THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN  ends 1/15/12. Should I keep it at $.99 with much lower royalties or take it back up to $2.99.

What do you think?

Left Field Inspiration

When I work up this morning, I didn't know that I was about to be inspired, and validated, and encouraged, and changed...But that's kind of the whole point behind blessings. Tonya Kappes's post changed my course.

For her inspiring post HOW BAD DO YOU WANT SELF PUBLISHING SUCCESS, click here.

I have a new short story out!!! THE WAY LIFE WAS FOREVER
It's  $.99 at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. I'll talk more about the business rationale in a few weeks.

Today I want to know HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

Got it Covered? I thought I did…

I really like my cover. I designed it myself with a Shutter stock image on PowerPoint. It worked great for digital. For print, it did not. (Read about my cover design, here.)

Being an ambitious DIYer, I determined I could handle the print cover. Just like my digital to print manuscript experience, my digital to print cover experience was plagued with issues. It was complete trial and error and error and error.

Like any good indie, I did my research. I got a cover template. I did my best to absorb info about spines (so Greek to the mathematically impaired girl). I spent a couple of hours laying out my cover and I uploaded to Createspace.

I thought I did a pretty good job until CS kicked it back to me:

Files for THE HALO CHRONICLES: T..., require your attention

The cover file does not meet our submission requirements for the reason(s) listed below.

The cover file contains live elements that may be trimmed during the production process. Please make sure that all text appears .375" away from the outer edges. Additionally, all elements you wish to appear on the cover, such as text and graphics, need to appear within the live graphics area. Only background that can be cut off should extend through the bleed area.

The spine text is too large for the page count. We recommend reducing the font size and centering the spine text so there is at least .0625" of room on either side. Otherwise, the spine text may wrap to the front or back cover.

Additionally, we have noted the concerns listed below. You may choose to move forward with the below issues as-is; however, we wanted to bring them to your attention.

The cover file contains transparency  which will be manually flattened during our processing and may cause a color shift.

The cover file contains images that range from 70 to 93 DPI, which may appear blurry and pixelated in print. For optimal printing, we recommend all images be at least 300 DPI.

So I tried again. I Googled how to flatten the file. I downloaded higher res images. I tweaked my layout, said a prayer, and uploaded.

Files for THE HALO CHRONICLES: T..., require your attention

The cover file contains images at 92 DPI, which may appear blurry and pixelated in print. For optimal printing, we recommend all images be at least 300 DPI.

Better but I still had image issues. It was one of those moments where I grudgingly admitted, “This is why people don’t do cover design on PowerPoint.” I’d spent a lot of time on my cover and still wasn’t getting the results I needed. I was behind schedule, out of my design depth and knew that I needed a professional. Problematic, since I had no budget.

One of my chapter mates, Jennette Marie Powell, is going indie in August with Time’s Enemy, a time travel romance. When she showed me her great cover, she’d mentioned her design background.

So, I approached her for help. I might have begged and pleaded a bit. Now’s the part where I give Jennette my UNDYING THANKS! She quickly fixed my resolution issues and I finally had a cover that CS accepted.

Here’s the digital eBook (my) version:

Here’s the professional print version (Jennette had to make some minor tweaks, mostly in font):

Again a HUGE THANKS to Jennette for rescuing my cover!

Jennette Marie Powell

Author of Time's Enemy, American time-travel romance, coming in August, 2011
http://www.jenpowell.com/ | Twitter |  Facebook

Conclusion: My most important take-away is even if I want to design my own cover, I need to collaborate with a design expert for set up. For the next book, I will not hesitate to work with a professional.

Also, I appreciated CreateSpace rejecting what would be a substandard cover with very specific feedback –for free. J

Mood: Grateful

Related topics: A Cover is a Promise

Next steps: Working on revisions for DOON

Your turn: Do you like to design your own covers?

My Self-Pub Journey to Date - My blog version of a clip show

Next week I'll be wrapping up my journey to publication with my final post on process. Then we'll get into the results. Sales, royalties, and such...

Indie Curious? Self Publishing Made Easy: step by step from manuscript to eBook

Edward Cullen has nothing to do with my cover: Designing my digital cover

Digital to Print - Do the math or suffer the consequences: from eBook formatted to Print

POD Part 1 - The Screwup: Why print formatting was harder than I thought.

Got it Covered? I thought I did... How my cover held up my print process

Coming soon: Numbers don't lie

And for fun (in case you didn't see) Lucas-schmookas! I wrote Star Wars: The first book I wrote

Digital to Print - Do the math or suffer the consequences!

If you have been following my journey, you may have picked up that Print on Demand formatting is giving me FITS. L I expected this process to be simpler than digital formatting. It so wasn’t. It didn’t help that I neglected my due diligence in thoroughly researching the POD process. I spent a lot of time comparing Print on Demand providers (see here), but not the formatting and cover processes.

Here’s my digital manuscript to POD print ready manuscript step by step process:

Step 1 Make a Create Space account

            Create Space give you step by step tasks to follow. Easy Peasy—mostly…

Step 2 Choose a Trim Size

·         Standard sizes range from 5 x 8 to 6 x 9. Most of the YAs and POD books I have are either 5.06 x 7.81 or 5.25 x 8. If you have a book or two you like around the house, measure their sizes.

·         Also choose white or cream paper.

Step 3 Do the math or suffer the consequences

·         I am sooo not a math girl. So figuring out gutter and outside margins made my brain bleed. You see, they are off center, and right side pages have opposite gutters than left.

·         So, I opted to use a preformatted template. Here’s where my lack of math hurt me. I tried many templates and no matter what I tried (Create Space; Lulu; or other) the results were wonky. Crazy headers and footers; ghost lines impossible to remove; and other strange formatting junk. I worried that it was my manuscript, but I tried other manuscripts and even format stripped wordpad documents with the same results. My best results were with these particular CS templates, but even then I had to do some ghetto formatting to make it work (i.e. stripping page breaks and hitting the return like 20 times to create faux page breaks to remedy inconsistent headers.

·         Here’s what I did. I took my Smashwords perfected digital manuscript and deleted “Smashwords” copyright. I mirrored the copyrights of printed books I have.

·         Then I cut and pasted into the CS template for the size book I wanted. I chose 6x9 and although I considered downsizing, the amount of template trauma I experienced dissuaded me from making changes once I had a print ready PDF.

·         Then I “fixed” wonky formatting, crazy header spacing. I added odd/even headers with book title on one side and my name on the other. I added page numbers at the bottom. (You have to format both odd and even page numbers and select “link to previous” EXCEPT on page one.

·         Once your manuscript looks right (keep in mind you may have to ghetto format to get spacing and other thing) save it as a PDF.

·         Review your PDF to ensure continuity of formatting, headers, and footers.

      ·         Mine the Create Space community for answers and general problem solving.

You now have an Internal PDF - half of what you need for POD print copies of your book. The other half is a cover PDF. Next week I will dissect the flaws of my digital to print cover.

Conclusion: POD formatting is harder than it ought to be. If only there were a perfect template out there. *sigh*

Mood: Perseverant

Related topics: To read my POD provider posting click here.

Next steps: Waiting for cover fix… In deep revision on another project.

Your turn: Have you had better success with POD formatting templates? Please share! Also ask any questions you might have. J

POD - part 2 Continuing Drama

Good morning.

My print release is delayed due to cover rework. :( I can't get the background resolution high enough, so I had to call in an expert. This is another BIG reason to hire a cover designer - they should provide digital and print ready formats (including back half) as part of their deliverables. I do love my DIY cover, but I'm just sayin'... A cover designer is work the money for so many reasons.

I planned on covering the digital to print interior process for today's post. However, as I researched, I found a new template that I want to try. So far, the formatting has been problematic with all the templates I've worked with. The preset headers and footers have been a nightmare. I've sampled formats on LuLu and Createspace and compared to Lightning Source. Finally, I think I might have stumbled on "the one." :)

Also since so many people are at RWA *Sniff* I am thinking if I wait until next week to post, I might be able to provide more value to your journey.

SO instead, I'll ask: Are you at RWA? If not, how you feeling about missing the main event? This year I have a crit partner, a MargaRITA sister, and another good friend nominated for the YA Golden Heart. The YA RITA nominees (including Cassandra Clare) are awesome. And Meg Cabot is the award night emcee. So many of my friends are there and I am BUMMED to be watching from Ohio.

Last year was my first year to attend the conference and it blew my mind.

RWA 2010 Ally Carter, ME, and Meg Cabot

Your Turn: If you are on the sidelines, how are you feeling about it? Will you be following the Awards tomorrow night?

POD part 1 - The screwup

I screwed up. L After extensive Print On Demand research, I knew I wanted to take the lower risk, minimal investment option of Create Space vs. Lightning Source but I underestimated the learning curve and formatting demands of the print ready process. I’m reworking elements and have bumped my POD release from 6/24 to 7/1. *grrr*

Today, I was going to rehash my CS vs. LS rationale. However, I stumbled upon Robin Sullivan’s brilliant blog WRITE TO PUBLISH and it’s amazing! I enjoy the business side of writing, but with a highly demanding corporate job, 2 small kids, and a hubby who travels M-F for work, I have to prioritize. Robin Sullivan’s blog has just leapt to the top of my priorities list.

Read Robin’s post Why Create Space is better than Lightning Source

Her post covers everything I learned in my research—only she says it more concisely and with the stats to back it up. Thanks Robin!

Conclusion: If you are thinking about going indie, add WRITE TO PUBLISH as part of your writer’s foundation.

Mood: Busy

Next steps: Fixing my CS formatting issues and aggressively focusing on my latest DOON revisions for editor X.

Your turn: What do you think about WRITE TO PUBLISH?

Indie-curious? Self-publishing made easy

As promised, here’s my easy peasy step-by-step guide to self-publishing.

(note: Do not buy an expensive ISBN or set of ISBNs before starting.)

Before you start, make sure you have a finished, professionally edited manuscript and a professionally designed cover. These two things will make or break your career.

For editing perspective, please see my post Who Should See Your Book Before You Self-Publish?

Also invest in a professionally designed cover. Not only will it look great, most designers will deliver final content in fortmats needed for Smashwords, PubIt, Amazon Kindle Direct, and your preferred Print on Demand (usually Create Space or Lightning Source). Find some indie covers you like and ask the authors who did their cover.

On to Self-Publishing DIY

I found the digital formatting process pretty detailed, but simple. But there are some great, reasonable services that will deliver finished, ready to upload formats, like Formatting 4 U.

SMASHWORDS:

·         Download Smashwords Formatting Guide

o   Follow the guide step-by-step (all 68 pages)

o   Don’t do nuclear formatting method unless you have a ton of rogue html code or unfixable formatting issues.

o   Save as MANUSCRIPT_SmashwordsEdition.doc

·         Make Smashwords account

o   Upload MANUSCRIPT_SmashwordsEdition.doc to Smashwords & wait for confirmation of success.

o   Smashwords will generate in multiple forms including Epub (Nook compatible) mobi (Kindle compatible)

·         Download Kindle for PC and NOOK for PC

o   Download MANUSCRIPT.mobi (Kindle) and check formatting

o   Download MANUSCRIPT.Epub (NOOK) and check formatting

·         If you find formatting errors, fix and re-upload to Smashwords
·        Go To Smashwords Dashboard > Distribution Channel Manager

o   Opt out of Amazon and B&N distribution

o   Yes, really – Opt out of Amazon and B&N distribution!!!

*update* Smashwords now requires cover images to be min. 1400 pixels.

AMAZON KINDLE:
              (Make sure you follow the final SW "opt out" step above.)

·         Download MobiPocket Creator

o   Open MANUSCRIPT_SmashwordsEdition.doc

o   Delete “Smashwords” from copyright page (2 or 3 places – covered in SW formatting guide)

o   Replace “Smashwords” with "Kindle" & "Amazon"

o   Save as MANUSCRIPT_KindleEdition.doc

o   For copyright page example download THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN free excerpt.

o   Open Mobipocket Creator

o   Upload Cover (do not add as first page of MANUSCRIPT_KindleEdition.doc or it will show up twice on Kindle) 600x800 min. pixels for mobi discussion thread here

*Amazon recommends a 1.6 width/height ratio, and their recommended height is 2,500 pixels.
Upload MANUSCRIPT_KindleEdition.doc – Mobipocket Creator will create a .mobi file

o   Save as MANUSCRIPT_KindleEdition.mobi

·         Make Kindle Account

o   Upload your Manuscript cover

o   Upload MANUSCRIPT_KindleEdition.mobi

BARNES & NOBLE NOOK:

(the easiest one)

·         Make B&N Pubit Account

o   Upload Manuscript Cover

o   Upload MANUSCRIPT.Epub (downloaded from Smashwords earlier – I didn’t worry about uploading a version w/o “Smashwords” on coverpage since distribution is typically much smaller at B&N.)

·         NOW YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT Amazon     Barnes & Noble AND   Smashwords!

·         Stop and pat yourself on the back

FOLLOWUP:

·         Continue to check Smashwords Dashboard to confirm MANUSCRIPT is approved for premium status (2—3 weeks)

o   Once approved – get Smashwords ISBN # (Follow SW ISBN Manager on Dashboard) – Must have ISBN to be eligible for Sony (eReader) and iBookstore (iPad/iPhone/iTouch) catalog distribution.

·         Create Author Page on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, & LibraryThing (minimum)

AMAZON example

·         Add purchase  links to your email signature:  Buy THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN (a 2010 RWA Golden Heart® finalist for young adult fiction) at Amazon     Barnes & Noble    Smashwords    coming soon to iBookstore Turn your computer into a free eReader: Kindle for PC  NOOK for PC

o   more information at www.careycorp.com

·         Use Smashwords Dashboard to generate discount and free coupons. Free codes can be used for giveaways, ARCs, and review copies. SW allows recipient to choose whichever form is compatible with their eReader or PC software.

NEXT THURSDAY: Print copies – Are all Print on Demand Providers Created Equal?

Don’t forget the Kindle Indie-pendence Contest ends on July 4^th. Win you kid a Kindle loaded with hot YA and MG titles.

YOUR TURN: What tips or questions do you have about digital publishing?

What can Small Press do for you, you can't do for yourself?

Good morning all!

I am guest blogging today on The Writer's guide to E-Publishing. What can small press do for you, you can't do for yourself? Please stop on over.

Also, check out the cool indie contest I'm participating in: Win a Kindle for your Kid.

*Happy Dance*

The book is out. So far, so good. I'm exhaused, so I'll recap my eBook journey next Thursday as well as looking ahead to print.

Like any milestone, it's important to stop and celebrate. Rather doing my own happy dance, I'm going to to let Judson Laipply do it for me.

Tomorrow, I will be stopping by my dear friend Vanessa Barneveld's blog to talk about my inspiration for THE HALO CHRONICLES series and my real life *honest to God* guardian angel story.

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN release day!

“Thrilling and oh-so-romantic, THE GUARDIAN will keep you up all night, turning the pages!”

 –Kristi Cook author of HAVEN

Rated five stars on Barnes & Noble.com and Goodreads, THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN is now available in all eBook formats.

Buy THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN (a 2010 RWA Golden Heart® finalist for young adult fiction) at Amazon     Barnes & Noble    Smashwords  coming soon to iBookstore

Turn your computer into a free eReader: Kindle for PC  NOOK for PC

more information at www.careycorp.com

The day has finally arrived and to celebrate, I’m giving away a free digital copy. This contest will run until midnight Wednesday 5/25.

FIRST:

“Like” THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN facebook page

NEXT:

Tweet, post, or share this post, Or add to your goodreads TBR

THEN:

Paste the link in the comment section of this post. Each link is worth one entry.

I will announce a winner Thursday morning.

Friday, I will be hanging with Vanessa Barneveld at Authorness. I will be sharing my *honest to God* teenaged guardian angel story and asking readers to share theirs. Plus, there will be another chance to win a digital copy of my book. You won’t want to miss it. 

I promised to reveal my very first book. Click below. J