Hi friends,
Due to the new Doon Series, I am attempting to simplify. Doon, co-written with Lorie Langdon, debuts 8.20.13 from BLINK (a new imprint of Zondervan/HarperCollins).
I will be taking a break from this blog to write the next 3 Doon books and the sequel to THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE KEEPER - which is delayed due to some publishing complexities. (My apologies to you all - but hopefully I will have some great news to share on the HALO front soon!) If you'd like to contiue to follow my journey - and I'd love to have you come along - you can find me at www.DoonSeries.com and at www.HonestlyYA.com.
My Own Brand of Madness
Carey Corp ~~~~~~~~~~Darkly Romantic, Lightly Enchanted Smart Teen Fiction with a Twist
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
An epic BOOKSTRAVAGANZA giveaway!
Reposted from my Honestly YA blog:
We've had a lot to celebrate in the past year! Just to name a few milestones:
*Lea Nolan's debut, CONJURE, released from Entangled Teen.
*Melissa Landers's debut, ALIENATED, sold to Disney-Hyperion.
*Jen McAndrews's mystery debut, DEADLY FARCE, released from Avalon Books/Thomas & Mercer.
*Co-authors Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp sold DOON to Zondervan/Harper Collins.
*4 new YA authors joined the Honestly YA blog: Jenn McGowan, Pintip Dunn, Marni Bates, and Kristi Cook.
We hope 2013 is even kick-assier than 2012, so we're starting it off with a celebration of our books! (**US/CAN only, please.**) Here's what you can enter to win:
1. An ARC (advance copy) of Jennifer McGowan's MAID OF SECRETS, coming in May from Simon & Schuster.
2. DECKED WITH HOLLY, by Marni Bates, now available from Kensington Teen.
3. An e-book copy of CONJURE, by Lea Nolan, now available from Entangled Teen.
4. HAVEN, by Kristi Cook, now available from Simon Pulse.
5. THE GUARDIAN, by Carey Corp, along with the ETERNAL SPRING anthology.
By entering this giveaway, you agree to the terms and conditions set forth on our Contest Disclaimer page. Good luck, everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We've had a lot to celebrate in the past year! Just to name a few milestones:
*Lea Nolan's debut, CONJURE, released from Entangled Teen.
*Melissa Landers's debut, ALIENATED, sold to Disney-Hyperion.
*Jen McAndrews's mystery debut, DEADLY FARCE, released from Avalon Books/Thomas & Mercer.
*Co-authors Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp sold DOON to Zondervan/Harper Collins.
*4 new YA authors joined the Honestly YA blog: Jenn McGowan, Pintip Dunn, Marni Bates, and Kristi Cook.
We hope 2013 is even kick-assier than 2012, so we're starting it off with a celebration of our books! (**US/CAN only, please.**) Here's what you can enter to win:
Grand Prize: a $50 gift certificate to Amazon!
Other prizes: Autographed copies of our books:
1. An ARC (advance copy) of Jennifer McGowan's MAID OF SECRETS, coming in May from Simon & Schuster.
2. DECKED WITH HOLLY, by Marni Bates, now available from Kensington Teen.
3. An e-book copy of CONJURE, by Lea Nolan, now available from Entangled Teen.
4. HAVEN, by Kristi Cook, now available from Simon Pulse.
5. THE GUARDIAN, by Carey Corp, along with the ETERNAL SPRING anthology.
By entering this giveaway, you agree to the terms and conditions set forth on our Contest Disclaimer page. Good luck, everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thursday, December 20, 2012
It’s official! I have a new FOUR-BOOK DEAL.
The DOON Series
(YA, co-written with Lorie Langdon), Brigadoon reimagined coming September
2013. Read more at Honestly YA! http://bit.ly/VRzzaD
Join our journey on Facebook: http://bitylink.info/DOON
Also did a fabulous photo shoot with a young, talented actor at ESSENZA STUDIO this week for the cover of THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE KEEPER. More details soon!
Monday, August 20, 2012
CONJURE - Cover Reveal
Congratulations to my Honestly YA blogmate Lea for her upcoming debut. I am thrilled to be among a handful of bloggers revealing her cover today! It's absolutely gorgeous!!!!
Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.
In honor of her cover reveal, Lea is giving away prizes!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About CONJURE: Be careful what you search
for…
Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.
When a strange girl appears, bent on revenge; demon dogs become
a threat; and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to
learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before summer—and her friends--are lost
forever.
In honor of her cover reveal, Lea is giving away prizes!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Labels:
Conjure,
Entangled Pulishing,
Honestly YA,
Lea Nolan,
young adult
Friday, August 10, 2012
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.)
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!)
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.
Before you wage (or join) a public crusade, ask yourself:
· What if I were the person on the opposite end? How would I want to be treated?
(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
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.
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:
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.
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?
·
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
Labels:
best-in-class,
better business bureau,
Dale Porter,
indie,
indie publishing,
LendInk,
small business
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
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.
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?
Labels:
indie publishing,
marketing,
reviews,
sales,
self publishing,
self-publishing,
small business
Thursday, August 2, 2012
In Case You Missed it
Kristen Lamb's INSIGHTFUL post:
The Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors
It's well worth reading.
The Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors
It's well worth reading.
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