The tiring job of social media.

We all want our books to do well, but how do we achieve that. We socialize, not the usual kind where you have an adult beverage, now that might make this funner, but the kind where you spend endless hours online. If you are serious about getting your work out there and eyeballs on it, then you smooze with readers on facebook. You post on blogs, you respond to them, you post on Kindle-boards, and you whore your wares without really whoring your book. According to etiquette it must be done without being pushy, without being overt about your intent and without offending the list owner, the group moderator and the group members.

So if you like being glued to your computer, friending tons of people, and writing tons of emails then the new push towards social media is for you. If you want to write on the other hand, then it will be a delicate balance between the need to write and the necessity of self-promotion. But these are just my opinions and like a$$h)les, everyone has one and mine is no better than anyone's.

Best of luck to all those that write. May you find a good balance.

Jett Abbott
Scarlet Masquerade now available at
www.sapphirebooks.com

The joys of a new book release.

As Scarlet Masquerade gets closer to becoming a new release, we are confronted with the anxiety of whether the readers will love our new baby. Releasing a new books is always exciting, but it is also wrought with fear, anxiety and wonder. Will we succeed in entertaining the readers? Have we learned from our past mistakes? Can we meet that "demanding" reader's expectations?

So, we toss it in the wind and hope that it lands, takes root and grows. Since paranormals don't do as well as contemporary lesbian romances, we are under no illusions. We also changed editors for this book. She is a gem who was great to work with. The feedback from our beta readers has been great and gives us hope we are on the right track. So that said we leave it in the readers hands and hope they enjoy the new book as much as we do.

Sapphire Books Publishing

Its been a while!

We have a new book coming out, probably at the end of this month, called Scarlet Masquerade. Yes that is the old title over there in our bookshelf which means we will be changing the picture soon. The name change is due to a similar book coming out from another LGBT publisher. We didn't want to be confused or accused of copying them so it was easier to change it. We have posted the first three chapters on the website if you would like to read it. We are going to be post more to the blog so watch for new stuff as it becomes available.


Recently, we have seen a few neat writers tools. Here is one that everyone may have already, but it's still fun to share.

http://editminion.com/

A fun little tool that tells you if your prose is weak, or your voice is passive, amongst other things. Have fun and edit away. Next week we'll post more delectable. Now go forth and have fun reading the first three chapters of Scarlet Masquerade.



Sapphire Books Publishing

What do you use to inspire or feed your muse?

I love erotic videos, and music. My mind clicks right in when I hear certain songs or see certain images. The creative juices flow, so to speak. For instance this little number by Rhianna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe4Ic7fHWf8

What do you use to get your creative juices moving?

Isabella

Bullies in a group!

I originally wanted to blog about how you decide what type of undergarments you have your character wear. Boxers, briefs or commando. While it seems like a silly question we often have to get our characters out of their clothing to get to the good stuff. But the topic of bullying has been on the forefront lately. Having been bullied in different ways, because of my orientation, anonymously from people I work with in education, to people on the streets, I thought about it for a long time. Then I watched as something happened in a yahoo group. I noticed that there is someone who bullies in the group using email.

Surprised? I'm not. I teach online and I have encountered behavior that would never fly in the classroom. Things are said from the comfort of our office chair that would never, ever be said face to face, and yet it is allowed under the guise of "free speech". Well it is destructive at best, demoralizing at worst and uncalled for. We have all seen them, the drive by email bully who doesn't single someone out, but bullies without naming names. He/she talks about the larger group and then singles out a few general people, authors, publishers or titles he/she has issues with. By bullying the collective group many don't think it is about them, because, "surely he/she isn't talking about me" or "I wonder who he/she means?".

Then there is the bully that is outright deliberate in their disdain for a book, author, website, or blog and makes no bones about pointing out their frustration with their work, their writing style or their story. Picking it apart like a vulture picks apart a carcass, leaving little behind but the broken author or publisher to defend themselves. If the author/publisher is lucky, someone will come to their aid, putting themselves in the line of fire of the bully. Then the bully moves on to another unknowing victim the next time he/she buys a book and it doesn't meet their expectations, or they felt as though they have wasted their money on what they perceive as a useless purchase.

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, why spread negitive energy around a group? If you don't like a book, ask for your money back, email the author or contact the publisher and discuss it with them. Let's be clear, bullying on a group isn't giving constructive feedback, or giving an "honest" review of a book. It is plain and simple bullying. We all want our work to matter, but sometimes a bully doesn't care about you, or your work, it is self serving and unfortunate.

Why do I write this? Has it happened to me? Not yet. I write about it because I witnessed a moderator of a group do exactly what I have discussed. Sadly, only one called them on it, and then a few disagreed with the moderator's position, but it only added fuel to an already out off control burn.

What happened before the internet and instance gratification? It takes time to sit down and write a letter, it takes no time to sit down and vent on your computer. What do you think? Am I way off here or have you experienced this yourself?

Isabella

Does Amazon equal reality?

When my first book came out, I was excited. My wife and I did the happy dance, held the ARC close to our hearts and then gazed at it lovingly. When it was finally released, and we started the "pimpin" process, telling our friends of our new arrival. Of course they were excited, but it wasn't until they found the book on Amazon that they were excited. "Wow, you're really published," several said. When I formed them that you could purchase it on the publisher's website they responded, "okay, but I can buy it on Amazon too, right?" I tried to explain the publishing model and how an author gets more when a person buys directly from the publisher than from Amazon, B&N or any other book selling website, they just couldn't make the connection. Then a friend said, "let 'em buy from Amazon. Your ratings will go up with every purchase." So, hence the Amazon reality.

It was then that I realized that some people equate being on Amazon as "really" being published, similar to how an actor has legitimacy when he/she appears on Leno, Carson or Oprah. It just shows how the world of publishing is evolving.

Welcome to Sapphire Books Publishing

Welcome to our little piece of the internet blog pie. We will be discussing the latest releases at Sapphire Books Publishing along with interviews from other authors editors and readers in the blogosphere, oh wait isn't that the guy in Chicago? Naw!

You can check out our website at Sapphire Books Publishing for our newest release and other breaking news.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

SBP